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Dragon Quest VIII - Journey of the Cursed King Review - PS2

Introduction

The Dragon Quest series has been an early favourite of console gamers in Japan, and developed a massive following for each title released on the original Nintendo, then Super Nintendo, followed by the Playstation 1. When Dragon Quest VII was released there in 1995, it went on to become the largest selling role playing titles (RPG) titles in Japan ever. Each game in the series has been published by Enix (now Square-Enix), at the hands of different developers over the years with creator Yuji Horii. Akira Toriyama, creator of the immensely popular Dragon Ball, has also created the Monsters and characters in the series. He does so again in Journey of the Cursed King.

This is the 8th game in the series, however it is the first to be released officially in Australia. Dragon Quest was previously known as Dragon Warrior and appeared in several releases the United States, but the series has never seen an official release in PAL territories, with the exception of a spin off called Dragon Warrior Monsters. The PAL release also sees a few enhancements over the Japanese version, as well as spoken dialogue in parts.

Dragon Quest begins with you finding out your home town of Trodain has been infested with dangerous vines and the inhabitants cursed. Trodain's King Trode and daughter are cursed into strange forms by dark magic but they manage to escape, along with your own character.

Things start simply enough, with a short introduction and lead-in to the main part of the game. No massive cinematic pieces here that linger for minutes and minutes. The very start of the game consists of investigating the death of Rylus, an elderly member of a nearby town. As you start to speak to locals in the town, a heavier plot develops, and the pieces of the main storyline slowly comes into focus. Early on in the game you discover that it seem the person you are trying to track down, Dhoulmagus may have been responsible for his murder, and the curse of Trodain itself. So onwards you go, revealing your own past and the events leading up to the game.

Gameplay

Dragon Quest takes much of the older RPG style of the Nintendo and Super Nintendo, while moving things forward slightly by placing the action in a full 3D world. Throughout there are many touches of the classics of the 80's and early 90's to be found. Nearly every detail, creature, or environment are cute, strange, and often quite funny. The main emphasis on the Japanese RPG is more on the storyline, world and characters, rather than complexity of gameplay or style over substance.

Unlike most Western RPG, you don't get to choose your characters. Instead, party members join your party along the way. Each character has your basic hit points, mana (magic points), strength, wisdom, etc which effect various strengths and weaknesses. As experience points are gained (continued next page)