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| Dragon Quest VIII |
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| Dragon Quest VIII |
Dragon Quest VIII is an expensive game in the heart of many JRPG fans in Europe. While the series had hitherto fled the Old Continent during a good twenty years, it was the first to deign to attempt the version PAL, in 2006 on PS2. Many players were able to discover the music of Koichi Sugiyami and the design of Toriyama at work in a colorful role-playing game filled with humor and epic fights. Dragon Quest, it is a timeless style that suffers without difficulty the weight of years and this portage 3DS proves us once again. Despite a slightly more cell-shaded appearance and technical limitations of the console, the end result is more than honest and proves close to the original. Needless to say, all this has a cost and we advise you to buy the cartridge version of the game, to avoid occupying practically all the storage of your console with the digital version ... Yes, DQ8 weighs heavily.
It must be said that Dragon Quest VIII has a rather talkative voice-over that adds a certain dynamism to most phases of dialogue. We can also congratulate an English acting of high quality, the same as at the time for those who had made the PS2 version (with some additions).
To the Adventure !
In Dragon Quest VIII, you play the Hero, which has no name, because it's Dragon Quest. At the beginning of the adventure, we accompany King Trode, transformed into a toad by a vile wizard named Dhoulmagus. Before the intro, we met a bandit named Yangus, who proves loyal to the hero after the latter saved his life. If the main idea is to find Dhoulmagus to reverse the fate that affects the King (and his sweet Medea, apparently transformed into a mare), the group will make numerous encounters and will have to save the widow and the orphan either to advance in their Quest, either out of sheer kindness. As always in the series, the narration is very well controlled, with multiple small scenarios at once funny and touching and charismatic ancillary characters. Even if like JRPG, it offers a long life (50h for the main scenario), the division of narration into small stories makes it possible to play short sessions more easily without finding itself lost. |
| Dragon Quest VIII |
N gameplay terms, one can see things in two ways. Yes, Dragon Quest VIII is definitely classic in its structure. The battles are turn by turn with the usual choices of the genre and the system of evolution that allows to distribute points in skills of arms is not the most original, especially today. However, it remains controlled and effective, which is not given to all games. Among the peculiarities, there is the possibility to charge its power during several turns to increase the effectiveness of attacks and skills. This is all the more important for skills that use PM, allowing you to save money for the longest fights. Since the skills available depend on the weapon equipped by the character, it is necessary to properly manage the PCs (skill points) at each level. Boosting a single weapon is not always the best idea as this tends towards a lack of diversity, especially as the player is limited on the number of points he can put in already high-level weapons.
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| Dragon Quest VIII |
From the Past to the Future
In terms of difficulty, Dragon Quest VIII can be arduous if you try to draw in a straight line. Unfortunately, it is part of these games which impose, at times, forced leveling to pass mandatory bosses. If this system was still in fashion at the time of the release of the game in 2004 in Japan, it must be admitted that it is less and less used because of its side. That said, if you are not resistant to the idea of killing monsters for an hour or two for the sole purpose of taking levels, you should not have a problem. The good news is that unlike the original, the fights are no longer random: you see the enemies wandering on the map and can therefore dodge them if you wish. It's always a good thing.
Among the novelties, we also take advantage of some new features added in order to facilitate the task of the players. For example, the combat speed can now be multiplied by 1.5, making the leveling phases less tiring. For its part, the alchemy system, which makes it possible to mix objects to obtain new ones, has been greatly simplified and improved, which is far from being an evil. The content is not left out as two "new" playable characters join you in the adventure. Indeed, Morry and Rubis are added to Angelo, Jessica, Yangus and the hero for a total of six, a largely sufficient number given the system of combat and evolution. A new well-kept dungeon is the story feast to extend the experience in addition to a camera mode and an associated quest system that allows you to retrieve heaps of bonus items. In short, there is no doubt, Dragon Quest VIII is not a lazy porting even if we would have appreciated more ergonomic menus, a defect of the initial game which unfortunately has not been corrected in the mean time despite some attempts of shortcuts.
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| Dragon Quest VIII |
If one thing is certain is that The Odyssey of the Cursed King is a must-try for any old-school JRPG fan, and this 3DS version is a great opportunity to get you there, with a quality portage. In short, you understand, we can only advise you the purchase!
Pros
-A massive JRPG in our 3DS-Charismatic Characters
-Quality voice-over
-The music of Koichi Sugiyama, as usual.
-The chara-design and the animations, at the top
-Alchemy, much simpler than before
-Accelerating combat is very practical
-Extra content (dungeon, characters)
Cons
-Game mechanics a little old school-The forced leveling at times
-Menus sometimes lack ergonomics
-Absence of the orchestral music of the Japanese version
-The digital version weighs heavily. This is a detail, but good
Dragon Quest VIII: The Odyssey of the Cursed King on 3DS is the quality portrayal of a JRPG adulated by many players. Worthy of episodes of a series with an incomparable universe, the title offers dozens and tens of hours of adventure punctuated by multiple small scenarios that do not lack humor. The title proposes welcome improvements and additional content, and no one will dare complain. Some old-fashioned game mechanics are likely to put off the less patient players but the experience is well worth it.
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