The fully immersive world and dramatic visuals aren't the only things to be excited about with Square-Enix's "Dragon Quest VIII." The game delivers on all levels, and proves to be one of the most engaging experiences on the Playstation 2 this year.
"Dragon Quest," one of Japan's most popular videogame series, attempts to become a household name in the United States with the new release. The game offers revamped visuals as well as a host of new features. For a series that started with the first Dragon Quest in 1986, this game is surprisingly fresher than ever.
The eighth game in a long-running series has received totally updated visuals, complete with striking cel-shaded three-dimensional graphics illustrated by Akira Toriyama ("Dragon Ball").
The animated world is complete with a cycle of day and night, with attention to realism. The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. As the journey unfolds, time advances, which is a realistic addition and a major enhancement to the story.
The level of authenticity extends to the character personalities so that certain characters will be out at night rather than during the day.
The companions are very colorful characters whose distinctions are emphasized by voice acting done by competent actors. The sense of characters coming to life is largely due to the first-rate voice acting.
Yangus, the ex-criminal is a crass but righteous aide. Jessica and Angelo are two nobles who are sophisticated, intelligent and witty.
The spoken dialogue, as opposed to subtitles, is new to the American version. The developers have even given the characters a wide array of accents such as cockney, Slavic and Italian to give each personality more depth.
The "Dragon Quest" series is the epitome of standard role-playing fare, as it is one that allows the gamer to traverse a medieval world complete with wizardry, kings and knights.
The main villain is a mysterious jester named Dhoulmagus, who steals a powerful scepter from the Trodain Castle. Dhoulmagus turns King Trode into a frog-like creature, and his daughter Princess Medea into a horse. The entire kingdom is cursed and the main character is the only one who does not succumb to it.
The gamer must traverse the massive world in order to reverse the curse that Dhoulmagus has placed upon the king and his daughter.
The game includes tried-and-true elements such as random battles and a menu-based battle system that appeared in the first game almost two decades ago.
To expand the playability of the game, the developers have included an alchemy system that allows one to create weapons and items, giving the game more variety than most generic hack-and-slash dungeon crawlers. Additional elements such as casino gambling and monster-training make completing all of the games' side quests a lengthy but enjoyable undertaking.
One fault of the game that stands out is the story itself. The classic "save the king from the evil forces" has been told since role-playing games first appeared on consoles.
"Dragon Quest VIII" certainly will not win awards for having an innovative story, but the tale is told well, with great emotion and feeling from the myriad cast.
For the reported 80 hours that a gamer can invest in this game, it could prove to be intimidating for a more casual gamer. But for those willing to suffer the blisters, it will certainly be skin well spent.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
