Hero (Dragon Quest VIII)
Hero | |
Dragon Quest VIII | |
Japanese name | 主人公 |
Romaji | Shujinkō |
Title | Captain of the Guard |
Class | Hero |
Race | |
Age | 20 |
The Hero of Dragon Quest VIII is a 20 year-old low-ranking royal guardsmen in Trodain Castle, before becoming a refuge of the kingdom in the prologue of Dragon Quest VIII. He was one of the small band who survived Dhoulmagus' deadly attack, along with Trode, Medea and Munchie. As is the series' tradition, the Hero is a silent protagonist whom the player is meant to project themselves upon, using him as an avatar to explore and interact with the game's world.
The Hero is a versatile character, as equally proficient in armed combat as he is in using healing spells and support magic. His preferred weapons are swords, spears and boomerangs.
Appearance and Personality
Due to his aforementioned status as a silent protagonist, very little can be said of the man's character that isn't decided by the player. That being said, the youth has demonstrated a remarkably humane nature in certain cutscenes. This is most apparent in the flashback to his meeting with Yangus, who accidentally broke the robe bridge that he was blocking while attempting to extort money from king Trode. Instead of letting the bellicose bandit fall to his death, the former guard pulled him to safety despite Trode's considerable umbrage.
In contrast to heroes of previous games, this Hero dresses very casually and historically coherent, wearing a saffron overcoat with a blue tunic, simple red bandana, and plain grey trousers with brown boots.
Background
An amnesiac since his early youth, the Hero grew up in Trodain castle, eventually serving as a guard for some time before the events of the prologue took place. For much of Dragon Quest VIII, the hero journeys with his faithful mouse friend, Munchie, King Trode, Medea, and Yangus. The hero is eventually joined by Jessica and Angelo, enlisting their aid in pursuing and confronting the wicked Dhoulmagus.
Munchie
The Hero carries around his pet, Munchie, wherever he goes. A highly intelligent Pig-Rat, Munchie is capable of entering small spaces and exploring areas the party would otherwise have no access to. If you give Munchie cheese items, he gains special abilities. Munchie rides in the pocket of the Hero's coat most of the time. Munchie will show his true significance only after the game.
Base Stats
Attribute | Starting Stats | Maximum Stats |
Level | 1 | 99 |
HP | 22 | 806 |
MP | 0 | 478 |
Strength | 8 | 400 |
Agility | 6 | 200 |
Resilience | 6 | 215 |
Wisdom | 5 | 366 |
Initial gear |
Abilities
Sword
Name | MP | Points | Target | Tension | Info | Oomph |
Attack +5 | NaN | 4 | NaN | no | Increase the sword attack +5. | no |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dragon Slash | 0 | 9 | one | no | Inflicts 150% damage on dragons (otherwise normal damage). | no |
Flame Slash | 0 | 15 | one | yes | Inflicts 130% damage (reduced if enemy is resistant to fire). | yes |
Attack +10 | NaN | 22 | NaN | no | Increase the sword attack +10. | no |
Metal Slash | 0 | 30 | one | yes | Inflicts 1-2 damage on metal monsters, 150% damage to machines | no |
Attack +15 | NaN | 40 | NaN | no | Increase the sword attack +15. | no |
Critical Hit % | NaN | 40 | NaN | no | Increase the critical hit % with the sword to 1/32. | no |
Falcon Slash | 0 | 52 | one | yes | 2 slashes per attach each ~75%. | yes |
Attack +25 | NaN | 66 | NaN | no | Increase the sword attack +25. | no |
Miracle Slash | 4 | 82 | one | yes | Inflicts 125% damage and restores your HP by 50% of damage. | yes |
Gigaslash | 20 | 100 | group | yes | Inflicts up to 207~239 damage to each member of a group. | yes |
Gigagash | 20 | 100* | group | yes | Inflicts up to 271~331 damage to each member of a group. |
no |
- Requires 100 points in both swords and courage
Spear
Name | MP | Points | Target | Tension | Info | Oomph |
Attack +5 | 0 | 3 | auto | no | Increase the spear attack +5. | no |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mercurial Thrust | 0 | 7 | one | yes | The Hero is first to attack Damage approx: 80%. | yes |
Thunder Thrust | 3 | 12 | one | yes | A hit highly likely to be a critical hit. | no |
Attack +10 | no | 18 | auto | no | Increase the spear attack +10. | no |
Multithrust | 4 | 25 | 1-4 | yes | 3-4 thrusts per attack at approx: 50% damage each. | yes |
Critical Hit % | no | 40 | auto | no | Increase the critical hit % with the spear to 1/32. | no |
Clean Sweep | 0 | 45 | group | yes | Initial damage approx: 80% decrease from left to right. | yes |
Lightning Thrust | 0 | 59 | one | no | More powerful version of Thunder Thrust (all hits critical). | no |
Attack +25 | no | 77 | auto | no | Increase the spear attack +25. | no |
Lightning Storm | 25 | 100 | all | yes | Inflicts 190-220 damage on all enemies. | no |
Boomerang
Name | MP | Points | Target | Tension | Info | Oomph |
Crosscutter Throw | 2 | 6 | all | yes | The first enemy is hit twice. | yes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Attack +5 | no | 12 | auto | no | Increase the boomerang attack +5. | no |
Power Throw | 4 | 18 | all | yes | Slightly less damage but damage does not decrease. | yes |
Attack +10 | no | 25 | auto | no | Increase the boomerang attack +10. | no |
Firebird Throw | 6 | 32 | all | yes | 36-44 damage to all enemies. | no |
Attack +15 | no | 40 | auto | no | Increase the boomerang attack +15. | no |
Super Throw | 4 | 52 | all | yes | More powerful version on 'Power Throw' Damage approx: 150%. | yes |
Attack +20 | no | 66 | auto | no | Increase the boomerang attack +20. | no |
Starburst Throw | 8 | 82 | all | yes | 76-84 damage to all enemies. | no |
Gigathrow | 15 | 100 | one | yes | Inflicts up to 233~284 damage to a single enemy. | no |
Fisticuffs
Name | MP | Points | Target | Tension | Info | Oomph |
Attack +5 | no | 4 | auto | no | Increase the fisticuffs attack +5 | no |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Defending Champion | 0 | 11 | self | yes | More powerful defending action (damage reduced by 90%). | no |
Stone's Throw | 0 | 17 | group | yes | 8-20 damage on a group of enemies. | no |
Knuckle Sandwich | 2 | 24 | one | no | Inflicts 150% points of damage. | yes |
Attack +20 | no | 33 | auto | no | Increase the fisticuffs attack +20 | no |
Thin Air | 2 | 42 | all | yes | Inflicts up to 108~132 points of damage on all enemies. | no |
Critical Hit % | no | 52 | auto | no | Increase the critical hit % with the fisticuffs to 1/32. | no |
Multifists | 0 | 70 | 1-4 | yes | 4 blows per attack each at approx: 33%. | yes |
Boulder Toss | 4 | 82 | all | yes | Inflicts 72-104 damage on all enemies. | no |
Attack +50 | no | 100 | auto | no | Increase the fisticuffs attack +50. | no |
Courage
Name | MP | Points | Target | Tension | Info | Oomph |
Zoom | 1 | 8 | party | no | Teleports player to entrance of known location (outdoors only). | no |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tingle | 2 | 16 | party | no | Cures party of sleep and parlyzed status changes. | no |
Fizzle | 4 | 28 | no | no | Prevents enemy group from using magic. | no |
Holy Protection | 3 | 40 | group | no | Random encounters with enemies whose level is lower than the hero is avoided. | no |
Zap | 6 | 48 | all | yes | Inflicts up to 72~88 damage on all enemies. | no |
MP Used 3/4 | no | 56 | auto | no | Reduces the MP cost to 3/4. | no |
Kamikazee | 1 | 70 | all | no | The Hero sacrifices himself to deal high damage to all enemies. | no |
Omniheal | 36 | 82 | party | no | Restores full HP to all party members. | no |
MP Used 1/2 | no | 90 | auto | no | Reduces the MP cost to 1/2. | no |
Kazap | 15 | 100 | group | yes | Inflicts up to 180~220 damage on a group of monsters. | no |
Gigagash | 20 | 100* | group | yes | Inflicts up to 271~331 damage to each member of a group. | no |
- Requires 100 points in both swords and courage
Magic
Name | MP | Level | Target | Tension | Info |
Heal | 2 | 3 | one | yes | Restores 30-40 HP to one character. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Squelch | 2 | 4 | one | no | Cures one character of poison and envenomated status changes. |
Evac | 2 | 6 | party | no | Teleports player back to dungeon enterance (Dungeons only). |
Sizz | 4 | 11 | group | yes | Inflicts up to 29~35 fire damage on each member of a group. |
Midheal | 3 | 18 | one | yes | Restores 75-90 HP to one character. |
Sizzle | 6 | 20 | group | yes | Inflicts up to 53~62 fire damage on each member of a group. |
Fullheal | 6 | 27 | one | no | Restores all HP to one character. |
Zing | 8 | 29 | one | no | Revives a dead character with 50% of HP (50% success rate). |
Kasizzle | 10 | 32 | group | yes | Inflicts up to 150~170 fire damage on each member of a group. |
Dragon Soul | 64 | 65 | one | yes | Inflicts 420~520 non-elemental damage to one enemy (Ignores enemy defense, magic attack) |
Skill Tips
Swords pay off if you are in pursuit of metal monsters, with Metal Slash (30 points) being particularly useful. If you accumulate 100 points in swords and courage you learn the almighty gigagash, although this takes quite some time to achieve.
Spears are ideal for hunters of metal monsters in particular, with Thunder Thrust (12 points) and Lightning Thrust (59 points). The Multithrust (25 points) is also worth a try against single enemies.
Boomerangs are a real boon in the beginning of the game because they attack all enemies. Later, however, this skill becomes less useful (over 40 points: Attack + 15), so it is advisable to switch to developing different skills.
Fisticuffs is largely ineffectual to the other skills, although some actions are worth a try like Thin Air (42 points). The Hero can only make a real impression when he learns Attack + 50 (100 points).
Courage is extremely useful as a means of learning traits that reduce MP consumption (at 56 and 90 points). Don't ignore the advanced attacks either (Zap, 48 points and Kazap at 100 points), or the Omniheal spell at 82 points.
Suggested Strategies: Learn Courage up to 8 points (Zoom) initially, then learn Boomerangs up to 40 points (Attack + 15) followed by courage up to 100. Next, increase your Swords skill to 66 (Attack + 25) or Spears up to 59 (Critical Hit).
Another option would be to forgo Boomerangs altogether and start by dividing points equally between Swords and Courage (up to Swords 66), then switching to Spears and Courage.
However, since you come across some extremely effective spears in the opening stages of the game, you may prefer to concentrate on mastering spears from the outset.
Trivia
- When the hero's tension is maxed, his appearance changes drastically. His bandana flies off and his hair spikes up, making him resemble Super Saiyan Son Goku of Dragon Ball Z fame. This little feature was added to the American release of the game, as a shoutout to fans of Toriyama's work.
Gallery
- Dq8-Hero Concept art.jpg
Hero's concept art