Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King: Difference between revisions

From Dragon Quest Wiki
No edit summary
(Links to official sites.)
(36 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox VG
{{Infobox VG
| type = Main series games
| type = Main series games
| title = Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
| title = Journey of the Cursed King
| image = [[Image:DQVIIIPS2_box_art.jpg|300px]]
| image = [[File:DQVIII logo.png|325px]]<br>[[File:DQVIII_Akira_Toriyama.png|325px]]
| developer = [[Level-5]]
| developer = [[Level-5]]
| publisher = [[Square Enix]]
| publisher = [[Square Enix]]
| designer = [[Yūji Horii]]
| designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
| artist = [[Akira Toriyama]]
| artist = [[Akira Toriyama]]
| composer = [[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
| composer = [[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
| engine =
| engine =
| released = {{vgrelease|JP=November 27, 2004|NA=November 15, 2005|AUS=April 12, 2006}}{{vgrelease|EU=April 13, 2006}}
| released = {{vgrelease|JP=November 27, 2004|NA=November 15, 2005|AUS=April 12, 2006}}{{vgrelease|EU=April 13, 2006}}{{vgrelease|JP=December 12, 2013 (mobile)|NA=May 29th, 2014 (mobile)|EU=May 29th, 2014 (mobile)}}{{vgrelease|JP=August 27, 2015 (3DS)|NA=January 20, 2017 (3DS)|EU=January 20, 2017 (3DS)}}
| genre = [[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Console role-playing game]]
| genre = [[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Console role-playing game]]
| modes = [[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
| modes = [[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
| ratings = {{vgratings|ESRB=T (Teen)|CERO=All ages|PEGI=12+|OFLCA=PG|USK=6}}
| ratings = {{vgratings|ESRB=T (Teen)|CERO=All ages|PEGI=12+|OFLCA=PG|USK=6}}
| platforms = [[PlayStation 2]]
| platforms = [[Sony PlayStation#PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]]<br>[[Nintendo 3DS]]
| media = [[Wikipedia:DVD|DVD]]
| media = [[Wikipedia:DVD|DVD]]
| requirements =
| requirements =
|series = ''[[Dragon Quest]]''
|series = ''[[Dragon Quest (series)|Dragon Quest]]''
|input=[[Wikipedia:DualShock|DualShock 2]]
|input=[[Wikipedia:DualShock|DualShock 2]]
|resolution=[[Wikipedia:480i|480i]] (SDTV)
|resolution=[[Wikipedia:480i|480i]] (SDTV)
|aspect ratio=[[Wikipedia:16:9|16:9]] / [[Wikipedia:4:3|4:3]]
|aspect ratio=[[Wikipedia:16:9|16:9]] / [[Wikipedia:4:3|4:3]]
}}
}}
'''''Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King''''' (''ドラゴンクエストVIII 空と海と大地と呪われし姫君''&nbsp;?) is the eighth installment in the ''[[Dragon Quest (series)|Dragon Quest]]'' series, developed by Level-5 and published by [[Square Enix]] for the PlayStation 2 video game console.  
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Dragon Quest VIII''}}
{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest VIII'''|ドラゴンクエストVIII 空と海と大地と呪われし姫君|Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi|Dragon Quest VIII: The Sky, the Ocean, the Earth, and the Cursed Princess}} is the eighth installment in the {{DQSeries}}, developed by Level-5 and published by [[Square Enix]] for the {{PlayStation 2}} video game console. It was also later released for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] in 2015.


==Gameplay==
==Plot==
===New Features===
{{spoiler|start}}
* The game uses a over-the-shoulder 3-D display on all maps, replacing the traditional bird's-eye view. It can optionally be switched to a first-person view. Only the lead character is displayed in the map view, however. The lead character may be swapped though.
[[Image:DQVIII_characters.png|right|thumb|250px|[[Yangus]], [[Medea]], [[Trode]], {{Munchie}} and the {{Hero 8}}]]
* There is an automap feature in dungeons, and complete maps of all towns. The locations and contents of chests are marked on the map. Also, it is possible to browse the inventory of the shops while looking at the town map.
''Dragon Quest VIII'' begins when the evil jester [[Dhoulmagus]] steals a [[Godbird sceptre|magical sceptre]] from [[Trodain]] Castle. With this powerful sceptre, he transforms the inhabitants of Trodain into plant-like statues, as well as changing the [[Trode|king]] into a toad-like monster and the [[Medea|princess]] into a horse, while covering the majority of the castle in large, green magical thorns. The {{Hero 8}}, a young Trodain guardsman, is the only resident to remain uncursed. Accompanying the cursed king and princess, he hunts [[Dhoulmagus]], in hopes of restoring [[Trodain]] to its former glory. The {{Hero 8}} is eventually joined on his quest by three companions: a scarred, inarticulate bandit named [[Yangus]], a wand-waving tomboy named [[Jessica Albert]], and [[Angelo]], a rapier-wielding Templar Knight and self-proclaimed ladies' man. During their travels, the {{Party 8}} runs into Dhoulmagus several times. A couple of these encounters involve Dhoulmagus killing someone beloved by members of the {{Hero 8}}'s {{Party 8}}. Individuals slain by Dhoulmagus include Alistair ({{Jessica}}'s brother) and [[Abbot Francisco]], who is head of the abbey where Angelo lives. The {{Party 8}} finally tracks down Dhoulmagus to the {{Dark Ruins}}, where they find him recuperating, and finally face off against him. After his defeat, he tries to curse the {{Party 8}} with his sceptre, but the {{Hero 8}} is again unaffected by the curse, blocking the blast and sparing the other {{Party 8}} members. [[Dhoulmagus]] then uses his menacing power to change into a hideous creature. However, even with his new powers, he is no match for the might of the {{Party 8}}. Much to their surprise, however, they find that even with his defeat, the curse still has not been lifted. Concluding that something else must be maintaining the curse, they leave the ruins, with {{Jessica}} picking up Dhoulmagus' sceptre as they exit.
* Characters are shown holding their equipped weapons, in an appropriate posture. In a few cases, the character's displayed clothing will change to reflect their other equipment, although it usually stays the same.
* The buildings in a town are visible even from the overworld view.
* Random encounters are suppressed as long as the party is on a road.
* Chests and special encounters with [[monster taming|tameable monsters]] can be found in the overworld.
* The [[day-night cycle]] of games ''III'', ''IV'', and ''V'' is restored. Time now passes even in towns, and the party can use an [[inn]] to switch from day to night, as well as vice-versa. Thus, there is no longer a [[Darkness Lamp]], or related spells.
* [[Party conversation]]s return from the previous installment, but it is now possible to either select which party member to talk to, or cycle through them in order.
* The battle screens are shown as a 3-D view, with shifting camera angles to display the current combatant. The party appears in the battle screen, unlike previous installments. At the end of the battle, an animation of the surviving party members putting away their weapons is played.


===Tension system===
The next morning, the {{Hero 8}} and the others find to their surprise that {{Jessica}} is missing. While searching for her, the {{Party 8}} enters a town called [[Arcadia]], arriving just in time to save a magician named [[Dominico]] from an apparently-possessed {{Jessica}} wielding the Sceptre. After chastising [[David]], his young servant, Dominico sends the {{Party 8}} to find the Kran Spinels to aid in warding off Jessica. Once the {{Party 8}} return with the jewels, Dominico uses them to create a more effective barrier against {{Jessica}}. While he prepares the incantation to erect the barrier, the {{Party 8}} engages {{Jessica}} outside in an attempt to stall her, discovering in the process that her true objective is David, an heir of one of the seven great sages. After the battle, Dominico's barrier is able to release Jessica from her possession.
There is a new ''Dragon Ball''-inspired [[tension]] system, allowing combatants to spend a turn building up "tension," which will increase the power level of their next attack or spell. Tension can be built up repeatedly, increasing attack power still further. There is a new [[party AI]] option to focus on using high-tension attacks, replacing the old "Leave it to me" option. Tension can be used to overcome a monster's resistance to physical or elemental attacks.


Attempting to reach the fourth, "super-high tension" state has a chance of failure, depending on the character's level. Also, some monsters are able to instantly reach the third stage of tension, and will then repeatedly attempt to reach the super-high level.
After recovery, Jessica reveals what her possessor had planned, as well as giving it a name -- [[Rhapthorne]], The Lord of Darkness. His soul had previously been imprisoned inside the Sceptre by the [[Seven Sages]], and he plots to remove the seals by killing their heirs as soon as possible. At that point, the {{Party 8}} realizes the Sceptre is missing. They rush over to Dominico's estate, only to see that Rhapthorne has succeeded in mortally wounding David after taking control of Dominico's dog Sir Leopold as his next host. After Rhapthorne flees, David utteres his final words, as a repentant and grieving Dominico laments over him. With only two heirs left to kill, the possessed Sir Leopold absconds to the snowy mountain valley of the north. An old woman named [[Marta]], who happens to be the one of the two remaining heirs, lives in the wintry countryside.


===Skill system===
After running an errand for Marta and finding her son Marek, the {{Party 8}} comes back to Marta's house only to see it set ablaze by Sir Leopold. Holding her son Marek hostage, Sir Leopold forces Marta to come out and face him. He manages to kill her, and flies away to find the last living heir. Enlisting the aid of the legendary godbird Empyrea, the {{Party 8}} tracks Sir Leopold down to the Lord High Priest's mansion and engage him. After putting down the possessed Sir Leopold, he loses his grip on the Sceptre, and dies. The Lord High Priest goes into shock, and faints. Meanwhile, [[Marcello]] (the new abbot, and Angelo's half-brother) enters, and frames the {{Party 8}} for attempting to assassinate the Lord High Priest, and has them exiled to [[Purgatory Island]]. Marcello picks up the Sceptre, but manages to resist Lord Rhapthorne's evil influence. He assumes his position of the Lord High Priest thereafter.
Each character has five [[skill]] values that can increase during the course of the game; three are associated with the character's three favored weapon types, one with unarmed combat, and one with the character's special ability. Skill points awarded on level-up, or when using a skill [[seed]], can be distributed among the five skills by the player. Increasing a skill beyond certain fixed levels grants additional powers and bonuses to statistics when the player is using an appropriate type of weapon.


===Alchemy===
The {{Party 8}} manages to escape from [[Purgatory Island]], returning to face Marcello on the Holy Isle of [[Neos]], and defeats him. In his weakened state, Marcello gives in to Rhapthorne's influence. With all seven sages killed, Rhapthorne is resurrected in flesh and blood. He transforms Neos into the [[Black Citadel]], and raises it into the sky to stage his attack upon the world. The {{Party 8}} battle their way through the Citadel and defeat Rhapthorne in his first body. However, by doing so, Rhapthorne is able to unleash his full power and incorporate the Black Citadel into himself, transforming himself into a massive devil looming over the land. [[Empyrea]] calls upon the {{Party 8}} to destroy Rhapthorne once and for all. The Sceptre of Trodain, imbued with Empyrea's essence, is now an essential weapon for the party, able to unlock the power of the seven orbs containing the spirits of the seven sages, to penetrate into Rhapthorne's mighty barrier and engage him in mortal combat. After finally ending the reign of Rhapthorne, the party restored peace to the world. King [[Trode]] and Princess [[Medea]] are changed back to their [[human]] forms, and the curse of [[Trodain]], along with its thorns, is lifted and removed.
At a certain point in the game, the party receives an [[Alchemy Pot]]. This device can be used to combine two items into a third (usually more powerful) item following various [[Alchemy recipe|recipes]]. The combination takes a certain amount of time, depending on the power of the combined item and the level of the pot. This "time" only advances as the wagon moves, on the overworld. Later in the game, the pot is upgraded to hold three items, allowing additional, even more powerful recipes.


An invalid recipe will be rejected immediately without consuming the items, allowing the player to experiment to find new recipes. In the Bonus Dungeon, the player gains a pot that can mix items instantly.
Seven months later, the {{Hero 8}} is assigned to escort Princess [[Medea]] to her arranged wedding with Prince [[Charmles]] of [[Argonia]]. After reuniting with his three friends, the {{Hero 8}} sets sail for [[Savella Cathedral]] with the king and princess. Prince Charmles meets with the entourage personally, and forbids the party from attending the ceremony within the cathedral. On the day of the wedding, the {{Hero 8}} manages to slip into the cathedral with Yangus' help. However, the Princess is nowhere to be found. The {{Hero 8}} escapes, and finds the Princess at the cathedral courtyard waiting for him. They return to Trodain in a carriage steered by King Trode, and live happily ever after.


New recipes (or clues to new recipes) are revealed in various books and scraps of paper found throughout the game. All recipes the player has discovered are listed in a "recipe book" accessed through the alchemy menu; recipes which are only partially known (from a clue) will have some item names replaced with "????."
An alternate ending can be achieved once the first ending has been viewed, which unlocks the [[Dragovian]] Realm. A well-experienced party of {{Party 8}} can challenge the [[Lord of the Dragovians]] at the [[Heavenly Dais]]. If successful, the {{Hero 8}}'s true origins are revealed, and the alternate ending will replace the first ending, where the player defeats Rhapthorne again. In the alternate ending, the {{Hero 8}} is revealed as the son of the lost Prince [[Eltrio]] of Argonia. His mother was a Dragovian maiden who escaped to the [[human]] world and met [[Clavius]]' older brother, but her father did not agree to the relationship and took her home. Following after, the Prince died just short of the Dragovian homeland. The {{Hero 8}} was born shortly afterwards, but sentenced to exile in the [[human]] world, as his birth took the life of his mother.  Ashamed for his actions, the maiden's father went with his only surviving kin, as the mouse {{Munchie}}. Upon defeating the Dragovian lord, who had become mad after trying to abandon his [[human]] form, gives the {{Hero 8}} his father's ring. Clavius, King of Argonia and Prince Charmles' father, acknowledges the {{Hero 8}}'s right to marry the Princess after seeing the ring, which allows him to finally feel at peace with his lost brother. The two are wed at Savella Cathedral, much to the scorn of Charmles, who is finally confronted by his father over his initiation test earlier in the story. The newlywed couple come out of the cathedral together and embrace each other, much to the surprise of the other party members. They return to Trodain in the same fashion as the first ending, and live happily ever after.
 
{{spoiler|end}}
=== Vehicles ===
[[Vehicle]]s are shown at their actual size, and the world map is scaled down appropriately when they are in use.
 
The [[ship]] has a bridge which it uses to dock with the land, and its altitude can be changed to match the shorter cliffs, if necessary.
 
The other available vehicles are a Sabrecat steed (summoned with a magic bell), which moves much faster than the hero, allowing the party to move further between random encounters (although they still occur at the same rate), and a feather, which allows the party to turn into birds.
 
Although the party has a [[wagon]] throughout the game, it has no effect on gameplay, since the party is essentially fixed throughout the game. Also, it is not normally shown on the display.
 
 
 
The player can also use the Godbird Soulstone, which can be obtained later.


==Characters==
==Characters==
[[Image:DQVIII_cast.png|right|border|325px|thumb|The main characters of ''Dragon Quest VIII''.]]
===Playable Characters===
===Playable Characters===
*[[Hero (Dragon Quest VIII)|Hero]] - The hero is a royal guard of Trodain, who journeys with King Trode to hunt down Dhoulmagus and make him pay for his crimes. His pet mouse, Munchie, always rides in his right coat pocket.
*{{Hero 8}} - The {{Hero 8}} is a royal guard of Trodain, who journeys with King Trode to hunt down Dhoulmagus and make him pay for his crimes. His pet mouse, Munchie, usually rides in his right coat pocket.


*[[Yangus]] - Yangus is a former bandit who journeys with the Hero and King Trode. Like the hero, he is a party member from the start of the game.
*[[Yangus]] - Yangus is a former bandit who journeys with the {{Hero 8}} and King Trode. Like the {{Hero 8}}, he is a party member from the start of the game.


*[[Jessica]] - A voluptuous, short-tempered, and tomboyish sorceress born to a wealthy family in the town of Alexandria, and the third party member. She seeks to avenge her brother Alistair, who is slain by Dhoulmagus.  
*[[Jessica Albert]] - A voluptuous, short-tempered, and tomboyish sorceress born to a wealthy family in the town of [[Alexandria]], and the third party member. She seeks to avenge her brother Alistair, who is slain by Dhoulmagus.


*[[Angelo]] - Angelo is one of Maella Abbey's Templar Knights and the fourth party member. Though unable to live with the strict moral code of the Templars, with his lust for gambling and women, he is faithfully devoted to Abbot Francisco.
*[[Angelo]] - Angelo is one of [[Maella Abbey]]'s Templar Knights and the fourth party member. Though unable to live with the strict moral code of the Templars, with his lust for gambling and women, he is faithfully devoted to [[Abbot Francisco]].


===Other Characters===
===Other Characters===
*[[King Trode]] - King Trode is the King of Trodain, and the titular character of ''Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King''. He was transformed into a toad-like creature by the evil wizard Dhoulmagus, and is trying to find a way to lift the curse upon him. During parts of the game, if you press the Select button, King Trode will give you helpful advice.
*King [[Trode]] - King [[Trode]] is the King of [[Trodain]], and the titular character of ''Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King''. He was transformed into a toad-like creature by the evil wizard [[Dhoulmagus]], and is trying to find a way to lift the curse upon him. During parts of the game, if you press the Select button, King [[Trode]] will give you helpful advice.


*[[Princess Medea]] - Medea is the daughter of King Trode. She was turned into a horse when her father was cursed by Dhoulmagus. She travels with the heroes by pulling the cart with their supplies. She and the Hero are close childhood friends.
*Princess [[Medea]] - [[Medea]] is the daughter of King [[Trode]]. She was turned into a horse when her father was cursed by [[Dhoulmagus]]. She travels with the {{Party 8}} by pulling the cart with their supplies. She and the {{Hero 8}} are close childhood friends.


*[[Marcello]] - Marcello is the captain of the Templar Knights who guard the Abbot with their lives. However, Marcello wants more power than was offered, and after he takes over following the Abbot's death, he becomes a partner to High Priest [[Rolo]]. With this opening, the resulting events that Marcello causes will set the stage for the fate of the world to be decided.
*[[Marcello]] - Marcello is the captain of the Templar Knights who guard the Abbot with their lives. However, Marcello wants more power than was offered, and after he takes over following the Abbot's death, he becomes a partner to High Priest [[Rolo]]. With this opening, the resulting events that Marcello causes will set the stage for the fate of the world to be decided.
Line 84: Line 64:
*[[Dhoulmagus]] - Dhoulmagus is a jester who, in order to get revenge on those who insulted him, stole a magical sceptre from Trodain Castle. However, when he attempted to unleash its power, it overwhelmed him, and allowed Rhapthorne to take over his body.
*[[Dhoulmagus]] - Dhoulmagus is a jester who, in order to get revenge on those who insulted him, stole a magical sceptre from Trodain Castle. However, when he attempted to unleash its power, it overwhelmed him, and allowed Rhapthorne to take over his body.


*[[Lord Rhapthorne]] - Lord Rhapthorne is the main antagonist who is heard, but isn't seen until the end of the game. His spirit was trapped in the Trodain sceptre that Dhoulmagus possessed in the beginning of the game. Lord Rhapthorne took control of whoever possessed the sceptre which was first Dhoulmagus, then Jessica, then a fearsome pet dog named Sir Leopold until he killed each heir of the seven sages to release his energy and give himself his own body
*Lord [[Rhapthorne]] - Lord Rhapthorne is the main antagonist who is heard, but isn't seen until the end of the game. His spirit was trapped in the Trodain sceptre that [[Dhoulmagus]] possessed in the beginning of the game. Lord [[Rhapthorne]] took control of whoever possessed the [[Godbird sceptre|sceptre]] which was first [[Dhoulmagus]], then {{Jessica}}, then a fearsome pet dog named [[Sir Leopold]] until he killed each heir of the seven sages to release his energy and give himself his own body.
 
*[[Red]] - [[Red]] is a thief who was an old mate of [[Yangus]]. She is interested in old, precious treasures. In the {{3DS}} version, she joins the party in hopes of finding valuable loot after being disappointed by a certain pirate's treasure.
 
*[[Morrie]] Mozzarella - [[Morrie]] is a mysterious, energetic older gentleman who runs the [[Monster Arena]] known as [[Morrie's Place]]. On {{3DS}}, he is the sole optional {{Party 8}} member. He can join the group if the {{Hero 8}} manages to impress him, beating Rank S.
 
==New Features==
===Player conveniences===
*Random encounters are suppressed as long as the party is on a road.
*There is an automap feature in dungeons, and complete maps of all towns. The locations and contents of chests are marked on the map. Also, it is possible to browse the inventory of the shops while looking at the town map.
*[[Party Chat|Party conversation]]s return from the previous installment, but it is now possible to either select which party member to talk to, or cycle through them in order.
*All items now have specific icons and illustrations, which can be viewed in the menu.
*The player can now select how long they wish to stay at an [[Inn]], changing the [[Day-night cycle|time of day]].
*In the event of a full party wipe out, all characters are automatically revived at the last [[church]] the game was saved at.
===Battle refinements===
*Individual monsters within groups can now be targeted.
*{{Wisdom}} now improves the power of offensive spells, addressing the infamous schism between the usefulness of magic and skills in {{VI}} and {{VII}}.
*A new command has been added to the battle menu, ''Intimidate''. The purpose of this option is to end battles quickly by driving monsters off, and each terrorized beast still has a chance to drop an item. Success is dependent on the lead character's level against the monster's, even if a character not in the lead is shown doing the intimidating.


==Plot==
===[[Alchemy]]===
{{spoiler|start}}
At a certain point in the early game, the party receives an [[Alchemy Pot]]. This device can be used to combine two items into a third (usually more powerful) item following various [[Alchemy recipe]]s. The combination takes a certain amount of time, depending on the power of the combined item and the level of the pot. This "time" only advances as the [[wagon]] moves, on the overworld. Later in the game, the pot is upgraded to hold three items, allowing additional, even more powerful recipes.
===Hunting for Dhoulmagus===
''Dragon Quest VIII'' begins when the evil jester Dhoulmagus steals a magical sceptre from Trodain Castle. With this powerful sceptre, he transforms the inhabitants of Trodain into plant-like statues, as well as changing the king into a toad-like monster and the princess into a horse, while covering the majority of the castle in large, green magical thorns. The Hero, a young Trodain guardsman, is the only resident to remain uncursed. Accompanying the cursed king and princess, he hunts Dhoulmagus, in hopes of restoring Trodain to its former glory. The Hero is eventually joined on his quest by three companions: a scarred, inarticulate bandit named Yangus, a wand-waving bimbo named Jessica, and Angelo, a rapier-wielding Templar Knight and self-proclaimed ladies' man. During their travels, the party runs into Dhoulmagus several times. A couple of these encounters involve Dhoulmagus killing someone beloved by members of the Hero's party. Individuals slain by Dhoulmagus include Alistair (Jessica's brother) and Abbot Francisco, who is head of the abbey where Angelo lives. The party finally tracks down Dhoulmagus to the Dark Ruins, where they find him recuperating, and finally face off against him. After his defeat, he tries to curse the party with his sceptre, but the hero is again unaffected by the curse, blocking the blast and sparing the other party members. Dhoulmagus then uses his menacing power to change into a hideous creature. However, even with his new powers, he is no match for the might of the heroes. Much to their surprise, however, they find that even with his defeat, the curse still has not been lifted. Concluding that something else must be maintaining the curse, they leave the ruins, with Jessica picking up Dhoulmagus' sceptre as they exit.


===The Next Owners of the Staff===
An invalid recipe will be rejected immediately without consuming the items, allowing the player to experiment to find new recipes. In the [[bonus dungeon]], the player gains a pot that can mix items instantly.
The next morning, the Hero and the others find to their surprise that Jessica is missing. While searching for her, the party enters a town called Arcadia, arriving just in time to save a magician named Dominico from an apparently-possessed Jessica wielding the Sceptre. After chastising David, his young servant, Dominico sends the heroes to find the Kran Spinels to aid in warding off Jessica. Once the heroes return with the jewels, Dominico uses them to create a more effective barrier against Jessica. While he prepares the incantation to erect the barrier, the party engages Jessica outside in an attempt to stall her, discovering in the process that her true objective is David, an heir of one of the seven great sages. After the battle, Dominico's barrier is able to release Jessica from her possession.


After recovery, Jessica reveals what her possessor had planned, as well as giving it a name -- Rhapthorne, The Lord of Darkness. His soul had previously been imprisoned inside the Sceptre by the seven sages, and he plots to remove the seals by killing their heirs as soon as possible. At that point, the party realizes the Sceptre is missing. They rush over to Dominico's estate, only to see that Rhapthorne has succeeded in mortally wounding David after taking control of Dominico's dog Sir Leopold as his next host. After Rhapthorne flees, David utteres his final words, as a repentant and grieving Dominico laments over him. With only two heirs left to kill, the possessed Sir Leopold absconds to the snowy mountain valley of the north. An old woman named Marta, who happens to be the one of the two remaining heirs, lives in the wintry countryside.
New recipes (or clues to new recipes) are revealed in various books and scraps of paper found throughout the game. All recipes the player has discovered are listed in a "recipe book" accessed through the alchemy menu; recipes which are only partially known (from a clue) will have some item names replaced with "????."


After running an errand for Marta and finding her son Marek, the party comes back to Marta's house only to see it set ablaze by Sir Leopold. Holding her son Marek hostage, Sir Leopold forces Marta to come out and face him. He manages to kill her, and flies away to find the last living heir. Enlisting the aid of the legendary godbird Empyrea, the party tracks Sir Leopold down to the Lord High Priest's mansion and engage him. After putting down the possessed Sir Leopold, he loses his grip on the Sceptre, and dies. The Lord High Priest goes into shock, and faints. Meanwhile, Marcello (the new abbot, and Angelo's half-brother) enters, and frames the party for attempting to assassinate the Lord High Priest, and has them exiled to Purgatory Island. Marcello picks up the Sceptre, but manages to resist Lord Rhapthorne's evil influence. He assumes his position of the Lord High Priest thereafter.
===[[Magic and Abilities#Skills|Skill]] system===
In addition to learning spells when reaching a certain level, characters are now able to attain new abilities by allocating skill points into one of five categories. The types of skills are the character's three favored weapon, unarmed combat, and the character's innate personality. Skill points are awarded upon leveling up, or when using a [[Seed of skill]]], and must be used immediately or the menu will not close.


===Imprisoned===
Because skills are now tied to specific weapon groups, only the abilities learned by developing a character's personality can be used at any time--all other skills are locked to that specific type of weapon. For example, Jessica may use [[Puff-Puff]] if she is equipped with a whip, but not [[Sudden Death]].
The party manages to escape from Purgatory Island, returning to face Marcello on the holy isle of Neos, and defeats him. In his weakened state, Marcello gives in to Rhapthorne's influence. With all seven sages killed, Rhapthorne is resurrected in flesh and blood. He transforms Neos into the Black Citadel, and raises it into the sky to stage his attack upon the world. The heroes battle their way through the Citadel and defeat Rhapthorne in his first body. However, by doing so, Rhapthorne is able to unleash his full power and incorporate the Black Citadel into himself, transforming himself into a massive devil looming over the land. Empyrea calls upon the heroes to destroy Rhapthorne once and for all. The Sceptre of Trodain, imbued with Empyrea's essence, is now an essential weapon for the party, able to unlock the power of the seven orbs containing the spirits of the seven sages, to penetrate into Rhapthorne's mighty barrier and engage him in mortal combat. After finally ending the reign of Rhapthorne, the party restored peace to the world. King Trode and Princess Medea are changed back to their human forms, and the curse of Trodain, along with its thorns, is lifted and removed.


===The Princess's Wedding===
===[[Tension]] system===
Seven months later, the Hero is assigned to escort Princess Medea to her arranged wedding with Prince Charmles of Argonia. After reuniting with his three friends, the hero sets sail for Savella Cathedral with the king and princess. Prince Charmles meets with the entourage personally, and forbids the party from attending the ceremony within the cathedral. On the day of the wedding, the Hero manages to slip into the cathedral with Yangus' help. However, the Princess is nowhere to be found. The Hero escapes, and finds the Princess at the cathedral courtyard waiting for him. They return to Trodain in a carriage steered by King Trode, and live happily ever after.
There is a new ''Dragon Ball''-inspired tension system, allowing combatants to spend a turn building up "tension," which will increase the power level of their next attack or spell. Tension can be built up repeatedly, increasing attack power by up to seven times. There is a new party AI option to focus on using high-tension attacks, replacing the old "Leave it to me" option.
Attempting to reach the fourth, "super-high tension" state has a 2/3rds chance of failure. Also, some monsters are able to instantly reach the third stage of tension, and will then repeatedly attempt to reach the super-high level.
 
===Other changes===
*Characters are shown holding their equipped weapons, posture changing on the type of weapon and their state of health and status. In a few cases the character's displayed clothing will change to reflect their equipment, seen most notably with Jessica's outfits.
*The battle screens are shown in a dynamic view, with shifting camera angles to display the current combatant and the action being performed. The party appears in the battle screen, unlike previous installments. At the end of the battle, an animation of the surviving party members putting away their weapons is played.
*The buildings in a town are visible even from the overworld view.
*The [[day-night cycle]] of games {{III}}, {{IV}}, and {{V}} is restored. Time now passes even in towns, and the party can use an [[inn]] to switch from day to night, as well as vice-versa. Thus, there is no longer a [[Night light]], or related spells.
*{{Style}} has been removed.
*Characters cannot be renamed.
*[[Vehicle]]s are shown at their actual size, and the world map is scaled down appropriately when they are in use. The [[ship]] has a bridge which it uses to dock with the land, and its altitude can be changed to match the shorter cliffs, if necessary.
*A Sabrecat steed replaces the traditional [[Flying Carpet]], and is unlocked via a sidequest at [[Chateau Felix]]. It moves much faster than the {{Hero 8}}, allowing the party to move further between random encounters (although they still occur at the same rate).
*Although the party has a [[wagon]] throughout the game, it has no effect on gameplay other than housing the [[Alchemy Pot]], since the party is essentially fixed throughout the game. Also, it is not normally shown on the display, only appearing during cutscenes or the [[Party Chat]] screen.


===Alternate Ending===
An "alternate ending" can be achieved once the first ending has been viewed, which unlocks the Dragovian Realm. A well-experienced party of heroes can challenge the Lord of the Dragovians at the Heavenly Dais. If successful, the hero's true origins are revealed, and the alternate ending will replace the first ending, where the player defeats Rhapthorne again. In the alternate ending, the Hero is revealed as the son of the lost prince of Argonia. His mother was a Dragovian maiden who escaped to the human world and met Clavius' older brother, but her father did not agree to the relationship and took her home. Following after, the Prince died just short of the Dragovian homeland. The hero was born shortly afterward, but sentenced to exile in the human world, as his birth took the life of his mother. Ashamed for his actions, the maiden's father went with his only surviving kin, as the mouse Munchie. Upon defeating the Dragovian lord, who had become mad after trying to abandon his human form, gives the Hero his father's ring. Clavius, King of Argonia and Prince Charmles' father, acknowledges the hero's right to marry the Princess after seeing the ring, which allows him to finally feel at peace with his lost brother. The two are wed at Savella Cathedral, much to the scorn of Charmles, who is finally confronted by his father over his initiation test earlier in the story. The newlywed couple come out of the cathedral together and embrace each other, much to the surprise of the other party members. They return to Trodain in the same fashion as the first ending, and live happily ever after.
{{spoiler|end}}


==Development==
==Development==
Like the other games in the series, ''Dragon Quest VIII'''s designers include Yuji Horii as scenario director, Akira Toriyama as the art designer, and Koichi Sugiyama as the music composer.
[[Image:DQVIII_3DS_Art.png|right|border|325px]]
''Dragon Quest VIII'''s designers include Yuji Horii as scenario director, [[Akira Toriyama]] as the art designer, [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] as the music composer, and the company [[Level-5]] handling development.
 
Preliminary development began 2001, with Sony's recently released {{PlayStation 2}} console being considered a logical choice thanks to its breakout sales figures and the popularity of the previous iteration of hardware. Troubled by the rough development period of the previous game and its mixed reception from fans, as well as the drastic changes taking place in the industry during the shift to the sixth generation of console hardware, Yuji Horii struggled to form fresh ideas for what would become the eighth game. During this time a representative of Enix, Tatsuhiro Watanabe, approached [[Akihiro Hino]] of Level-5 over the possibility of developing the next ''Dragon Quest'', explaining that he was deeply impressed with the quality of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Cloud Dark Cloud]. Hino initially declined the offer, being occupied with the development of Dark Cloud 2 and feeling that such a project was beyond him at the time. However, he and Watanabe would later meet at a drinking party where Hino would list off his several complaints about {{Dragon Quest VII}}. Watanabe responded to this by stating that if he loved the series enough to have so many issues with the latest game, then why not make the next one himself? The Watanabe piqued Hino's interest further by stating that Level-5 would have to develop a working prototype to be compared against other candidates.


Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American and European localizations of the game mark a departure from previous ''Dragon Quest'' titles, due to the inclusion of voice acting in certain parts of the adventure pertaining to the advancement of the storyline. The game nevertheless retains the series' tradition of allowing the player to name the lead character, reconciling the two by having the voice acting script skip all incidences of the hero's name (''e.g.'', the line, "Okay, [Hero], my boy..." appears onscreen, while the voice acting says, "Okay, my boy..."), and occasionally replacing the name with Yangus' nickname for the hero, "'guv" (as in "governor," pronounced with a Cockney accent) In addition, small changes, such as the removal of the traditional 8-bit sound effects that accompany attacks, and magic abilities, were made. Despite other games in the series being edited during localization for North America, ''Dragon Quest VIII'' has no editing in it. The English translation is credited to Plus Alpha Translations and AltJapan.
Hino's competitive spirit was fired up with the context of the selection process being framed as a contest, and Level-5 completed its prototype in December of 2001.  When it was presented to Horii for his evaluation, he was shocked by both the quality of the demo and the strong technical understanding of the {{PlayStation 2}} hardware the company demonstrated. Level-5 was selected as the developer of ''Dragon Quest VIII'' and Hino was appointed as the director, which caused much surprise among Japanese fans of the time as none of the company's staff had any prior involvement with the series. Regardless Hino and his staff proved themselves to be more than capable developers, with ''VIII'' being the only time that a title experienced no delays from its announcement to release.


Several characters from previous ''Dragon Quest'' games make a cameo appearance, among which are the Fighter and Warrior from ''Dragon Quest III''; Ragnar, Healie, and Torneko (here called Torneko Taloon, a combination of the names by which he's known in Japan and America) from ''Dragon Quest IV''; and the legendary bird Ramia from ''Dragon Quest III''. There is even an allusion to the Dracolord (Dragonlord) from ''Dragon Quest I ''present during the course of the game.
Being developed by Level-5, with many staffers being fans of the series since their childhood, ''VIII'' is a love letter to the entire franchise. Several characters from previous {{Main Series}} games make a cameo appearance, among which are the [[Martial Artist]] and [[Warrior]] from {{Dragon Quest III}}; {{Ragnar}}, [[Healie]], and [[Torneko Taloon]]  from {{Dragon Quest IV}}; There is even an [[Lord of the Dragovians|allusion]] to the [[Dragonlord]] from {{Dragon Quest}} present. Additionally, extra care was taken to ensure that the feel of the classic titles was maintained in all aspects, such as using a stopwatch to time how long it takes for the magic sound effect to play after a spell is cast to even the time spent opening and closing the menu compared to the 8-bit titles. Level-5's prowess with the {{PS2}} hardware also invigorated Toriyama and Sugiyama, who were able to rely on the company to realize the more detailed character designs and richer compositions they had prepared. In regards to the former, the staff watched several dozen hours of the anime adaptation of Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' in preparation for developing the walking, speaking, and battle animations.


===Localization===
===Localization===
''Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King'' was released in North America on November 15, 2005, and shipped with a playable ''Final Fantasy XII'' demo disc. Additions and changes to the North American version of ''Dragon Quest VIII'' include: voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, additional spells and attacks, and a new menu interface. It was also the first game in the ''Dragon Quest'' series to bear the original, Japanese "''Dragon Quest''" name (rather than "''Dragon Warrior''") in North America. ''Dragon Quest'''s North American name was changed, due to a trademark conflict with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game role-playing game] ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DragonQuest DragonQuest]'', which was published by wargame publisher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulations_Publications Simulations Publications] in the 1980s until the company's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy bankruptcy] in 1982 and purchase by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSR,_Inc. TSR, Inc.], which then published it as an alternate pen-and-paper RPG line to ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons Dungeons & Dragons]'' until 1987.  
''Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King'' was released in North America on November 15, 2005, and shipped with a playable ''[[Final Fantasy]] XII'' demo disc. Additions and changes to the North American version of ''Dragon Quest VIII'' include: voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, a new menu interface, and an extended ending sequence. It was also the first game in the ''Dragon Quest'' series to bear the original, Japanese "''Dragon Quest''" name (rather than "''Dragon Warrior''") in North America. ''Dragon Quest'''s North American name was changed, due to a trademark conflict with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game role-playing game] ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DragonQuest DragonQuest]'', which was published by wargame publisher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulations_Publications Simulations Publications] in the 1980s until the company's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy bankruptcy] in 1982 and purchase by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSR,_Inc. TSR, Inc.], which then published it as an alternate pen-and-paper RPG line to ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons Dungeons & Dragons]'' until 1987.
 
A demo disc for ''Dragon Quest VIII'' was released in America during the fall of 2005 through certain venues, including ''Shonen Jump'' magazine. ''Dragon Quest VIII'' is also the first flagship ''Dragon Quest'' game to be released in Europe. It was released in Europe on April 13, 2006, under the title ''Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King'', dropping the number. Unlike the North American version, the European version does not contain a ''Final Fantasy XII'' demo.
 
Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American and European localizations of the game include voice acting in nearly all cutscenes. The game nevertheless retains the series' tradition of allowing the player to name the lead character, avoiding issues by having the voice acting script skip all incidences of the {{Hero 8}}'s name by use of stand-in monikers and occasionally replacing the name with Yangus' nickname for the {{Hero 8}}, "Guv'" (as in "governor," pronounced with a Cockney accent). ''Dragon Quest VIII'' also marks the first time that no content was censored for the international release. The English translation is credited to Plus Alpha Translations and AltJapan.
 
==Mobile port==
Square Enix released a mobile port of ''Dragon Quest VIII'' on December 12, 2013 in Japan and on May 29th, 2014 worldwide. This [[Cell phone]) was based on the original Japanese release, so it lacked some features the western fans had come to love from the original release: orchestral soundtrack, voice acting, and the more intricate interface. Some of this version's characteristics and changes compared to the Japanese {{PS2}} version are:
*Basic phone utility changes.
*Touch control and other adaptations needed. The text boxes are much simplier and {{NPC}}s have a circular interaction area around them, for instance.
*Locked in portrait mode, cannot be played while on landscape mode.
*It's not compatible with controllers.
*[[Alchemy]] is instantaneous starting from this version. (The Dragovian reward is now 10 Super [[Seed of skill|Seeds of Skill]])
*Pots and barrels are destroyed on the spot.
*AI for {{Hero 8}}, as well as the removal of [[Dragon Soul]]
*Skill points don't need to be used immediately upon leveling up.
*Changes to certain spell and skills, like [[Pearly Gates]] using it's animation from the western {{PS2}} release.
*[[Trode]] has been removed from the battle record screen.
*Unlike the other versions of the game, it is only available in English and French in Europe.
 
==3DS remake==
The game was remade for the Nintendo 3DS and released in Japan on August 27, 2015, and in the US and Europe on January 20, 2017.
*Two new playable characters: [[Red]] and [[Morrie]]. The former is recruited automatically at certain point in the story, while the later can be obtained after beating Rank S in the [[Monster Arena]].
**Due to this, the S Rank Battle is delayed until the party defeats a [[Jessica Albert|boss]] in [[Arcadia]].
* This version has symbol encounters like most 3D {{Main Series}} games released after [[Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker|the first Joker game]]. To compensate for it's technical charge, the overall draw distance for trees and other elements was reduced.
*Colors are much more saturated than on any other version.
*Like in the mobile port, alchemy is instantaneous.
*New scenarios to get more context to the {{Hero 8}} and Princess [[Medea]]'s relationship, and [[Dhoulmagus]]'s original motives.
*A button on the lower screen allows players to access a variety of useful spells and items like [[Zoom]], [[Baumren's bell]] or the [[Alchemy Pot]] much faster.
*A side-story with [[Marcello]] and [[Juggerwroth]]. This sidestory is unlocked very near the end of the main story, and gives {{Party 8}} some insight on one of [[Rhapthorne]]'s strongest followers.
* A boss-rush type dungeon called [[Memories Lane]], available as a reward from the [[Lord of the Dragovians]]. This dungeon contains stronger versions of most of the bosses in the game, and a familiar [[Estark|superboss]].
* A new [[Monster Arena]] rank: Rank X. It becomes available after unlocking [[Morrie]].
*The Japanese release has orchestral soundtrack, by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. The Western release uses midi soundtracks.
*Japanese voice acting available for the first time.
*New English lines were recorded where needed (new scenarios, changes like Red's role, etc), and {{Jessica}}'s VA was replaced due to her original actress leaving the dubbing industry.
* New ending with [[Jessica Albert|a certain lady]] and some minor additional scenes leading to it were added.
*New sets of outfits for every playable character.
*The {{Hero 8}} keeps his bandana when going into high-[[tension]] mode, losing the super saiyan hair.
*Some of the most revealing outfits for Jessica were toned down or altered.
*Two scenes were toned down by censoring  [[David]] being forced to eat dog food and Marcello no longer stabbing himself with a dagger to snap himself out of Rapthorne's control.
*New [[Rarefied monster]]s that only appear under specific conditions, like [[Cherreevil Blossom]], [[Crème caraslime]], or [[Morrimp]].
*A [[Cameron's Codex|new camera mode]] is available. There are several sidequests related to it, giving players rare rewards. The last few quests contain a [[Stella|a character]] from {{Dragon Quest IX}}. The game includes a limited photo editor for pictures taken with the new mode.
*There is DLC equipment in this release, most notably [[Erdrick's Sword]].
*New items were added. With a couple of the new items, players to ride a [[Silver sabrecat|silver]] and a black great sabrecats.
*Some bosses, skills and spells were re-balanced. The most notable example is the [[Twin Dragon Lash]] skill being nerfed considerably.
*Princess [[Minnie]]'s rewards are expanded. Some include new weapons and even costumes.
*A [[Walking corpse]] operates a night shop in [[Arcadia]] where a [[Seed of skill] can be purchased once every 24 hours in real time.
 
==Trivia==
*''VIII'' is the first, and so far only, entry in the main series to begin with a battle sequence. This is a response to fan criticism of {{VII}}'s notoriously long prologue.
*On {{PS2}}, ''DQ VIII'' had synthesised music in Japan, and orchestral elsewhere. On {{3DS}}, the situation was the opposite: orchestral music in Japan, and synth everywhere else.
*[[Angelo]] cannot be seen in any of the game's box artworks despite joining the party early in the game.
 
==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Core design group
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario & game design
|[[Yuji Horii]]
|----------
|Character & monster design
|[[Akira Toriyama]]
|----------
|Music composer
|[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|----------
|Director
|[[Akihiro Hino]]
|----------
|rowspan="4 |Scenario staff
|Jin Fujisawa
|-
|Atsushi Narita
|-
|Amo Kamimura
|-
|Shigeki Nakadera
|----------
|}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Level-5 staff
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Programming director
|Yasuhiro Akasaka
|----------
|3D system programmer
|Kenji Matsusue
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Main programmer
|Tomohiro Misei
|-
|Yoichi Kawaguchi
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Battle system program
|Takayuki Kobayashi
|-
|Koji Chado
|-
|Mamoru Itagaki
|----------
|Motion systems & plug-ins
|Makoto Shikasho
|----------
|rowspan="9 |Scenario script
|Masahiro Noda
|-
|Yoshio Fukushima
|-
|Tetsu Konno
|-
|Yukinori Yamaguchi
|-
|Keiji Noda
|-
|Naohiro Ikeda
|-
|Takaharu Takesada
|-
|Kiyonori Tsutsumi
|-
|Kazuma Shinkawa
|----------
|Programming support
|Usuke Kumagai
|----------
|Character director
|Jun Sonobe
|----------
|Main character models & motion
|Akiyuki Tomita
|----------
|Sub-character design
|Tomokazu Arisaka
|----------
|rowspan="6 |Sub-character models & motion
|-
|Kengo Todaka
|-
|Shinya Hayakawa
|-
|Chie Sasaki
|-
|Hiroto Jinnouchi
|-
|Akiko Shigeto
|-
|Jun Suzuki
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Event motion
|Emiko Ikeuchi
|-
|Takashi Hara
|----------
|rowspan="6 |2D Graphics design
|Noriaki Sonoda
|-
|Miho Tanaka
|-
|Noriko Maruya
|-
|Kazuyuki Koga
|-
|Takahiro Koshio
|-
|Yukari Fujiki
|----------
|Event movie arrangement
|Eiji Ishii
|----------
|Monster & effects director
|Ken Motomura
|----------
|rowspan="12 |Monster models & motion
|Jun Maeda
|-
|Takahiro Fujimatsu
|-
|Takehiro Fujii
|-
|Tomoe Ueda
|-
|Yoshiaki Kusuda
|-
|Hiroshi Niwa
|-
|Hiroshi Sawano
|-
|Takayoshi Hirose
|-
|Kenichi Kurakari
|-
|Yuuki Kokubu
|-
|Takeshi Akasaka
|-
|Mineaki Sugata
|----------
|rowspan="4 |Effects design
|Yoshiaki Kōya
|-
|Rika Yamashita
|-
|Youhei Fujimura
|-
|Mitsuhito Nakajo
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Art directors
|Takayuki Sameshima
|-
|Kazunari Matsuo
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Original backgrounds
|Shinichi Matsumoto
|-
|Nobuyuki Yanai
|-
|Kaoru Minami
|----------
|rowspan="22 |Map graphics
|Naoko Mori
|-
|Miyuki Sumiyoshi
|-
|Noboru Tsuda
|-
|Tadahiro Masuya
|-
|Wataru Shimanouchi
|-
|Akari Uchino
|-
|Hisami Miyamoto
|-
|Daisuke Koga
|-
|Kōsuke Uemura
|-
|Yasuyoshi Sasaki
|-
|Tatsuya Asano
|-
|Hidenobu Sasaki
|-
|Kengo Okabe
|-
|Yasuhito Tsugimoto
|-
|Hiroshi Matsuyama
|-
|Tetsuya Maeda
|-
|Nahoko Kawabata
|-
|Satoshi Baba
|-
|Masako Arakawa
|-
|Daisuke Simakawa
|-
|Naotsugu Zushi
|-
|Yasuhiro Fukuyama
|----------
|Sound effects
|Dai Yamanaka
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Sound production support
|Tomohito Nishiura
|-
|Yumiko Hashizume
|-
|Takeshi Inoue
|----------
|rowspan="10 |Special thanks
|Takeshi Majima
|-
|Taku Tanaka
|-
|Jiro Morinaga
|-
|Keiji Nagao
|-
|Koji Hori
|-
|Noriko Ikeura
|-
|Tatsuru Nakaza
|-
|Yukiko Harada
|-
|Tomoko Hirayabu
|-
|Asako Fujita
|----------
|}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Music & vocal production
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Music
|Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kōichi Sugiyama
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Music programming
|Kōichi Sugiyama (SUGIYAMA KOBO)
|-
|Hidenori Miyanaga (TOSE)
|-
|Ryoue Takagi (TOSE)
|----------
|Dialogue production
|SIDE UK LTD.
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Voice casting
|Andy Emery
|-
|Cheryl Prince
|----------
|Voice direction
|Kate Saxon
|----------
|Sound engineer (dialogue)
|Ant Hales
|----------
|rowspan="11 |Lead actors
|Ricky Grover
|-
|Emma Ferguson
|-
|Blake Ritson (as Blake Riston)
|-
|Jon Glover
|-
|Victoria Shalet
|-
|Josh Cohen
|-
|Keith Wickham
|-
|Brian Bowels
|-
|Richard Pearce
|-
|Jessica Martin
|-
|Jonathan Keeble
|----------
|rowspan="25 |Other actors
|Kerry Shale
|-
|Sarah Hadland
|-
|Cate Debenham
|-
|Morwenna Banks
|-
|Simon Greenall
|-
|Stephen Grief
|-
|David Holt
|-
|Eve Karpf
|-
|Jo Wyatt
|-
|Jon Voce
|-
|Jonathan Kydd
|-
|Peter Dickson
|-
|Ewan Bailey
|-
|Emma Tate
|-
|Robbie Stevens
|-
|Stephen Critchlow
|-
|Caroline Bernstein
|-
|Lewis Macleod
|-
|Maria Darling
|-
|Mark Silk
|-
|Walter Lewis
|-
|Rob Rackstraw
|-
|Laurel Lefkow
|-
|Rupert Degas
|-
|Jack Burke
|----------
|}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Square Enix Co., Ltd.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Project management Division 4th Unit - General Manager
|Yū Miyake
|----------
|Project management Division 4th Unit - Public Relations
|Ryoichi Kuramochi
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Project management Division 4th Unit - Staff
|Takamasa Shiba
|-
|Hiroshi Satō
|-
|Mayumi Takita
|----------
|Localization director
|Jin Kimura
|----------
|Translation director
|Richard Mark Honeywood
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Translators
|Will Blatchley (PLUS ALPHA TRANSLATIONS)
|-
|Clare Saracine (PLUS ALPHA TRANSLATIONS)
|-
|Matt Alt (ALTJAPAN)
|-
|Hiroko Yoda (ALTJAPAN)
|----------
|Localization editor
|Morgan Rushton
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Localization assistants
|Naima Yamamoto
|-
|Mizue Uda
|----------
|Other localization staff
|Yuko Tomizawa
|----------
|Localization general manager
|Masashi Hiramatsu
|----------
|QA coordinator
|Koji Numata
|----------
|QA assistant planner
|Mikihiro Hayashi
|----------
|rowspan="2 |QA technical engineers
|Kazuya Okamoto
|-
|Hisato Iwatsuki
|----------
|QA technical assistants
|Yusuke Sadamasa
|----------
|QA senior tester
|Minako Ikeda
|----------
|rowspan="8 |QA testers
|Masaki Nakamura
|-
|Akira Morishita
|-
|Yasuhiro Hayashida
|-
|Kenichi Yamamoto
|-
|Mei Ito
|-
|Takaaki Hagiwara
|-
|Shinya Kawamura
|-
|...and all other QA staff
|----------
|QA technical director
|Hideyuki Kato
|----------
|QA manager
|Yukihiro Shibuya
|----------
|QA general manager
|Koji Yamashita
|----------
|Senior vice president & General Manager (publicity)
|Koji Taguchi
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Publicity staff
|Minako Gotō
|-
|Ayako Kawamoto
|-
|Makiko Noda
|----------
|rowspan="4 |Ratings advisors
|Hiroko Hamada
|-
|Reiko Kondo
|-
|Sueko Kogai
|-
|Akira Kashiwagi
|----------
|Legal manager
|Ayako Hino
|----------
|rowspan="6 |Special thanks
|SUGIYAMA KOBO
|-
|Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru
|-
|Kaori Okada
|-
|Keiji Honda
|-
|Katrin Darolle
|-
|Hiroshi Hatajima (GAL ENTERPRISE)
|----------
|rowspan="4 |Assistant producers
|Eisuke Yokoyama
|-
|Noriyoshi Fujimoto
|-
|Naofumi Matsushita
|-
|Naomi Ozawa
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Producers
|Ryutaro Ichimura
|-
|Yoshiki Watabe
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Chief producers
|Yū Miyake
|-
|Taichi Inuzuka
|----------
|General producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|Publisher
|Yōichi Wada
|----------
|}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Square Enix, Inc.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Quality assurance manager
|David Carrillo (Ribs)
|----------
|Assistant QA manager
|Mohammed A. C. Wright
|----------
|Senior QA coordinator
|Aaron J. Adams
|----------
|QA associate
|Jason Sanders
|----------
|QA coordinator
|Mathew A. Clift
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Assistant coordinators
|Alfred Holz
|-
|Greg Melancon
|-
|Robert Allen Peeler
|----------
|rowspan="20| QA team
|Sam Baek
|-
|Cheryl Baker
|-
|Tim Bui
|-
|Carmelo Cabezo
|-
|John Clark
|-
|Kythera Contreras
|-
|Jesyka D'Itri
|-
|John Fournier
|-
|Jeremy G. F. Goldsmith
|-
|Chandler Green
|-
|Cassidy Hammermeister
|-
|Isagani Camangian
|-
|Alicia Y. Kim (Alicia Kim)
|-
|Harley Meeks
|-
|Max P. Mena
|-
|Matt Sanchez
|-
|Lila Shin
|-
|Adam Raun
|-
|Steven Ray
|-
|Kien Trieu
|----------
|rowspan="3 |QA translators
|Arthur T. Kawamoto
|-
|Emi Bliss
|-
|Kazuo M. Tanaka
|----------
|Localization manager
|Yutaka Sano
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Public relations
|Sonia Im
|-
|Kumiko Hakushi
|-
|Frederick K. Hashi
|----------
|rowspan="4 |Product marketing
|Fernando Bustamante
|-
|Felice V. Wu
|-
|Philip Ser
|-
|Dais Kawaguchi
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Marketing communications
|Patrick H. Cervantes
|-
|Jonathan Cooperson
|-
|Tim Law
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Sales
|Alaine C. de Leon
|-
|Traci Jones, Shundea K. Brooks
|----------
|Legal counsel
|Neal Black
|----------
|Executive director, Sales & Marketing
|Shinji Futami
|----------
|Senior vice president
|Shinji Hashimoto
|----------
|President & COO
|Daishiro Okada
|}
 


In 2003, Square Enix registered the ''Dragon Quest'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark trademark] in the US, making the "''Dragon Warrior''" name obsolete. Thus, this installment of the series was the first after 2003 to be released outside of Japan and to receive the word "''Quest''" in its title.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Square Enix, Ltd.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|President and CEO
|John Yamamoto
|----------
|Senior vice president
|Tomohiro Yoshikai
|----------
|Senior vice president - sales and marketing
|Michael Sherlock
|----------
|Senior European marketing manager
|David Dyett
|----------
|Marketing communications manager
|Stéphanie Journau
|----------
|rowspan="2 |PR managers
|Alex Huhtala
|-
|Charlotte Fraczek
|----------
|Associate manager - marketing & PR
|Abbass Hussain
|----------
|Chief of production department
|Sebastian Ohsan Berthelsen
|----------
|Associate localisation producer
|Yuko Tomizawa
|----------
|QA supervisor
|André Woitczyk
|----------
|Technical assistance
|Alex Moresby
|----------
|QA coordinator (English team)
|Morgan Rushton
|----------
|QA coordinator (French team)
|Isaak Vié
|----------
|QA coordinator (German team)
|Stefanie Jahn
|----------
|rowspan="2 |QA coordinators (Italian team)
|Alessandro Bovenzi
|-
|Carlo Trevisan
|----------
|QA coordinator (Spanish team)
|Ricardo Robredo Quintana
|----------
|rowspan="5 |English QA team
|Lao Akintoye
|-
|Oli Chance
|-
|Alex De Moller
|-
|Sofie Dodgson
|-
|Liban Hassan
|----------
|rowspan="7 |French QA team
|Cindy Bamba
|-
|Julien Bouille
|-
|Laure Deslandes
|-
|Eric Lestang
|-
|Jess Mallevre
|-
|Selçuk Sarpdag
|-
|Dimitri Siger-Perian
|----------
|rowspan="9 |German QA team
|Jay S. Bannmüller
|-
|David Gudisch
|-
|Inna Kaysina
|-
|Larissa Kogleck
|-
|Alastair Morse
|-
|Nora Neye
|-
|Miika Virtanen
|-
|Matthias Winter
|-
|Joe Witt
|----------
|rowspan="6 |Italian QA team
|Dario de Cesare
|-
|Rachele Dini
|-
|Mario Donisi
|-
|Enrico Ghira
|-
|Lorenzo Grimaldi
|-
|Riccardo Rossi
|----------
|rowspan="8 |Spanish QA team
|Ivette Bermúdez Cañete
|-
|Juan Carlos Chaparro
|-
|Álvaro Fernández González
|-
|Iria Lamas Pérez
|-
|Ana Lastra Álvarez
|-
|Raúl Nieto García
|-
|Píndaro Vargas-Farías
|-
|Alejandro Vivancos Galiano
|----------
|rowspan="3 |Localisation team
|Stefanie Deinet
|-
|Geneviève Marier-Howard
|-
|Rafael Rios Perez
|----------
|rowspan="18 |Special thanks to
|Katrin Darolle
|-
|Antonio Marfuggi
|-
|Joshua Wong
|-
|Ikuyo Sanford
|-
|Rustam Roy
|-
|Kumiko Kondo
|-
|Tomoko Nunomura
|-
|Toshio Murouchi
|-
|Michel Sainisch
|-
|Phil Spencer
|-
|Mark Bulley
|-
|Saori Hill
|-
|Andy Clark
|-
|Andi Ewington
|-
|Jo Wain
|-
|Anthony Hinds
|-
|Kirk O'Connor
|-
|Jim Smith
|}
==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQVIII Promo Poster2.jpg|A Japanese promotional poster for the game.
DQVIIIPS2_box_art.jpg|{{PlayStation 2}}. (NA)
DQVIIIPS2_Europe.png|PlayStation 2. (EU)
DQVIII soundtrack.png|Soundtrack.
DQVIII 4koma comics.png|4koma comics.
DQVIII_3DS_Japan.png|{{3DS}} box. (Japan)
DQVIII_3DS_box.png|3DS box. (NA)
DQVIII 3DS wallpaper.png|
Dragon Quest VIII 3DS wallpaper.png|
DQVIII Main Characters.png|V Jump cover art.
Monster Battle Victory DQ VIII group.png|''Monster Battle Victory'' splash art.
</gallery></center>


A demo disc for ''Dragon Quest VIII'' was released in America during the fall of 2005 through certain venues, including ''Shonen Jump'' magazine. ''Dragon Quest VIII'' is also the first flagship ''Dragon Quest'' game to be released in Europe. It was released in Europe on April 13, 2006, under the title ''Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King'', dropping the sequel number. Unlike the North American version, the European version does not contain a ''Final Fantasy XII'' demo.
== External links ==
* [http://www.dragonquest8.com/ Official site] (Dead link)
* [https://www.jp.square-enix.com/game/detail/dq8/ Square-Enix site] (in Japanese)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161227131656/http://dragonquest.nintendo.com/dq8/ Official website for 3DS version], 2016 snapshot (The original site is now dead.)


==References==
Smartphone version sites:
{{Wikipedia|Dragon Warrior VIII}}
* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.android_googleplay.dq8 Google Play Store page]
{{Wikipedia-ja|ドラゴンクエストVIII_空と海と大地と呪われし姫君}}
* [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dragon-quest-viii/id862972069 App Store page]
* [https://www.jp.square-enix.com/dqsp/dq8/ Official site] (in Japanese)


{{DQVIII}}
{{DQVIII}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}
[[Category:Dragon Quest VIII]]
 
[[Category:Dragon Quest VIII|*!]]
[[Category:Articles on Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Articles on Wikipedia]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2 games]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS games]]
[[Category:Android/iOS games]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Quest 08}}

Revision as of 08:05, 18 May 2023

Dragon Quest VIII (ドラゴンクエストVIII 空と海と大地と呪われし姫君 Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi, Dragon Quest VIII: The Sky, the Ocean, the Earth, and the Cursed Princess) is the eighth installment in the Dragon Quest series, developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was also later released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2015.

Plot

Warning: Spoilers!
Click expand to view content

Dragon Quest VIII begins when the evil jester Dhoulmagus steals a magical sceptre from Trodain Castle. With this powerful sceptre, he transforms the inhabitants of Trodain into plant-like statues, as well as changing the king into a toad-like monster and the princess into a horse, while covering the majority of the castle in large, green magical thorns. The Hero, a young Trodain guardsman, is the only resident to remain uncursed. Accompanying the cursed king and princess, he hunts Dhoulmagus, in hopes of restoring Trodain to its former glory. The Hero is eventually joined on his quest by three companions: a scarred, inarticulate bandit named Yangus, a wand-waving tomboy named Jessica Albert, and Angelo, a rapier-wielding Templar Knight and self-proclaimed ladies' man. During their travels, the party runs into Dhoulmagus several times. A couple of these encounters involve Dhoulmagus killing someone beloved by members of the Hero's party. Individuals slain by Dhoulmagus include Alistair (Jessica's brother) and Abbot Francisco, who is head of the abbey where Angelo lives. The party finally tracks down Dhoulmagus to the Dark Ruins, where they find him recuperating, and finally face off against him. After his defeat, he tries to curse the party with his sceptre, but the Hero is again unaffected by the curse, blocking the blast and sparing the other party members. Dhoulmagus then uses his menacing power to change into a hideous creature. However, even with his new powers, he is no match for the might of the party. Much to their surprise, however, they find that even with his defeat, the curse still has not been lifted. Concluding that something else must be maintaining the curse, they leave the ruins, with Jessica picking up Dhoulmagus' sceptre as they exit.

The next morning, the Hero and the others find to their surprise that Jessica is missing. While searching for her, the party enters a town called Arcadia, arriving just in time to save a magician named Dominico from an apparently-possessed Jessica wielding the Sceptre. After chastising David, his young servant, Dominico sends the party to find the Kran Spinels to aid in warding off Jessica. Once the party return with the jewels, Dominico uses them to create a more effective barrier against Jessica. While he prepares the incantation to erect the barrier, the party engages Jessica outside in an attempt to stall her, discovering in the process that her true objective is David, an heir of one of the seven great sages. After the battle, Dominico's barrier is able to release Jessica from her possession.

After recovery, Jessica reveals what her possessor had planned, as well as giving it a name -- Rhapthorne, The Lord of Darkness. His soul had previously been imprisoned inside the Sceptre by the Seven Sages, and he plots to remove the seals by killing their heirs as soon as possible. At that point, the party realizes the Sceptre is missing. They rush over to Dominico's estate, only to see that Rhapthorne has succeeded in mortally wounding David after taking control of Dominico's dog Sir Leopold as his next host. After Rhapthorne flees, David utteres his final words, as a repentant and grieving Dominico laments over him. With only two heirs left to kill, the possessed Sir Leopold absconds to the snowy mountain valley of the north. An old woman named Marta, who happens to be the one of the two remaining heirs, lives in the wintry countryside.

After running an errand for Marta and finding her son Marek, the party comes back to Marta's house only to see it set ablaze by Sir Leopold. Holding her son Marek hostage, Sir Leopold forces Marta to come out and face him. He manages to kill her, and flies away to find the last living heir. Enlisting the aid of the legendary godbird Empyrea, the party tracks Sir Leopold down to the Lord High Priest's mansion and engage him. After putting down the possessed Sir Leopold, he loses his grip on the Sceptre, and dies. The Lord High Priest goes into shock, and faints. Meanwhile, Marcello (the new abbot, and Angelo's half-brother) enters, and frames the party for attempting to assassinate the Lord High Priest, and has them exiled to Purgatory Island. Marcello picks up the Sceptre, but manages to resist Lord Rhapthorne's evil influence. He assumes his position of the Lord High Priest thereafter.

The party manages to escape from Purgatory Island, returning to face Marcello on the Holy Isle of Neos, and defeats him. In his weakened state, Marcello gives in to Rhapthorne's influence. With all seven sages killed, Rhapthorne is resurrected in flesh and blood. He transforms Neos into the Black Citadel, and raises it into the sky to stage his attack upon the world. The party battle their way through the Citadel and defeat Rhapthorne in his first body. However, by doing so, Rhapthorne is able to unleash his full power and incorporate the Black Citadel into himself, transforming himself into a massive devil looming over the land. Empyrea calls upon the party to destroy Rhapthorne once and for all. The Sceptre of Trodain, imbued with Empyrea's essence, is now an essential weapon for the party, able to unlock the power of the seven orbs containing the spirits of the seven sages, to penetrate into Rhapthorne's mighty barrier and engage him in mortal combat. After finally ending the reign of Rhapthorne, the party restored peace to the world. King Trode and Princess Medea are changed back to their human forms, and the curse of Trodain, along with its thorns, is lifted and removed.

Seven months later, the Hero is assigned to escort Princess Medea to her arranged wedding with Prince Charmles of Argonia. After reuniting with his three friends, the Hero sets sail for Savella Cathedral with the king and princess. Prince Charmles meets with the entourage personally, and forbids the party from attending the ceremony within the cathedral. On the day of the wedding, the Hero manages to slip into the cathedral with Yangus' help. However, the Princess is nowhere to be found. The Hero escapes, and finds the Princess at the cathedral courtyard waiting for him. They return to Trodain in a carriage steered by King Trode, and live happily ever after.

An alternate ending can be achieved once the first ending has been viewed, which unlocks the Dragovian Realm. A well-experienced party of party can challenge the Lord of the Dragovians at the Heavenly Dais. If successful, the Hero's true origins are revealed, and the alternate ending will replace the first ending, where the player defeats Rhapthorne again. In the alternate ending, the Hero is revealed as the son of the lost Prince Eltrio of Argonia. His mother was a Dragovian maiden who escaped to the human world and met Clavius' older brother, but her father did not agree to the relationship and took her home. Following after, the Prince died just short of the Dragovian homeland. The Hero was born shortly afterwards, but sentenced to exile in the human world, as his birth took the life of his mother. Ashamed for his actions, the maiden's father went with his only surviving kin, as the mouse Munchie. Upon defeating the Dragovian lord, who had become mad after trying to abandon his human form, gives the Hero his father's ring. Clavius, King of Argonia and Prince Charmles' father, acknowledges the Hero's right to marry the Princess after seeing the ring, which allows him to finally feel at peace with his lost brother. The two are wed at Savella Cathedral, much to the scorn of Charmles, who is finally confronted by his father over his initiation test earlier in the story. The newlywed couple come out of the cathedral together and embrace each other, much to the surprise of the other party members. They return to Trodain in the same fashion as the first ending, and live happily ever after.

Characters

The main characters of Dragon Quest VIII.

Playable Characters

  • Hero - The Hero is a royal guard of Trodain, who journeys with King Trode to hunt down Dhoulmagus and make him pay for his crimes. His pet mouse, Munchie, usually rides in his right coat pocket.
  • Yangus - Yangus is a former bandit who journeys with the Hero and King Trode. Like the Hero, he is a party member from the start of the game.
  • Jessica Albert - A voluptuous, short-tempered, and tomboyish sorceress born to a wealthy family in the town of Alexandria, and the third party member. She seeks to avenge her brother Alistair, who is slain by Dhoulmagus.
  • Angelo - Angelo is one of Maella Abbey's Templar Knights and the fourth party member. Though unable to live with the strict moral code of the Templars, with his lust for gambling and women, he is faithfully devoted to Abbot Francisco.

Other Characters

  • King Trode - King Trode is the King of Trodain, and the titular character of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. He was transformed into a toad-like creature by the evil wizard Dhoulmagus, and is trying to find a way to lift the curse upon him. During parts of the game, if you press the Select button, King Trode will give you helpful advice.
  • Princess Medea - Medea is the daughter of King Trode. She was turned into a horse when her father was cursed by Dhoulmagus. She travels with the party by pulling the cart with their supplies. She and the Hero are close childhood friends.
  • Marcello - Marcello is the captain of the Templar Knights who guard the Abbot with their lives. However, Marcello wants more power than was offered, and after he takes over following the Abbot's death, he becomes a partner to High Priest Rolo. With this opening, the resulting events that Marcello causes will set the stage for the fate of the world to be decided.
  • Sir Leopold - He is the spoiled dog of the great magician Dominico. Leopold is let out of his cage by the mistake of a servant, and after the previous wielder of the Sceptre drops it, Leopold picks it up and is taken over by Rhapthorne.
  • Dhoulmagus - Dhoulmagus is a jester who, in order to get revenge on those who insulted him, stole a magical sceptre from Trodain Castle. However, when he attempted to unleash its power, it overwhelmed him, and allowed Rhapthorne to take over his body.
  • Lord Rhapthorne - Lord Rhapthorne is the main antagonist who is heard, but isn't seen until the end of the game. His spirit was trapped in the Trodain sceptre that Dhoulmagus possessed in the beginning of the game. Lord Rhapthorne took control of whoever possessed the sceptre which was first Dhoulmagus, then Jessica, then a fearsome pet dog named Sir Leopold until he killed each heir of the seven sages to release his energy and give himself his own body.
  • Red - Red is a thief who was an old mate of Yangus. She is interested in old, precious treasures. In the 3DS version, she joins the party in hopes of finding valuable loot after being disappointed by a certain pirate's treasure.

New Features

Player conveniences

  • Random encounters are suppressed as long as the party is on a road.
  • There is an automap feature in dungeons, and complete maps of all towns. The locations and contents of chests are marked on the map. Also, it is possible to browse the inventory of the shops while looking at the town map.
  • Party conversations return from the previous installment, but it is now possible to either select which party member to talk to, or cycle through them in order.
  • All items now have specific icons and illustrations, which can be viewed in the menu.
  • The player can now select how long they wish to stay at an Inn, changing the time of day.
  • In the event of a full party wipe out, all characters are automatically revived at the last church the game was saved at.

Battle refinements

  • Individual monsters within groups can now be targeted.
  • Wisdom now improves the power of offensive spells, addressing the infamous schism between the usefulness of magic and skills in VI and VII.
  • A new command has been added to the battle menu, Intimidate. The purpose of this option is to end battles quickly by driving monsters off, and each terrorized beast still has a chance to drop an item. Success is dependent on the lead character's level against the monster's, even if a character not in the lead is shown doing the intimidating.

Alchemy

At a certain point in the early game, the party receives an Alchemy Pot. This device can be used to combine two items into a third (usually more powerful) item following various Alchemy recipes. The combination takes a certain amount of time, depending on the power of the combined item and the level of the pot. This "time" only advances as the wagon moves, on the overworld. Later in the game, the pot is upgraded to hold three items, allowing additional, even more powerful recipes.

An invalid recipe will be rejected immediately without consuming the items, allowing the player to experiment to find new recipes. In the bonus dungeon, the player gains a pot that can mix items instantly.

New recipes (or clues to new recipes) are revealed in various books and scraps of paper found throughout the game. All recipes the player has discovered are listed in a "recipe book" accessed through the alchemy menu; recipes which are only partially known (from a clue) will have some item names replaced with "????."

Skill system

In addition to learning spells when reaching a certain level, characters are now able to attain new abilities by allocating skill points into one of five categories. The types of skills are the character's three favored weapon, unarmed combat, and the character's innate personality. Skill points are awarded upon leveling up, or when using a Seed of skill], and must be used immediately or the menu will not close.

Because skills are now tied to specific weapon groups, only the abilities learned by developing a character's personality can be used at any time--all other skills are locked to that specific type of weapon. For example, Jessica may use Puff-Puff if she is equipped with a whip, but not Sudden Death.

Tension system

There is a new Dragon Ball-inspired tension system, allowing combatants to spend a turn building up "tension," which will increase the power level of their next attack or spell. Tension can be built up repeatedly, increasing attack power by up to seven times. There is a new party AI option to focus on using high-tension attacks, replacing the old "Leave it to me" option. Attempting to reach the fourth, "super-high tension" state has a 2/3rds chance of failure. Also, some monsters are able to instantly reach the third stage of tension, and will then repeatedly attempt to reach the super-high level.

Other changes

  • Characters are shown holding their equipped weapons, posture changing on the type of weapon and their state of health and status. In a few cases the character's displayed clothing will change to reflect their equipment, seen most notably with Jessica's outfits.
  • The battle screens are shown in a dynamic view, with shifting camera angles to display the current combatant and the action being performed. The party appears in the battle screen, unlike previous installments. At the end of the battle, an animation of the surviving party members putting away their weapons is played.
  • The buildings in a town are visible even from the overworld view.
  • The day-night cycle of games III, IV, and V is restored. Time now passes even in towns, and the party can use an inn to switch from day to night, as well as vice-versa. Thus, there is no longer a Night light, or related spells.
  • Style has been removed.
  • Characters cannot be renamed.
  • Vehicles are shown at their actual size, and the world map is scaled down appropriately when they are in use. The ship has a bridge which it uses to dock with the land, and its altitude can be changed to match the shorter cliffs, if necessary.
  • A Sabrecat steed replaces the traditional Flying Carpet, and is unlocked via a sidequest at Chateau Felix. It moves much faster than the Hero, allowing the party to move further between random encounters (although they still occur at the same rate).
  • Although the party has a wagon throughout the game, it has no effect on gameplay other than housing the Alchemy Pot, since the party is essentially fixed throughout the game. Also, it is not normally shown on the display, only appearing during cutscenes or the Party Chat screen.


Development

DQVIII 3DS Art.png

Dragon Quest VIII's designers include Yuji Horii as scenario director, Akira Toriyama as the art designer, Kōichi Sugiyama as the music composer, and the company Level-5 handling development.

Preliminary development began 2001, with Sony's recently released PlayStation 2 console being considered a logical choice thanks to its breakout sales figures and the popularity of the previous iteration of hardware. Troubled by the rough development period of the previous game and its mixed reception from fans, as well as the drastic changes taking place in the industry during the shift to the sixth generation of console hardware, Yuji Horii struggled to form fresh ideas for what would become the eighth game. During this time a representative of Enix, Tatsuhiro Watanabe, approached Akihiro Hino of Level-5 over the possibility of developing the next Dragon Quest, explaining that he was deeply impressed with the quality of Dark Cloud. Hino initially declined the offer, being occupied with the development of Dark Cloud 2 and feeling that such a project was beyond him at the time. However, he and Watanabe would later meet at a drinking party where Hino would list off his several complaints about Dragon Quest VII. Watanabe responded to this by stating that if he loved the series enough to have so many issues with the latest game, then why not make the next one himself? The Watanabe piqued Hino's interest further by stating that Level-5 would have to develop a working prototype to be compared against other candidates.

Hino's competitive spirit was fired up with the context of the selection process being framed as a contest, and Level-5 completed its prototype in December of 2001. When it was presented to Horii for his evaluation, he was shocked by both the quality of the demo and the strong technical understanding of the PlayStation 2 hardware the company demonstrated. Level-5 was selected as the developer of Dragon Quest VIII and Hino was appointed as the director, which caused much surprise among Japanese fans of the time as none of the company's staff had any prior involvement with the series. Regardless Hino and his staff proved themselves to be more than capable developers, with VIII being the only time that a title experienced no delays from its announcement to release.

Being developed by Level-5, with many staffers being fans of the series since their childhood, VIII is a love letter to the entire franchise. Several characters from previous Dragon Quest games make a cameo appearance, among which are the Martial Artist and Warrior from Dragon Quest III; Ragnar, Healie, and Torneko Taloon from Dragon Quest IV; There is even an allusion to the Dragonlord from Dragon Quest present. Additionally, extra care was taken to ensure that the feel of the classic titles was maintained in all aspects, such as using a stopwatch to time how long it takes for the magic sound effect to play after a spell is cast to even the time spent opening and closing the menu compared to the 8-bit titles. Level-5's prowess with the PS2 hardware also invigorated Toriyama and Sugiyama, who were able to rely on the company to realize the more detailed character designs and richer compositions they had prepared. In regards to the former, the staff watched several dozen hours of the anime adaptation of Toriyama's Dragon Ball in preparation for developing the walking, speaking, and battle animations.

Localization

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King was released in North America on November 15, 2005, and shipped with a playable Final Fantasy XII demo disc. Additions and changes to the North American version of Dragon Quest VIII include: voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, a new menu interface, and an extended ending sequence. It was also the first game in the Dragon Quest series to bear the original, Japanese "Dragon Quest" name (rather than "Dragon Warrior") in North America. Dragon Quest's North American name was changed, due to a trademark conflict with the role-playing game DragonQuest, which was published by wargame publisher Simulations Publications in the 1980s until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, Inc., which then published it as an alternate pen-and-paper RPG line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987.

A demo disc for Dragon Quest VIII was released in America during the fall of 2005 through certain venues, including Shonen Jump magazine. Dragon Quest VIII is also the first flagship Dragon Quest game to be released in Europe. It was released in Europe on April 13, 2006, under the title Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King, dropping the number. Unlike the North American version, the European version does not contain a Final Fantasy XII demo.

Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American and European localizations of the game include voice acting in nearly all cutscenes. The game nevertheless retains the series' tradition of allowing the player to name the lead character, avoiding issues by having the voice acting script skip all incidences of the Hero's name by use of stand-in monikers and occasionally replacing the name with Yangus' nickname for the Hero, "Guv'" (as in "governor," pronounced with a Cockney accent). Dragon Quest VIII also marks the first time that no content was censored for the international release. The English translation is credited to Plus Alpha Translations and AltJapan.

Mobile port

Square Enix released a mobile port of Dragon Quest VIII on December 12, 2013 in Japan and on May 29th, 2014 worldwide. This [[Cell phone]) was based on the original Japanese release, so it lacked some features the western fans had come to love from the original release: orchestral soundtrack, voice acting, and the more intricate interface. Some of this version's characteristics and changes compared to the Japanese PS2 version are:

  • Basic phone utility changes.
  • Touch control and other adaptations needed. The text boxes are much simplier and NPCs have a circular interaction area around them, for instance.
  • Locked in portrait mode, cannot be played while on landscape mode.
  • It's not compatible with controllers.
  • Alchemy is instantaneous starting from this version. (The Dragovian reward is now 10 Super Seeds of Skill)
  • Pots and barrels are destroyed on the spot.
  • AI for Hero, as well as the removal of Dragon Soul
  • Skill points don't need to be used immediately upon leveling up.
  • Changes to certain spell and skills, like Pearly Gates using it's animation from the western PS2 release.
  • Trode has been removed from the battle record screen.
  • Unlike the other versions of the game, it is only available in English and French in Europe.

3DS remake

The game was remade for the Nintendo 3DS and released in Japan on August 27, 2015, and in the US and Europe on January 20, 2017.

  • Two new playable characters: Red and Morrie. The former is recruited automatically at certain point in the story, while the later can be obtained after beating Rank S in the Monster Arena.
    • Due to this, the S Rank Battle is delayed until the party defeats a boss in Arcadia.
  • This version has symbol encounters like most 3D Dragon Quest games released after the first Joker game. To compensate for it's technical charge, the overall draw distance for trees and other elements was reduced.
  • Colors are much more saturated than on any other version.
  • Like in the mobile port, alchemy is instantaneous.
  • New scenarios to get more context to the Hero and Princess Medea's relationship, and Dhoulmagus's original motives.
  • A button on the lower screen allows players to access a variety of useful spells and items like Zoom, Baumren's bell or the Alchemy Pot much faster.
  • A side-story with Marcello and Juggerwroth. This sidestory is unlocked very near the end of the main story, and gives party some insight on one of Rhapthorne's strongest followers.
  • A boss-rush type dungeon called Memories Lane, available as a reward from the Lord of the Dragovians. This dungeon contains stronger versions of most of the bosses in the game, and a familiar superboss.
  • A new Monster Arena rank: Rank X. It becomes available after unlocking Morrie.
  • The Japanese release has orchestral soundtrack, by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. The Western release uses midi soundtracks.
  • Japanese voice acting available for the first time.
  • New English lines were recorded where needed (new scenarios, changes like Red's role, etc), and Jessica's VA was replaced due to her original actress leaving the dubbing industry.
  • New ending with a certain lady and some minor additional scenes leading to it were added.
  • New sets of outfits for every playable character.
  • The Hero keeps his bandana when going into high-tension mode, losing the super saiyan hair.
  • Some of the most revealing outfits for Jessica were toned down or altered.
  • Two scenes were toned down by censoring David being forced to eat dog food and Marcello no longer stabbing himself with a dagger to snap himself out of Rapthorne's control.
  • New Rarefied monsters that only appear under specific conditions, like Cherreevil Blossom, Crème caraslime, or Morrimp.
  • A new camera mode is available. There are several sidequests related to it, giving players rare rewards. The last few quests contain a a character from Dragon Quest IX. The game includes a limited photo editor for pictures taken with the new mode.
  • There is DLC equipment in this release, most notably Erdrick's Sword.
  • New items were added. With a couple of the new items, players to ride a silver and a black great sabrecats.
  • Some bosses, skills and spells were re-balanced. The most notable example is the Twin Dragon Lash skill being nerfed considerably.
  • Princess Minnie's rewards are expanded. Some include new weapons and even costumes.
  • A Walking corpse operates a night shop in Arcadia where a [[Seed of skill] can be purchased once every 24 hours in real time.

Trivia

  • VIII is the first, and so far only, entry in the main series to begin with a battle sequence. This is a response to fan criticism of VII's notoriously long prologue.
  • On PS2, DQ VIII had synthesised music in Japan, and orchestral elsewhere. On 3DS, the situation was the opposite: orchestral music in Japan, and synth everywhere else.
  • Angelo cannot be seen in any of the game's box artworks despite joining the party early in the game.

Credits

Core design group
Role Staff
Scenario & game design Yuji Horii
Character & monster design Akira Toriyama
Music composer Kōichi Sugiyama
Director Akihiro Hino
Scenario staff Jin Fujisawa
Atsushi Narita
Amo Kamimura
Shigeki Nakadera
Level-5 staff
Role Staff
Programming director Yasuhiro Akasaka
3D system programmer Kenji Matsusue
Main programmer Tomohiro Misei
Yoichi Kawaguchi
Battle system program Takayuki Kobayashi
Koji Chado
Mamoru Itagaki
Motion systems & plug-ins Makoto Shikasho
Scenario script Masahiro Noda
Yoshio Fukushima
Tetsu Konno
Yukinori Yamaguchi
Keiji Noda
Naohiro Ikeda
Takaharu Takesada
Kiyonori Tsutsumi
Kazuma Shinkawa
Programming support Usuke Kumagai
Character director Jun Sonobe
Main character models & motion Akiyuki Tomita
Sub-character design Tomokazu Arisaka
Sub-character models & motion
Kengo Todaka
Shinya Hayakawa
Chie Sasaki
Hiroto Jinnouchi
Akiko Shigeto
Jun Suzuki
Event motion Emiko Ikeuchi
Takashi Hara
2D Graphics design Noriaki Sonoda
Miho Tanaka
Noriko Maruya
Kazuyuki Koga
Takahiro Koshio
Yukari Fujiki
Event movie arrangement Eiji Ishii
Monster & effects director Ken Motomura
Monster models & motion Jun Maeda
Takahiro Fujimatsu
Takehiro Fujii
Tomoe Ueda
Yoshiaki Kusuda
Hiroshi Niwa
Hiroshi Sawano
Takayoshi Hirose
Kenichi Kurakari
Yuuki Kokubu
Takeshi Akasaka
Mineaki Sugata
Effects design Yoshiaki Kōya
Rika Yamashita
Youhei Fujimura
Mitsuhito Nakajo
Art directors Takayuki Sameshima
Kazunari Matsuo
Original backgrounds Shinichi Matsumoto
Nobuyuki Yanai
Kaoru Minami
Map graphics Naoko Mori
Miyuki Sumiyoshi
Noboru Tsuda
Tadahiro Masuya
Wataru Shimanouchi
Akari Uchino
Hisami Miyamoto
Daisuke Koga
Kōsuke Uemura
Yasuyoshi Sasaki
Tatsuya Asano
Hidenobu Sasaki
Kengo Okabe
Yasuhito Tsugimoto
Hiroshi Matsuyama
Tetsuya Maeda
Nahoko Kawabata
Satoshi Baba
Masako Arakawa
Daisuke Simakawa
Naotsugu Zushi
Yasuhiro Fukuyama
Sound effects Dai Yamanaka
Sound production support Tomohito Nishiura
Yumiko Hashizume
Takeshi Inoue
Special thanks Takeshi Majima
Taku Tanaka
Jiro Morinaga
Keiji Nagao
Koji Hori
Noriko Ikeura
Tatsuru Nakaza
Yukiko Harada
Tomoko Hirayabu
Asako Fujita
Music & vocal production
Role Staff
Music Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kōichi Sugiyama
Music programming Kōichi Sugiyama (SUGIYAMA KOBO)
Hidenori Miyanaga (TOSE)
Ryoue Takagi (TOSE)
Dialogue production SIDE UK LTD.
Voice casting Andy Emery
Cheryl Prince
Voice direction Kate Saxon
Sound engineer (dialogue) Ant Hales
Lead actors Ricky Grover
Emma Ferguson
Blake Ritson (as Blake Riston)
Jon Glover
Victoria Shalet
Josh Cohen
Keith Wickham
Brian Bowels
Richard Pearce
Jessica Martin
Jonathan Keeble
Other actors Kerry Shale
Sarah Hadland
Cate Debenham
Morwenna Banks
Simon Greenall
Stephen Grief
David Holt
Eve Karpf
Jo Wyatt
Jon Voce
Jonathan Kydd
Peter Dickson
Ewan Bailey
Emma Tate
Robbie Stevens
Stephen Critchlow
Caroline Bernstein
Lewis Macleod
Maria Darling
Mark Silk
Walter Lewis
Rob Rackstraw
Laurel Lefkow
Rupert Degas
Jack Burke
Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Role Staff
Project management Division 4th Unit - General Manager Yū Miyake
Project management Division 4th Unit - Public Relations Ryoichi Kuramochi
Project management Division 4th Unit - Staff Takamasa Shiba
Hiroshi Satō
Mayumi Takita
Localization director Jin Kimura
Translation director Richard Mark Honeywood
Translators Will Blatchley (PLUS ALPHA TRANSLATIONS)
Clare Saracine (PLUS ALPHA TRANSLATIONS)
Matt Alt (ALTJAPAN)
Hiroko Yoda (ALTJAPAN)
Localization editor Morgan Rushton
Localization assistants Naima Yamamoto
Mizue Uda
Other localization staff Yuko Tomizawa
Localization general manager Masashi Hiramatsu
QA coordinator Koji Numata
QA assistant planner Mikihiro Hayashi
QA technical engineers Kazuya Okamoto
Hisato Iwatsuki
QA technical assistants Yusuke Sadamasa
QA senior tester Minako Ikeda
QA testers Masaki Nakamura
Akira Morishita
Yasuhiro Hayashida
Kenichi Yamamoto
Mei Ito
Takaaki Hagiwara
Shinya Kawamura
...and all other QA staff
QA technical director Hideyuki Kato
QA manager Yukihiro Shibuya
QA general manager Koji Yamashita
Senior vice president & General Manager (publicity) Koji Taguchi
Publicity staff Minako Gotō
Ayako Kawamoto
Makiko Noda
Ratings advisors Hiroko Hamada
Reiko Kondo
Sueko Kogai
Akira Kashiwagi
Legal manager Ayako Hino
Special thanks SUGIYAMA KOBO
Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru
Kaori Okada
Keiji Honda
Katrin Darolle
Hiroshi Hatajima (GAL ENTERPRISE)
Assistant producers Eisuke Yokoyama
Noriyoshi Fujimoto
Naofumi Matsushita
Naomi Ozawa
Producers Ryutaro Ichimura
Yoshiki Watabe
Chief producers Yū Miyake
Taichi Inuzuka
General producer Yukinobu Chida
Publisher Yōichi Wada
Square Enix, Inc.
Role Staff
Quality assurance manager David Carrillo (Ribs)
Assistant QA manager Mohammed A. C. Wright
Senior QA coordinator Aaron J. Adams
QA associate Jason Sanders
QA coordinator Mathew A. Clift
Assistant coordinators Alfred Holz
Greg Melancon
Robert Allen Peeler
QA team Sam Baek
Cheryl Baker
Tim Bui
Carmelo Cabezo
John Clark
Kythera Contreras
Jesyka D'Itri
John Fournier
Jeremy G. F. Goldsmith
Chandler Green
Cassidy Hammermeister
Isagani Camangian
Alicia Y. Kim (Alicia Kim)
Harley Meeks
Max P. Mena
Matt Sanchez
Lila Shin
Adam Raun
Steven Ray
Kien Trieu
QA translators Arthur T. Kawamoto
Emi Bliss
Kazuo M. Tanaka
Localization manager Yutaka Sano
Public relations Sonia Im
Kumiko Hakushi
Frederick K. Hashi
Product marketing Fernando Bustamante
Felice V. Wu
Philip Ser
Dais Kawaguchi
Marketing communications Patrick H. Cervantes
Jonathan Cooperson
Tim Law
Sales Alaine C. de Leon
Traci Jones, Shundea K. Brooks
Legal counsel Neal Black
Executive director, Sales & Marketing Shinji Futami
Senior vice president Shinji Hashimoto
President & COO Daishiro Okada


Square Enix, Ltd.
Role Staff
President and CEO John Yamamoto
Senior vice president Tomohiro Yoshikai
Senior vice president - sales and marketing Michael Sherlock
Senior European marketing manager David Dyett
Marketing communications manager Stéphanie Journau
PR managers Alex Huhtala
Charlotte Fraczek
Associate manager - marketing & PR Abbass Hussain
Chief of production department Sebastian Ohsan Berthelsen
Associate localisation producer Yuko Tomizawa
QA supervisor André Woitczyk
Technical assistance Alex Moresby
QA coordinator (English team) Morgan Rushton
QA coordinator (French team) Isaak Vié
QA coordinator (German team) Stefanie Jahn
QA coordinators (Italian team) Alessandro Bovenzi
Carlo Trevisan
QA coordinator (Spanish team) Ricardo Robredo Quintana
English QA team Lao Akintoye
Oli Chance
Alex De Moller
Sofie Dodgson
Liban Hassan
French QA team Cindy Bamba
Julien Bouille
Laure Deslandes
Eric Lestang
Jess Mallevre
Selçuk Sarpdag
Dimitri Siger-Perian
German QA team Jay S. Bannmüller
David Gudisch
Inna Kaysina
Larissa Kogleck
Alastair Morse
Nora Neye
Miika Virtanen
Matthias Winter
Joe Witt
Italian QA team Dario de Cesare
Rachele Dini
Mario Donisi
Enrico Ghira
Lorenzo Grimaldi
Riccardo Rossi
Spanish QA team Ivette Bermúdez Cañete
Juan Carlos Chaparro
Álvaro Fernández González
Iria Lamas Pérez
Ana Lastra Álvarez
Raúl Nieto García
Píndaro Vargas-Farías
Alejandro Vivancos Galiano
Localisation team Stefanie Deinet
Geneviève Marier-Howard
Rafael Rios Perez
Special thanks to Katrin Darolle
Antonio Marfuggi
Joshua Wong
Ikuyo Sanford
Rustam Roy
Kumiko Kondo
Tomoko Nunomura
Toshio Murouchi
Michel Sainisch
Phil Spencer
Mark Bulley
Saori Hill
Andy Clark
Andi Ewington
Jo Wain
Anthony Hinds
Kirk O'Connor
Jim Smith

Gallery

External links

Smartphone version sites: