Dragon Quest VIII: New trailer and a Rant on why I'm excited

[Cain Highwind]

Check out Gamtrailers.com!

As for the rtant, well it's a little something I typed up for the Slime Knights. Here it is:

Dragon Quest VIII. What can I say, I'm hyped. My only regret is that I won't be able to finish Sly Cooper or Ratchet and Clank in time before it arrives. And I DO plan on getting it the day it comes out (shipped through an online retailer of course)

I've never been a DQ kid. Much like the kind of guy that has always played Nintendo but hardly any Sega games. When Dragon Quest VIII was FIRST announced, I had some free time on my hands and played through the Super Famicom version of DQI+II and I was amazed on just how easy I got into the games. I liked the music, and the games were generally quite fun. It didn't get boring and repetitive. It's really indescribable.

Now back to DQVIII. From playing the demo, seeing some of the beautiful well-designed environments really makes me set down the controller and say "Nice". It may sound silly, and that I'm just exaggerating, but it's true. I don't think I've done this for a game, since playing Zelda: Ocarina of Time (in fact the day to night transitions remind me very much of Zelda: OoT). I'm excited that there are MORE areas like this waiting to be discovered.

Gameplay wise, it's the same tride and true RPG gameplay, I can't say I'm hyped for it. On the other hand though, I'm excited for the fact that it'll feel like the RPGs I USED to play and just aren't really around anymore.

Music wise, I was disappointed that I didn't get to hear Orchestral music aside from the title screen. But watching the latest trailer, I KNOW I'm in for a treat. Orchestral music excites me, Orchestral music can bring me to tears it's so beautiful. Getting a chance to play an epic RPG with at least most of the score Orchestral, will be a first for me, and I'm, what else, really excited.

And finally the voice acting. I enjoy good, whimsical voice acting. It's one of the big things that drew me into Sly Cooper among other things. As I played the demo, I was rather intrigued by their choice of British voice actors. It works though, it makes the characters sound unique and diversed and really adds much to the DQ world. It was definetely a good next step thanks to Mr. Horii. I can't wait to hear more of the voices (especially with the unveiling of the new trailer)

With the great visuals, critics' praise, and Dragonball-creator Toriyama's designs, I think Dragon Quest VIII will win over a ton of new fans. I just hope it doesn't turn into another FFVII where the DQ fanbase is split between the new fans and the "Back in the day DQ before VIII was better..." fans. But me, no matter what direction DQVIII takes, I'm excited for it, and I'm glad it's coming out in just a few days.

And I'd be lying if I wasn't excited about getting to play FFXII too. I'm quite excited for that game as well because it's coming from my favorite Creative Team at S-E.

[Andromeda]

Yeah you make a good point about being worried on the new versus old fans dividing. Considering FFVII was the first of the FF that got a large US sale which started FF up in the US. Before FFVII, it was a rather unknown name to US gamers. But everyone knows about FF now, and few people know about DQ right now. But this is the big US showing for DQ, and considering how much they are trying to hype it up and get the US audience on board, it will probably be a big seller, heck any FF fan will probably get since it is something from Square and a RPG. So I definitely imagine a new fan base growing for DQ, would not be surprised if it is not as fanatical as the FF fans. Considering DQ is not allowed to be released in Japan on a work day because it makes everyone leave their job and buy the game and sit as home playing. Which is quite amusing the first time I heard that like 4 or 5 years ago. It just surprises me they have a law to prevent a game from being released during a work day because it ruined productivity that much.

Just goes to show how loved the series is in Japan. The commericals say that it has sold over 4 million copies I think, which is more copies than a FF game gets worldwide almost. Square-Enix must be happy.

[Fuzz]

I agree with your comments/rant. I was never really a huge DQ fan, but I simply can not wait for DQ VIII. I actually saw the commerical for it last night in bed. It's rare seeing RPG commercials these days, but Square Enix certainly can afford it the promoting.

The commercial was absolutely bad-ass and actually inspired me to find out more information about the game. I'm sold. I'm going to buy it right away, and not only for the FFXII demo, but to actually play the game.

Your review was helpful, thanks for posting it.

[Ted Zanarukando]

Dragon Quest VIII will most likely be another Final Fantasy VII in a manner of fanbase growth. The North American version of Dragon Quest VIII is a fair improvement over the Japanese version, in order to push Dragon Quest series for success in North America. Dragon Quest VIII will also come to Europe, and Dragon Quest never came to Europe before. The U.S. soundtrack is based on Dragon Quest VIII Symphonic Suite, thus orchestrated, while the original Japanese soundtrack is synthesized.

[Sean]

Yeah..........


I've played about an hour of this game.

I like the battle system but hate it at the same time. It's "Tried and true" all right, but it's just not very diverse. I guess simple is best sometimes, though.

The story seems to be good, and I'm looking forward to see where it's going to take me.


But Jesus Christ I can't stand the character designs. I hate Dragon Ball Z with a passion, Akira Toriyama's art design has no variation. The main character is a rip off from Saiya Man and Gohan's normal face mixed together. The old man you meet in the first town is just a skinny older version of Mr. Satan. The bunny lady in the bar is ****ing Bulma with blonde hair and a bunny suit.

I used to bitch about his art style all the time during DBZ, because every character has muscles, every character looks exactly like the other character only with different hair and, if you're lucky, slightly differently shaped eyes.

This has carried over to DQVIII. The horrible art style alone makes me want to stop playing this game.

[Ted Zanarukando]

Dragon Quest I was my first RPG ever, back in 1989, when Dragon Quest series was introduced to North America. Back then I watched my brother play it first. Dragon Quest VIII is going to be awesome. The orchestral soundtrack is so fantastic.

Interestingly, there is a law in Japan that restricts the release of Dragon Quest games to Sundays and holidays, because when Dragon Quest III came out, too many students skipped school and too many people took off from work to queue for the game. That law applies only in Japan.

Compared to Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest is known for its gameplay rather than graphics and storyline. Final Fantasy sports realistic graphics, while Dragon Quest sports cel-shaded graphics. Death is more of a threat in Dragon Quest than in Final Fantasy.