Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2) Screens

[RainOfTerror]

In Dragon Quest VIII, for the first time on the PS2, old meets new, as classic gameplay is married to sumptuous graphics, delivering a sweeping adventure. Characters designed by Akira Toriyama are brought to life by "cel-shading," bringing gamers of all ages into a world straight out of Japanese anime.

The world of Dragon Quest VIII is entirely 3D. From the sprawling towns and labyrinthine dungeons, to the hills and plains that divide them on the world map, all of the environments you pass through on your epic journey spread out before you seamlessly. You may lose yourself in the remotest corner of the globe, searching for hidden treasure, or suddenly stumble upon a whole new village or castle as you explore the depths of a shadowy forest – these are the kinds of experiences that will delight and amaze you on your adventure!Check 18 new Dragon Quest VIII screens (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=27344) over at WorthPlaying.

[Kelegacy]

This game got rave reviews in Japan (go figure) and by import reviewers. I can't wait. This and Grandia 3 should be great. Should be another fine late summer/fall for console RPG's. Now if only there were more for PC, and NOT Diablo clones for Christ's Sake.

[Crispy951]

Man, I can't remember the last time I played a decent RPG, and I live and die on them. This game is defenitely shaping up to be quite good. And then of course we always have the semi-psuedo RPG Zelda

[Heretic Machine]

Sounds like this may be the first J-RPG I've bought in a while.

[Blue]

Very much looking forward to this. Didn't think I'd be that big a fan of the art direction, but I'm actually digging it. One of those things that could possibly help the atmosphere for me. Haven't played a new rpg in quite some time.

[bean19]

I've always hated this artist. I don't know what people find appealling about DBZ, but I'll look past the art in this game as I am hoping it has a juicy center of fun gameplay.

[RandomViolence]

I've never been a fan of that style combat engine. Art direction looks 'meh', not spectacular. Maybe they make up for it in the animations. Why is this series so special? From the screens I can't see anything to make it stand out.

[bobbler]

Didn't Level 5 make this? (published by SquareEnix)

Level 5 also has some Rogue Galaxy game coming out that looks pretty cool...

[mister_slim]

I'm sure I'll check this game out. I'm not sure I'll have the time to devote to the game I'll need to finish it.

[Kelegacy]

I'm sure I'll check this game out. I'm not sure I'll have the time to devote to the game I'll need to finish it.

Dragon Warrior 7 was like 80 freaking hours. It was immense.

[ElectricMonk]

I played through dragon quest 7 a while back.. pretty fun. i wasn't sure if dq8 was ever going to come out...

[bean19]

DW VII was indeed huge. . . didn't it take like 30 hours of gameplay just to get to the point where you can change jobs?

What was really weird is that this game came out for Playstation just as the PS2 was coming out or a little after, but it's graphics were substandard even by Playstation standards. It looked like a SNES game.

DW 8 or DBZ (with swords!) has been a super long time coming.

[thecrazyd]

So why are all of the characters cross eyed with giant foreheads? Such shitty art direction...

[Deadend]

Oh thank god they made the UI look nice.

The press release says that the UI has been changed from plain text to have icons from the japanese version, thank you!

Voiceovers are good to have as well if something is going to have good motion capture.

I am looking foreward to this, even though I think the battle system is about as plain and old fashioned as they go, and the story looks to hit every cliche along the way.

[Kefkataran]

I'm definitely looking forward to this. I'm still plowing through DW7 a little bit at a time, but whatever.

[Arphahat]

Heh... this is coming out just as I decided to play through the Dragon Warrior series in ROM form. Already making decent progress in DW2.

[Talltale]

Dragon Warrior makes me feel tingly.. down there.

[Mason]

To me, the DQ games have embodied everything that is bad about JRPGs.

I just really hope they keep the Enix people segregated at Square-Enix.

[Kefkataran]

DQ is everything bad about JRPGs? How? Are you *sure* you don't mean FFX-2?

[bean19]

Best J-RPGs for this generation:

Fintal Fantasy X and X-2 (screw you Kefka. ;) )
Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Suikoden 3 (but NOT Suikoden 4).

I'm personally reall surprised that Shadow Hearts: Covenant didn't get widely sold and adopted as the "other" Final Fantasy. It's an awesome game with near Final Fantasy production values.

[Kefkataran]

Hey, I played FFX-2 and enjoyed most of it, but I'd say it's a far bigger source of the oft-hated J-RPG antics than the DW series.

[Spigot]

I still have flashbacks to DW7. I must have put about 70 hours or so into it and I still haven't finished it... sigh.

I like the art direction of Radiata Stories a little more than this, but this might be a little meatier in the actual gameplay side of things.

[Banacek]

Best J-RPGs for this generation:

Fintal Fantasy X and X-2 (screw you Kefka. ;) )
Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Suikoden 3 (but NOT Suikoden 4).

I'm personally reall surprised that Shadow Hearts: Covenant didn't get widely sold and adopted as the "other" Final Fantasy. It's an awesome game with near Final Fantasy production values.

Agreed with the Shadow Hearts: Covenant statement. I can't understand why it's not more popular. If you're looking for a fantastic JRPG, check it out.

[Mason]

FFX-2 was bad enough (job and combat system aside) that I wouldn't burden JRPGs with the association.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant bored me to tears, as the gameplay systems really aren't very deep, and unlike FF games there aren't new game systems added as time progresses. And I originally liked the alternate-WWI setting, but they ditched any attempts at verisimilitude within the first two minutes and just made it a fantasy JRPG with European town and villain names. If they'd keep the game planted a bit more squarely in reality it would've truly been great, but when you're literally fighting magically animated toy ducks immediately after the opening cinematics, it's clear they didn't invest themselves too much in the setting.

Suikoden 3: Horribly low production values. Not even close. Like, new armies would dramatically appear to either save the day or ruin everything, and they'd just have a character mention it instead of showing it. That's lazy. Would FF7 be memorable if they had this at the end of the first disk? "Hey everyone, I was at the shrine with Aeris and man, Sephiroth just came down and stabbed the bejesus out of her! Oh and I lost the white materia." The weird thing is that Suikoden has an awesome anime-styled trailer, and if they'd made cutscenes in that style it would've had outstanding production values (still a crappy game system though).

But I still maintain that it is the Dragon Quest series which keeps dragging otherwise well-conceived games back into horrible, boring JRPG cliches. Just by enjoying such amazing success through repetition and mediocrity, Japanese developers seem wary of straying too far from DQ. I blame Japanese gamers as much as anyone, though, it's their damn fault for enjoying the stuff.

[bean19]

Mason -

First, Shadow Hearts: Covenant never ATTEMPTED to be anything like reality. It is set in an alternate reality with an alternate WW II and things like a guy who changes into demons to fight bad guys. There are additional gameplay elements that stack as you progress (although nothing near as good as the insane abilities you get in the last 5 hours of Final Fantasy games. . . all those bonus goodies). However, each character has a different set of specials that are unlocked in interesting ways (I freaking loved collecting soft-core gay porn for the puppet master to make new dresses for the old man's puppet. That was hilarious.) Also, for the wrestler/vampire, you have to fight his mentor one on one with the wrestler to unlock new specials in battles that are very "puzzlely". There is the combination attack system that adds bonus damage for each subsequent character who hits in a combo and if you use all your characters in a combo, the last one gets access to a crazy damage attack that also looks awesome. It is at least as complex as Final Fantasy X and X-2 unless you count things like throwing money at mobs and gambling as completely new ways to play the game. . . Not knocking Final Fantasy, those were cool, but I don't know that they are significant enough to make this game stand apart from Shadow Hearts: Covenant.

As far as the story/setting, I loved Shadow Heart's way of being intensely comical in situations that other games would have tried to make spooky. They still go for the spooky and acheive it on occassion, but they aren't afraid to be downright silly and make people laugh with the over-the-top humor that fans of anime enjoy.

Not your cup of tea? Okay. . . but name another PS2 JRPG that is anywhere near as good as this? I was naming the top J-RPGs and I think the FF's and Shadow Hearts are the best, with Suikoden 3 taking 5th place. I'm willing to give Suikoden's 5th place up pretty easily. . . I'm a huge fan of the series and I forgive a lot because of that, but even with that caveat, I can't think of any that are better than it. I really disliked the difficulty and grind of Digital Devil Saga and Nocturne (although the art in those games is really great).

[Kelegacy]

Mason -

First, Shadow Hearts: Covenant never ATTEMPTED to be anything like reality. It is set in an alternate reality with an alternate WW II and things like a guy who changes into demons to fight bad guys. There are additional gameplay elements that stack as you progress (although nothing near as good as the insane abilities you get in the last 5 hours of Final Fantasy games. . . all those bonus goodies). However, each character has a different set of specials that are unlocked in interesting ways (I freaking loved collecting soft-core gay porn for the puppet master to make new dresses for the old man's puppet. That was hilarious.) Also, for the wrestler/vampire, you have to fight his mentor one on one with the wrestler to unlock new specials in battles that are very "puzzlely". There is the combination attack system that adds bonus damage for each subsequent character who hits in a combo and if you use all your characters in a combo, the last one gets access to a crazy damage attack that also looks awesome. It is at least as complex as Final Fantasy X and X-2 unless you count things like throwing money at mobs and gambling as completely new ways to play the game. . . Not knocking Final Fantasy, those were cool, but I don't know that they are significant enough to make this game stand apart from Shadow Hearts: Covenant.

As far as the story/setting, I loved Shadow Heart's way of being intensely comical in situations that other games would have tried to make spooky. They still go for the spooky and acheive it on occassion, but they aren't afraid to be downright silly and make people laugh with the over-the-top humor that fans of anime enjoy.

Not your cup of tea? Okay. . . but name another PS2 JRPG that is anywhere near as good as this? I was naming the top J-RPGs and I think the FF's and Shadow Hearts are the best, with Suikoden 3 taking 5th place. I'm willing to give Suikoden's 5th place up pretty easily. . . I'm a huge fan of the series and I forgive a lot because of that, but even with that caveat, I can't think of any that are better than it. I really disliked the difficulty and grind of Digital Devil Saga and Nocturne (although the art in those games is really great).

Good rebuttal. Shadow Hearts: Covenant is one of the best RPGs in recent years, and not many people have played it. That kinda sucks. People who knock Japanese inspired/directed RPGs really havent played some of the diverse stuff on PS2 (I dont like the term jrpg for some reason. I think because people like Perigon and Mason use it in a derogatory sense). Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, Shadow Hearts, Dark Cloud 1/2, BoF: Dragon Quarter, Arc: Twilight of the Spirits, Wild Arms 3, Growlanser, Suikoden 3, Kingdom Hearts, Star Ocean, are all games that break the standard "haters" mold, or SHOULD. Great stories are a plus, but a battle system that makes random battles even better? Well most of these games have that, or some other quirk that distinguishes the game from other console RPGs. Some people just plain hate the genre and use the same old negativity to describe the genre. It would be like lumping all FPSs together and calling them crap because of Daikatana or Breed.

Also, to the enjoyers of console RPGs, besides Grandia 3 and Dragon Warrior 8 being released soon, have you heard that Shadow Hearts has a new entry that was just released in Japan? Shadow Hearts: The New World I think it is called. The Shadow Hearts series is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Now if only more people bought the games. Don't take my word on how great the series is...play them yourselves. The Penny Arcade guys even digged the game last year and was one of their favorite games, if I remember correctly.

[Kefkataran]

I'm actually still working through the first Shadow Hearts, but I do really enjoy it so far. I've heard Covenant is even better, so I'm looking forward to it.

And yeah, the latest Shadow Hearts is titled "The New World" and should be coming ot the US soonish.

[Kelegacy]

I'm actually still working through the first Shadow Hearts, but I do really enjoy it so far. I've heard Covenant is even better, so I'm looking forward to it.

And yeah, the latest Shadow Hearts is titled "The New World" and should be coming ot the US soonish.

I did grow weary of the childish dialogue in the first game. Some other aspects were kind of...quirky too. But as far as the battle system went...excellent. And challenging at times.

[Kefkataran]

The dialogue leaves much to be desired, no doubt, but I've written it off and am plowing through nonetheless.

[Spigot]

Shadow Hearts: Covenant was amazing for most of the reasons stated by Kelegacy and Bean19. Definately one of the better games I played last year.

My big beef with Suikoden 3 was that you had to run back and forth through the same 4 field screens over and over and over again until the last 8th of the game when you got the teleporter. Not only that, you have this lovely castle that they could have renovated as the game progressed but it really didn't change much, structurally. I didn't mind S3, but after my brother said that S4 was essentially the same, only with a boat, I wasn't running out to play it.

As for the offbeat JRPG's, what about Okage: Shadow King? I really enjoyed that game back in the day. It was one of the first JRPG's that I'd played which didn't take itself very seriously. It wasn't perfect, but it was a fun trip.

I've just booted up Final Fantasy Tactics on the ol' PS2 for attempt #30 at finishing it. I want to beat FF7, but given that I've played through everything but the final battle and the horrid chocobo inbreeding game, I figured I'd have more fun doing the tactical stuff given my recent obsession with Fire Emblem 2.

At least this discussion is treating JRPG's as a different entity than, say, your average Bioware RPG or most CRPG's. To call a JRPG linear is to not understand the intent of a JRPG. They're trying to tell a story by letting you play through it. If you REALLY wanted to get technical, most JRPG's are closer to adventure games with lots of stats and turn-based battles (mostly). But that's fine, as I want to enjoy a cool story with wierd monsters and such while trying to level up that gold materia for my gunsword.

If I want to play a game that has me actually ROLEPLAYING, I'll fire up WoW and become my crazy gnome mage for a few hours. I'll play some Gothic and learn how to shoot a bow or wreak havoc on the unsuspecting mushrooms of Vvardenfel in Morrowind. Those games have story as a secondary experience to the act of being in the world.

Kelegacy said:
Some people just plain hate the genre and use the same old negativity to describe the genre. It would be like lumping all FPSs together and calling them crap because of Daikatana or Breed.

Amen brother. I don't even tend to read reviews of JRPGs as they tend to be a love 'em or leave 'em genre. I know what I'm getting into and if the previews appeal to me, I'm likely going to enjoy the game to some degree.

[Joshinji]

Anyone else notice that some of the "new" screenshots are from 2003?

Like everything else from Square Enix, It'll probably be another couple of years before we get this. I've been waiting for 3 already.

[Mason]

Re: SH:C

We basically agree. You're fine with them keeping the same fairly simple game system throughout without adding anything. I'm not. The combat got dull, as the ring was only an entertaining gimmick briefly, and "advancement" for half the characters involved just finding items (i.e. the standard JRPG Gamefaq shuffle). If that doesn't add up to shallow...what could possibly be shallow?

And my point on the setting was nuanced; I'm all about the demons fighting a swath across WWI Europe, but when you instantly throw away all ties with the supposed reality around which the game is set, it makes the supernatural wackiness meaningless and incoherent. Hell, you didn't even know which world war it was, guess it just had that much of an impression? And yeah, the less said about characters, plot, and dialogue the better.

And I don't hate the genre, some of my favorite games reside in that genre. No one expects JRPGs to go all Morrowind or something. They are what they are. But they're stories that require repetitive action to move through them. That's only worthwhile if it is a good story, and the repetitive actions they give you are made interesting and meaningful.

The problem isn't "haters", the problem is that some people think highly of mediocre JRPGs in a way that they don't of equivalent games of other genres. I don't see people crying out that the gaming public ignores Kirby Canvas Curse or something to its own detriment. Failure to own and enjoy Painkiller is rarely portrayed as a character flaw, and if someone were to post "Painkiller sucks" I doubt you'd extrapolate pathological FPS hatred from their critique.

To like a genre means to like the bad members of the genre, be it movies, music, or games. Everyone likes the good entries. I like The Godfather but I have no desire to see other mobster movies, while a fan of the genre would watch them all with equal enjoyment. So if you find yourself devoted to a lot of mysteriously unpopular games, try and entertain the possibility that these are in fact some lesser entries in a genre that you're predisposed to liking.

[TRiLoGY]

I have never played any of the games in the Dragon Quest Series.. Would anyone recommend this for someone who has never played them Before? Im a big Final Fantasy Fan.. :)

[bean19]

Mason - I think this has a lot more to do with your personality than the quality of SH: Covenant. Your personal dislike of a game for what appear to be fustian and subjective reasons does not make it a bad title.

Also, your post is incredibly fallacious. You assume that I granted you the point that gameplay and character progression do not advance when the oppossite is true. I gave examples of how character development takes different and interesting routes when I disagreed with you. Also, saying that the real world setting was not utilized is just not true. They used it at their pleasure in order to tell the story they wanted to tell, but the czar's palace in Russia was particularly well made and appropriate to the real world setting. . . the war, however, was not. You might as well complain that "Saving Private Ryan" was a bad film because it didn't focus on the holocaust. Setting and time period need to be referenced when they help tell the story a writer wants to tell. . . not necessarily the story you want to play.

Regarding haters, I don't think that J-RPGs are hated in most gaming forums or by most gamers. The opposite is true, in fact. I just don't like it when really good games don't appreciate impressive sales. I feel the same way about Psychonauts, but I don't get action/adventure genre labeled for supporting that title.

[bean19]

I have never played any of the games in the Dragon Quest Series.. Would anyone recommend this for someone who has never played them Before? Im a big Final Fantasy Fan.. :)

Can't really say without playing them. The DW series was really high quality for the time they were released, but now they are all ancient. If you enjoy classic gaming, pick them up by all means.

As far as the upcoming title, well I hate the DBZ artist with a passion, but the game sold like pancakes in Japan and got good reviews. I'd wait for a U.S. review though as this is coming out during the holiday diahrea release of games.

[Kefkataran]

Like everything else from Square Enix, It'll probably be another couple of years before we get this. I've been waiting for 3 already.

Unlike most looked-forward-to SE games, this one is already released in Japan. If it doesn't get released this fall in the US, I'd be very surprised.

I have never played any of the games in the Dragon Quest Series.. Would anyone recommend this for someone who has never played them Before? Im a big Final Fantasy Fan..

Well, they are J-RPGs like FF. The story tends to be a little more light in some aspects and the games are a lot less easy and user-friendly than FF titles. Whereas in many of the Final Fantasy games you can just go through without having to stop for grinding, you'll definitely be doing some grinding in the DW games. Still, most RPG fans agree that the battle system is very strong and the games are pretty huge (as people were saying, 7 has somewhere around 80 hours of gameplay in it), so I'd say it's worth checking out.