Dragon Quest VIII is my absolute most favorite video game ever made. When I
first obtained a Playstation 2 in 5th grade, on Christmas, I also got DQVIII.
I'd seen ads for it in magazines, and since I'd been playing Dragon
Warrior Monsters 1 and 2 for the Game Boy, I was very excited for the first
American game to keep the original Japanese name. It was also the first 3D DQ.
One of my favorite dungeons and bosses right here
I initially fell in love with it due to the rich orchestral suite
performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, composed by the illustrious
Koichi Sugiyama (RIP!). My heart will always melt upon hearing the credits
theme, when Yangus and Guv roam the hillside in the twilight hour. The best
track is certainly the Gavotte which you can hear in Argonia and Princess
Minnie's castle. I discovered Bach and baroque music because
of this game and sheet music someone left behind in the band room back in
middle school. Around 7th grade it was my greatest dream in life to graduate
a conservatory and become a renowned composer, all so I could someday work with
Sugiyama and conduct the symphonic performances in his stead when he got too
old or sick. Dreams have a habit of dying young it seems.
It only took about 15 minutes for one to appear in Trodain Castle
Enough of that! Dispense with the melancholy and return to the game. I've been
playing this game off and on for 19 years now. Time flies, huh? Despite all
that, I've only beaten it twice. When I was little I had a habit of starting
my save files over because I'd get stuck. It wasn't until a little after 9th
grade, around October or November of 2008, that I finally beat Rhapthorne. I
remember it well. The day before I had been to the local county fair and won
that balloon dart-throwing game. The prize was a mass-produced picture in a
frame and I picked a shirtless lady with a shotgun, whiskey, and a confederate
flag. No, I'm not a confederate or even southern. I just like hot girls! But
the day I brought her home and hung her up in my bedroom, I fought Empyrea and
finished the Dark World.
She's so lovely! Reminds me of Egwene from the Wheel of Time books
I feverishly worked to finish the game in one fell
swoop. It was a rollercoaster. To this day I still haven't finished the
Dragovian trials. On my original save file the hero didn't use Spears and
Yangus didn't have Axes so metal slime grinding was almost impossible. I really
needed to reach 65 in order to obtain Dragon Soul but that wasn't gonna happen.
It was around that time that my friends got me into Runescape so I put console
games on the shelf. Whenever I returned to DQVIII, I just didn't have it in
me to play an old file. It didn't feel right, as if I were defiling my own
childhood. I'd start a new save but never stick around long enough.
I got obscenely lucky exploring Howlwind Hill for the axe
Enter 2023. I wanted to play through the game one last time, in case I died for
whatever reason (my back pain is getting worse). And so I decided to embark
upon the quest for the cursed sceptre once more! I started this playthrough in
January 2023 and finished the game on the 1st of May. In that time, my back
almost went out a few times, I'd visited an anime convention, saw my long-lost
friend Alex, failed to adopt a spunky little pitbull I named Putt-Putt, and
witnessed a stray mama cat raise her kittens. It's
not merely the content of the games that matters most, you see, but the context
in which you play them, good or bad. That's what I've learned over the years.
As you discover treasures in the game, you form treasures of the mind in the
form of memories, memories not unlike the ancient ocean that a deserted ship
once sailed upon.
One such memory is that of my old friend Alex. We would have sleepovers
throughout 4th to early 7th grade, only stopping when we drifted apart because
I went to a different school. We played all kinds of games like Soul Caliber
II, Super Smash Bros Melee, Time Splitters 2, Burnout, and some Marvel game I
forgot about. We'd watch R-rated movies and South Park on his iPod video, or
watch Adult Swim at 1AM and Girls Gone Wild commercials. One good memory of
mine is when we took turns playing Dragon Quest VIII for a bit. One of us would
explore and battle while the other just watched. I specifically remember eating
Cheddar Chex Mix and drinking caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper (my parents
wouldn't let me drink caffeine) while playing this game. From Farebury to
Pickham, the game is associated with Alex. I've seen him recently, a nice
surprise, but my paranoia makes me question if he is a government spy.
Anyways, in this playthrough I put the Hero on Spears which was great because
Clean Sweep was amazing! Yangus on Axes has Hatchet Man for 0MP defense
reduction and group attacks with Axes of Evil. Jessica took Whips because Twin
Dragon Lash made her more powerful than Yangus even, and Angelo went with Bows
because I'd never used them before. Turns out I can't use anything else again
because his ability to regenerate MP was a blessing! After maxing the weapons
out, the party took character specific skills like Courage, Humanity, etc. This
gave Yangus Kabuff which was nice since he wasn't the sole heavy hitter. When
the Hero uses a Rune Staff and Yangus+Angelo cast Kabuff, you get max defense
in 1 turn. Yangus is more of a support character.
Yes, it's the cheaterboy team. No regrets!
I got some lucky Metal Slime kills in the Ruined Abbey which helped me get
through Pickham especially. That place murders me usually. Later I went back to
Trodain to kill a Liquid Metal Slime because Argonia was hell. This put me in
the perfect spot for Dhoulmagus, and the fight was neither too hard nor too
easy. Since I set out from the beginning purposely trying not to grind and be
"perfect", in order to relive the game the way it was when I was little, I had
to be careful and not kill too many metal slimes. I ran from a few just
because. I also ran through the Arcadia stuff without any fights until Evil
Jessica because I didn't want her to be massively underlevelled compared to the
rest of the party.
The final battle with the big butt tummy demon
After Empychhu I went on a massive treasure hunt since I was missing Mini
Medals. That's when I beat Rank A in the Monster Arena and got the Hero Spear.
It took awhile but I finally reached the Black Citadel and cleared it without
issues. Perhaps I was overpowered but it felt easier than I remembered. I did
encounter a few King Metal Slimes and I can't run away from them! That would be
tempting the fates somehow. Above are pictures I took with my digital
camera of various points in the game. Sorry, I'm not spending $100+ on a
capture card for my PS2!
Battle statistics at the very end, after a long journey
Now how does Dragon Quest VIII compare to previous and future titles in the
series, and to other RPGs? Nostalgia blinds me in this regard, friend. This
will always be a 10/10 title to me. I can say this: I did not care for the 3DS
remake. The colors are oversaturated, they replaced Jessica's voice actress,
the overworld encounters are poorly implemented, and you heal when you level
up. I never made it far enough to know whether Morrie, Red, and Marcello make
up for it, or the new post-game dungeon. I'd like to give it another shot one
of these days but not yet.
The skill system of VIII was better implemented than IX and XI because I enjoy
the permanent choices. You can't screw it up; it's all a matter of perception.
I'd rather have a job system like III, VI, and VII. The Monster Arena could
have been elaborated on by cutting the tie between your party level and
monster stats. Instead monsters should have been permanent additions but AI
controlled through the tactics system (full control would be too much). Then
you could grind monster teams, allowing almost any team to eventually beat
Rank A or even S by grinding.
Considering this was the first 3D Dragon Quest, and maybe the first Dragon
Quest after the Squaresoft-Enix merger, I'd say Hori did a good job. The
Japanese audience would have been fine with 2D games forever but
internationally, people are spoiled babies who want cutting edge graphics. He
had to move the series "forward" in order to continue selling out to the west
and has since tried to desperately walk along a razor's edge, maintaining
the balance of soul and tradition with QOL and progress. I'm not opposed to
progress in Dragon Quest. I just want it to go slower. The 2D mode in XI, for
example, was pretty bad because it wasn't in a 4:3 aspect ratio. It looks
awful, and the font really stank. VIII is, and likely always will be, the
transitional masterpiece between the old games and the new. And it will
always be a beautiful memory imprinted on my soul.
Click here for the official Dragon Quest VIII guide with tons of useful
maps and stuff. Still a lot missing compared to GameFAQs.
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