Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King featured image

The court jester Dhoulmagus of the kingdom of Trodain stole a powerful magical scepter sealed beneath the royal castle. Using the power of the scepter, Dhoulmagus destroyed the castle, placed a curse upon the kingdom and its people, and turned King Trode into a troll and the princess into a horse. A sole surviving castle guard journeys with the king, the princess, a reformed bandit named Yangus and a few other companions in search of the evil jester and a way to break the curse.

Gameplay

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is a traditional Japanese-style role-playing game with random enemy encounters, simple turn-based combat mechanics, and management of a party consisting of four characters, each belonging to a clearly defined class. Unlike its predecessors in the series and most Japanese RPGs in general, the game features a continuous world with fairly vast landscapes and integrated towns and dungeons, as opposed to world map traveling and locations represented by icons. The game features full camera rotation and optional first-person view. Like in the previous Dragon Quest games, many objects can be interacted with; for example, barrels can be physically lifted, carried, and broken, to reveal items hidden within.

Visuals and other features

In addition to experience points, the player receives skill points from battles, which can be manually allocated into a skill category of the player's choice. These categories include three different kinds of weapons, fisticuffs, and a discipline unique to each character. After a required amount of skill points has been invested into a particular category, the correspondent character learns a new ability or becomes more proficient with the chosen weapon. The Alchemy Pot system allows players to gather recipes and mix items to create new ones.

The international version of the game features several updates to the original Japanese version, including voice acting, graphic menu, symphonic soundtracks, and flashier effects.

Release Date

Nov 27, 2004

Metacritic Score

84

Rating

Play Time

61.5 hours

Games in Series

35

ESRB

Teen: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol

System Requirements

  • iOS: 1.3GB
  • Android: 1.7GB

Interesting Facts

  • It is the eighth installment of the Dragon Quest series and it is the first English version of a Dragon Quest game to drop the Dragon Warrior title.
  • Dragon Quest VIII uses cel shading for the characters and scenery and is the first game in the series to have fully 3D environments and character models.
  • Dragon Quest VIII follows the silent protagonist and his party of allies as they journey towards the goal of defeating the wicked Dhoulmagus, who cursed the kingdom of Trodain and its people.
  • Players are able to pan the camera a full 360 degrees around the character, as well as look in a first-person perspective mode.
  • Battles are randomly occurring and turn-based.
  • Dragon Quest VIII focuses on four main characters, each joining the battle party early in the game.
  • Two non-player characters journey with the protagonists: Trode and Medea.

Mod Support

Yes

Cheats support

Yes

Contains Game/Battle Pass

Yes

Virtual Reality Support

Yes

Number of maps

16

Third/First Person

First person

Platforms

Android iOS Nintendo 3DS PlayStation 2

Genres

RPG

Game Engine

Unity

Protagonist sex

Male

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