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Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (JP) (or simply Dragon Quest VIII) is a role-playing game that was originally released on the Sony PlayStation 2. It was later ported for the Nintendo 3DS.
Plot[]
The game begins with the court jester of the kingdom of Trodain, Dhoulmagus, stealing an ancient scepter and casting a spell on Trodain castle. The spell turns the king, King Trode, into a troll; the princess, Medea, into a horse; and the rest of the castle's inhabitants into plants. The only one left unaffected is the unnamed protagonist, a Trodain guard. The guard, King Trode, and Princess Medea set out on a quest to track down Dhoulmagus and break the spell. They are joined by Yangus, a bandit whose life the hero saves from a collapsing bridge; Jessica Albert, a mage seeking to avenge her brother; and Angelo, a Templar Knight with a penchant for flirting and gambling. Tracking Dhoulmagus' murderous path, the party journeys west, across the ocean. Eventually, the group hunts down Dhoulmagus and kills him, but Dhoulmagus' death fails to break the spell. Jessica claims Dhoulmagus' scepter, and soon after disappears.
Jessica later returns, possessed by the staff and battles the remaining party members in an attempt to murder a young man. After the party releases Jessica from her possession, Jessica tells them that the scepter contains the spirit of Rhapthorne, the Lord of Darkness, who was imprisoned in the scepter long ago by seven sages. He seeks to escape from his prison by killing the descendants of the sages. She proceeds to speculate that it is Rhapthorne, and not Dhoulmagus, who maintains the curse on Trodain: therefore, Rhapthorne must be defeated if the curse is to be broken. When Jessica explains this, the scepter takes control of a magician's dog, Sir Leopold, and kills the magician's assistant, who was one of the descendants of the sages. The party attempts to seek out and defend the remaining descendants, but Leopold manages to murder another descendant of the sages. Eventually, the scepter comes into the possession of Marcello, Angelo's power hungry half-brother. Marcello kills the last remaining descendant of the sages, but manages to contain Rhapthorne for a time. Eventually, the party engages Marcello and exhaust him to the point of losing control and releasing Rhapthorne. The party, aided by the godbird Empryea, faces Rhapthorne and defeats him. With Rhapthorne dead, King Trode, Princess Medea, and the people of Trodain are returned to normal. Months later, the protagonist escorts Medea to Savella Cathedral for her arranged marriage to the spoiled Prince Charmles of Argonia, but before the ceremony can take place, the protagonist and Medea escape from Savella Cathedral and live happily together. In an unlockable extended ending, it is discovered that the protagonist is the lost prince of Argonia, and upon this revelation, the King of Argonia decides to allow the protagonist to marry Medea. In the 3DS version, the player can choose to instead begin a romance with Jessica. In the traditional ending the hero goes traveling the world with Jessica while in the unlockable ending the hero can choose to marry Jessica instead of Medea.
Gameplay[]
Graphically, the game looks worse than the original, mostly due to the lower resolution screen of the 3DS. However, there are no random encounters. Instead, monsters appear in the overworld and are encountered directly. The sound quality has also improved in that the game's soundtrack is orchestrated and all dialogue is voiced. The game also allows the player to save skill points after level-up.
There are two new party members in Red and Morrie, who were NPCs in the previous version. They have new quests and scenarios to add to them. The game also has a new picture taking mechanic where players take pictures of the overworld. This mechanic also has quests where the player is tasked to take pictures of rare monsters and hidden items. There are also more scenarios, further detailing the backstories of the main characters. A new ending has been added with new dungeons and post-game content.
Reception[]
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King got "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic getting a metascore of 85/100 based on 56 critic reviews.[1]The game was a critical and commercial success, later being released under the Sony Greatest Hits brand. It has since been considered one of the greatest games of all time.
3DS eShop Description[]
Uncover the story of the Cursed King as you save the world from a twisted magician in this genre-defining role-playing game. Across the vast world you'll wage turn-based battles against more than 250 monsters designed by artist Akira Toriyama. This updated classic also includes new dungeons, bosses, items, quests, scenes, and a new possible ending!
There's a rhythm to fighting, earning items, using them to craft something better in the alchemy pot, and returning to battle, stronger than ever. As you level up, upgrade your warriors' skills to earn mighty attacks. For the first time, Red the bandit and Monster Arena owner Morrie join your party as playable characters! There are also new outfits that change each hero's look, which makes for some perfect in-game photo ops. You can share the pictures you take via StreetPass™ encounters. Plus, you can form and battle teams of monsters to earn rewards in the Monster Arena. Now the must-play version of this classic game is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS™ family of systems.
Gallery[]
| Main article: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King/gallery |
In other media[]
The protagonist of the game is playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is one of four Dragon Quest protagonists that collectively share a moveset and the moniker of "Hero". To further differentiate him from the other protagonists, he is referred to by the name "Eight". He was specifically included due to Dragon Quest VIII being the most popular entry outside of Japan. He was voiced by Yuki Kaji, who dreamed of doing voice work for the Dragon Quest and Super Smash Bros. series, and he was enthusiastic to fulfill both at the same time in Ultimate.[2] His wife, Ayana Taketatsu voiced Jessica Albert in the game.
References[]
- ↑ Metascore for Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed KingMetacritic, Retrieved February 18, 2020
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KAJI_staff/status/1156199770328666113
External links[]
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King at GameFAQs
| Dragon Quest series | |
|---|---|
| Main series | Dragon Quest (I & II) • II (I & II) • III (I-II-III) • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI |
| Monsters series | Monsters (Remake) • Monsters 2 (Remake) • Caravan Heart • Joker • Joker 2 (Professional) • Joker 3 (Professional) • The Dark Prince |
| Mystery Dungeon series | Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon • Torneko no Daibōken 2 • Torneko no Daibōken 3 |
| Slime series | Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest • Rocket Slime • Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3 |
| Spin-offs | Swords • Monster Battle Road Victory • Wars • Itadaki Street DS • Fortune Street • Heroes I + II • Theatrhythm • Builders • Builders 2 Rivals • Treasures |
| Related | Enix • Chunsoft • Level-5 • Yuji Horii • Akira Toriyama • Koichi Sugiyama • Chrono Trigger |