Page 18 • Dragon Quest VIII • Gaming • PS2 • Eurogamer.net

rock27gr 3 Mar 2008 15:36:13 6,409 posts
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Triggerhappytel wrote:

rock27gr wrote:

Timmy wrote:
Are you training up your monsters as well?
That's one of the best bits of the game imo.

???

You didn't do any monster training? I missed out on it too, until I was almost at the very end of the game. You need to go up to the roof of the circular building on the pathway as you first head to Yangus' home town - was it Pickham? You can't miss it; you literally run past the building.

Errr, I DID do the monster arena sidequest; in fact I beat S-class around the time I oppened the casino (at level 30).

However, I was confused about Timmy's training? What training? All you do is hunt down monsters to add to your team. Am I missing something?

rock27gr 3 Mar 2008 15:40:24 6,409 posts
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As a side-note, does anyone else think that King Trode and Blerk = seperated at birth?

I don't know why, but whenever I see Trode it remind me of Blerk!*

Hmmmm, this would make a good topic for a seperate thread me thinks.

* has never met Blerk in reality

Blerk Moderator 3 Mar 2008 15:51:30 48,227 posts
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I'm not quite as green as King Trode.

rock27gr 3 Mar 2008 15:53:18 6,409 posts
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Blerk wrote:
I'm not quite as green as King Trode.

Just made a new topic about this actually!

SlackMaster 4 Mar 2008 07:56:15 3,156 posts
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I know this game is old but it totally passed me by. I picked it up on platinum recently as part of my recent splurge on PS2 bargains before all the good titles become hard to get.

I have to say I'm really impressed. I've been looking for a fun old school RPG and I think Level5 have nailed it in this game.

I also picked up Rouge Galaxy, another Level5 game and have been thinking of picking up Dark Cloud if I can get it in good condition for another bash.

Charlie_Miso 16 Mar 2008 22:20:26 1,191 posts
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finished.

10/10

92 hours

good times

Deleted user 16 March 2008 23:19:16

It's one of those games I'd like to erase from my memory, just so I could play through it again without already knowing what it was going to throw at me.

DQVIII = solid gold.

Charlie_Miso 17 Mar 2008 00:20:13 1,191 posts
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so where to from here?

might have to cold turkey the RPGs for a while, nothing is going to live up to this.

PazJohnMitch 17 Mar 2008 01:02:36 13,433 posts
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Charlie_Miso wrote:
so where to from here?

might have to cold turkey the RPGs for a while, nothing is going to live up to this.

There is only one traditional style RPG that I have played that I enjoyed more than DQ VIII and that is Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast.

JinTypeNoir 17 Mar 2008 05:34:21 4,392 posts
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Charlie_Miso wrote:
so where to from here?

might have to cold turkey the RPGs for a while, nothing is going to live up to this.

How about more Dragon Quest?

Well, you could always try out Dragon Quest VII. It's quite possibly the longest, largest RPG ever made though, so you'd really have to settle in for the long hall.

If you really liked the monsters and monster team gameplay, then get any (which one doesn't matter, they all rock) Dragon Quest Monsters game. They are pure digital crack.

If it's more charm you want, you CANNOT go wrong with the Rocket Slime.

If you're patient, you can also wait for the DQIV DS translation to come out in the US or Europe this year. Dragon Quest VIII is a great game, but most people agree it isn't the best in the series. IV is my second favorite in the series (VI is my favorite).

Just to show you how much good stuff awaits you if you want more DQ, I'll rank them from favorite to least favorite (mind I love every DQ game)

1. Dragon Quest VI
2. Dragon Quest IV
3. Dragon Quest III
4. Dragon Quest V
5. Dragon Quest VII
6. Dragon Quest VIII
7. Dragon Quest II
8. Dragon Quest I

And I would Dragon Quest VIII the best RPG on the PlayStation 2. The only mistake you can make for this series is that I and II sometimes don't agree with players, because they think they are too archaic. Otherwise, there isn't a drop in quality in any one game in the series. It's been very consistent. At the same time, it's not like you're playing the same game over and over, the actual scenario construction of each game is quite unique (for instance, in one game you're playing in a Zelda-like Light World/Dark World dichotomy of reality and dreams and the next you might be playing across multiple generations).

If you want something like Dragon Quest that isn't Dragon Quest, Opoona should be translated soon. That's definitely a high quality, charming, old-school RPG.

Charlie_Miso 17 Mar 2008 06:26:31 1,191 posts
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No Dreamcast Paz,

but might take Jin's advise and wait for DQ4 on the DS.

Do still have Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the go for RPG goodness

Spectral 17 Mar 2008 06:30:24 5,943 posts
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Jin, how many of those are available in English and what system is each for?

PazJohnMitch 17 Mar 2008 06:40:58 13,433 posts
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Charlie_Miso wrote:
No Dreamcast Paz,

but might take Jin's advise and wait for DQ4 on the DS.

Do still have Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the go for RPG goodness

There is a Gamecube version too.

PazJohnMitch 17 Mar 2008 06:45:18 13,433 posts
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Spectral wrote:
Jin, how many of those are available in English and what system is each for?

I thought 8 was the first to be released in English? It actually dropped the number VIII in the title for the US release to avoid confusing them.

Or was 7 also released in the US under a different name. Dragon Warriors or something?

Charlie_Miso 17 Mar 2008 07:02:09 1,191 posts
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NatAttack wrote:
Never mind, it's a PS1 game. Who still has a PS1? Not me.

use a PS2?

Deleted user 17 March 2008 10:44:50

Charlie_Miso wrote:
so where to from here?

might have to cold turkey the RPGs for a while, nothing is going to live up to this.

If you've got a DS then you should get started on Dragon Quest Monsters. It's less "epic" than DQVIII, but it has the same visual style (surprisingly close, in fact) and virtually identical gameplay (in terms of battles and skill systems).

However...it is, of course, a monster-taming RPG. Like an expanded version of DQVIII's "monster team" system. If that doesn't appeal to you then it might not be such a good idea. But I highly recommend it.

Messiac 17 Mar 2008 12:30:59 3,465 posts
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Was playing this last night, what a brilliant, brilliant game.

johnlenham 17 Mar 2008 14:02:33 4,000 posts
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Kinda wish i hadnt sold this on like two years ago it was preety gewd.

Ive played a partialy translated version of the so far JP release only DS game Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi and that looks and sounds great but the translation is really bad nd theres errors all over the place as it turns out theres a few diffrent translations on the JP game but there hidden and incomplete.

Charlie_Miso 17 Mar 2008 23:54:05 1,191 posts
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@Cid (and JTN)

Is it Pokemon-esq?

Got Pokemon DS, doesn't really float my boat. Maybe the fact that it's really, really old-Skool (but in a bad way).

Deleted user 18 March 2008 09:37:40

It is in the sense that you have monsters fight for you. That's pretty-much where the similarities end.

If you enjoyed VIII then I think you'd like DQM, because you'll instantly feel right at home with it. The visual style is identical, the battle system is identical (albeit with one less party member slot), the skill system is similar, and most of the monsters from DQVIII are present, alongside those from other games in the series (including final bosses and the like). Any of them can be "recruited" into your team at certain points.

One thing you should be aware of is that the game uses a synthesis system. In order to keep-up with the difficulty curve, you're usually going to need to combine a couple of your monsters to form better ones from time to time. It can be quite fun to try out different combinations to see what you get, but I recommend a guide or something if you want to get the monster you want with minimal fuss.

simiankid 12 Mar 2013 18:05:06 640 posts
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Right, I know this bump is practically necrophilia, but it's worth it on the off chance that I help someone.

*Ahem* YOU CAN TENSION SPELLS AS WELL AS NORMAL ATTACKS.

Got all the way to bloody Baccarat before trying it on the off chance. Could have saved myself hours on crowd clearance. Jessica seems a lot more useful now too.

/Sasafrakin....mumble grumble...

Edited by simiankid at 18:05:58 12-03-2013

JinTypeNoir 13 Mar 2013 02:42:52 4,392 posts
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If you tension on skills with a percentage chance to do something, there's a higher percentage they will succeed as well.

Tension is an awesome system. If it was combined with press turn of Shin Megami Tensei and the Grandia battle system, we would have the greatest turn-based battle system known to man.

simiankid 14 Mar 2013 11:25:08 640 posts
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@JinTypeNoir - I tried tensioning abilities, but didn't notice a big damage jump, I guess the effects of tension are more limited there. Cheers for the tip on the improvement of effect though, that's awesome!

Deleted user 11 October 2013 11:49:23

I bet none of us dreamed about this when we played this awesome game on our PS2's but Dragon Quest VIII can now run on a mobile phone..
/sorry for resurrecting the thread

Youthist 11 Oct 2013 12:11:22 13,115 posts
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That is great. And this game for those who haven't played it and are fans of JRPG is absolutely superb.

Widge Moderator 11 Oct 2013 12:21:22 13,859 posts
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I wonder if they'll do the remade DQ7 on phones...

CosmicFuzz 15 Mar 2017 16:25:35 32,214 posts
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Anyone else playing this on 3DS then?

I'm about 12 hours in, really loving it so far. Nice to play an old-skool JRPG again, which I haven't in ages. The move away from random battles is nice too, being able to avoid enemies when you don't want to fight - or seeing them run away from you when you're overleveled - is great. Fun story (nothing too melodramatic) with interesting characters (I like that it seems to just be four people in your team, no need to worry about people not gaining levels if they're not fighting).

Good stuff!

One_Vurfed_Gwrx 15 Mar 2017 17:02:59 2,982 posts
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I want it but the Jan-april release schedule left it as a delayed purchase (and I have a US 3DS so have to import). Need to polish off final dungeon of VII too as I got to it months ago but somehow got distracted at the last hurdle...

Humperfunk 15 Mar 2017 18:19:59 7,466 posts
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I am playing it on and off, about seven hours in or so. The music and art style is absolutely wonderful, so much nostalgia from when I played the fuck out of it on PS2!

Dragon Quest VIII • Page 18