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Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Discussion (Nintendo 3DS) [game]
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01/22/17, 02:25 Edited: 01/22/17, 02:56
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I loved this game on the PS2, but never finished, so I've been anticipating this release for quite a while.
My initial impressions were somewhat mixed. On the negative side of things, the text was kind of blurry, the orchestrated soundtrack was gone, the textures and models were weaker, and the color palette was somehow too saturated/bold and also too dark. And I couldn't use the Circle Pad in any menu, meaning I had to keep switching my hand position while playing!
Buuuut...the improvements to an already great game very quickly won me over. The photo mode is hilarious fun and comes with an addictive and charming sidequest that fits this game's exploration element perfectly. The improvements to the alchemy pot make everything much more streamlined and fun to play around with. The lack of random encounters means that not only is exploring more fun, but the world feels far more alive now with creatures running about. Plus, the small tweaks to the gameplay are welcome (such as having all picked up items go directly to your bag). I haven't even messed with the sped up battles yet or reached the extra characters, but I'm looking forward to those as well.
Beyond all that, the core game is still terrific, with great pacing and charm and a strong blend of exploration and linear progression/storytelling. I've played about 8 hours over the past couple days and only stopped because my system needed to charge. Despite the audio/visual downgrades, this is a great game and I'm having a heck of a time revisiting it.
Currently just landed in Maella Abbey after poking around doing some side stuff for a bit. Looking forward to filling out my team soon! |
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@VofEscaflowneGlad you're having a good time with it. I'm pretty sure I know exactly which battle you're talking about ("What a pity!")! I won it by the skin of my teeth thanks to Munchie's Cured Cheese (basically Multiheal), a strong Monster Team and a bit of good fortune. If I'd lost, I'd probably need to go level up a touch to nab that Multiheal spell (which makes it much more manageable for sure). Crazy that you were sitting on 150 Skill Points. Those get lapped up like a thirsty dog whenever I level up. I specialized in Boomerangs and Courage and never regretted it thanks to how it handled mobs of enemies, but now I'm focusing on Swords. As for the other games, VI and VII are similarly styled so I think that might be why you had a rough time with both of them. If you'd like to try another beloved DQ game, I'd recommend V. It's much shorter than most of them but has a very strong, emotional core to it. Keep in mind that 8 and 9 are among the most "modern" DQ games so there's a bit of an old-school sensibility to the others. My current DQ rankings: 9. DQ2. Unbalanced difficulty and esoteric exploration. 8. DQ7. Very charming but too easy and padded. 7. DQ6. Underwhelming story but a large world. 6. DQ9. Lots to do with polished gameplay. 5. DQ1. Invented the JRPG in a smart way. 4. DQ4 (need to replay). Really fun cast and gimmick. 3. DQ5. Strong emotional core. 2. DQ3. Great game considering its age. 1. DQ8. Hail to the new king, baby! I have full reviews of all of them on NW except for 4, 7 and 8 (all of which I plan on getting to). |
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