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[gblues]

I've played and finished every DQ game. Story-wise, I liked DQ5 and DQ4 the best. Gameplay-wise, I was always fond of DQ3's class system because you could cycle through all the jobs and just get enormously powerful. I once nearly beat the game soloing my hero against Zoma. Unfortunately, it was a garage sale and some kid wanted to test my copy of TMNT 2 to make sure it worked. I never got that close again.

DQ7 is very long; the first 100 hours or so are about 25 smaller scenarios. At the start, your island is alone in the world; each scenario sends you back in time to free that continent from the Demonlord's spell, and when you complete the scenario a new landmass shows up in the present. Eventually, you free the entire world.

And all hell breaks loose.

Spoiler

It also just narrowly dodges falling into Japanese RPG Cliche #12 "That god you were serving the whole game is actually EVIL!" (ref: Lunar 2: EB, Xenogears, Grandia II, etc).

I happened to enjoy most of the scenarios, especially the (usually) gratifying follow-ups when you come back to the country in the "present." The graphics are pretty meh, but there's also zero load time.

Bottom line: while it is very long, the individual scenarios provide consistently good short-term payoffs that the total time investment isn't as overwhelming as Xenogears. And by the time you finish it, DQ8 will probably be in the bargain bin.

Nathan

 

[Red Scarlet]

Anyone played this one already? How is it?

I have, but I'm not a good source to determine whether or not someone should buy the game or not.

8 also follows the other PS games with very little load time.

 

[psycho_snake]

I have, but I'm not a good source to determine whether or not someone should buy the game or not.

8 also follows the other PS games with very little load time.

Could you just give me an idea how the story and gameplay compare to Final Fantasy?

 

[Oh! My Car!]

What exactly is being 'fixed' in the US localization?

Other than dodgy hair do's

 

[Shouta]

As long as they're as large as the average FFXI zone I'm fine with it. Proper zone design can make even the smallest area feel large and expansive.

The zone size for DQ8 depends on the size of the continent. All the bodies of land are continuous until you reach a body of water which you then have to switch maps to go to another area. Each area is pretty damn big though. The island that the game starts on is like the size of two average FFXI zones or so. The largest continent in the game gobble is like stringing the entire trip from Bastok to Jeuno in one zone and maybe even Sandy to Jeuno. :lol

 

[Mrbob]

The zone size for DQ8 depends on the size of the continent. All the bodies of land are continuous until you reach a body of water which you then have to switch maps to go to another area. Each area is pretty damn big though. The island that the game starts on is like the size of two average FFXI zones or so. The largest continent in the game gobble is like stringing the entire trip from Bastok to Jeuno in one zone and maybe even Sandy to Jeuno. :lol

0_o

Damn.

 

[ronito]

I'm replaying DQIII in preparation for this. Oh man I forgot how much I missed DQ

 

[Doom_Bringer]

new trailer

http://www.dragonquest8.com/

 

[Red Scarlet]

This post has some DQ8 spoilers, but for stuff you find out early in the game, for the most part.

It depends on which FF game you are comparing them to.

Storywise, the DQ games really don't compare to the 'epicness' of the FF's. They are rather simple, good vs evil, with some humor and offbeat story arcs. If you are going for a completely thought-provoking in-depth story, you won't come away with much at all. The stories are like they were in the olden days; simple, charming, like kids stories. Fun but more or less nothing to write home about.

Gameplay is pretty different, though. There is more focus in combat and exploration compared to the FF games. In this game, you can have an easier time with certain abilities than others, depending on how you play. Kind of like different setups of Materia/party members/Junctions/Jobs in the FF games.

There isn't as much character customization in this as there is in most of the FF games.

DQ focuses more on exploration than the FF games. You are rewarded far more in these games for snooping around and taking note of locked doors to come back to once you have the proper keys. Treasure chests are strewn about the overworld map for you to find, if you choose to go exploring. Nothing in the chests will make or break the game, but they'll surely be to your benefit to find.

The flow of the games is slower than the FF's; you will become familiar with monsters more in this, from fighting around or while exploring. Battles are more complex than the sometimes posted "hold X" in order to win. You likely won't zoom through rapid amounts of new towns/dungeons as you normally can in FF games. A new feature in this game is a command that makes the party members try to 'scare off' the enemies. If the party member is a high enough level (and the enemy can be scared; robots and undead don't seem to be scarable), you can just make the enemies run away, and they can all still drop a treasure chest. For awhile, you can get lost, but you can always buy Chimera Wings or cast a spell (once you learn it) to warp to a town you've been to, which is nice throughout the game.

If you like stats, the game keeps up with various in-game stats, such as battles fought and lost, number of battles fled, and such. You get a "rank" later in the game (nothing changes gamewise for the ranks), and the game keeps a list of what monsters you have fought which

Spoiler

has an itemary purpose

.

There are many hidden items to find in towns/dungeons. Usually in barrels/pots/dressers/cupboards. This, coupled with the new Alchemy Pot that you can throw items in to make new ones, allow you to sometimes get really strong items early (or otherwise the only way) to make the game easier.

Dungeons in this game really aren't very big, which is kind of a disappointment compared to some of the other games (like DQ4). There still are no save points in dungeons; you still have to talk to a priest in towns to save. Some people gripe about this, but on the flip side, you dont "lose" whatever you did if you get a game over; you retain your items and experience, but lose half of your current in-party gold (which can be remedied by depositing money into a bank).

-Mid game spoilers-

-

-

There are some sidequests and optional things to do throughout the game, such as the Small Medals to be found and casinos. As is now a standard with these games (ENDGAME SPOILERS)

Spoiler

there is more to do in the game after the regular ending.

There are different ways to play, thanks to the more user-friendly Skill Point system in this game instead of jobs. Skill points are alloted to different weapon skills (for the most part) that offer different attacks/spells that a character can use.

I'll add more if it is needed, but I really should go to bed.
:lol I probably didn't answer your question at all.

 

[ronito]

The zone size for DQ8 depends on the size of the continent. All the bodies of land are continuous until you reach a body of water which you then have to switch maps to go to another area. Each area is pretty damn big though. The island that the game starts on is like the size of two average FFXI zones or so. The largest continent in the game gobble is like stringing the entire trip from Bastok to Jeuno in one zone and maybe even Sandy to Jeuno. :lol

Whoa....and random encounters all that way? That's mad. Hopefully you never have to cross the whole continent on one trip.

 

[Red Scarlet]

You can just cast the Repel spell to avoid weak badguys.

 

[Brandon F]

4 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE BECOME OBSESSED!

 

[teiresias]

The zone size for DQ8 depends on the size of the continent. All the bodies of land are continuous until you reach a body of water which you then have to switch maps to go to another area. Each area is pretty damn big though. The island that the game starts on is like the size of two average FFXI zones or so. The largest continent in the game gobble is like stringing the entire trip from Bastok to Jeuno in one zone and maybe even Sandy to Jeuno. :lol

Meeeeee likeyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol I just pray you run a little faster in DQ8 than you do in FFXI

 

[Shouta]

You run a bit faster and you also get a Tiger on one of the continents to move faster.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

new trailer

http://www.dragonquest8.com/

Oh man, that has me so amped.

 

[Red Scarlet]

You can still get fought while

Spoiler

riding the Killer Panther, though.

 

[teiresias]

How are towns handled on the overworld? Are they "to scale"? Meaning the town is just there in the overworld at the same scale, or do you still enter an "icon" that represents the town and it loads the town.

I've always wanted a large single-player console RPG that did the whole "to scale" town, but Japanese developers apparently don't like that all too much for some reason.

 

[Shouta]

Towns are scaled.

And man, that trailer is cheesy. It's like they got Funimation to dub that trailer and man, that hair looks frigging awful -_-.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

All they have to do is make sure a shot of the main character with his Dragon Ball Z hair gets into the commercial and this game is a guaranteed million seller in NA.

 

[SomeDude]

No voice acting?

 

[Brandon F]

If anyone is curious, you can go to the Japanese DQ8 website and watch a similar trailer to see what max-tension looks like sans Seiyan hair.

 

[MadFuzzy]

No voice acting?

Voiced, and seemingly with European style accents: http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/dragonwarrior8/preview_6125735.html

Which is why it's vaguely hilarious that they got HOLLYWOOD VOICE OVER MAN to do the opening speech on that new trailer.

 

[jiggle]

I love that they finally added images/icons for the items. Ever since DWII came with that giant map with images of all the items/weapons/armors, I've been wanting to see them in the game.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

me buy ME BUY NOW!

 

[Propagandhim]

I see some people mention FFV with this game..is there some sort of class system in the DQ games? I'm a noob when it comes to DQ stuff. I'm definitely excited for this one.

 

[ManDudeChild]

If anyone is curious, you can go to the Japanese DQ8 website and watch a similar trailer to see what max-tension looks like sans Seiyan hair.

Have a direct link? I'd like to see how it looked before that hair.

 

[Mejilan]

Fucking sick presentation, by DQ standards.

Can't believe they aren't calling it Dragon Warrior (not that I mind.)

G-d damn that DQ Overture never fails to give me chills. Can't wait.

 

[Ranger X]

Level 5 sure likes icon and nice presentation (quite old school too!)

sales +1 !

 

[mutsu]

Wow, they have changed the item menu and fighting menus, completely different to the Japanese version!

I wonder if the Japanese would appreciate this new menu type if it was used in the Japanese version of DQ8... it is so different to the traditional menu and it could put fans of the series off.

But personally, I think the item's icons look so cool! They are arts from Toriyama no doubt, as they look the same as the ones from the DQ8 guidebook.

 

[Brandon F]

I wonder if the Japanese would appreciate this new menu type if it was used in the Japanese version of DQ8... it is so different to the traditional menu and it could put fans of the series off.

But personally, I think the item's icons look so cool! They are arts from Toriyama no doubt, as they look the same as the ones from the DQ8 guidebook.

Screw tradition. Anyone that has bought a DQ game in the last two decades is no doubt familiar with Toriyama's illustrated equipment spreads in the various manuals/guides/what-have-you. Bloody well time they are given a role in the game. So long as there aren't significant loadtimes associated with pulling up that menu, this is a fabulous switch.

Edit: Actually his stuff is a bit more detailed, but this is still a good change.

 

[Mejilan]

I don't think I'll miss the old menus, but I really hope they keep a toggle for the classic sound effects.

Or... are those not being changed?

 

[Brandon F]

They have been replaced with DBZ soundbytes. The hero yells Kamehamamama everytime you break a barrel.

 

[Mareg]

Oh man, that has me so amped.

ZOMG.... preordered 12 times at full price NOW !!!

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I don't think I'll miss the old menus, but I really hope they keep a toggle for the classic sound effects.

Yeah, I would prefer the old sound effects being included in the NA release. I love me some nostalgia.

 

[acklame]

new trailer

http://www.dragonquest8.com/

awesome site!

 

[Fxp]

Question to those who played Japanese version - is the game's difficulty the same as a previous DQ games (you spend most of the time levelling up)?

 

[Shouta]

Question to those who played Japanese version - is the game's difficulty the same as a previous DQ games (you spend most of the time levelling up)?

It's actually a tad easier than the previous DQs for the most part IMO. If you aren't all over the place with your skill points, you'll have the skills to beat the game without much leveling.

 

[Idioteque]

Still not excited about this game.

 

[Fxp]

It's actually a tad easier than the previous DQs for the most part IMO. If you aren't all over the place with your skill points, you'll have the skills to beat the game without much leveling.

Sounds great. Every time I think of DW8 (even I'm super hyped about the upcoming US release), an old DQ7 screens still hunts me - your character standing on the ship with a menu open (+/-120 hours playtime) and a screen's subtitled "I want my life back".

 

[Red Scarlet]

Have a direct link? I'd like to see how it looked before that hair.

I dunno how to direct link that kind of thing (its some flash video); the option doesn't come up. But go to

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/dragonquest/eight/

Watch or skip the intro, then choose the 5th option from the left up top (Movie; it has two -- looking things in it). Near the end of the trailer is the Japanese Super High Tensioned hero.

 

[Sagitario]

Any pics of the japanese menu? I'm really curious now...

 

[jiggle]

Any pics of the japanese menu? I'm really curious now...

menu:

and battle screen

 

[Sagitario]

menu:

and battle screen

Thanks...

Quite an improvement I must say...

 

[Tony HoTT]

New menu looks good as long as it doesn't come with a bunch of loading. The DW remakes for GBC went to a new screen for the menus and it worked out fine.

I'm not impressed with the stupid DBZ hair though. What the fuck man?

 

[Ironclad]

I'm not impressed with the stupid DBZ hair though. What the fuck man?

It's Toriyama. What'd ya expect? :lol

New menus look great, really great. Hopefully you'll be able to change the transperency on the battle scene menus.

 

[Erdrick]

The game is shaping up very, very nice for the English language version. I'm happy with the changes. As stated above though, I hope there is a toggle for the sounds. I like the old beeps and stuff.

No big deal though if not. The game just looks so beautiful. As long as it plays like a DQ game, which it certainly looks to, then it is all good.

November can't come soon enough.

 

[Torquill]

God, that's so dumb that they're making him have Super Saiyajin hair for Super High Tension.

You mean hairstyle 2 of 5 that toriyama uses? =p

 

[Tony HoTT]

It's Toriyama. What'd ya expect? :lol

New menus look great, really great. Hopefully you'll be able to change the transperency on the battle scene menus.

I actually like Toriyama artwork it's just that they felt they had to change it to that hairstyle for us Americans simply because DBZ was somewhat successful here? I bet a picture of that hair is going to be on the back of the box.

 

[Red Scarlet]

In some EGM article/ad, they showed a screenshot showing that it seems the spells are in fact being renamed. In the screenshot, Jessica casts Merami/Blazemore (or Merazooma/Blazemost), which is now called 'Kafrizzle'. So I guess Mera/Blaze will be 'Sizzle' and Rerimito/Outside is going to be 'Pop', and Bagi/Infernos will be 'Woosh' after all. :|

I'd post the scan, but that's a no-no.

 

[Mejilan]

That SUCKS.

Now that is an unnecessary and useless change!