Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - Second Play

I’ve been playing Dragon Quest VII: Journey of the Cursed King like a fiend - food? sleep? who needs ‘em? I usually don’t get this wrapped up in games, even the ones I really enjoy. In between cooking for Thanksgiving, I crammed in as much play time as possible - the bread has to rise for an hour? Great! I’ve got some monsters to kill and a curse to try and lift! This really has been one of the most superb gaming experiences I’ve had in a long, long time. While I’ve played a number of games I’ve really enjoyed over the past few years, I can think of only two other games that I’ve gone this crazy over.

The plot has been proceeding nicely. While I’m not going to divulge any of the goings on, suffice it to say that I, queen of bighugeepicdramas, have really been enjoying the plot and pacing of this game. There are twists and turns aplenty, and I’ve really been getting into it. It’s like a brilliant little short story as compared to the classic, lengthy epics of Final Fantasy or Xenosaga. It’s chock full of story and emotion, but it’s presented in such a tight package that you’re not overwhelmed by long cut scene after long cut scene. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of play in this game - I’m already well over the 20 hour mark and I still have a ways to go, judging by the world map. But this is a game that proves you don’t need movie-like sequences every half hour to have a charming story with incredibly well drawn characters. I’m already attached to my little hodge-podge party, and while I can’t wait to find out what happens next, I’m a little saddened by the prospect of Dragon Quest ending sometime in the near future.

I already discussed a lot of the basic mechanics of the game in my first Play Rating, so I won’t spend too much time on them here. I’m continuing to enjoy the battles, as the enemies are still very creative. The battle system itself is very familiar and easy to get a grasp on; the difficulty level of the game is satisfying, but not frustrating. The graphics and sound continue to be absolutely superb. My boyfriend caught sight of the world map while I was playing and said “Wow, that’s one gorgeous world map … wait, everything in this game is gorgeous.” This game is worth taking for a spin if for the fabulous production value alone, to say nothing of the wonderful characterization and plot.

In addition to the basic game, which you are more than welcome to progress through without a second thought if you are so inclined, I’ve really been enjoying some of the optional, lengthy side quests that you’ll run across in the course of the game. First of these is the alchemy pot, which you acquire a few hours into the game. The alchemy pot is a place for combining old items into new and (hopefully) more useful items. Armor, weapons, and items can be created by using the alchemy pot, and it really does behoove you to utilize it at least occassionally. Now, these sorts of things drive me crazy if they’re a requirement for the game, but it’s not absolutely necessary in Dragon Quest. Naturally, you can create some interesting and rare items if you use the pot, but the store-bought armor, weapons, and items will prove more than sufficient if the idea of testing out various combinations bores you. I’ve really enjoyed it, partially because you do find hints throughout the game on how to make special items, and partially because you cannot waste items in the pot - if you’re going to create a “bad” combination, the pot just spits your items back out at you, so you can try combinations with rare items without fear of having them disappear into a worthless item. While on your travels, you really need to explore every area ad nauseam - pots and barrels can contain items, wells can be explored, and bookshelves can be perused. This is where you’ll find your little alchemical hints - some of them are so vague as to be practically useless, but you’ll at least have an idea of the direction you should be taking. Experiment away! The alchemy pot does take a while to work (you’ll hear a little timer bell ring when it’s done), but I’ve already made some very nice items of various types that you can’t purchase, so I would say that it’s well worth the wait. Your alchemy pot also ties into another little side quest, but you’ll have to find that one for yourself.

Another on-going side quest is the monster arena, which is a place you discover that allows you to fight teams of monsters against other monster teams, all with the goal of becoming the Monster Arena champion. While traversing the game world, you’ll occasionally come across monsters that are wandering around. After completing one mini-quest early on, you will be able to collect these monsters into a team, and fight them in the Monster Arena owned by a rather eccentric Italian guy. There are various levels of competition, and if you manage to win three rounds in a given level, you’ll get two prizes: one is usually some sort of item, and the other is given to you by the Monster Arena owner. The most useful thus far has been the ability to call your monster team in for a few rounds in regular battle. I’ve found this to be pretty useful in some of the tougher boss battles - the stronger monsters can dish out some serious damage, although your control over them is limited to telling them to fight or calling them off. The whole side quest is a nice little diversion from the main game; after collecting some new and stronger monsters, I usually pop over to the Monster Arena for a round of fighting.

Which brings me to another thing I really like about Dragon Quest - there’s a lot of freedom to explore and back track in this game. By using the “zoom” spell, you can instantly teleport your party to areas you’ve already been to. Since the game world is very expansive, covering several continents and a ton of towns, it’s nice not to have to spend a lot of time retracing your steps. Of course, it behooves you to explore the world on foot and by other means: there are beautiful vistas, little kingdoms, and lots of treasure to discover, as well as other mini-side quests.

As for my complaints in my first Play Rating? Well, I have finally acquired a spell to revive fallen party members - sort of. Let’s just say that when the spell says it’s effective “50% of the time,” it means it. In one of my most recent boss battles, it took me 5 consecutive tries to revive a fallen member - finally, on the fifth try, the spell worked. It’s a fairly minor irritation I suppose, but the item that allows you to revive fallen members is quite rare, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that a more consistent revival spell will be forthcoming. I still long for the occasional save point outside of a church. My game time, which is listed by each save file, is currently hovering around 60 hours, but not because I’ve been playing for that much time. No, I’ve had to leave my PS2 running on more than a few occasions for several hours at a time when I’ve been in the middle of a dungeon (or on a long trek to a new area) and I really have not wanted to teleport all the way back to the nearest church to save.

Compared to the sum of the game as a whole, however, the lack of random save points is quite minor. Dragon Quest is a funny, charming, wholly engaging game that has simply knocked my socks off from the beginning - truly one of my best gaming experiences to date. The superb production and wonderful story and game mechanics have really made this a fantastic and worthwhile gaming experience. My final Play Rating will be a wrap-up of my Dragon Quest experience, and I suspect that the positive trend will continue.