PREVIEW: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

RELEASE DATE: November 22

GENRE: Role-Player

PLAYERS: One

We all know and love Akira Toriyama for his unforgettable accomplishments such as the Dragonball franchise and his lovable but lesser known manga, Dr. Slump. What most wannabe Anime nerds dont know is that Toriyama created a series called Dragon Quest way back in 1986 that started out on the MSX and Famicon game systems. Dragon Quest was the very first RPG that was released on a console. The idea was simple: a lovable RPG in the traditional Zelda format; something ANYONE could play. The games were a huge hit, later spawning its own counterpart: Dragon Warrior. Dragon Quest later branched out to Game Boy and Playstation, leading us all the way up to number eight in the series which is due in late November.
My first impression of the game was a reminder of how infatuating Toriyama's art style is. Being a huge fan of Dragonball, I instantly recognized his traditional cartoony character deseign (with the cell-shading bringing out the drawings superbly) while having enormous lush areas in the background. The story tells of a hero named Eight (coincidence with the number in the series? I think not!) who must aid a king and princess who have been transformed into a white horse and a yoda-esque hairy frog thing by the generic "Evil Lord who Terrorizes Nearby Villages" character. You are set out on a quest to find this villain, with the help of a crafty knight, a chunky bandit, and a busty magician. The fighting is very easy to learn, seeing as though its familiar turn-based action has been done a thousand times, but this game adds an interesting concept. You can take a turn for one of your characters to build up his/her tension, thus letting out more power and damage on the next attack. The NPCs are humorous and keep with Toriyama's infamous style of comedy. Over all I'd say that this game has alot more up its sleeve that I am aware about and that fans of Akira Toriyama should check this out. It is definetly one of the last great RPGs to be released this year. Eight even gets the attention of an attractive barmaid just because he keeps a pet gerbil in his front pocket! Who would've thought that gerbils attracted chicks!?
-otacon