LogFAQs > #951396757

6.) Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2, 2004)






Dragon Quest 8 was to me the right game at the right time to be my favorite game for a nice long time. I could not fucking stand Final Fantasy 12. But the anticipation for it in the wake of how fucking incredible Final Fantasy X is led me to do what is now unthinkable - I bought Dragon Quest 8 just to play the demo for XII.

And the XII demo fucking stunk. But the actual game I bought to experience that demo...well it was super cool! The opening sequence of Dragon Quest 8 is oozing with charm and charisma. And the initial quest with the crystal ball and the monster who had been wronged by the drunk fortune teller trying to quit the biz by throwing away the crystal ball. It was just such a different approach. It's charming and fun and the bad guys aren't evil until you really start to get into the plot. The game is slow, each town has its own story for you to unravel. Some of them completely optional - I didn't play through the Cash and Carry story until my third time through the game! I just hadn't realized it was there because it wasn't mandatory.

The gameplay was simple, but unlike previous dragon quests there are genuine player build choices that you can make. The alchemy mechanic was new and fun and something that was new to me at the time. And the story is an epic fairy tale. Its perfect. It's one of the most perfect RPGs. Every moment fucking rules.

I also enjoyed all the post-game content, which reveals more of the backstory of the protagonist Hero and the ability to add more characters to your party than just the main four. And it adds the option to marry Jessica instead of the canon girl, which was cool.



One of my most perfectly enjoyable experiences and one I periodically return to as a form of comfort food,

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Board 8's Voice of Reason
https://imgur.com/AWY4xHy