Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Information
- The release of "Dragon Quest VIII" on the PlayStation 2 was the first new "Dragon Quest" game in the series since the 2000 release of "Dragon Quest VII" for the original PlayStation. The series dates back to the late 1980s, when the first North American release of the game on the Nintendo was renamed "Dragon Warrior." It was not until the release of "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King" that the game's title matched the Japanese release. The "Dragon Quest" series shares the same popularity in Japan as the "Final Fantasy" series, published by Square Enix.
- "Journey of the Cursed King" was developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix. The game originally was released in Japan on November 27, 2004, while the North American release was November 15, 2005. This marked the first release of the series on the PlayStation 2 as well as the first "Dragon Quest" game to feature 3-D graphics and voice acting.
- The player takes on the role of an unnamed warrior. He ventures out to find an evil sorcerer who cursed the Kingdom of Trodain. Along the way, the warrior teams up with other characters and participates in turn-based combat against enemies. Players choose the actions of their party members--such as attacking, using magic or items, or defending. Characters gain experience after defeating enemies; that experience is used to level up and learn new abilities such as additional attacks and magic spells. Players also can create new weapons and items by combining ingredients in a magical pot, a mini-game that yields much of the game's most powerful equipment.
- The Japanese release of "Dragon Quest VIII" saw 3 million copies of the game shipped to retailers. According to ign.com, "sales of the game, related goods, commuter fares for people going to pick up the game and snacks people consume as they play the game will top 51 billion yen."
The North American release of the game was greeted with positive review scores by gaming critics and as of September 2009, averages an 89 on Metacritic. GameSpy gave the game a perfect score and wrote in its review that "it's a must-buy for any longtime RPG fan, and a recommended purchase for gamers looking for a break from the grit and confusion of modern-day gaming." - When "Journey of the Cursed King" was released in North America, it was bundled with a playable demo of "Final Fantasy XII," a game that was released one year later. "Dragon Quest VIII" is the last game of the series to appear on a Sony console. "Dragon Quest IX" has been developed for the Nintendo DS, and "Dragon Quest X" is set to be released on the Nintendo Wii in 2010.
