Dragon Quest VIII - Why is it So Good?

[killer kirby]

Feels great to play a good JRPG after crawling trough FF10...

 

You poor bastard, any RPG would feel good after playing FFX (Unless you are playing Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy X-2 )

[Grazza]

Started yesterday and if any indication that I like this game is needed the n I can say that I have 9:23 hours played just from yesterday.

 

Don't really feel like I did much during that time, just levelled a bit and called it good when I met the giant cleavage showing Jessica at the port.

 

That's an enormous amount for your first go! Glad you like it.

[darksnowman]

I probably won't bother with it much either. I figure the only way to make money from it is to constantly save / reload until a profit is made. Which is a bit tedious and feels like cheating.

 

Yeah I see where you're coming from. I can never be bothered with casino's in games (even Pokemon!) but for some reason in Dragon Quest V I gave gambling a bash and managed to win big on the slots. Complete fluke but I'm not gonna complain.

 

Can you bet on monster battling like in DQ IV + V?

[Ike]

Can you bet on monster battling like in DQ IV + V?

 

Nope.

 

You do want to do the casino, there's loads of good stuff there, like the Gringham Whip, the best whip in the game and if I remember right the Falcon Blade which helps for Metal Slime hunting. You just gotta save and reload a lot. It takes a while but it's certainly worth it.

[Patch]

Started yesterday and if any indication that I like this game is needed the n I can say that I have 9:23 hours played just from yesterday.

 

Don't really feel like I did much during that time, just levelled a bit and called it good when I met the giant cleavage showing Jessica at the port.

 

I'm like that too. I'll spend an hour or two one evening and then wonder 'What did I actually achieve today?'

 

Cool that someone else is playing too, although at this rate, you'll be finished long before me. I'm just over the 40 hour mark and I've been playing for weeks.

 

You do want to do the casino, there's loads of good stuff there, like the Gringham Whip, the best whip in the game and if I remember right the Falcon Blade which helps for Metal Slime hunting. You just gotta save and reload a lot. It takes a while but it's certainly worth it.

 

Those would be useful indeed. Sounds like a second-play-through kindathing. Or when I get overwhelmingly defeated by bosses perhaps.

[Patch]

Progress recently has been slow thanks to a busy life and some gold-collecting duties (the indispensible Magic Bikini cost a fair bit. Those Japanese designers really want you to work for it, don't they?).

 

Went to Rydon's Tower which had a great set of seesaw-and-statue puzzles, though as with nearly all dungeons so far, I was left wanting a little more complexity and length. What's good about the dungeons in this game is that they are varied. Some have bosses, some don't. Some require thought, some don't. Some are short, some are long.

 

Back to Arcadia for a showdown with Evil Jessica. By the way, did anyone else get creeped out by David's attitude in the game? His grovelling, subservient nature in the face of Dominico's sadistic pleasure was one thing, his refusal to see anything but gratitude to Dominico was another and his gruesome eventual fate yet another. I liked that it was refreshingly atypical of this type of character - that is, a descendant of a historical hero is rarely so misguided.

 

When you look behind the cartoony presentation of the game, I think this qualifies as another example of Grazzy's DQ adult themes; I'm adding it to my list of shocking moments.

 

Shocking Moments

1. Alistair's brutal death.

2. Trode being flung into the Iron Maiden.

3. David's oppression, true identity and eventual fate.

 

Back to Evil Jessica. By this time I was pretty far levelled up and she wasn't a problem. And then, the moment where she drops the staff and, surprise, surprise, someone else picks it up. I wonder if anyone has watched this scene and successfully resisted the urge to shout at the telly for someone to notice the sceptre.

 

Ah well. Sir Leopold ran off, presumably to try and kill the next of (not Hyrule's, honest) Seven Sages.

 

So on to the staple of all great RPGs - the snowy area. The Magic Bikini for Jessica will keep her nice and warm. I've now arrived at Orkutsk, with the visitors walking 'as if they've been going round in circles'. There's another shop with even more expensive gear. I think I might give it a miss this time and focus on the story a bit more.

 

 

[Grazza]

Back to Arcadia for a showdown with Evil Jessica. By the way, did anyone else get creeped out by David's attitude in the game? His grovelling, subservient nature in the face of Dominico's sadistic pleasure was one thing, his refusal to see anything but gratitude to Dominico was another and his gruesome eventual fate yet another. I liked that it was refreshingly atypical of this type of character - that is, a descendant of a historical hero is rarely so misguided.

 

Yes, indeed, it was a powerful piece of storytelling.

 

When you look behind the cartoony presentation of the game, I think this qualifies as another example of Grazzy's DQ adult themes; I'm adding it to my list of shocking moments.

 

Shocking Moments

1. Alistair's brutal death.

2. Trode being flung into the Iron Maiden.

3. David's oppression, true identity and eventual fate.

 

Same for me. This game has such a good tone. I love the cartoony graphics, and I also love the fact it feels adult, but not gratuitous. Did you read in Argonia Castle about the Puff Puff Club?

 

Back to Evil Jessica. By this time I was pretty far levelled up and she wasn't a problem. And then, the moment where she drops the staff and, surprise, surprise, someone else picks it up. I wonder if anyone has watched this scene and successfully resisted the urge to shout at the telly for someone to notice the sceptre.

 

I bet you were pleased you were using a boomerang, eh? Actually, I'd add that as a 4th shocking moment, as I hated fighting Jessica.

 

There's another shop with even more expensive gear. I think I might give it a miss this time and focus on the story a bit more.

 

It might be best to just focus on the armour that gives elemental defence (like the Dragon Mail) or magic defence (sorry, I meant to reply sooner).

 

 

Keep it up, Patch! Your witty posts crack me up.

[Patch]

Same for me. This game has such a good tone. I love the cartoony graphics, and I also love the fact it feels adult, but not gratuitous. Did you read in Argonia Castle about the Puff Puff Club?

 

I think I remember a very fleeting mention of it, whatever it is. I look forward to it, given that the word 'gratuitous' reminded you of it!

 

I bet you were pleased you were using a boomerang, eh? Actually, I'd add that as a 4th shocking moment, as I hated fighting Jessica.

 

Because you didn't have the boomerang you mean? That must have been well annoying. Even with my boomerang, she managed to get six of her minions to appear a few times, though thankfully they don't take much damage off you.

 

It might be best to just focus on the armour that gives elemental defence (like the Dragon Mail) or magic defence (sorry, I meant to reply sooner)

 

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.

 

 

[Grazza]

Because you didn't have the boomerang you mean? That must have been well annoying. Even with my boomerang, she managed to get six of her minions to appear a few times, though thankfully they don't take much damage off you.

 

Oh, I did. I think I bought every weapon!

 

[Patch]

More progress:

 

 

I completed the Herb Grotto dungeon in the snowy area, finding Marek at the end of it. I should have taken a photo of it, but there was an amusing situation where Marek thinks he hears something and calls out 'Is anybody there?' with the option of 'Yes' or 'No'. I have a habit of reading fast and pressing 'X' to advance the text, only to have selected 'Yes' before I can stop myself. I really want to know what happens when you say 'No'!

 

Anyway, the next sage descendant is dead, with the Hero and company just standing idly by while it all unfolds in front of them. So I think that leaves just one remaining descendant.

 

Getting the Ultimate Key was a great chance to revisit those parts of the games previously inaccessible. Particularly the Pirate's Cove which turned out to be more than just the side-quest I was expecting.

 

I also went back to Baccarat to find Cash and Carrie arguing over their inheritance. The Dragon Graveyard was a little tough with two memorable bosses at the end 'Red Horn' and 'Blue Fang'.

 

So off to the Isolated Plateau where the mysterious bird 'Empyrea' is the key to accessing a Dark World. This bit was well done, with plenty of eerie atmosphere and an . . . interesting . . . plotline.

 

So why is Empyrea attacking the Dark World's village? Let's find out. One very hard battle later (she killed Jessica once and Angelo once and I'm on level 40) and she gives up:

 

[ATTACH]3091[/ATTACH]

 

Yes, thank you. *Wipes brow*

 

[ATTACH]3092[/ATTACH]

 

What the frick? Test? Couldn't you have decided we were strong enough, like, after the second round maybe? Or some other way? Or in fact, realised that no-one from the village was going to help you after you attacked them, so in fact absolutely anyone from anywhere would do?

 

Anyway, I was half-tempted to refuse her request to save her egg after that. But I didn't.

 

And that's where I'm at. I made it almost all the way to the top of the mountain and then zoomed out to save all my collected treasures.

 

 

 

[Grazza]

Hilarious update, Patch. I'm enjoying being reminded of all these bits.

[darksnowman]

Hilarious update, Patch. I'm enjoying being reminded of all these bits.

 

Haha, yeah. Its not a walk down memory lane for me at all, but I've been reading all these spoilers so far. Great stuff. I hate it when you skip through text quickly and miss something/ regret the option you chose.

 

A HUGE regret is always watching Kaepora Gaebora repeat all his stuff in Ocarina of Time. Cunning of them to have the yes and no ordered in such a way as to catch us out like that... *grumble grumble*

[Grazza]

Haha, yeah. Its not a walk down memory lane for me at all, but I've been reading all these spoilers so far. Great stuff. I hate it when you skip through text quickly and miss something/ regret the option you chose.

 

Also, it cracks me up when friendly characters are prepared to beat you up as a "test"!

[killer kirby]

Also, it cracks me up when friendly characters are prepared to beat you up as a "test"!

 

It's funny because it's almost in all Dragon Quest games.

 

I mean just look at DQVII

You get to fight God who is your greatest friend

 

[Patch]

A HUGE regret is always watching Kaepora Gaebora repeat all his stuff in Ocarina of Time. Cunning of them to have the yes and no ordered in such a way as to catch us out like that... *grumble grumble*

 

Haha, a rare case of the game designers purposefully trying to irritate you! Unless it was an accident.

 

Also, it cracks me up when friendly characters are prepared to beat you up as a "test"!

 

It's a strange phenomenon, clearly designed to inject some sort of variety into the proceedings, but most of the time leaving a sour taste in the mouth. Especially since they will happily wipe you out if you let them.

 

Over the weekend, I managed to get about seven hours in. First thing was to get to the top of the 'roost' and fight Gemon. You walk out of the final room into the outside world and there he is, staring forwards at you. You can walk all the way around him, touch Empyrea's egg and he's still facing forwards! I have a pic of this at home.

 

Gemon was a lot easier than Empyrea thankfully. No-one died and I had plenty of MP left. Jessica's Twin Dragon Lash is the biz! The reward you get for this is nice - the ability to fly anywhere in the world, without monster encounters.

 

The first thing I did was to find and defeat Morrie's Wanted list of monsters and this opened up the Monster Arena. I've clearly arrived at this a lot later than intended because I was soon able to capture three well 'ard monsters that obliterated everyone in Ranks C-G. Rank B is a toughie though, so I dread to think what Rank A will be like: "In the Red Corner, Patch and his team 'Dead Meat'!"

 

Totally by accident, I flew over the Tryan Gully area and landed because it looked nice. Controlling Trode was a blast. His method of opening barrels cracked me up. So I now have the Darktree Leaf and the map shows something evil on it. I'm guessing it's Leopold, but I've avoided him so far.

 

Being able to fly, I was able to make it to the mansion above Savella Cathedral, but there was little of interest there. Same with the rocky area above the giant goddess statue at Neos.

 

So there I am. I have a feeling there's a ton of things I should be doing now that I have the ability to fly, and I still haven't seen the Puff Puff event mentioned by Grazza, besides Jessica's hilarious 'ability' (which never works by the way).

 

I'm at Level 41, about 77 hours in. Any non-spoiler advice would be fine.

 

[killer kirby]

*long post*

 

Good to see you making progress on this game, you are on the right track, and all the things that is a side quest (Which is very little anyway) can be done in the end of the game so don't fret on the whole going through the main story and missing out on something. It's mostly all there.

 

I am considering going back into Dragon Quest VIII, don't know yet...

[Patch]

Good to see you making progress on this game, you are on the right track, and all the things that is a side quest (Which is very little anyway) can be done in the end of the game so don't fret on the whole going through the main story and missing out on something. It's mostly all there.

 

Thanks, it's a relief to know I won't have missed much. Finding the 'much' is another matter though. It's so tempting to find a guide...

[killer kirby]

Thanks, it's a relief to know I won't have missed much. Finding the 'much' is another matter though. It's so tempting to find a guide...

 

You don't need one really, the way you are going...

 

You only have very little left in the game now.

 

[Ike]

I am considering going back into Dragon Quest VIII, don't know yet...

 

Me too, I really want to replay it though I actually haven't finished it yet. I'm at the final boss, I just haven't got round to beating him yet.

 

It's so tempting to find a guide...

 

If you can find it, I recommend getting the official guide because it's quite excellent. All the post game stuff is sealed off so you aren't tempted to look or accidentally see the pages and spoil yourself. It's also full of artwork from the game which makes it worth buying even if you don't use it as a guide.

[Patch]

If you can find it, I recommend getting the official guide because it's quite excellent.

 

Thanks, I was trying to find it just now and all I could find was the Brady Games guide. The comments left on the Amazon website suggest it is a tad lacking in detail:

 

Brady Games Guide

[Ike]

Thanks, I was trying to find it just now and all I could find was the Brady Games guide. The comments left on the Amazon website suggest it is a tad lacking in detail:

 

Brady Games Guide

 

If they need a guide to beat the first boss they don't deserve to play DQVIII. The people who reviewed it must use Super Guide in SNMBW to complete the game for them.

 

The Amazon.co.uk page has better reviews.

 

Edit: Actually the two books might be different, I'm going to have to check that, but I have the UK one.

 

Edit 2: ISBN's are different so I think they are different guides, I just assumed Piggy Back Interactive simply re-published Brady Games' guides. I have the Brady Games guide for DQIV and DQV and I have to agree that they aren't as good.

 

Edit 3: Yep they are definitely different. Get the Piggy Back Interactive one.

Edited December 14, 2009 by Ike

[Patch]

*Waits for the edits to stop*

 

Thanks Ike. There's one on ebay right now. 230 pages!!

[Grazza]

Some tips for you, Patch:

 

Trust me, the best team is Skeledoid, Octurion and Metabble (the latter has various locations; check this guide:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/583527/40172)

 

However, you can only get them after Rank B, so before then I'd recommend two cyclops - Brontes and Arges (you only need two to do their special move) - teamed with Talos. If that doesn't work, maybe try Archfiend or Pa Troll too.

 

Another great team is putting all three golems together, as their team-up move is formidable. However, you can't collect them all until after Rank B, and I never won the higher ranks with them either.

 

 

It's behind a cliffside door in a hidden area between Argonia Castle and the fork that goes north to the snowy area. Basically, north-east of Argonia.

 

 

Remember, there's no shame in using GameFAQs, because you just can't find all this stuff by yourself.

[Patch]

Grazza, you are awesome to the max. Thanks for the tips. I remember the cliffside door being locked the first time you encounter it, but I haven't tried it recently.

 

That Monster Guide will be very useful - the requirements for getting the monster 'Hev' are insane!

[Grazza]

That Monster Guide will be very useful - the requirements for getting the monster 'Hev' are insane!

 

Yes indeed! I made him appear, but I can't remember if I actually caught him or not (if he can run off during battle, then that probably happened). Either way, he's definitely the last reward you should ask for. By the time you get that far, the prize for completing the Monster Arena will have been far more useful than having Hev.