|
|
 |
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)
|
|
|
Description:
In a nutshell:
The most popular Japanese game ever finally comes to the UK, with a role-playing game of incredible size, depth and charm. Lead your motley crew of heroes and heroines in a quest to restore the king as you fight the most bizarre line-up of bad guys in video game history.The lowdown:
Although this is actually the eighth game in the core series, each Dragon Quest game has, like rival Final Fantasy, a completely different storyline so you don't have to worry about not understanding the plot. In any case the game is far more interested in combat than endless cut scenes, with a turn-based system that is simple to use but allows for a huge range of different magical and melee attacks. What gives the game its real charm are the excellent cel-shaded graphics, designed by Dragon Ball Z artist Akira Toriyama. The animation in particular is superb and the game world, in which you are given total freedom to explore, is enormous. Most exciting moment:
Taking down one of the game's string of extravagant bosses with moves like the Underpants Dance and Jessica the sorceress' Sexy Beam. Since you ask:
In 1998 the Japanese government demanded that Enix no longer released Dragon Quest games on a weekeday because too many people were taking time off work and school to go and buy it. The bottom line:
A role-playing game that's both fun and accessible - no wonder it's Japan's favourite franchise.
Harrison Dent
|
|
 |
|
 |
5/5 |
Why games like this are never released in europe
(September 15, 2008) |
|
I was very excited by the premise of dragon quest coming to europe but seeing other reviews for this game, i have now realised exactly why games like this are never released over here. This game is not like final fantasy 7. You do at certain points in the game have to Level grind (run around the same area levelling up for a while) and many people have criticised the game for this. Dragon quest also takes itself a little less seriously than the FF games, a trait which has also been slated.
If you can handle a fun old skool style RPG with a nice sense of humour then there's a lot this game can offer you as it's very long. If you dislike these kinds of games then don't buy them anyway and then have a rant at them for being too long. This is a great game and its not its fault that you don't like this style of game, so do yourself a favour and think before you randomly purchase games you know you may not like. Due to its huge lifespan this game can begin to get a little samey later on. My tip i'll give to anyone who thinks games are getting repetetive is to just take a break for a bit. Come back to it after a couple of hours and i promise it'll seem as fresh to you as when you first picked it up.
One thing i ought to mention is the graphics of this game. They're rather understated but even though the actual graphics aren't mind-blowing the scenery is absolutely breath-taking in a lot of places. Think Ico or shadow of the collosus and make it more cartoony and you're about there. Despite its flaws i can't recommend this game enough if you like these old skool sorts of JRPG's. This is probably my favourite PS2 game and i think everyone who likes these sorts of games should give it a try... |
|
|
5/5 |
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King
(September 06, 2008) |
|
Dragon Quest was an enigma before the release of 'Journey of the Cursed King', however since it's released the brand have become one of the heavyweights, going platinum in the UK. However, is the game actually that good?
Well to begin with you are eased into the small town of Farebury, characters within your party are well established, as is your villain, Dhoulmagus. After a few story driven sequences you set out towards your first dungeon, the Waterfall Cave, and it's at this point that you should realise that Dragon Quest can be quite unforgiving indeed. So, lets say your in the Waterfall Cave dungeon and you are defeated. You will respawn all the way back in Farebury with half of your money being the penalty. So you really have to be prepared in order to take on dungeons and bosses. However the battle system is simple, and infinetely enjoyable, facing quirky yet charming, and humourous enemies.
The World Map is simply a joy to explore, it's absolutely charming and gorgeous, with many views, sights and tasks to do. It's also massive, with it taking a good 20-30 minutes to get to different areas by foot, but the sight of a large town after a long, arduous walk is a magnificent one. My only negative to say about the World Map is that the Snow/Desert regions seem to be added in just for the sake of it, Nero is a fine city in the centre of the World Map, and the area around the city has been executed well, but the Out and Out Desert region really disappointed me. The Snow area was rich in story and evnts which was good, and the tropical regions later in the game are also stunning. This is what the game keeps on giving you, it keeps giving you new, gorgeous areas to explore.
Dungeons can be a chore however, but some are quirky and rather out of the ordinary.
Voice Acting is perfect, its sterling. Voices have been perfectly put to characters and there is a humourous feeling to them too. It's rather traditional too, like in Dragonball Z, the main characters have clear, good-guy style voices, and your villains have annoying voices which rather establishes their roles, it makes the audience really get against them and hope to give them a good beating when the time comes.
The depth of this game is vast, it took me 95 hours to complete, and I was rather underlevelled when I came to the games conclusion. Levelling can take a good while.
Allow this to be your example:
I spent 7 Hours on this game, and I had only reached the second town. After reaching level 10 which then makes field enemies a little easier to beat.
At times DQ can be a bit of a grinder, and sometimes you might just want to have the Radio on in the background whilst your levelling up. But for 95 hours I was completely immersed, there is so much to do and see in this game, you can really tell that the creators have put a lot of their heart into this game. Level 5 have really outdone themselves, after the disappointing (dungeon based) Dark Chronicle, Dragon Quest VIII is complete freedom.
Champagne RPG-ing which doesnt have the same Deeply Dramatic Story driven Events as a Final Fantasy, but it sure beats any FF when it comes to its charm and simplicity. Easily better than Final Fantasy XII, and I've not played a better RPG since its Release. |
|
|
5/5 |
One of the best RPGs ever!!!
(July 25, 2008) |
|
I've played many RPGs (specially Final Fantasy), but this one does not compares to anything.
DQ8 is a very classic RPG, but at the same time it brings a new fresh air to this genre as the majority of games are very futuristic or very medieval.
It's on my top 10 games! |
|
|
3/5 |
Good at first, but.....
(May 26, 2008) |
|
When I started playing this game, as a massive fan of rpg's, my initial reaction was wow!
Good colorful graphics, character speech and very funny dialogue. However, for me the game is ruined by the map and the "where do I go next"? element. I actually stopped playing the game after 10 hours because of this. I just could not work out where to go. This left me very frustrated. A real shame really because the game was looking like a real corker. If you want a real, proper, top notch rpg, look for legaia 2 > duel saga !! |
|
|
5/5 |
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!
(October 01, 2007) |
|
I'll be honest with you, i bought this game purely due to good reviews. but my first impression of it wasn't good: i thought it was a tad boring and well, really different to other rpgs. BUT I PERSEVERED and soon was captivated by this wonderfully enchanting game! AND NOW I LOVE IT! THIS IS WHY:
1) the story is captivating yet simple (in a good way), the characters are wonderful and with excellent voice actors ^-^ (seriously, you'll know what i mean if you hear them) and OMG I JUST FOUND OUT THAT princess Medea's voiceactress is Harmony from 'the Queen's nose'!!
2) the soundtrack is beautiful!
3)the monsters are probably one of my favourite things: they're all wonderfully designed, probably the most interesting rpg monsters i've ever seen, what can i say, they're just really comical and interesting i get excited when i see new ones!!
4) i love the battle system! it's so cool! i love to psyke up and release real powerful attacks! when they're fully charged their hair stands on end!
5) this is one of the two rpgs that i actually enjoy running around dungeons or adventure fields in! its all so pretty!
any way, in my opinion this is an rpg must have, im only 40 hrs in (only?? lol) and still keen and running! |
|
|
|