Dragon quest 8

[Glowpole]

Wow proabbaly the best turn based rpg ever. I highly (ehheheheh i said high) reccomend it to everyone thats loves rpgs....The guide though is ****ing worthless. Just shows everything. Doens't tell you where to go or anything.

9/10

[bamthedoc]

It's a great game, but I'd only give it about an 7 or 8 out of ten. For me, it doesn't quite compare to semi-turn-based RPGs like the recent Mario and Luigi saga, Golden Sun saga, Mario RPG, Digital Devil Saga, Nocturne, and a few others I can't name off the top of my head. FYI: DDS and Nocturne are both PS2 titles.

The story and breadth of DQVIII is very good, and I like the elements Square brings to the Enix landmark series. There are just certain things that hurt its score (my personally dropping it a point or two below your ranking), and, as any game out there, there is always plenty of room for improvement. Now. I did like it better than Baten Kaitos or Final Fantasy VII, but I felt that the script had trouble calculating speed. When Yangus was able to go before Jessica in one turn, I was royally upset because Yangus going last was the basis for an attack coming up.

Actually. The speed-issue, in and of itself, dropped the score by a point. At the very least, the characters should go in a predictable order. The enemies, whose speed understandably change based on individual monster level and random numbers added in, should have a little bit of unpredictability to them, but the characters should always go in an order based off speed, or else the statistic becomes absolutely worthless (and that is especially evident against a certain optional boss).

You're right. The guide is worthless to a player unwilling or unable to explore the game on his or her own. I liked it except for a few things. The optional sidequests that popped up with absolutely no warning from ingame script (Ogre Dungeon comes to mind) required finding a good, English-translation FAQ -- which, thankfully, GameFAQs has.

Also >_< The metal king slime monster is getting annoying. I've met about a half-dozen of them, and they all have run away at anywhere between 1 HP left to "not a character has hit them" That's my two cents on them.

Anyway... Great RPG.

[Glowpole]

THose damn slime kings piss me off to. Still havn't been able to kill oone yet. Best advice is get a falcon blade form the casino and let either the hero or the red guy use the double attack or yangs crict strike..damn basterds

[bamthedoc]

I think the best combination is giving Angelo the uber falcon blade and use metal strike (I think that's the skill name) and give Hero the metal wing boomerang. If he has the cross cutter boomerang skill (again, I think that's right), he has the chance to automatically do 2 points of damage to the first metal slime in the line-up if, indeed, a metal slime is first.

This gives you the greatest chance to kill a 10hp metal king slime, not to mention Yangus' maximized scythe skill to increase critical rate. Though, I have a feeling that bare-handed is best for him versus a metal slime =/

[LeapOfFaith]

Final Fantasy is a way better RPG. I bet if you had a contest to see which is a better RPG Final Fantasy Would own Dragon Quest.

[bamthedoc]

In the US, Final Fantasy is more popular. In Japan, Dragon Quest is more popular. Therefore, you're an idiot who doesn't realize that "best" is subjective to the individual. For example, my saying the Tales series by Namco is the best RPG series is subjective to myself.

[Pale_Horse]

Thanks for the review guys, I was on the fence so to speak on getting this game. I'm gonna pick it up tomarrow ...

Any tips for me?

[bamthedoc]

Use the strategy guide if you want general, vague tips on what to do. Other than that, actual written FAQ/Guides are your best bet. You need to concentrate on a chosen skill, or two, for a given character from the beginning! As with any RPG... Level! Level! Level! If the regular enemies are tough, the area boss may be too much. If the regular enemies are cake, the area boss may still pose a challenge.

Beat the game twice! The better ending is unlocked via story elements presented in a dungeon unlocked by beating it the first time. Any and all metal slimes are open game for quick experiance, if challenging. You will need them to level up and unlock the second ending. The final, secret dungeon is tough!

The alchemy pot is your friend! If you don't know what it is, learn quickly. The best items can only be created!

Each character has his or her place. Learn it or create it. They can change roles based on skills, so choose carefully. Get a skill to 100 points, maximum level, as soon as possible. It's often best to split between two skills (a weapon and the personality skill is my personal choice) due to character level to skill point limitations.

If at all possible, be conservative about magic use until you get to the area boss, then let loose! If you're forced to use all your MP before you get to the area boss, you won't be able to pull off your best skills or magic.

Getting back to the area boss, know its type! If you have a skill to trump the boss' type, use it! You will lose the battle where you don't know to trump. In fact, know regular enemy and special enemy types. Knowledge will serve you well.

Dragon Quest is more about skill and knowledge than level. The strongest team will lose to the strongest enemy unless one knows how to tense-up quickly and painlessly. Do not give certain bosses a chance to reduce or eliminate your tension! There is an item to help later in the game, but you must still know the formulae

Judge the next area by the boss you just beat. You're about to meet tough oposition!

Know your modes of travel and areas accessible. Again, knowledge is key!

Remember, knowledge and skill can often overcome a lacking level. You need levels to earn skill points to spend, so spend them wisely! You only get a limited, precious few! You should still have one or two skills at or ready to breech 100 points, maximum level, by a character level of between fourty-five and fifty. This may include a diversion or two to pick up exceptional skills, like Helm Splitter.



I think that's it from me...for now I can give more specific details, but that may involve spoilers...and skill breaks. I.E. Hurt the gaming experiance for you.

[Pale_Horse]

Thanks for the heads up and help, can't wait to get this now.