Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (Platinum) previews

obviously all the above reviewers have not played the japanese versions 1 – 7 (cursed king being DQ 8)

1 – 7 played more like an advanced ff7 with better graphics DQ8 is so very simple, boring, repetative and frustrating

the thing that makes RPG's so great is the story and this one put me to sleep many times

if you know what a great rpg is, dont waste your time with this one

I believed the hype and brought this game, and while it certainly has good graphics and a massive gameworld leading to great longevity, it has some annoying features that frustrated me and killed the fun quite early on (I ended up returning the game). I'm informed that the annoying aspects such as the save game system (early on walking back to town is the only way to save) do improve later on with more ways to quickly travel and teleport around the map.

As a FF and rpg fan I thought I would be onto a sure winner, but the frustrating start and annoying save system ruined what would have otherwise been an epic game. I'm sure 90% of players will put up with this long enough to find the great game underneath, but it is worth noting that there are no perfect games and therefore any review giving perfect marks with no mention of downsides is probably showing bias.

This is one humourous and adictive game! I could not stop laughing! I enjoyed it very much with all the side quests and mini games plus the alchemy items you can make, it also has a lot of plot twists and a good storyline. Different skills become available as you level others up. If nothing else it's worth buying just to see Yangus's “UNDERPANTS DANCE” (that's NOT a pun, there really IS a skill by that name)! A MUST HAVE!

Too Anonymous,

Are you an American? because if you actually look in you inventory bag there is an item at the start of the game that allows you to teleport around the map. It is has the name something Wing.

If you can make it past the boring start you will be rewarded with a good story, you have to look at the side quests so you can get the other out of the way story.

If you have an short attention span and like shooting and more shooting this game is NOT for you. If on the other hand you want a game that makes you think, has a great story many jokes and cool animations then this game is for you. Just because you arent saving the world doesnt make this a bad game.

I bought this game in April based on the fact it was made by Square-Enix (the creators of Final Fantasy).It ended up being a very good purchase. I am up to 80 hours and STILL have more story to go. A lot of reviews have said it has up to 120 hour life in it.

WOW, this game is exactly what I was looking for. It has great graphics, a great story and awesome game play.

There is a reason this game is the BEST SELLING GAME EVER for the PS2. It is a shame we didn't get Dragon Quest 7 which was on the Playstaion in PAL regions. Also it has been announced that Dragon Quest 9 will be on the Nintendo DS and coming out very soon in Japan.

Dont let the screen shots fool you it looks MUCH better than that when you are playing the game.

sacifice your social life! This is one of the best RPG games, I have ever played… I thought the FF series was wicked but this one kind of takes the cake. The people at Square had obviously put in a lot of time to make the game more interactive and as entertaining as they could in this game. Roaming around free land, fighting off different kinds of monsters, recruiting them to fight for you (pokemon again??… not quite), test your imagination on the alchemy skills to make up kick-ass stuff and the list goes on and on and on.....

On top of that you have mini games inside & side quests to keep you entertained for the rest of the time. I guess what makes it really appealing is the "light-hearted"ness of the game as the atmosphere and colors and music combined make it relaxing to play.

Although there is no speech involved only textbased it's still fun to run around hacking away at monsters with stuff you make or find or buy. Hours of fun especially when you need that “alone” time or just to escape from reality for a bit.

This is a great overall RPG. Easy controls and menus. The menus will be changing again for Europe release Music is great as well as voice overs. The music is getting changed again for Europe Release, so hopefully they don't botch it up. One of the most greatest things about this game is that the bosses aren't easy. Played the American version and throughly enjoying it. Lovely open landsacpe, old slimes back and the music sets the scene. Recommend it to anyone.

Dragon Quest VIII is a lovable old-school RPG brought up-to-date.

Everything is good about this game! The instrumental music fits well with the story, the characters and the settings. The settings are lush and colourful. The characters are lovable and the story is both refreshing and frustrating.

Playing Dragon Quest VIII is like stepping back in time, you feel like a kid again at an afternoon the Pantomime. You'll want to cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys as the story sweeps you along its various twists and turns.

The turn-based combat system is both intuative and easy to learn, while the use of alchemy to make your character's we­apons, armour and potions takes the simplicity from the game and takes it to another level. The Battle Arena is optional – adding several more hours to the already 80+ – but it gives you access to some of better weapons and armour, plus being a lot of fun.

The spectacular world of this game is huge and you get to explore it, and hunt for treasure; on foot, on the back of a Sabre Toothed Tigre, from the deck of a ship and even from the back of a large bird.

Yes, Dragon Quest VIII, is a fantastic, unput-downable game, and if you can only buy one game this year make it this one.

I bought this game initially to see the demo of FFXII since I'm a huge FF fan. However its been several months now and FF XII has been played and shelved while I continue to enjoy Dragon Quest.

There are so many enjoyable elements to this game. The humour is what grabbed me in the first place as it is very unusual. The accents in this game are quite exagerrated but very funny to listen to. Some of the enemies you encounter are even more hilarious. Its very lighthearted but deep at the same time.

I have not completed this game yet so I can't say if the entire story is great but from what I've played so much, it is intriguing and interesting. I do want to know what happens in the end. The characters each have a personality of their own and through certain events or even just sleeping at an inn, you get to find out more about them. And the music is entirely orchestral and has a great feel to it.

The gameplay is turn based and quite standard for an RPG. I dont know about other people but i found it quite diffcult to level up in this game. Therefore you might find that a lot of enemies are tougher than you but NOT to the point where they're just plain old frustrating and irritating. They're still challenging and fun to fight.

I would really recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a good turn based RPG with some laughs thrown in there. It really is fun to play and I'd recommend it more than FFXII. I know thats strange to say as the graphics don't even come close but I was pleasantly surprised with this game and totally disappointed with FFXII.

Having played DW games since the NES days I had a fair idea as to how the controls would handle. The character movement is sharp and the response time for the commands is just right. I found that the controls have a fluid feel and the menu and such is well laid out. The Menu has been redefined and it takes some getting used to but after a half hour it was like second nature to me. Controls Rating = B+ Next up Visuals. The game looks beautiful. This is some of the best cel-shading I have ever seen in a game. The look and feel of the world is breathtaking. One of the neat features is the ability to go into first person viewing and take a look at your surroundings. I highly recommend running around the lush environment and taking peeks at all there is to see. Visual Rating = A+ Voice Acting. Superb from what I have seen so far. This is also the First Dragon Quest game to have voice acting and it is spot on. Pleasant voices seem to capture the emotion of the characters speaking. Voice Acting = A Interest value. This game has set the stage for a mystery or two. The opening intro leaves a lot of question to be answered and during the first mission to the waterfall cavern still much is left out in the open. After a couple hours the game still has not really explained the relationship to the other members in your party. I believe these relationships will be slowly introduced as time goes on though. Interest Value = B- Overall rating. So far this game is an exceptional addition to the Dragon Quest series. I highly recommend picking this game up! Overall Rating = A-

Got the game at last. Played the US version. long quest mode. Pal version doesn't come with the Final Fantasy 12 Demo though.

anyone know if the pal version of this comes with the FF12 demo disc?

looks like a fun game – i am definitely considering it