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[Aeana]

Everyone who hasn't played Dragon Warrior 1, click on the Cave Themes on that soundtrack playlist starting with Cave Theme 1. The music changed every time you went to a lower floor. That made the caves so moody and eerie, especially as a kid. It's like we were going down to hell. Has any other game ever done something like that with it's music?

The game this thread is about has different music for the final floor of a dungeon!

But many games have done a similar kind of thing, although maybe not in the same direction you're thinking. Persona 3, for instance, has a singular dungeon theme that evolves as you go further into Tartarus.

 

[brinstar]

Hnnnnnnnggggg, that Dragon Warrior soundtrack. So many memories. Fuck I'm old.

Agh same, this was like the 2nd or 3rd game I ever played lol

The music instantly warps me back

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

I have no idea which DQ game you are playing. So far you can easily avoid the monsters, if your not within 3-4 ft in front of them. All the weak monsters run away from you, once your at a strong level. I had to chase down aome monsters for the fun to bTtle because they'd always hightail it when they see my party. I think the game is easier than the PS2 version in difficulty, even with random encounters. So far enjoying the game even if I nitpicked a few things here and there

Again, I had to get to the Baccarat/Argonia area before I started to have a problem. Before that I had the same "wow, it is so easy to avoid everything" attitude.

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

While I bought the PS2 version on the cheap years and years ago, I never got around to playing it. So this is my first exposure to DQVIII and I'm loving it so far! I'm 10 hours in and am impressed by how good it looks, especially considering it doesn't take advantage of the n3DS at all. I'm kinda glad I never played it on PS2 now, actually, as I don't notice the "downgrading" at all. It does make me wish it had 3D and/or better visuals on n3DS, but what can you do?

(Also, I'm like one of 10 people that still likes the 3D effect of the 3DS. XD)

One thing has been bothering me though. Is there a way to use your weapon as an item (like Jessica and a staff) without having go scroll through your items and click use? It's a pain when I have to do it every battle.

Similarly, is there a way to easily transfer more than one item at a time between the bag and party members?

 

[ZiggyPalffyLA]

Everyone who hasn't played Dragon Warrior 1, click on the Cave Themes on that soundtrack playlist starting with Cave Theme 1. The music changed every time you went to a lower floor. That made the caves so moody and eerie, especially as a kid. It's like we were going down to hell. Has any other game ever done something like that with it's music?

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon did this to great effect. It wasn't even a different track as you got deeper into the dungeon, but a more intense buildup of the initial dungeon theme. Really gave you a sense of progression and adrenaline.

 

[Ryzaki009]

Early in the game, there are less monsters that charge at you regardless of your character's level. When you overpower them, they run away. In the first area, I think only the Bunny enemies keep coming no matter what. Maybe the peppers as well?

When you reach Baccarat/Argonia, you'll see what I mean though. Although there is a sidequest that gives you a faster method of walking there. Another nice bit of mitigation that lands just in time.

Ah. Hopefully it's just a bug.

 

[tryptobphan]

Again, I had to get to the Baccarat/Argonia area before I started to have a problem. Before that I had the same "wow, it is so easy to avoid everything" attitude.

I just got to Argonia and doing the story there now. It's not bad. I can avoid most, if not all creatures on the map still. To sweeten the deal, if players know where to get the new mode of transportation south of Baccarat...you can avoid almost all battles on that thing. It's awesome.

I love random battles in some games and not in others. But I think they did it incredibly well in this game. I'm actually quite shocked. I thought it'd be more like DQ7's where everything is way more aggressive and you can barely avoid them due to narrow/smaller maps. It's not the case here for me.

Anyone holding back due to fears of running into too many enemies compared to random battles, don't fear it. I can assure most players won't be disappointed in the way they did visible enemies here.

As an added bonus, if you are looking for certain enemies for drops or experience, you can pan the camera around and "look/wait" for specific enemies to show up. It's how I gained experience quickly but also got some rare drops in a dungeon or two. You couldn't do this in the original release since you had to run through every random battle to find the enemy you wanted.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Anyone holding back due to fears of running into too many enemies compared to random battles, don't fear it. I can assure most players won't be disappointed in the way they did visible enemies here.

I agree with you, it is totally not a dealbreaker. It just seems to me that stuff is running into my ass an awful lot. I pan the camera and something spawns right behind me. I run past an enemy that's facing the other way and it turns around directly into my butt. I make a u-turn and something attacks me unexpectedly from the rear. Jump down from a cliff and land cheeks first on top of monster. Even the Spoiler

Spoiler

Sabrecat

has a small issue because things don't load in until I'm on top of them, and it obstructs an awful lot of the camera, so I run into the tiny enemies at breakneck speed. Although it is very helpful for getting away from anything that does see me from more than half a step away.

I found it is better for me to just use Holy Water when I'm exploring for the sake of doing so. I need to mitigate my not-so-fast-old-arthritic-person reflexes, terrible eyesight, and awful luck.

There are a ton of times I've been beyond thrilled that every enemy is visible outside of the random encounters on the ship (which are carefully spaced out so you can get a decent amount of movement in between battles), I'm just having a terrible time on this one continent for some reason, and what I thought was offhand comment about needing to use Holy Water an awful lot now turned into a huge thing. ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[LeonSPBR]

To the people that reached Baccarat, where is this pink treeface so I can get his picture???

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

To the people that reached Baccarat, where is this pink treeface so I can get his picture???

Here.

Spoiler warning, but if anyone needs help with the Cameron's Codex extra monster locations, I found this. Click on "記事を読む" to see map locations.

Be careful that you're killing the right monsters. I was trying to get #24 and I had been killing the more powerful palette swap rather than the weaker monster the rare spawn requires.

 

[NolbertoS]

Alright, I'm disappointed that rhey dumbed the difficulty in this 3DS version over the PS2. I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, as I'm progressing noticing that beating enemies is a cakewalk and the only challenge is a boss fight, and even then feels like SE made it easy. I was at the Crypt under the Abbey area and the boss was too easy. I remember in my PS2 days, the boss did more damage to your party and you had to strategize more, all I did was psyche myself up for all my players and he was beaten after a few tried. I'm not happy about this now and feels like it takes the enjoyment out of this game now.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Alright, I'm disappointed that rhey dumbed the difficulty in this 3DS version over the PS2. I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, as I'm progressing noticing that beating enemies is a cakewalk and the only challenge is a boss fight, and even then feels like SE made it easy. I was at the Crypt under the Abbey area and the boss was too easy. I remember in my PS2 days, the boss did more damage to your party and you had to strategize more, all I did was psyche myself up for all my players and he was beaten after a few tried. I'm not happy about this now and feels like it takes the enjoyment out of this game now.

That boss almost wiped my party out! First one I've had any difficulty with at all. I ran out of MP for healing and had to use items to survive. Might be part luck and part experience from playing it before?

 

[clay_ghost]

Alright, I'm disappointed that rhey dumbed the difficulty in this 3DS version over the PS2. I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, as I'm progressing noticing that beating enemies is a cakewalk and the only challenge is a boss fight, and even then feels like SE made it easy. I was at the Crypt under the Abbey area and the boss was too easy. I remember in my PS2 days, the boss did more damage to your party and you had to strategize more, all I did was psyche myself up for all my players and he was beaten after a few tried. I'm not happy about this now and feels like it takes the enjoyment out of this game now.

Maybe you can try and avoid some monsters on the map? IDK, sometimes I feel like I have to kill every monsters I see on the map but I don't like grinding lol.

 

[_Ryo_]

I was killed in one of my first battles in the PS2 version. It might have been the 3rd or 4th monster I had come across. I got one hit in and then got wiped out. Pretty embarrassing.

 

[Magicpaint]

That boss almost wiped my party out! First one I've had any difficulty with at all. I ran out of MP for healing and had to use items to survive. Might be part luck and part experience from playing it before?

Yeah. That boss' difficulty is dependent on RNG in many ways. While I had no trouble with that one, the previous boss gave me a surprisingly hard time in comparison to my most recent PS2 playthrough.

 

[Aeana]

Alright, I'm disappointed that rhey dumbed the difficulty in this 3DS version over the PS2. I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, as I'm progressing noticing that beating enemies is a cakewalk and the only challenge is a boss fight, and even then feels like SE made it easy. I was at the Crypt under the Abbey area and the boss was too easy. I remember in my PS2 days, the boss did more damage to your party and you had to strategize more, all I did was psyche myself up for all my players and he was beaten after a few tried. I'm not happy about this now and feels like it takes the enjoyment out of this game now.

For the most part, they did not adjust the difficulty. There is a slightly faster exp/gold curve, and a couple of abilities have been nerfed or buffed, but it is not extremely significant.

 

[ScientificPizza]

why don't these OTs use roman numerals?

 

[LeonSPBR]

Here.

Thank you so much!!

 

[tryptobphan]

I agree with you, it is totally not a dealbreaker. It just seems to me that stuff is running into my ass an awful lot. I pan the camera and something spawns right behind me. I run past an enemy that's facing the other way and it turns around directly into my butt. I make a u-turn and something attacks me unexpectedly from the rear. Jump down from a cliff and land cheeks first on top of monster. Even the Spoiler

Spoiler

Sabrecat

has a small issue because things don't load in until I'm on top of them, and it obstructs an awful lot of the camera, so I run into the tiny enemies at breakneck speed. Although it is very helpful for getting away from anything that does see me from more than half a step away.

I found it is better for me to just use Holy Water when I'm exploring for the sake of doing so. I need to mitigate my not-so-fast-old-arthritic-person reflexes, terrible eyesight, and awful luck.

There are a ton of times I've been beyond thrilled that every enemy is visible outside of the random encounters on the ship (which are carefully spaced out so you can get a decent amount of movement in between battles), I'm just having a terrible time on this one continent for some reason, and what I thought was offhand comment about needing to use Holy Water an awful lot now turned into a huge thing. ¯_(&#12484_/¯

I totally agree with your assessment that the western continent is harder to avoid battles. I am always panning the camera around to avoid enemies. It's kind of a minigame for me now. I don't use holy water but I think avoiding enemies takes some patience with timing and positioning.

With that said, I like character action games like Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry so I may enjoy the twitchy reaction aspect of avoiding battles on the field more than most. Haha.

Anyways, the new mode of transportation is so useful but I agree, it takes up a big area of the screen and becomes more difficult to see what's ahead of you.

 

[hemo memo]

What is Aeana opinion on this for new comers and old fans?

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Thank you so much!!

I'm working on an English guide for the Rare Monsters on Tumblr. Problem is, I'm awful at Tumblr. Here's what I have so far: LINK if anyone wants to PM me some feedback or helpful suggestions. I need to look up how to use offsite images there because it stretches them something awful, the HTML editor keeps eating my HTML and I'm out of practice so I just tossed everything into the default one.

why don't these OTs use roman numerals?

Because Roman Numerals Are Hard.

(One of the review websites posted a picture from VIII as the header for VII's review. They later used this as their apology/excuse, if I understand the story.)

 

[_Ryo_]

Anyone play the iOS version, how does it compare? The PS2 game was probably the first traditional JRPG I got into. The visuals and music helped ease me in, and the game seemed to know what it was. It gave me a good grinding game, fun characters, smooth and coherent gameplay.

I feel on 3DS I could replay this, but I am a bit bummed about the soundtrack. I enjoyed the sweeping symphonic anthem, and all the pumping up for battles even if it did get repetitive. I honestly got into this more than Pokémon, which probably kills many people, but it's the honest to god truth friends.

If it's like the Android version

No Orchestral score
No voice acting
Forced portrait mode (ie no landscape/wide screen)
No gamepad support
Very crappy performance.

Mobile version is a complete abomination and not worth playing or the money it costs.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

why don't these OTs use roman numerals?

Readability. I didn't want people looking at it and mistaking it for the OT for VII.

 

[Aeana]

why don't these OTs use roman numerals?

I'm not going to speak for the creator of this OT, but as the creator of the majority of the DQ OTs on this site, I don't use Roman numerals period. My primary goal in any form of communication is clarity, and I've seen so many people confuse and/or misread Roman numerals that it became apparent to me that there is no advantage to using them when Arabic numerals are much clearer and easier to read for a larger number of people.

 

[Arkeband]

There's some weird behavior with how monsters spawn - sometimes I'll see one spawn while I'm turning my camera, when I pan back a second later, they've disappeared, like it's culling them for more memory based on some unpredictable algorithm.

 

[SkywardBeam]

The only aspect of the game that still bugs me is the fact that the amount of talent points you can put in a skill is restricted by the character's level. I've got 12 spare points for Yangus that I'd really like to put into the Axe skill tree, but the game won't let me. So the question is if there's any other skill that's worth putting my points in? Most guides mention Fisticuffs, especially Thin Air, but mostly for early to mid-game. Problem is, I'm already past that point and never really missed the Thin Air skill anyway. The rest of the fisticuffs tree seems to be trash. I've already put 10 points into Humanity for healing, but the rest doesn't seem worthwhile (MP sharing for a character with almost no MP, seriously?). So with Clubs being trash-tier, the only thing left would be Scythes, but I wonder if you really ever need them (especially for the Post-game content) when Axes are just that strong.
What would the DQ8 veterans here suggest, especially considering that the build should be useful in Post-game as well?

 

[tryptobphan]

There's some weird behavior with how monsters spawn - sometimes I'll see one spawn while I'm turning my camera, when I pan back a second later, they've disappeared, like it's culling them for more memory based on some unpredictable algorithm.

It's due to this that you can now hunt specific enemies in dungeons easier. You can pan the camera around and look at the monster. If it's not the one you want then pan the camera away and back to change the monster.

In the original it's just random battles. You couldn't do this.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

There's some weird behavior with how monsters spawn - sometimes I'll see one spawn while I'm turning my camera, when I pan back a second later, they've disappeared, like it's culling them for more memory based on some unpredictable algorithm.

Sounds about right, ties into the reduced draw distance of trees and grass.

I actually like it, bet it'll come in handy when farming Metabble.

 

[Arkeband]

Sounds about right, ties into the reduced draw distance of trees and grass.

I actually like it, bet it'll come in handy when farming Metabble.

But it's not predictable, sometimes they persist when you pan back.

I'm wondering if you can cheese your way through dungeons by just facing the wall and not letting any monsters spawn onscreen.

The only aspect of the game that still bugs me is the fact that the amount of talent points you can put in a skill is restricted by the character's level. I've got 12 spare points for Yangus that I'd really like to put into the Axe skill tree, but the game won't let me. So the question is if there's any other skill that's worth putting my points in? Most guides mention Fisticuffs, especially Thin Air, but mostly for early to mid-game. Problem is, I'm already past that point and never really missed the Thin Air skill anyway. The rest of the fisticuffs tree seems to be trash. I've already put 10 points into Humanity for healing, but the rest doesn't seem worthwhile (MP sharing for a character with almost no MP, seriously?). So with Clubs being trash-tier, the only thing left would be Scythes, but I wonder if you really ever need them (especially for the Post-game content) when Axes are just that strong.
What would the DQ8 veterans here suggest, especially considering that the build should be useful in Post-game as well?

You need scythes for Stainless Steal Sickle for post-game skill seed farming.

 

[PixyJunket]

(One of the review websites posted a picture from VIII as the header for VII's review. They later used this as their apology/excuse, if I understand the story.)

I am simultaneously surprised and not surprised.

 

[redcrayon]

Are the downloadable items a) up in Europe and b) worth getting?

 

[Raven117]

The victory music has been in every DQ game since the first one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1dzAtvAB0&index=15&list=PL49207A67C68DE4EB

dear goodness, that music.

That was my first RPG...and thus instilling my love of the genre (and probably video games) since I got that free copy of Dragon Warrior with my subscription to Nintendo Power.

Glorious. Simply Glorious.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

But it's not predictable, sometimes they persist when you pan back.

I'm wondering if you can cheese your way through dungeons by just facing the wall and not letting any monsters spawn onscreen.

Maybe it's dependent on how much is in ram at the time.

Are the downloadable items a) up in Europe and b) worth getting?

They weren't yesterday, will try again when I get home tonight.

I heard they were mostly rubbish but there was good stuff every now and then, like Loto's sword. Maybe someone who played the Japanese version can say.

 

[tryptobphan]

But it's not predictable, sometimes they persist when you pan back.

I'm wondering if you can cheese your way through dungeons by just facing the wall and not letting any monsters spawn onscreen.

I've been farming Liquid Metal Slimes in Trodain Castle using the camera panning method and it works fine. I just stand next to a wall and where I can see two enemies, I pan the camera to see one enemy, if it's not a Liquid Metal Slime, I turn the camera to the other enemy. If it's not a Liquid Metal Slime, then I turn the camera back to the first enemy and repeat until I see a Liquid Metal Slime and run into it.

There will be times when the enemy will walk towards me and not disappear, so I just run into another room and back to reset it. It's simple. You can totally spam this method for metal slime hunting.

I also did this in the Labyrinth to get the Phantom Sword drop from a specific enemy. You couldn't do any of this stuff in the original game. I thought I'd just mess with the updated system since it's novel to me.

The only aspect of the game that still bugs me is the fact that the amount of talent points you can put in a skill is restricted by the character's level. I've got 12 spare points for Yangus that I'd really like to put into the Axe skill tree, but the game won't let me. So the question is if there's any other skill that's worth putting my points in? Most guides mention Fisticuffs, especially Thin Air, but mostly for early to mid-game. Problem is, I'm already past that point and never really missed the Thin Air skill anyway. The rest of the fisticuffs tree seems to be trash. I've already put 10 points into Humanity for healing, but the rest doesn't seem worthwhile (MP sharing for a character with almost no MP, seriously?). So with Clubs being trash-tier, the only thing left would be Scythes, but I wonder if you really ever need them (especially for the Post-game content) when Axes are just that strong.
What would the DQ8 veterans here suggest, especially considering that the build should be useful in Post-game as well?

I'd just suggest Axes and Humanity for Yangus. His paths I never really liked in Clubs, Hammers, Scythes (except for farming as noted by the previous poster) as much as Axes (Helm Splitter is just so useful, as well as Executioner for metal slime hunting). Humanity has some hilarious attacks as well as some useful abilities (MP sharing I find useful for certain boss fights where MP is taken from other magic users by the boss, or my mages run out of MP and I never use MP from Yangus anyway...sharing MP makes sense then) or that revival ability where he sacrifices everything so everyone else can come back to life and fully restored. If nothing else, some of his Humanity attacks are hilarious.

 

[Arkeband]

I've been farming Liquid Metal Slimes in Trodain Castle using the camera panning method and it works fine. I just stand next to a wall and where I can see two enemies, I pan the camera to see one enemy, if it's not a Liquid Metal Slime, I turn the camera to the other enemy. If it's not a Liquid Metal Slime, then I turn the camera back to the first enemy and repeat until I see a Liquid Metal Slime and run into it.

There will be times when the enemy will walk towards me and not disappear, so I just run into another room and back to reset it. It's simple. You can totally spam this method for metal slime hunting.

I also did this in the Labyrinth to get the Phantom Sword drop from a specific enemy. You couldn't do any of this stuff in the original game. I thought I'd just mess with the updated system since it's novel to me.

To me, this feels like shitty game design when you're manipulating the field of enemies to this degree just by turning the camera. This is never intended functionality and I haven't seen it rear its head since PS1 days and emulator save scumming.

 

[tryptobphan]

To me, this feels like shitty game design when you're manipulating the field of enemies to this degree just by turning the camera. This is never intended functionality and I haven't seen it rear its head since PS1 days and emulator save scumming.

It was probably never intended to be used this way, but let's be real here, nearly every game out there has glitches and exploits. If you're a smart gamer, which I'm assuming most of us on NeoGaf are, we can find ways to abuse a system to our advantage whether it's something in a game for the younger audience like Pokemon and its Rare Candy glitch to item inventory glitches in more modern Resident Evil games.

Also, you can totally do something similar for metal slime hunting in Dragon Quest 9 where you abuse the enemy spawn points.

But honestly, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to. It's the gamer's choice. I didn't have to do this at all, but I was curious if I could and the answer is "yes".

 

[inner-G]

I've been farming Liquid Metal Slimes in Trodain Castle using the camera panning method and it works fine. I just stand next to a wall and where I can see two enemies, I pan the camera to see one enemy, if it's not a Liquid Metal Slime, I turn the camera to the other enemy. If it's not a Liquid Metal Slime, then I turn the camera back to the first enemy and repeat until I see a Liquid Metal Slime and run into it.

There will be times when the enemy will walk towards me and not disappear, so I just run into another room and back to reset it. It's simple. You can totally spam this method for metal slime hunting.

Nice - sounds even easier than hunting them in IX, where Id enter/exit areas until they showed up

 

[Arkeband]

It was probably never intended to be used this way, but let's be real here, nearly every game out there has glitches and exploits. If you're a smart gamer, which I'm assuming most of us on NeoGaf are, we can find ways to abuse a system to our advantage whether it's something in a game for the younger audience like Pokemon and its Rare Candy glitch to item inventory glitches in more modern Resident Evil games.

Also, you can totally do something similar for metal slime hunting in Dragon Quest 9 where you abuse the enemy spawn points.

But honestly, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to. It's the gamer's choice. I didn't have to do this at all, but I was curious if I could and the answer is "yes".

I've made myself clear about how I feel about DQ9 in DQ threads, so I'll let that speak for itself. This is just kind of too blatant of an exploit, where it's immediately noticeable the moment you leave the first town.

"enemies disappear if you move the camera" is a litmus test every game should have to pass to make sure they understand basic memory management.

 

[SciencePilot]

Is there any way to tell what skills ate going do before you get them, without a guide? I'm looking at these character skills and don't have any idea what would be useful to invest in.

 

[inner-G]

Is there any way to tell what skills ate going do before you get them, without a guide? I'm looking at these character skills and don't have any idea what would be useful to invest in.

No.

At least it tells you what the skills are now, though.

 

[tryptobphan]

Is there any way to tell what skills ate going do before you get them, without a guide? I'm looking at these character skills and don't have any idea what would be useful to invest in.

They list the skills when you are in the Skill Menu after leveling up or in the Skill List in the menu. However, it won't really show all the details of what each skill does like an in-depth guide on Gamefaqs would

Nice - sounds even easier than hunting them in IX, where Id enter/exit areas until they showed up

Yeah, those were good times. I remember hunting specific monsters in the grottos by doing that. I can't believe I spent like 300+ hours in that game. I didn't think I'd like DQ9, but judging by my hours spent in that game alone, I have to concede and say I really enjoyed my experience with it. I actually loved the multiplayer in that game. I wish future DQ games could have an online mode where you can play cooperatively with friends/family. I thought it was implemented well.

I've made myself clear about how I feel about DQ9 in DQ threads, so I'll let that speak for itself. This is just kind of too blatant of an exploit, where it's immediately noticeable the moment you leave the first town.

"enemies disappear if you move the camera" is a litmus test every game should have to pass to make sure they understand basic memory management.

Ah, I don't know what your stance is for DQ9, but that's ok. Everyone has difference experiences and opinions about every entry in the DQ series. I personally don't mind the visible enemies and how it's implemented in DQ8 thus far. I just chalk it up to limitations of the system. Would I have wished this game got a remake/remaster on PS4 and Vita instead? Yes. Do I think the 3DS isn't powerful enough to do justice to DQ8? Yes. But it is what it is, and for what it's worth, I think they did a fantastic job with the port to the 3DS. This game has aged so well, it's crazy.

 

[dragonyeuw]

So what's the consensus on this port? Is it considered the definitive version? I bought the Ps2 version cheap a few years ago but never got to it.

 

[sensui-tomo]

So what's the consensus on this port? Is it considered the definitive version? I bought the Ps2 version cheap a few years ago but never got to it.

if you have a 3ds with CFW and add in the Japanese orchestra music its the definitive edition due to the extra content and no more random battles(and the better music). (even with the midi music it isnt bad i'd still say buy it due to the extra content and ease this version has over the ps2 version)

 

[Chance Hale]

How widespread is the cutscene censorship? Such an odd thing given it's still a teen rated game.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

So what's the consensus on this port? Is it considered the definitive version? I bought the Ps2 version cheap a few years ago but never got to it.

It's not *quite* definitive because of the pop-in and resolution, but with the improvements and extra content it's the best version.

RIP Twin Dragon Lash though

 

[sensui-tomo]

How widespread is the cutscene censorship? Such an odd thing given it's still a teen rated game.

it was do to how CERO operates in japan, basically iirc its a small minor scene

Spoiler

Some dude treating his apprentice or something like a dog and forcing him to eat out of a dog bowl

and some clothing (oddly the bunny outfit has more skin now) Its nothing like the edited scene in Tales of Berseria.

 

[tryptobphan]

So what's the consensus on this port? Is it considered the definitive version? I bought the Ps2 version cheap a few years ago but never got to it.

If you have a lot of time to play this game, I'd still recommend the PS2 game since the graphics are way better and the music better as well. The world looks much better on the PS2. But the battle system is much slower than the 3DS version.

With that said, the 3DS has more content, a lot of quality of life improvements (leveling up heals your HP/MP, visible enemies on the map/dungeons, alchemy is now instant instead of time/steps-on-the-map based, etc.). So if you don't have much time to spend on a game, the 3DS is much faster to get through due to these changes.

 

[dragonyeuw]

if you have a 3ds with CFW and add in the Japanese orchestra music its the definitive edition due to the extra content and no more random battles(and the better music). (even with the midi music it isnt bad i'd still say buy it due to the extra content and ease this version has over the ps2 version)

It's not *quite* definitive because of the pop-in and resolution, but with the improvements and extra content it's the best version.

RIP Twin Dragon Lash though

If you have a lot of time to play this game, I'd still recommend the PS2 game since the graphics are way better and the music better as well. The world looks much better on the PS2. But the battle system is much slower than the 3DS version.

With that said, the 3DS has more content, a lot of quality of life improvements (leveling up heals your HP/MP, visible enemies on the map/dungeons, alchemy is now instant instead of time/steps-on-the-map based, etc.). So if you don't have much time to spend on a game, the 3DS is much faster to get through due to these changes.

Thanks for the replies. On the bolded, I'm more likely to sink a number of hours in an RPG( haven't played one in a few years now) on a portable device nowadays, so I suppose which one is better 'for me' pretty much answers itself from that aspect. Mainly I just wanted to know it if there was anything seriously compromised playing it in portable form.

 

[tryptobphan]

Thanks for the replies. On the bolded, I'm more likely to sink a number of hours in an RPG( haven't played one in a few years now) on a portable device nowadays, so I suppose which one is better 'for me' pretty much answers itself from that aspect. Mainly I just wanted to know it if there was anything seriously compromised playing it in portable form.

Honestly, I absolutely love DQ8, but maybe my opinion doesn't line up with more die-hard DQ fans.

I think DQ8 is amazing in any form. Unless you're so hung up on performance, graphical prowess, etc... DQ8 in any form is worth playing. Heck, I'd be crazy enough to even recommend the mobile version on the iPhone if someone did not have access to DQ8 in any other platform. And yes, I own that game on every platform that it's come out on so far. I am aware of the poorer performance and lack of symphonic soundtrack and voice acting, but I also recognize the useful mobile controls and other quality of life improvements in that version as well.

If playing on a portable handheld 3DS is the only way you'll get through this game, then do it. It's amazing even on the 3DS. The improvements and added features only make this version even more accessible compared to a once slower game. The only compromises are less lighting and clarity when it comes to the graphics and also the symphonic soundtrack is out and replaced with a midi version. But with that said, the downsized screen of the 3DS makes up for some of the loss in graphical power and the midi version is surprisingly good with or without headphones.

The art style makes this game timeless even with a graphical loss. The world, translation, whimsy, and charm of the game carries this game forward and made it age well. Give it a shot. I rank DQ8 up there among Persona 4, Final Fantasy 9, and Skies of Arcadia as my all time favorite JRPG's. So take that as you will.

 

[Bitanator]

To me, this feels like shitty game design when you're manipulating the field of enemies to this degree just by turning the camera. This is never intended functionality and I haven't seen it rear its head since PS1 days and emulator save scumming.

Rather a trick to use than having to enter/exit to reflush enemy spawns, I'd normally use whistle in that part of the game to get LMS back in the day, this is just another way to do it if you want.