Virtual stick, ugh. I'll stick with PS2 version of DQ8 until it comes to a gaming handheld.
It's not too bad in Chrono Trigger and the myriad of other games that use it well like Sonic CD. But still a lot worse than a real controller.
I hope that an Nvidia Shield 2 or something like that comes out. Where Nvidia makes the device more attractive and removes the unattractive original XBOX Controller look, makes the device smaller while retaining batter life, reduces weight, and improves button location(the start button on the Shield is in the wrong place, for instance).
Because playing Dragon Quest VIII or other Dragon Quest games like that on a nice Android handheld does sound like an attractive idea.
I also wouldn't mind buying a tablet plus buttons. I like the idea behind the JXD S7800, but JXD aren't a company I trust to buy a product from. I don't trust the build quality from an unknown company like them, I also hear that their products are loaded down with Chinese bloatware. If someone like Samsung or ASUS created something like the JXD S7800, though, I'd buy it immediately.
Because of games like Dragon Quest reaching "mobile", I really hope that more handheld-mobile fusion devices start surfacing like the Nvidia Shield and the JXD devices. And hopefully better than those, because, while I like both of those devices in concept, I don't want either of those particular devices right now.