Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Overview

Dragon Quest VIII for the 3DS will be released on January 20, 2017. The game, previously a PS2-exclusive game, has been fully remastered for the Nintendo 3DS handheld system. DQVIII follows the story of the silent Hero, a Trodain guard. At one point, the court jester of Trodain – Dhoulmagus steals an ancient scepter and casts a spell on all those within the kingdom. When Dhoulmagus casts the spell, King Trode turns into a troll. Princess Medea turns into a horse. Everyone else turns into plans save for the hero. Join the Hero, King Trode, Princess Medea, and many of their members on a treacherous journey to break the spell over the Kingdom of Trodain.

Possible 3DS Changes

Main article: List of Possible 3DS Changes

There are a number of additional content added in the port of Dragon Quest VIII for the 3DS. The changes are categorized into 5 namely: General, Combat related, Skill System related, Item drop related, and other miscellaneous changes.

In essence, the general changes consist of new mechanics such as: the Quality of Life Changes which feature a new Quick-Save option, Additional Dungeons to explore, new scenarios, 2 New Characters, and a New alternate Ending[SPOILER ALERT] to name a few.

Another new mechanic that did not exist in the original PS2 Version is the Photo Quest. When you take on a Photo Quest you will be rewarded with a stamp upon completion. If you have collected a certain number of stamps, you can exchange these for various rewards.

Similarly, the combat related changes enable faster completion when it comes to grinding and progressing through the following: Removal of Random encounters, addition of “Fast” Mode, additional EXP and gold received from each battle, and restoration of the Hero’s HP and MP upon leveling up.

The Skill System has also been updated with the addition of nerfs of certain abilities such as: Jessica’s Twin Dragon Lash ability, Helm Splitter’s effect, Oomph’s effect, etc; and buffs such as: added ability points for the Hero and Angelo during the early stage, and additional abilities for the new characters, etc.

Certain Item drops which include but is not limited to those obtained from treasure chests have also been altered in the 3DS version.

Finally, other miscellaneous changes will be observed in the 3DS version: such as the case of setting the Hero to be AI controlled, aesthetic changes on some of the PS2 obtainable costumes, and the respawning items from the Field’s blue treasure chests to name a few.

Characters

Main article: List of DQVIII characters

Main characters
  • Hero – All throughout the game, the Hero remains silent and speaks based on the player’s choices. The Hero is the royal guard of King Trode, the ruler of the Trodian Kingdom. While travelling, he keeps a pet mouse named Munchie that sits in his right pocket.
  • Yangus – Yangus, a former bandit, journeys with the hero after being saved from a falling bridge. Determined to pay back his debt, he journeys with the hero with King Trode at the start of the game.
  • Jessica – Despite her effeminate features, Jessica can be tomboyish and short-tempered. She is a sorceress who seeks vengeance for her brother, Alistair who was slain by Dhoulmagus. She lives with a wealthy family in the town of Alexandria. In the 3DS, the hero can marry her in the alternate ending.
  • Angelo – Despite being part of the Maella’s Templar Knights, Angelo leaves due to his uncontrollable gambling and lust. He becomes the fourth party member to join your party. He is faithful to Abbot Francisco.
New Playable Characters (3DS)

Main article: New Party Members

  • Red – She is a thief that will join your party in Pirate’s Cove. Red will join you to defeat the boss in the dungeon.
  • Morrie – The owner of the arena in DQVIII. He will join your party once you’ve cleared Rank S in his arena
Other characters
  • King Trode – The King of Trodain, King Trode had been cursed by Dhoulmagus into a Troll. While pressing select as you journey along, the king gives you advice. He is also playable for awhile in Tyran’s Gully.
  • Princess Medea – A close friend of the hero and daughter of the king, Princess Medea had turned into a horse due to Dhoulmagus’ curse. She marries the hero in the end in both endings. There’s also a part where there’s a spring that turns her human temporarily and she confesses to the hero.
  • Marcello – Captain of the Templar guards, Marcello desired more power. After the Abbot’s death, he rose through the ranks to become the partner of High Priest Rolo. However, he manages to get a hold of the Godbird scepter and uses Rhapthorne’s power. He’s the only one who didn’t lose his mind when using it.
  • Sir Leopold – The spoiled dog of the great magician Dominico, he gets possessed by Lord Rhapthorne upon picking up the scepter. The servant had let him out by mistake and led him to the scepter.

Spells

Main article: List of DQVIII spells

In Dragon Quest, Spells consume magic energy (MP) and are categorized into 4 types: attack, support, healing, and other spells. In addition, some spells are usable only during battle, some only outside of battle (on the move) while others can be performed both in and outside of battle. As your characters gain even more experience (EXP), they can learn even more spells.

Abilities

Main article: List of DQVIII abilities

Similar to Spells are the Abilities in Dragon Quest VIII. Abilities also consume magic energy (MP), are categorized into 4 types: attack, support, healing, and other spells. In addition, some abilities are usable only during battle, some only outside of battle (on the move) while others can be performed both in and outside of battle. As your characters gain even more experience (EXP), they can learn even more abilities.

Main article: Recommended Abilities

In Dragon Quest VIII, skill points form the backbone of the Abilities.

If experimenting is not desired, there are also some tried and tested builds when allocating skill points.

The Hero is recommended to focus on Sword and Courage Abilities, with 52 skill points distributed to Courage Ability in order to acquire Falcon Slash. Spear Ability should also be added and 59 skill points must be invested to obtain the Lightning Thrust ability. Whereas Yangus is recommended to prioritize the Fisticuffs ability and allocate 42 skill points to master Thin Air. Once the minimum is met, the remaining skill points should be distributed to Axe, Scythe, and Humanity.

Jessica must first distribute skill points to Staves Ability then the remaining should be put to the Sex Appeal Ability. Similar to Jessica, Angelo may also opt to capitalize on investing skill points to Staves Ability. However, if melee is desired, around 40 skill points would suffice on Sword Ability to gain Falcon Slash.

There are also additional characters that learn other Abilities that were never seen before in the older game. This provides more options when forming the party.

Leveling

Main article: Metal Slime Hunting Guide

The Metal Slime is a recurring creature throughout the game. However, this creature can be quite a pain to deal with due to it fleeing most of the time. Another thing to deal with is that it is immune to all magic and certain skills which can make it difficult to kill. They also have high levels of physical defense, reducing any incoming physical attacks easily.

In the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VIII, enemies lurking in dungeons are indicated by a symbol on the map. Once you approach an enemy, you will engage it in battle. Enemies called Metal Slime are of particular interest in Dragon Quest VIII. Encountering them is quite rare, and they tend to flee the moment you engage them in battle. Vanquishing them however, nets you significant amounts of EXP to level up.

To easily grind EXP, you can actually force a Metal Slime to appear in certain areas. Some areas to farm for each Metal slime during the early stages include:

  • The Metal slime spawns along the river of the Kingdom of Ascantha. Since its spawn rate is low during the day, it is recommended to hunt for it during evening.
  • Liquid metal slime may be hunted inside the Trodain Castle.
  • While Metal king slime spawns at the Dragon Graveyard. Inside the graveyard, it spawns east of the entrance.

A new area not accessible in the classic version is the Corridor of Memories. This area does not normally have any monsters but if the red part of the map has been accessed, it is possible to encounter the different Metal Slime monsters.

Earning Money

Main article: Infinite Money Farming

Items crafted through Alchemy can be sold in stores. Over time however, selling crafted items will cause its selling price to go down until it only sells for the total amount of gold you used to make it. You won’t be making any profit by then. But there is a way to make infinite money in the game.

In addition, when in the Baccarat Casino, it’s a game of chance. This is one of the parts of the game where you have to constantly reset. However, should you be lucky, there will be times that the chances will be in your favour and you’ll get a lot of coins.

Monster Arena

Main article: Strategies for the Monster Arena

In the Monster Arena, it’s not your characters that will fight but the monsters you’ve trained. Each stage in the Monster Arena has a rank which increases the difficulty as you go along. Each match has a different fee but also a wonderful reward that can help boost your party’s battles as you go along. The best part is, this can help you fight other bosses and also teach strategy when you come across certain monsters.

Photo Quest

Main article: Photo Quest

The Photo Quest is a new sidequest added for the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. To start this quest, talk to the photographer named Cameron Obscura when you first visit Port Prospect. After speaking to him, you will obtain Cameron’s Challenge Codex. This allows you to take pictures around the area. Cameron will ask you to take a picture of specific creatures or locations in the world of DQ8. Included in the list is one of the elusive monsters Golden Slime which are found around the Kingdom of Trodain. Another creature to look out for when doing the Photo Quest is the Fairy which is also difficult to find.

You can earn stamps by completing each mission in the Photo Quest. The number of stamps you receive depends on the difficulty of the mission.

 Bosses

Main article: Bosses List

One of the 3DS version’s charms are a number of buffs implemented to the Bosses Attributes for the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. As a result, this requires a better preparation before challenging any of the bosses. To add, there are also a handful of new Bosses introduced through the new dungeons accessible post-game. Thus, the characters must employ new strategies to outwit the Bosses’ improved tactics.