DQ8 sure takes up a lot of time, but it's pretty enjoyable so far, I'm about halfway through.

I like the oldschool battles and the selective applications of voice acting.
It's got Visual Appeal too. (not Jessica, the cell shading obviously)

Guess the time consumption is the main drawback, although second place would go to the crappy villian, since Dolmagus is just lame.  At least we can count on Yangus to deliver some nice lines.

I beat the main game a week or so ago, and then worked on getting the second "good" ending. I'm not sure if I'll be brave enough to endure all of the Dragovian Trails, though...

But yes, this game was a TON of fun. I especially loved the exploration side of it...it was just fun to go way off the beaten path in search of those elusive treasure chests. And it made me realize at one point just how crazy I had become....I found myself not just wanting to explore Dark Empycchu, but the entire Dark World. As if the rest of the game hadn't been long enough!

Yes indeed...it was great to play Dragon Quest VIII.

I logged in 125 hours to do both endings and many of the sidequests.  I only did the first Dragovian Trial.

I feel there is a lot of padding in some places in the game, but DQ has pretty much been like this.

I'm still playing. I just got the ability to travel throughout the entire map and right now I'm grinding for experience points. It feels like everything (with the exception of certain voices) was done safely and handled just right. The battles still have that classic feel and graphics and landscapes rival Shadow of the Colossus in scope and beauty.

My main problem is that I really don't like Angelo or Jessica. They seem like afterthoughts. Yangus and King Chode are the stars of this game as far as I care.

I'm on the verge of crying. I'm a huge DQ fan (as well as a huge Koichi fan ), and I don't own a PS2. I can't see myself buying one anytime soon, either. It pains me not to be able to play DQ8.   Tell me it's worth picking up a PS2 for...

I'm really looking forward to digging into this game.  I haven't had much time to play games lately, and I still need to finish Partners in Time before I start another RPG.

Yes. It's really worth getting a PS2 for.
You can't miss it, man...you just can't! Try to find yourself a good deal on a slimline.

Should I go after that crazy slime PS2 controller? lol

I've barely touched the game, unfortunately... I'm maybe seven hours into it. It's a great game from what I've played but like most games these days, it hasn't really grabbed me. I'll probably go back to it eventually because I hate to leave good games unfinished.

Nah, from what I understand it's not very comfortable as a controller. That is, unless you have the $$$ to blow on a conversation piece.

Wow, it really seems I'm the only one who thought this game was tremendously boring, then. What on earth do people find so interesting about its 17th century battle system, eventless dungeons, huge but empty world and dull storyline?

Someone explain please?

A solid adventure lacking amateurish melodrama, in my case.

As with Breath of Fire 3, the game tries not to take itself so seriously, and really does manage to surprise you aesthetically and through some events. And halfway into the game, there's alot to do in terms of sidequests and alchemy.

And, strangely enough, the cartoonish nature of the characters actually give them... character. I feel infinitely more interested (even in the cutscenes) knowing that I won't have to deal with the teen-drama emotional moments of characters that, regardless of gender, were all modeled after pre-teen schoolgirls. As you might be able to tell by my avatar, I feel Yangus is probably the best-written character to grace a game in a while.

DQ8 might not try to blatantly pull hormonal heartstrings, but it remains amusing and solid throughout.

But is it worth it to slug through the hidiously slow RANDOM ENEMY battle system?

No thanks, I'll wait until Grandia III (or maybe take up playing Mistrel Song that I've neglected) when I next play something I think.

-Joshua

What I appreciate about DQ8 is that it's a breath of fresh air after all the angsty, serious RPGs we've gotten lately. I'm not saying the game doesn't have its serious moments but it's a nice change for me to be able to pop the game in and actually laugh instead of feeling like I have to save the world again and again.

Plus, I love the DQ battle system. I can't help it. It makes me feel giddy. And that MUSIC. I don't think any big-budget RPG has an excuse to not go orchestral at this point (unless their music isn't based in that genre). Synth is badly outdated.

The sad thing is that Grandia III has been universally cited as being unimaginative and a disappointment, and Minstrel Saga is the very definition of "acquired taste". So you're kind of skipping over a confirmed quality game for two of a questionable nature, simply due to your short attention span.

.

Actually, VI has a great storyline as well. Very confusing at times but very different and thought provoking as well. It's sorta a shame that only V and VI have had storylines of note (aside from IV's great chapter system).

I do agree with VIII's music in that the recording is very muddy and indistiinct. I think it's a great shame that they didn't have a chance to get it right the first time (although I fully expect another recording in the future). Still, muddy orchestra or not, it's leagues better than the synth was.

Short attention span? The game 1) Has random battles. There's NO need for it nowadays. Hell they didn't need it in MYSTIC QUEST, 14 years ago  2) The battle system just drolls on. I mean, it's not so much a problem with it outside the fact that everything just feels like it goes so slow. People talk about the game being 100+ hours, that's probably the main reason why. It's not Diagaea, where you at least can choose battles at leisure...

-Joshua

People like you shouldn't be allowed to play games.

I still don't see what on earth you think is FUN about this game.
Sure, the story may not be angsty and whatever, but that doesn't mean jack if the gameplay itself is as stale as 100 year old bread.

Boring battles, boring dungeons, boring overworld, what the hell do people like about this game!?

Oh, and I'm also playing Grandia III right now, which may be unimaginative, but at least it has a solid, fun battle system, even if it's changed very little over the years.
It also suffers from boring dungeons though....

I'm gonna have to disagree with you there.  I haven't yeard the orchestra recording for DQ8 yet, but I've found every previous orchestra recording for the DQ series (except DQ6) to be incredibly dull, both absolutely and as compared to the synth versions.