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Dragon Quest VIII Demos out

Himuro said:
:lol

Yeah I don't have a fry's near me, but we have one in Houston I think.
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We have three in Houston, man.

One at Gunspoint on 45, another in Stafford/Sugarland on 59, and another one in some dump named Webster, I think.
 
teiresias said:
So you get it just for pre-ordering?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I walked in, asked about the game since I had recently just gotten a slim line PS2 (my old one busted up), and was looking for some titles that were going to be coming out soon.

The guy told me it would be out in November, but they had just gotten in some demos. If I Pre-ordered it I could get the demo today. So i threw down the $5. I'd check with your GameStops and EBs if you don't have a Fry's nearby. The demo is definately worth picking up!
 
Red Mercury said:
Yeah, I walked in, asked about the game since I had recently just gotten a slim line PS2 (my old one busted up), and was looking for some titles that were going to be coming out soon.

The guy told me it would be out in November, but they had just gotten in some demos. If I Pre-ordered it I could get the demo today. So i threw down the $5. I'd check with your GameStops and EBs if you don't have a Fry's nearby. The demo is definately worth picking up!
Click to expand...

Picked up my demo tonight (had already pre-ordered the game and paid in full) at my local GameStop (Memphis, TN). There's an EB much closer to my house, but they had no copies as of today.

About to give it a spin.
 
The Gamestop in The Hub (On Hempstead Tpke/Fulton Ave) in Hempstead, NY has a bunch. I had to call a few Gamestops to find it.

Impressions:

I'm pretty sure this is the same demo they had at the DQ8 event.

The demo NEEDS the ability to save. It's just too long, I stopped when I died at the boss because I'd been playing for about an hour and a half to that point, not an actual GAME complaint, but still....

The music is great, it has a real "this is what sugiyama wouldve done in the NES days if he had the technology" sound to it

The voice acting is horrendous, some of the worst, first game that I ever turned it off on, it's probably a matter of taste, but personally....

The battles are fun, I probably could've beaten the boss if I checked first what Yangus was equipped with and didn't give all his skill points to axe, though.
 
Checked a GS I live near here in Brooklyn. No dice.

Will try an EB I work near tomorrow during lunch.
 
Here are my impressions, after nearly three hours of playing the demo.

The game is beautiful. It's so colorful, crisp and clear (I'm using component cables, btw). The animation is superb as well. This is probably old news to some, but the game just looks so sharp in person, moreso to me than the movies and screenshots previously conveyed.

Two options are open to you on the demo: Story Mode and Battle Mode. Story mode consists of two characters on one of the game's small quests, and when finished the game rewards you with this: "Well done! Did you enjoy our little adventure? The dev team is currently raising their tension in a bid to win the release date battle! The quest begins...November, 2005."

Battle Mode, on the other hand, lets you play the game with four somewhat-leveled up characters, running around in a rather large area experimenting with spells, skills, etc. I didn't really play it much.

Great news for series fans: The sound effects/music jingles are intact! Staying overnight at the inn, leveling up, battle victory, reviving a fallen comrade, finding an item, all there. Although minor, the text sounds are the same as well (advancing text in the window, moving to a new frame of text). I for one was glad to see all those in place. The new menu screen is also really well done. I don't mind at all the exclusion of the transparent overlays from previous games.

As others said, the voice acting can be pretty bad at times.
Yangus
even has somewhat of an Australian accent. :/ The music, to me, is somewhat lacking. Some tunes sound pretty good (the first cavern tune in the demo greatly harkens back to the very first Dragon Quest/Warrior) while others are pretty forgettable, at least for now.

Like in Dragon Warrior VII, you can still pick up and smash vases and barrels, look in drawers, and look in bags hanging on walls for hidden items. Dialogue seems to be very well written so far, the series trademark humor is intact as far as I can tell.

As Scarlet said before, the game does tend to play more like the old Dragon Quest games, at least that's the vibe I'm getting so far. It's a bit of a shock to be playing a Dragon Quest game in full 3D, but very cool at the same time. In short, can't wait until the final version comes around, in the meantime if you're at all interested get this demo, it's a great preview of what's to come.
 
Hmmm, can anyone who has the demo and has gone through it do me a humongoid favor? I honestly doubt I will be able to get the demo for at least a month (going to the mall is a day-long thing for me), and it may not even be available at that time.

I am curious as to what this demo entails. By that, I mean practically everything there is on it. Monster names, character names, item names, magic names, skill names, command names, your starting stats at the beginning of the demo, where all you can go in the demo, when it stops, (saving has been answered), how the sound effects are (Himuro says they're all NES-ish; for those that are familiar, are the old sound effects for attacks, dodges, spellcasting, criticals, monster attacks, all that stuff still in there) and such?

I'm really curious as to what all is in it, but I really don't think I have a feasible way to find out myself (money, the trip, etc are kinda not options until probably mid-October or later).

A big thanks to anyone that can provide info. Descriptions of places/monsters and stuff is fine, too when naming. Thank you!
 
Red Scarlet said:
Hmmm, can anyone who has the demo and has gone through it do me a humongoid favor? I honestly doubt I will be able to get the demo for at least a month (going to the mall is a day-long thing for me), and it may not even be available at that time.

I am curious as to what this demo entails. By that, I mean practically everything there is on it. Monster names, character names, item names, magic names, skill names, command names, your starting stats at the beginning of the demo, where all you can go in the demo, when it stops, (saving has been answered), how the sound effects are (Himuro says they're all NES-ish; for those that are familiar, are the old sound effects for attacks, dodges, spellcasting, criticals, monster attacks, all that stuff still in there) and such?

I'm really curious as to what all is in it, but I really don't think I have a feasible way to find out myself (money, the trip, etc are kinda not options until probably mid-October or later).

A big thanks to anyone that can provide info. Descriptions of places/monsters and stuff is fine, too when naming. Thank you!
Click to expand...

You start out in the town of Farebury, Eight (hero) and Yangus are there.

Eight: Lv 1, 22 HP, 0 MP. Soldier's sword, Plain clothes, Bandana, Medicinal herb
Yangus: Lv1, 30 HP, 0 MP. Oaken Club, Bandit's grass skirt, Leather hat

You're free to explore the town, I know you know the story but you're looking for Rylus, his house has burned down, there's the whole quest with Alexandria (sp?) and the fortune-teller, whose name I forget at the moment. A "monster" enters town, it's King Trode (sp?) with the horse/princess, after that scenario you start to leave town, Alexandria stops you and asks you to meet at her house. You're put on a quest to retrieve her dad's crystal ball (his is glass) from the waterfall cave. After going through the cave and defeating the boss (my memory is failing! red lizard guy, whose voice acting was particularly hideous) you take the crystal ball back to the fortune teller, the Story mode ends shortly afterwards.

Monsters I fought included Slime, Dracky (Drakee), Slime Knight, and quite a few other new ones I can't remember the name of at the moment.

I did a mini-quest where I retrieved a guy's tool bag from beside the red tree (the guy at the top of the waterfall cave), he gave me cheese to give the rat in battle.

I did not attempt to go towards Trodain Castle, not sure if you can head that way or not. There was a checkpoint (bridge) blocked by guards at one point, not sure where that headed either. I found one treasure chest out in the open, but apparently you need the Thief's Key to get in it.

Sorry I can't remember more at the moment. If no one else does, I'll be able to give more info next time I play through, it'll probably be a little while though.
 
Ok, cool. If you can recall the other badguys and stuffs later, that'd be awesomo.

Were there any
visible monsters outside of battle
that you saw?
 
Red Scarlet said:
Ok, cool. If you can recall the other badguys and stuffs later, that'd be awesomo.

Were there any
visible monsters outside of battle
that you saw?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I fought a Slimeknight, he was pretty easy. He was loitering near the Waterfall Cave. I think I got some kind of coin from him.

I tried to fight some kind of bird thing Automaton Aviator, maybe?, he stomped me pretty bad. I got my guys up to level 7 each, I think, by the time I finished. There was one slime wandering around in that last area, as well as a pink mole guy with a giant hammer, I took care of him easily enough too.

There were also random animals scattered out in the overworld, a horse here, a sheep there, a cat, some birds, butterflies. That was something I didn't know about before.

The Battle Mode of the demo had tons of hard monsters, I really was just running from every battle though, so I could explore. I didn't cover it all, but it appeared to let you wander over most of
the large southeastern continent
.

Also,
the title screen and file select screen songs were identical to DWVII, apart from sounding re-recorded and fresher
.

EDIT: One odd thing I noticed, some of the font on the tutorial screens looks just like it came straight out of The Wind Waker. Weird.
 
Oh, if you can sometime, say what you bumped into down there. I'd probably try the battle mode over the other one though. Thanks for the info!

Edit: oh come on now, a DQ topic shouldn't die every time I post in one!
 
Scored a demo today at gamestop for preordering, clerk said they got them in yesterday.

I'm quite impressed by the graphics after DW7. Running around the overworld is amazing, far more impressive then any other RPG i've played. Can' wait to get my hands on the full version.
 
Tried a couple of EBs and GSs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and none of the clerks has a f-cking clue what I'm talking about.

*weep*
 
Mejilan said:
Tried a couple of EBs and GSs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and none of the clerks has a f-cking clue what I'm talking about.

*weep*
Click to expand...

Yeah, I asked at EB this morning and they were like "What's Dragon Quest?"

I drove down to the San Diego Fry's and they had two large stacks of demos in two areas of the PS2 section.
 
Mejilan said:
Tried a couple of EBs and GSs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and none of the clerks has a f-cking clue what I'm talking about.

*weep*
Click to expand...

I feel your pain.

"Shadow of the WHO?"

Speaking of, those demos are supposed to be at GameStops next week, so mine told me last night.
 
No luck at my local Fry's but I did manage to snag one at a nearby Gamestop. Decided to preorder the slime controller while I was there. Off to play the demo.
 
Question to those who have played the Japanese version - Could you select which monster of a group you wanted to attack?
 
Monster group spoilers:

What you do is when you are able to recruit monsters, you fight the visible ones, then can choose to recruit them into the monster team. At first, you can only have 3 monsters max, but that number and stuff goes up (not gonna spoil it all..unless asked).

A monster team can have up to 3 monsters. The Hero learns a Skill/Spell that lets you call out your current monster team. The monster team comes out and fights a few rounds for you, then leaves. You don't control them, but you can make them leave before their time is up. More or less, it's almost like this game's versions of summons or something. Different combinations of monsters make special teams that can have new attacks or stat increases for the monsters. I'll go into it more if you want me to.

Hm, that's not what you were asking huh :lol . In the Japanese version, yes, you could specifically choose which monster you want to attack/cast a spell on. Not just the "group" and a random enemy in the group like in the previous games.
 
Of All Trades said:
Why does an extremely outdated filler-scheme make you happy?
Click to expand...

1) I like random battles.
2) DQ battles are fast.
 
Red Scarlet said:
Has anyone with the demo tried out the Battle mode any more? Still wondering what it allows you to bump into monsterwise.
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What do you want, a list of monsters you fight?
 
Red Scarlet said:
Why does every game having to update to a current mold make you happy?
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Considering that, in this case, current = superior, I don't understand why you'd want it any other way. Random combat is a crutch for lazy/inept designers, and gamers should simply demand better. Especially when better was done around a decade ago with ChronoTrigger.
 
Of All Trades said:
Considering that, in this case, current = superior, I don't understand why you'd want it any other way. Random combat is a crutch for lazy/inept designers, and gamers should simply demand better. Especially when better was done around a decade ago with ChronoTrigger.
Click to expand...

Bullshit. It's a style decision. I love RPGs with random battles. I love RPGs without. Sometimes I'm in the mood to play one type, other times the other. One style should never fully replace another, IMHO.
 
And that's why you merit no further responses in topics like these anymore.

Amazingly, some people today still enjoy random battles, and amazingly today, there are games with and without them. Don't like them? There's a bunch for you to play instead. Like them? There's still some games that have random battles. Everyone wins. Someday you will realize not every game has to conform to what you prefer.

The designers asked fans before DQ7 came out if they wanted different battles and a different view. They voted no, so the classic view was retained. Part 8 has 'action views' for doing stuff now, but when the battle starts, it has that classic view that the fans of the series still want..something a few companies don't even do.

Newsflash: not everything is here for you and your approval.
 
Of All Trades said:
Considering that, in this case, current = superior, I don't understand why you'd want it any other way. Random combat is a crutch for lazy/inept designers, and gamers should simply demand better. Especially when better was done around a decade ago with ChronoTrigger.
Click to expand...

As much as I love CT, I don't want all games to BE CT.
I like variety in my RPGs (pretty much all I play) and in some cases random battles are fine with me. Like I said, they're fast enough in the DQ series that it hardly matters.
You simply believe lack of random battles is superior, and I don't. Random battles add something to a RPG, and I personally feel a vast difference between the two varieties (random and on the map). The only time random battles are an issue is when they set the frequency too high. Sometimes this is only a problem with certain zones in a game, or sometimes the whole damn game is like it.
 
Of All Trades said:
Considering that, in this case, current = superior, I don't understand why you'd want it any other way. Random combat is a crutch for lazy/inept designers, and gamers should simply demand better. Especially when better was done around a decade ago with ChronoTrigger.
Click to expand...
Crutch for lazy/inept designers? That's a bit of a stretch. Like Mejlan said, it's merely a different style. There are certain games that just wouldn't be the same without random combat and DQ is one of them.
 
Uhhh, random encounters are pretty integral to DQ. I'd hate to have it any other way. It'd certainly making leveling more annoying too.
 
Meji - don't resort to that... just don't be afraid to come out to the suburbs =] There's plenty of demos around the GSes here... preordered mine over in Hicksville yesterday and got the demo.

And might I say - I am very happy with it... DQ8 is everything I could hope it would be. The demo has some serious content with it (I have only did the story part, haven't done the battle part yet), but everything just screams classic DQ... Only thing I didn't like was how easy it was to get the dungeon map in the first dungeon... would have preferred a bit of an automap (Scarlet - is it like this in every dungeon, or are some dungeon's maps harder to get?). But - the world was huge and streaming, the cel shaded characters really captured Toriyama's style, the fights were quick and painless, the music evoked lots of memories (especially the World Map), it just felt awesome. Definitely one of the best demos out there! Can't wait, apparently Gamestop has it coming on Nov 23 - right before my Thanksgiving break - sweet! Oh and the sound effects weren't butchered as bad as I thought - most sounded like the original, the combat sound effects sounded different, though... but the level up sound, inn sound, all sounded really similar. Voice acting I wasn't crazy about - the heavily Snatch style British accents, or the stereotypical Romanian sounding gypsys. I hate voice acting in my RPGs though, I read much faster than they can speak and usually VA's suck...

And as for the random encounter argument, it's so tired it's not even funny.
 
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