The graphics in this game are awesome. They are cel-shaded, but not in a Zelda: Windwaker kind of way. If you’ve ever watched Dragonball Z, you’ll immediately recognize the art style. Why? Well Akira Toriyama, head artist of Dragonball Z, is at the helm for the graphics. Anyone familiar with DBZ will see what Toriyama borrowed from the series from this game.
When your tension becomes rediculously high, your hair flies up in an o-so-DBZ-style. (Ka-may-ha-may-ha! Oops, sorry…flashback..) The detail is simply amazing! Need more proof? Look at the facial expressions of characters during conversation. If the Hero is running on grass, small shreds of grass fly up behind him. Dirt paths more your flavor? Well, a small dust cloud forms. Awesome.
The world that DQ VIII exists in is huge. If you like to explore your surroundings, this is the game for you. The player has complete control of exploration; you can travel on foot, on a boat, or on giant Sabrecats (and yes they do have huge fangs. You know you wanted to ask me that). The more you explore, the more cool items you find. Also, it doesn’t take time to reload graphics unless you go into a town. Therefore, you can walk around as much as you want without having to wait for a new area to load.
The soundtrack of this game is right up there with the Final Fantasy series. The orchestral background is literally music to your ears. It is in your face in the right moments, and akin to elevator music at others. Composer Koichi Sugiyama used the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra to record the soundtrack. When a composer calls in the big boys for a soundtrack, you know he means business.
Another great thing is the character development. The player has control over how their characters develop. Instead of simply leveling up and learning new spells and techniques, the player actually plays a factor in determining these skills. When your players level up, they are awarded a certain number of skill points. You can allocate these skill points into 5 different areas. 3 of these areas include weapons. For example, the Hero has swords, scythes, and boomerangs to choose from. If you put all of your skill points into the sword category, you will become a “master swordsman”, and learn some really cool techniques specific to the use of swords. The other two areas depend on your character. The Hero has “courage”, while Jessica has “sex appeal” (namely her huge rack). These character-specific traits can be really fun once you reach the higher levels.
