Thanks to our friends over at Siliconera we have new details about the story in Dragon Quest VIII. These come mainly from the video footage I embeded below, but some come from other sources.
Here’s the breakdown:
– The protagonist and his crew found out about a place that got cursed by the jester Dhoulmagus;
– The crew have decided to go on a trip to find a way to get rid of the curse, but then they come across a certain secret of Dhoulmagus’, which they need to figure out;
– You have to find out more about Dhoulmagus and his curse by going around talking to people who might know more about the case, including a drama that involves the kidnapping of a casino owner;
– Meanwhile, the castle has fallen into a dark atmosphere, where everyone appears to be sad;
– While going after Dhoulmagus, the protagonist will also learn about a certain secret behind the royal family;
– Dungeons are filled with all kinds of setups;
– That also goes for the ice labyrinths, where you’ll need to get your way across some slippery floors;
– Friends will always be there to back you up while exploring these dungeons;
– You can talk to them during your adventure for random conversations or hints on what to do or where to go next;
– Morrie’s job class would be something like an evolved mix of the Martial Artist and Minstrel in Dragon Quest IX;
– Red is considered to have an advanced class version of the Thief;
– Morrie can use different healing and support spells;
– Also has a special ability with his name in it, but it’s still a secret;
– Red can heal as well and has some status effect spells;
– Stereoscopic 3D works while looking at the characters in the menu;
– Morrie can use claws, boomerangs, and blunt weapons;
– Red uses fans, whips, and short swords;
– Morrie has a funny way of walking;
– He can use the “Tiger Claw” weapon, which was seen in Dragon Quest X;
– In the original Dragon Quest VIII, you always had to spend all of your obtained skill points after leveling up, but this time you’ll get to save them for when you’d like to use them, next time;
– Normal and fast battle speed options;
– Fast option increases the battle speed by x1.5;
– Red also has the “Steal” ability, which can be used in battle to steal items and Gold from the monsters;
– Morrie will have access to his “Call Team” ability, which is actually voiced in the game.