| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 89.79% |
| Metacritic | 89 out of 100 |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | A |
| Edge | 8 out of 10 |
| Eurogamer | 9 out of 10 |
| Famitsu | 39 out of 40 |
| GameSpot | 9 out 0f 10 |
| IGN | 9 out of 10 |
| Play Magazine | 10 out of 10 |
| X-Play | 5 out of 5 |
Released for the PlayStation 2 on November 27, 2004 in Japan, Dragon Quest VIII went on to ship over three million copies within its first week, making it the fastest selling Japanese PlayStation 2 title upon release. By September, 2008, total worldwide shipments of Dragon Quest VIII surpassed 4.9 million copies, of which over 430,000 were from the North American release. Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It was the first Dragon Quest game to receive a score of 39 out of 40 from Famitsu. It won both 1UP.com's and GameSpy's "Best RPG of E3 2005" award, ahead of runner-up Kingdom Hearts II.
The US release of Dragon Quest VIII has received generally positive critical reviews, receiving a score of 89 out of 100 on Metacritic. Critics were quick to praise the 3D cel shaded visuals, noting that it was the first game in the series to be fully three-dimensional. A staple of the Dragon Quest series is the simplicity of its gameplay, a factor which has been criticized in the past. However, several critics pointed out that the simple gameplay works for Dragon Quest VIII. Simon Parkin of Eurogamer called the game "refreshing", comparing it to the contemporaneous Final Fantasy series and games from developer Nippon Ichi Software, which he finds to be too complicated. Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot wrote that the lack of "dozens of characters of all types" allows the game to remain simple, letting the player become very familiar with the main characters. Edge magazine, however, commented that the game's substance seemed out of place for 2005.
A majority of reviewers cited the English localization of the game as one of its best qualities. Nich Maragos of 1UP.com praised the game's British tinted localization, saying how the humor is often successful except for "a few puns that will, on occasion, make you want to die." Parkin described the voice acting as "a mash up of Monty Python and The Princess Bride: fantasy farce driving the cute narrative in the ideal aural vehicle." The game's world map has also been a major topic of praise for critics. The 1UP.com staff suggested that the player stop playing "to just look around and absorb the scenery" and said that it rivals Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' map of San Andreas in size and detail. IGN writer Jeremy Dunham wrote that the "only exception in the game's mass list of progression is the plotline," explaining that it has one of the more basic Dragon Quest stories; but he also mentions that the game still manages to take a dull plot and make it entertaining.
Read more about this topic: Dragon Quest VIII: Journey Of The Cursed King
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