As a game, DQ8 probably shone the most of the franchise strictly on the value of its charming cel shaded graphics, and great audio. As a game itself, it was probably the worst of the DQ games: it's clunky, poorly paced, an everything is spread out way too much. Consequently, there's a gigantic game world, but about 1/2 to 1/3rd as many places to visit when compared to other DQ games.
I was excited about the 3DS port, assuming they'd continue making very valuable upgrades to the older games while staying true to the spirit of the originals. Dragon Quest 4, 5, 6, and 7 all had massive overhauls, and features were improved. Yesterday the trailer for the English release occurred:
Noticeably missing is the cel shaded graphical treatment, which was a big part of the charm. It's not like it's due to a technical limitation either, as several DS games used cel shading... Including DQ9. Plus the 3DS chipset is more advanced and more powerful than the PS2's. Other PS2 Ports to 3DS, like Tales of the Abyss, seem to have gone better than the original, and that was a direct port without really much other treatment done. It should look at least as good on 3DS, this is just sloppy work.
Second! DQ8 on PS2 had really good voice acting, the 3DS version seems to be completely redone, and the actors lack the emotion of the original. Plus Dolmagus's voice doesn't have that demonically villainous quality to it anymore.
Gameplaywise, they did make some tweaks - I am assuming crafting and such has been fixed, no more random encounters, that sort of thing, but I don't know if that will save it from the big pacing and environmental flaws of the original. The big attraction to this game was its artistic charm in its visuals and audio, while still having a good RPG to go along - as full 3D RPGs around this time were rarely done well in this style; most were done with a sort of a corridor approach: Starting with Quest 64, but then FF10 took this approach, 13, all the Xenosagas, etc...
I was excited about the 3DS port, assuming they'd continue making very valuable upgrades to the older games while staying true to the spirit of the originals. Dragon Quest 4, 5, 6, and 7 all had massive overhauls, and features were improved. Yesterday the trailer for the English release occurred:
Noticeably missing is the cel shaded graphical treatment, which was a big part of the charm. It's not like it's due to a technical limitation either, as several DS games used cel shading... Including DQ9. Plus the 3DS chipset is more advanced and more powerful than the PS2's. Other PS2 Ports to 3DS, like Tales of the Abyss, seem to have gone better than the original, and that was a direct port without really much other treatment done. It should look at least as good on 3DS, this is just sloppy work.
Second! DQ8 on PS2 had really good voice acting, the 3DS version seems to be completely redone, and the actors lack the emotion of the original. Plus Dolmagus's voice doesn't have that demonically villainous quality to it anymore.
Gameplaywise, they did make some tweaks - I am assuming crafting and such has been fixed, no more random encounters, that sort of thing, but I don't know if that will save it from the big pacing and environmental flaws of the original. The big attraction to this game was its artistic charm in its visuals and audio, while still having a good RPG to go along - as full 3D RPGs around this time were rarely done well in this style; most were done with a sort of a corridor approach: Starting with Quest 64, but then FF10 took this approach, 13, all the Xenosagas, etc...
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
