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November 15th, 2005 almost marks a new beginning for Enix's flagship series. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King will be the first DQ game in the US to use the Japanese series name (thanks to Enix acquiring the US rights to the name in 2003), it is the first DQ game to be played in full 3D, and it has received both commercial success (3 million copies sold in its first week in Japan) and critical acclaim (a 9.0 from Gamespot and a 9.5 from 1up). American gamers can experience what is being hailed as the best game in the storied series on the PS2 starting today.

Dragon Quest VIII uses the creative talents of the series' original "big three" (Producer/Director Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball __ fame, and music composer Koichi Sugiyama) and the visual stylings of the development team Level-5 (most well-known for their Dark Cloud games) to create this PS2 RPG. You assume the role of a name-it-yourself silent protagonist who teams up with the kind-hearted former bandit Yangus, the attractive young sorceress Jessica, and the suave Templar Angelo to try and save the kingdom of Trodain from the evil jester Dhoulmagus. Dhoulmagus has used a powerful magic scepter to transform the good King Trode in to a troll, his daughter in to a horse, and every other denizen of Trodain in to thorns. Somehow, The Hero (as every principal protagonist in the DQ/DW series is called), a young guardsman of the castle, managed to be unaffected by the spell and now travels with the king and princess on a journey to undo the curse.

One thing that is particularly striking about Dragon Quest VIII is the modern visuals. The massive, immersive continuous 3D world really looks excellent. However, that's where most of the modern features end. Dragon Quest VIII uses the traditional methods of random battles, level-ups, and round-based combat that the series has used since it's beginning in 1982, but it offers a degree of customization by allowing characters to distribute Skill Points earned a level-ups to different weapon skill levels and innate skill levels. For example, Angelo learns a great deal of healing magic if you give him points in Staves, and learns offensive movies if you give him points in Swords. In any case, the game looks to be extremely old-school rpg with absolutely gorgeous, if a bit cartoonish, graphics and a world map that's a wonder to behold.

And if that isn't enough to pique your interest, keep in mind that DQ VIII contains a bonus demo for Final Fantasy XII, which you may have heard gaming sites discussing in detail recently. That will only serve as added incentive for fans of Square-Enix to purchase this new game.

So let's review: Switching to Japanese titles, hitting 3D for the first time, excellent visual presentation, commericial success, and consistent critical acclaim? Sounds like Final Fantasy VII to me. Will DQ VIII parallel FF VII's succes? Probably not, but in any case, if you've been a fan of the Dragon Quest series for awhile or at least have a fondness for old-school RPGs then this game might be worth checking out. If you want to learn more about DQ VIII, check out some of the links below.

Gamespot's review
1up's review
Square-Enix's official website
Wikipedia's DQ VIII entry

Tactica Online, a strategy-MMORPG set to come out on the PC, needs you! The development company Imaginary Numbers began recruiting players on Friday for the upcoming beta test of the game, and the offer is still open for anyone to join.

Imaginary Numbers has, from the beginning, designed Tactica Online to be very different from other online RPGs. This is reflected in both its accurate portrayal of the Renaissance era of European history and its unique tactical gameplay. Likewise, most everything players' characters do - through regular gameplay, missions, and campaigns - influences the world, no matter how major or minimal.

Unlike a number of MMORPGs, Tactica Online features turn-based battles fought between squads. Combat is said to be fast-paced and the time taken to select a move or attack each turn is limited, thereby elminating any slow progression within this massive multiplayer game. Controlled characters also lack the ability to level up; the player instead uses experience gained from completed missions to "purchase" new skills once they're unlocked.

Although beta testing won't begin for another couple of weeks, anyone interested can find further details and sign up by hopping on over to the Tactica Online website.

New scans of FFIV Advance have shed some light on details that everyone has been drooling for.

Character switching is done in the Mysidian tower, which most of you will remember from getting the Big Whale. All of the characters that gather there are available to join your party, you simply talk to them and decide which character to switch them out with.

The new dungeon is going to be a total length of fifty floors, and will be host to the ultimate weapons for the newly playable characters. The main purpose of the dungeon is to power up your characters so that they aren't lacking behind the others massively. Of note, each ultimate weapon is guarded by a special boss, unique to the GBA version.

Source: RPGamer

So I guess this clears up some of the rumors and questions people have been having. I know several people, myself included, were worrying about the characters being massively underpowered. I hear high level Edward is a pretty decent character, so I have to wonder about a well equipped version of him.

The brains behind the Final Fantasy concert series Dear Friends and More Friends, JMP Productions, is in the process of putting together another similar program entitled Play! A Video Game Symphony. Select pieces from the soundtracks of various RPGs (and other genres) including The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, World of Warcraft, and the Final Fantasy series will be performed.

Play!, like the Final Fantasy concerts before it, will feature scenes from each game projected on large screens throughout the performances. The music will be conducted by music director and principal conductor of the Chicagoland Pops, Arnie Roth. As reported by 1Up.com, courtesy of Jason Michael Paul and Thomas Boeker, both organizers of the tour, Chrono series composer Yasunori Mitsuda is arranging some of the music for the program, but it is currently unknown which of his songs will be included.

Play! A Video Game Symphony will make its debut in North America April of next year, followed by a worldwide tour. More information as well as an upcoming tour schedule can be found at the concert series' official website.

Source: RPGamer

A new twist in Konami's Suikoden series of RPGs arrived in North America today. "Suikoden Tactics" ("Rhapsodia" in Japan) is a significant deviation from the typical style of the rest of the series. The game will feature a tactical scenario style of combat instead of the traditional turn-and-party based system, and is also the first in the Suikoden timeline to cover the same events as another game, namely, Suikoden IV.

Sources:
IGN
SARS

Personally, I'm not sure what to think until I've played it. I really didn't like Suikoden IV, and I think the release of another game with a completely different style is a way for Konami to gauge reaction to gameplay innovations before implementing them in the series proper (and risking backlash like that which accompanied Suikoden III's new combat system). If this is the game that gets the series back on track, it will certainly be ironic.

The first real batch of FFIV Advance screenshots has snaked it's way onto the internet, along with a video of actual gameplay.

You can view the screenshots here

Looks pretty sweet, although i'm not sure if I like Yang's new menu picture, personally.