Eight is the magic number

If you haven’t heard of Dragon Quest, then frankly, you should have. In Japan alone, the DQ series has sold over 40 million units. The eighth, and latest, instalment has sold over 3.6 million units in Japan, making it the best-selling Japanese PS2 title ever. Dragon Quest isn’t just a game – it’s a phenomenon. If you’re serious about Japanese culture, shouldn’t you find out what all the fuss is about?

The original Dragon Quest was released by Enix in Japan in 1986 for the Famicom, or NES, as it was known in Europe. As videogame plots go, it couldn’t get much more familiar – the villain, known as King Dragon in the Japanese original, has kidnapped the princess of Tantegel along with a magic artefact called the Orb of Light. As the descendent of a legendary hero, you set out to defeat King Dragon, reclaim the princess and the Orb, and restore peace to the kingdom. Though, even then, it was a recognisable formula, Dragon Quest is considered the first RPG to appear on console. Something about the world and the gameplay struck a chord with Japanese gamers – perhaps it was touches like when, before the final battle with King Dragon, you’re offered the chance to stay your hand and become joint ruler of the world with the bad guy you’ve spent so long hunting down. It’s a Streets Of Rage style bluff, of course – choose ‘Yes’, and the rascally dastard kills you, which is no more than you deserve, really.

Seven sequels and a clutch of spin-offs later, we find ourselves at the eighth official DQ outing, appearing in Europe as Dragon Quest: The Journey Of The Cursed King. The Japanese version was released way back in November 2004, but those of you poised to grumble about how we always get things last might want to hold your tongues – the North American and European releases have undergone significant tweaks and improvements. In-game controls and menu screens have been revamped for this edition, shifting from a text-based interface to a graphically based one. More importantly, new abilities have been added to some of the player characters, with souped-up battle animation graphics to boot. Sound-wise, the original midi soundtrack has been rerecorded with full orchestral arrangements, and a slew of voice talent has been drafted in to record in-game dialogue, all of which was text-only in the Japanese original.