Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Is Out Now

Nintendo Australia and Square Enix released Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King on the weekend, letting players take one of the larger and widely loved rpg's with them on the go.



When the evil Jester Dhoulmagus comes to Castle Trodain and steals King Trode’s sceptre, he carves a trail of chaos in his wake, beginning by turning his majesty into a troll, Princess Medea into a horse, and the residents of the castle into plants. Only one castle guard escapes the curse, and escorts the King and his daughter on an adventure to retrieve the sceptre, put an end to Dhoulmagus’ diabolical plans, and restore the kingdom of Trodain.

Whether players are revisiting the rich story of DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King or diving into the adventure for the first time, they can enjoy brand new content that provides more back-story about the dastardly Dhoulmagus and The Hero who aims to stop him. All cut-scenes vital to the plot are also accompanied by full voice-acting, including the new story content and a new alternative ending.

As well as new adventure content, two new characters can be recruited in the form of Red, a former rival of The Hero’s sidekick Yangus, and Morrie, the owner of the Monster Arena. By capturing specific monsters throughout their adventure, players can create their own bands of monsters to send into battle inside the Monster Arena. More powerful monsters means stronger teams and more cunning strategies to be devised in the quest to best all seven ranks, including the new X Rank.

There are even more enhancements to the classic adventure for players to enjoy, with the new Quick Save function allowing for the action to be paused and saved any time outside of battle and cut-scenes, while the Speed Up feature allows warriors in a hurry to battle monsters with greater haste.