Dragon Quest VIII Review
As far as gameplay, this game knows no bounds. In the beginning, you'll spend time interacting with NPC's (non-playable characters) in town to solve certain mysteries involving the local fortune teller Kaldersha, his daughter Valentina, and his mysterious crystal ball. I won't give away the details, but I can definitely say I spent a fair amount of hours just in town. I would recommend hitting at least Level 4-5 (6 if you have enough patience) before heading into the cave later in the quest.
The battle system is implemented and executed in a very streamlined manner, with easy to navigate menus and a myriad of characters at your disposal. I personally love Jessica and her whip, since it can attack enemies in a single horizontal line in one turn. You're also able to "charge-up" and increase your tension level in-between turns, which is highly reminiscent of Dragonball Z and definitely brings some originality to this well-executed RPG. In conclusion, I highly recommend this game to anyone remotely interested in role-playing games, Dragon Warrior/Quest, the Dragonball Z anime, or even just gaming in particular!