Dragon Quest VIII first came out at the tail end of the PlayStation 2’s life cycle, and it was a brilliant send-off, a lush, vibrant game with well-written characters and a story that has touches of genuine pathos. Despite all its success in its home country, the series has never made the transition to mass popularity in the West, though not for lack of trying.ĭragon Quest games tend to come late in a system’s life, and publisher Square Enix has always waited to see what the dominant console will be before committing the resources to put out a Dragon Quest title for that system. They’re also known to be quite traditional, and combat is still handled from a turn-based, first-person perspective, just as it was on the NES. The franchise has consistently been a top seller in Japan, and Dragon Quest games are known for their length and quality. That’s the philosophy which has guided the Dragon Quest series for thirty years, and it’s hard to argue. Sometimes, you get things right on the first try.
