Universal Dragon Quest VIII (by Square Enix)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Haruhi, Dec 12, 2013.

  1. Edmilan

    Edmilan Well-Known Member

    Dec 2, 2011
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    #601 Edmilan, Sep 11, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2014
    Just finished the game on my 5S. Considering that this is my very first Dragon Quest game. And one word to describe it all: Beautiful!
     

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  2. curtisrshideler

    curtisrshideler Well-Known Member
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    Jul 30, 2011
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    Congrats! I've never beat this one, and kind of hesitate to do so because I just don't want it to ever end. Once it's over, can you still jump back in and grind away as well as play the monster arena?
     
  3. seeraphael

    seeraphael Member

    Dec 21, 2012
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    You technically haven't finished it (at least, I'm guessing you haven't if you're like most people playing for the first time). A new area opens up with some very pertinent storyline after the The End card displays.
     
  4. seeraphael

    seeraphael Member

    Dec 21, 2012
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    Yes - in fact, a new area opens up that is practically an invitation to grind - you'll see what I mean when you get to it. Make sure you save after credits roll.
     
  5. curtisrshideler

    curtisrshideler Well-Known Member
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    Can't wait! Well, I kind of can... but that's good news for those of us who like to grind.
     
  6. Roxor

    Roxor New Member

    Jan 4, 2015
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    Game Impressions

    Hi, I'm new here.
    I mostly signed up for this awesome game. I cannot believe the hate it gets and I wanted to see if you guys agree.

    I played this on the PS2 and although I loved it, I never got around to completely finishing it. Mostly because it sometimes takes over one hour from one save point to the next and I prefer to play in bursts of 20min.

    Since I skipped the iPhone 5-era (used Blackberry), I now got an iPhone 6 Plus 128 GB. This was one of the first apps to get.
    Here are some impressions:

    1. Graphics:
    I think they look phenomenal. The detail is great, the textures are fine, the resolution is high. It could be a bit sharper on the 6 Plus screen and the menus are not optimized for the 9:16 screens. The map should belong in the upper right corner but instead it's a bit lower. The vertical orientation works well for me; I don't mind it at all.
    The framerate seems to be capped at maybe 24fps? It's not buttery smooth, but I guess this was either kept from the original version or done to save battery. This game never gets hot, whereas games like Oceanhorn can really warm up the backside of my device.
    From my memory, the graphics are at least as good as on PS2, probably sharper though.

    2. Sound:
    Many reviewers wrote they miss the orchestrated soundtrack. Now I might not remember what the PS2 version sounded like, but the soundtrack on the iOS versions sounds mighty fine to me. Was the original game really better?
    The voices are missing, but actually I was annoyed on the PS2 because they were not consistent. Many cutscenes did not have voice acting in the first place, when I really wanted them to have. Only few parts actually were voiced so I don't mind that they're missing completely now.
    There seems to be a very small bug as the sound effects during battles are a lot lower. I turned down the music volume to fix it, but I think even 3/5 bars isn't enough.

    3. Gameplay:
    Dragon Quest has always been the best RPG franchise, IMO. People keep saying DQ needs a lot of grinding, but actually this is not true. It's just more challenging and asks for more strategy than the Final Fantasy franchise.
    The key is to boost weaknesses first, then build up on strengths. "Safety first."
    The controls work great although I wish the camera would turn quicker. I usually need two swipes to look around 180°.

    I really like they added the quick save option. It helps a lot! A quick save before a boss fight can be really good to have. However, it can also break the game at times. In DQ8 not so much, but in DQ3 you can easily use the function to abuse the casino (restart the app when failed). I understand that this is a necessity because iOS doesn't have real multi-tasking. The game does auto-save at times, but when you receive a call or open two other apps, your game status might get lost.

    All in all, I have to say this is one of the best games ever, one of the best apps on the store and definitely a very good port of the original version.
    I really don't know why people are hating on it and giving lazy cash-milking ports like Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger better ratings.
     
  7. chadwerd

    chadwerd Member

    Oct 16, 2012
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    This is the best game made for iOS. Serious. Why? Because I can play for over 6 hours and still have at least 30% battery life! Amazing! Has anybody else noticed this? I haven't played any iPhone game that even comes close to this type of battery saving power.
     
  8. curtisrshideler

    curtisrshideler Well-Known Member
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    Yeah, they've done an amazing job at keeping this energy-optimized! Doesn't even raise the temp of my iphone. Crazy.
     
  9. Drucifer

    Drucifer Well-Known Member

    Mar 16, 2010
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    Really enjoying this. I'm surprised at all the hate over the controls and portrait mode as I find they work great.

    I just got Jessica and I'm confused over the alchemy pot though. I understand it's use and purpose in the game but am shocked they let you sell stuff you make using it. Just to do a test I bought 50 medical herbs and combined them using the pot then sold the new strong herbs and made tons of quick cash. I certainly have no intentions to use this to my advantage I'm just surprised it works.

    Brilliant game though.
     
  10. Shaun Musgrave

    Shaun Musgrave Well-Known Member

    Jul 8, 2013
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    Ibaraki, Japan
    I don't recall if they changed it or not, but originally, the more you sell one particular item, the lower it sells for. Either way, they have an NPC suggest making money that way, so don't feel like you're cheating the system by doing it. :)
     
  11. Hambo12

    Hambo12 Well-Known Member

    Jul 23, 2012
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    Shaun can you help me I'm stuck, I'm like at a bay and I go out and the king makes me try the alchemy pot for the first time and the. Where do I go from there? I lost my save becusss I remember going forward to another city with a bar and meeting Angelo? Or some thing like that? And I'm level 14 hero is that high enough?
     
  12. Shaun Musgrave

    Shaun Musgrave Well-Known Member

    Jul 8, 2013
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    Ibaraki, Japan
    Hmm. Use the party chat to see what your party members tell you, that should put you back on the right path.
    It does sound like you should be going to Simpleton and Maella Abbey, though. Head south out of Peregrine Quay and follow the road. You'll reach the Abbey first, but you need to go on to Simpleton and meet Angelo beforehand to get anything done at the Abbey.
     
  13. Roxor

    Roxor New Member

    Jan 4, 2015
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    You go to Maella Abbey but they won't let you in. So you move forward to a closeby town called Simpleton. There you meet Angelo. He will give you his ring. With this ring, go back to Maella Abbey to find out it's bad timing.
    From there you have to find the secret passage to the Abbey. Move along the river to find it. A restless armor is guarding the way, just South of the Abbey.

    That's how I remember it.
     
  14. Drucifer

    Drucifer Well-Known Member

    Mar 16, 2010
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    Sounds good, thanks.
     
  15. ednan

    ednan Well-Known Member

    Hey guys, does anyone know if there is a problem with iCloud and this game? I keep getting "Server authentication failed - please check you iCloud settings and try again."

    Needless to say, I checked everything, deleted and reinstalled, rebooted the device etc. and I still get this message. Any ideas?
     
  16. falcon815

    falcon815 Well-Known Member

    Jul 11, 2013
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    Indianapolis
    #616 falcon815, Sep 15, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2015
    Don't have it installed right now or I'd give it a shot. It always worked for me before. However, Square is doing some maintenance on some of their other servers today - maybe the problem here is related? Try it again tomorrow and see if it works.

    I've also had a nasty time trying to download anything from Apple over the last couple days, possibly due to iPhone 6S preorders?
     
  17. ednan

    ednan Well-Known Member

    Hmm, I didn't know they were doing maintenance. I'll try it tomorrow then.
    I never had any problems with their iCloud implementation, and in fact, I tried just a couple of hours ago every single DQ and FF they released with iCloud, and all of them work just fine. Only DQVIII is doing this.

    I checked my iCloud files, and the previously uploaded save is still there as expected.

    This is what I get: [​IMG]
     
  18. Shaun Musgrave

    Shaun Musgrave Well-Known Member

    Jul 8, 2013
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    Ibaraki, Japan
    Hey Ednan, I just tried it out. Uploading and downloading are both working fine for me, so it's probably not on SE's end.
     
  19. ednan

    ednan Well-Known Member

    #619 ednan, Sep 15, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2015
    Thanks Shaun. Are you using iOS 8? If you are, then there's only one possible reason I can see: iOS 9 will break the iCloud *just* for DQVIII.
     
  20. Shaun Musgrave

    Shaun Musgrave Well-Known Member

    Jul 8, 2013
    1,088
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    38
    Freelance writer, teacher, business owner
    Ibaraki, Japan
    Yes, I'm still on iOS 8. Well, if it breaks in 9, at least a fix should come reasonably quickly - this app is a big moneymaker in Japan.
     

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