Retronauts Episode 605: Dragon Quest VIII

“Warrior” no more!

Dragon Quest has served as the poster child for Japanese role-playing games for nearly four decades now, one that has shown reluctance to change. Hey, when you sell millions of copies on launch day, how much change do you need?

20 years ago, with its eighth numbered entry, DQ did indeed switch things up, trading 2D sprites for 3D polygons. It also bore the title “Dragon Quest” for the first time outside Japan, putting an end to the Dragon Warrior branding. More importantly, the game won over critics and audiences around the world, ensuring the franchise would stick around for many years to come. Last I checked, SquareEnix is plugging away at the twelfth installment at this very moment. Speaking of hard work, we needed host Nadia Oxford‘s expertise to helm a podcast about this pivotal entry in the series, and she turned to Good Vibes Gaming’s Derrick Bitner to finish the job.

Description: Nadia Oxford forms a party with GvG’s Derrick Bitner to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dragon Quest 8, one of the PlayStation 2’s best RPGs. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Head to https://www.squarespace.com/RETRO to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code RETRO.

Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon.

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Artwork for this episode by Nick Wanserski and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.