Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (PS2) Compare Prices

Game Review & Description: In a nutshell:The most popular Japanese game ever finally comes to the UK, with a role-playing game of incredible size, depth and charm. Lead your motley crew of heroes and heroines in a quest to restore the king as you fight the most bizarre line-up of bad guys in video game history.The lowdown:Although this is actually the eighth game in the core series, each Dragon Quest game has, like rival Final Fantasy, a completely different storyline so you don''t have to worry about not understanding the plot. In any case the game is far more interested in combat than endless cut scenes, with a turn-based system that is simple to use but allows for a huge range of different magical and melee attacks. What gives the game its real charm are the excellent cel-shaded graphics, designed by Dragon Ball Z artist Akira Toriyama. The animation in particular is superb and the game world, in which you are given total freedom to explore, is enormous.Most exciting moment:Taking down one of the game''s string of extravagant bosses with moves like the Underpants Dance and Jessica the sorceress'' Sexy Beam.Since you ask:In 1998 the Japanese government demanded that Enix no longer released Dragon Quest games on a weekeday because too many people were taking time off work and school to go and buy it.The bottom line:A role-playing game that''s both fun and accessible - no wonder it''s Japan''s favourite franchise.Harrison Dent