Word of Mouth

Bethany Massimilla wants to play Kingdom Hearts 2 and Dragon Quest VIII.

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Bethany Massimilla
Community Manager

Dragon Warrior VIII

It's been a while since SquareSoft and Enix combined their powers to become a massive role-playing game-producing juggernaut. However, somewhere deep inside my mind, I still haven't fully come to grips with the union. When my import copy of Dragon Quest VIII arrived and it had the word Square in the bottom right corner, a tiny piece of my sanity broke. Both of my most anticipated games this year are RPGs, and both of them come courtesy of Square Enix. It's as if the merged development houses have produced a dire vortex from which I cannot escape. But with Kingdom Hearts II and Dragon Warrior VIII coming down the pipeline, I really don't care. These games give me my fix, so if they're going to come from one giant source instead of two, so be it. So long as the cool console RPGs keep coming.

This young man will cruelly slaughter hundreds of slimes on his way to saving the world. Despite that, I'm looking forward to playing!

The original Dragon Warrior for the NES was one of the very first console role-playing games I ever played, and while the series doesn't have Final Fantasy's level of name recognition over here, it remains one of my favorites. Dragon Warrior VIII, in particular, looks as though it could deliver the kind of experience that, much like the release of Final Fantasy VII, would serve to indoctrinate a new legion of Dragon Warrior fans to the cause. Gone are the simple sprites and the somewhat primitive look that characterized the series up to even its seventh installment. Dragon Warrior VIII just looks wonderful, from its rich worlds and personable towns, all the way down to the character models that give manga artist Akira Toriyama's designs new life. I love the game's look, and I appreciate some of the changes that were made to streamline the old interface a bit. I also love the mix of old-school enemies (slimes still reign supreme), classic design aspects (like holding a torch when going into a dungeon), and well-loved tunes that merge with modern-day graphics and a cohesive world that I just can't wait to get lost in. My import version only serves to tide me over a little bit until the game's North American release; then I can enjoy the game in English and find out what the heck is up with that little goblin Trode and the horse that pulls his wagon. (He sure does love that horse.)

Kingdom Hearts II

Kingdom Hearts II had me hooked from the moment I finished the first game and saw the additional movie ending, with its darkly robed figures and abundant mystery. I was one of those people who got thoroughly charmed by the original game and its odd mix of Square characters and Disney worlds and heroes. I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for the sequel. Matters are only helped by the fact that Final Fantasy X's Auron is one of the Final Fantasy characters to make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II. That guy totally rules. While the first Kingdom Hearts had its issues, there are some good indications that Square Enix is working to fix some of the problems, mainly by improving the camera and tightening up the combat some. The whole concept of merging Sora with one of your party members to gain special abilities sounds like a cool way to augment battles as well. Plus, there's no sign of that stupid gummi ship so far, and that can only be considered a positive.

Auron is not in this screenshot, but that's OK. Feel the Disney/Squeenix magic!

Tetsuya Nomura, director of Kingdom Hearts II, has promised that some "surprising" character choices will appear during the course of the game. That's good news for me, because one of the things I enjoyed most about the original game was its many cameos and how they worked within the context of that very unique world. One is tempted to wonder whether Square Enix will reach a bit further back in the Final Fantasy continuum for fresh faces (Ceres? Terra? A certain "spoony bard," perhaps?). One is also tempted to wonder how the Disney universe of properties will be represented in the game. Certain areas seem to be making a comeback, but it looks like we'll get some nice new ones, like Hades' underworld from Hercules. I've only gotten a short glimpse at an early version of the Japanese game in motion, but hearing the strains of Hikaru Utada's "Simple and Clean" theme, as well as seeing the original trio of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, was enough to get me all twitchy about this game. There's something about the Kingdom Hearts universe that insidiously sucks me in, and while there's a new Final Fantasy game also on the horizon this year to get excited about, I can't help but look forward to Kingdom Hearts II. At the very least, it has Auron in it. Come on, people. Auron.