Love is rekindled in Jonny’s life.

Of all the games I’ve played and all the genres I’ve enjoyed over the last twenty years, I’ve only been in love once.

It was the height of the 16-bit era, and the target of my obsession was the golden age of RPG gaming, and especially the subgenre known as the JRPG – Japanese RPG. Games like Chrono Trigger, The Secret of Mana, Soul Blazer and others, mostly developed by either Square or Enix, came to dominate the Super Nintendo years and provided me more happy memories than any other genre has since.

Tolkienesque twaddle

Whereas po-faced Western RPGs tended to rely (and still do) on medieval swords and sorcery twaddle ripped straight from the pages of Tolkien, their Japanese counterparts were brimming with invention, emotion and life. Their worlds were not governed by sense or science, but seemingly by sheer lunacy, where the only boundaries were the, frankly, boundless, imaginations of the designers. Magic, technology, and stupidity collided in worlds which somehow worked as a cohesive and believable whole to a much greater extent than many of today’s “realistic” games manage.

When Final Fantasy VII became a world-wide smash and for many the definition of early PlayStation gaming, the face of JRPGs changed overnight. Suddenly the sulky, spiky-haired, androgynous youth with a mysterious past, and a name inspired by a weather element (Cloud, Squall, Tidus...) was in, while the bright colours and sunny outlook that permeated earlier examples of the genre were given the boot in favour of neo-steampunk slums and a general air of depression and malaise. The overblown storylines suffered most, foreshadowing the Matrix sequels in terms of pretentious metaphysical philosophy.

Sega's superb Skies of Arcadia (Best. RPG. Ever.) went against the tide somewhat, but that was six years ago. Now, the dark days are over, as the eighth instalment of Dragon Quest – historically recognised as the most popular game series ever, in Japan – has finally been granted a UK release.

Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King, published by Square Enix - the company formed when the two giants of JRPG development merged - places you in the shoes of a young warrior, charged with escorting the titular cursed King and his daughter (who have been transformed into a troll thing, and a horse, respectively) across the land to recover an ancient and dangerous magical artefact that has been stolen by an insane jester. You're joined by Yangus, a loveable cockney rogue, and later on by Jessica, a pigtailed magic user out for vengeance, and Angelo, a Templar Knight who lurrves the ladies.

It's an old fashioned game, a classic-style JRPG in every sense of the word, polished to perfection and dressed in the best technology that the PS2 can muster. For evidence of this you just need to see it, and ideally to see it moving. As you can no doubt tell, the screenshots look superb, but to see Dragon Quest move is to see it live, as the character, style and detail with which the world, characters and monsters have been designed and animated is simply breathtaking. There's no doubt to me, that Dragon Quest is the prettiest game of its generation.

Across the vibrant lands which make up the world are dotted numerous towns and villages to visit, all populated with a wide variety of interesting characters, some of whom require your help before you're able to continue with your quest. In the wilderness between the towns, there be dragons. And other monsters too, which will beset you as you travel, via random turn-based battles.

The turn-based battle, a facet of the JRPG which is hated as it is loved, is carried off extremely well here, getting the balance between simplicity and depth just right, and crucially, by not being as regular as in some games within the genre. Before a turn begins you allocate a command to each of your four party - they can defend, attack, cast a variety of spells, use a special ability, or sit out the turn altogether, choosing to psyche themselves up for a more powerful attack second time round. Most of the battles are relatively easy, (though not whenever you first venture into new territory) but not quite easy enough that you can take your eyes off them and idly hammer the X button as some have become used to doing. Thankfully, when your party does perish, you simply get resurrected at the last church you saved - with your gold reserves halved.

There should be a TV show entitled "Japanese Random Battle Monsters Do The Funniest Things" - because, well, they do. Whether they fall asleep halfway through a battle, go cross-eyed trying to cast a spell that's too powerful for them, or vanish when they hear their parents calling, the list of bizarre and random actions open to them makes them funny as often as it makes them dangerous. It can even make you feel quite guilty, by, for example, caving in the skull of a baby squid who was doing nothing more than doodling idly in the sand.

Boost your sex appeal

Each battle won bestows upon your team experince points, which allows them to grow in ability and strength as the game progresses. You'll also be able to allocate skill points in human traits like sex appeal, charisma and courage as well as in such weapons as spears, staves, swords and boomerangs. An alchemy system, which is similar to the invention system in the development team's last game Dark Chronicle, allows you to create even more powerful weaponry, as well as healing potions and the like, and you'll find clues scattered throughout the lands to help with this endevour.

How Dragon Quest can have a stronger script and dialogue than just about any Western game you’d care to mention is a real finger stuck up to UK and US developers, especially when you consider that this is translated from Japanese. Jokes and mischievous wordplay abound, and more importantly they tend to actually hit the mark. Strong scripting in the original has been matched with a superb effort from Sony’s localisation team, whereas some commendable voice acting from a mostly British cast breathes life into the cast of characters.

One downside to turning against the overly serious tones of more recent Final Fantasy adventures is that the plot feels a little small-scale, even if its setting isn't. A game like Zelda can manage to be charming and cute and yet still convey an air of darkness, menace, and seriousness. Dragon Quest's story in comparison is just a little frivolous and silly in comparison, even if what is there is tightly written and occasionally even affecting.

Other criticisms...well, I was scraping the barrel with that one to be honest. If you value your time you'd probably be best looking away though, as this is a title that will suck you in and hold you until its 50 hour quest is finished.

In a time where games are sometimes released unfinished and almost always released before they've been perfected, Dragon Quest is a breath of fresh air, a title that was polished, tested and tweaked until it was a flawless gem for its Japanese release, and which was then treated with the same level of care and buffed to an even higher shine by the translation team. At every stage, it feels as though every person who worked on it genuinely loved it, and it's not often you can perceive such devotion in a world where games are much more about money than art.

Perhaps its strongest feature is its charm. It has that x-factor, that soul that's hard to describe. It's wide-eyed and innocent, yet knowing and self-referential. It's daft and often stupid, but can be laugh-out-loud funny for the right reasons. It's gorgeous beyond compare but it can be hard to explain to some people just why (Do they not have eyes? A soul? What is wrong with some folk?). Whatever it is that makes someone go all misty-eyed - Dragon Quest has it, and I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm in love all over again.

GAME's Verdict

• The most beautiful game of its generation.
• A huge, compelling adventure with plenty to see.
• A triumph for old-style console RPG gaming.

• Storyline can lack a sense of importance.
• You'll lose all your spare time to its charms 'til you've finished.
• Some people just won't get it. Their loss!

Review by: Jonny Austin
Review Published: 13.04.06