Dragon Quest VIII OST

[wintermadness]

I just recieved this soundtrack in the mail and the sound quality is not what I was expecting at all. The in-game music is very heavy with orchestra, yet the soundtrack completely lacks that sound quality and is more like a midi OST version. Is this how is was done being transferred to the soundtrack? It's really disappointing with such amazing orchestral music.

[KyleJCrb]

Wow, I actually didn't realize it until now, but you're right. The OST versions of these tracks aren't the same as the ones used in-game. They are definitely not using a real orchestra on the OST album, but the game definitely has a number of tracks that are performed by a live orchestra.

However, there is this, which is what you're looking for. Not sure why they didn't include the live recorded versions on the OST, but you know how Square is.

[CHz]

The album I'm assuming you're talking about, Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi Original Soundtrack [SVWC-7228~9], is the soundtrack to the original Japanese version of DQ8, which, as you have discovered, is sequenced.

A while after the game was released, there was a live orchestral arrangement album for the game, which is the album Kyle linked: Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi [SVWC-7261~2]. When SQEX brought the game over, besides translating and etc., they also upgraded the music with the orchestral versions from the arrangement album. There are several tracks on the original soundtrack that aren't accounted for on the arranged soundtrack (night variations of themes, jingles, a few tunes on OST disc 2), and having played neither version of the game, I can't tell you what happened to those during the localization. But what you really want is the Symphonic Suite.

[prophetik music]

CHz strikes again, the venerable encyclopedia of all things video game music related. i don't know how you'd know that without knowing everything.

[KyleJCrb]

There are several tracks on the original soundtrack that aren't accounted for on the arranged soundtrack (night variations of themes, jingles, a few tunes on OST disc 2), and having played neither version of the game, I can't tell you what happened to those during the localization. But what you really want is the Symphonic Suite.

In the case of tracks that weren't arranged on the orchestral album, the standard OST track is used, like for example "Boogie-Woogie In the Bar".

[wintermadness]

Looks like I'll be getting that CD then.

Thanks for the help

[Darth Lime]

I loved that games soundtrack. I blasted my stereo whenever I played it. Good to hear there is an actual orchestral version. I'll have to search for it the next time I'm at a record store.

[Global-Trance]

Are there any other games that got this sort of treatment with the OST? I honestly can't imagine DQ8 without the orchestral music.

[Thin Crust]

Are there any other games that got this sort of treatment with the OST? I honestly can't imagine DQ8 without the orchestral music.

Considering it's the only thing that was good about the game.

[KyleJCrb]

Considering it's the only thing that was good about the game.

Why you gotta be hatin'?

[Thin Crust]

Why you gotta be hatin'?

The game is nothing but boring sidequest after boring sidequest. If you took out all of the pointless missions, the game wouldn't be half as long. Let me give you an example.

The quest is to go overseas to find Doulmagus, and kill him. But first you need to find a boat. You find the boat but it's beached and can't be moved, so you go back to your castle to research a way. When you can't figure out a way, the weird harp playing guy comes along and says that he will move it with his magical harp. Yey! But his harp isn't strong enough. First you need to go a neighboring kingdom and see if you can have their harp because you helped them in a sidequest earlier. The king says yes, but when you go to the underground vault, a bunch of moles dug their way into it and made off with the harp. So you need to track them back to their hideout and fight them for it. Now you have the harp to get the boat into the water. You make your way across the sea to Doulmagus but he's protected himself within 'the darkness' and now you need some means to blow away 'the darkness'. So you look for the mirror with enough power to do so. But the only mirror powerful enough to do this is one of another kingdom’s treasures and the king can't just give you a relic of historical importance. So the only way to get it is to first help his majesty's son go through his puberty ritual because he's too much of a wuss to go and do it on his own. Now we can get the mirror. But the mirror has lost it's power. So we then need to go to the west and see the magical sage who will be able to restore its power. But he can't and tells you to first go to the open water and find a certain shark that hits you with a light based attack and when it hits the mirror, then it will be recharged. Now you can blast through 'the darkness' and fight doulmagus. *phew*

BTW, every last VA with exception to Yangus is terrible. Almost as bad as Star Ocean 4.

[prophetik music]

ugh, star ocean. after watching the first hour of cutscenes, i took the disc out and threw it across the room. it's still sitting there. this was a few months ago.

honestly, how can a casting agency hire voice actors that are that bad? I'LL act for them, for half the cost, and i'll do just as bad of a job.

[Thin Crust]

ugh, star ocean. after watching the first hour of cutscenes, i took the disc out and threw it across the room. it's still sitting there. this was a few months ago.

honestly, how can a casting agency hire voice actors that are that bad? I'LL act for them, for half the cost, and i'll do just as bad of a job.

LOL there have only been 2 games that I actually sat down and watched a walkthrough of on youtube. The first being mgs3 (I beat the game twice but never owned it, and I wanted to play it again. So I watched someone else play it. Vash12349 does a really good comentary with it.) and the other one being Star ocean 4. I was so angry at the VA at that game, but I struggled through the whole story. It was kind of hard to keep at it, but I did it.

At the very least, welch was kind of amusing, no matter how annoying she was.

[Native Jovian]

Zelda games are nothing but boring sidequest after boring sidequest. If you took out all of the pointless missions, the game wouldn't be half as long. Let me give you an example.

The quest is to go save Hyrule from Gannondorf. But first you need to leave the forest you live in. You try to go talk to the magic tree that rules the forest but some guy won't let you because you don't have a sword and shield, so you go find money and buy a shield. When you can't figure out a way to get a sword, some random person tells you that there's one hidden in the forest somewhere. Yey! But he doesn't know where. First you need to go wander around the forest and find it, and when you do you can finally go see the magic tree and ask him if you can leave the forest. The tree says yes, but before you can go, he a tells you about a bad man who cursed him and now he's dying. So you need to go inside the magic tree and fight the monsters to break the curse. Now you have permission to leave the forest. You make your way across Hyrule Field to Hyrule Castle Town but you can't see Zelda because of all the guards and now you need some means to sneak inside. So you look around the grounds for a way to do so. But the only way in is blocked by a fat sleeping guy and you can't just wake him up for some reason. So the only way to wake him up is to first get a chicken egg from his daughter and make it hatch and crow at the fat guy because she's too much of a wuss to go and sneak in on her own. Now we can wake him up. But the egg hasn't hatched yet. So we then need to wait around for a while with the egg in our inventory so it'll hatch. But once you wake the fat guy up and finally get inside the castle there are even more guards inside, so you have to sneak through the gardens. Now you can talk to Zelda and find out how to fight Ganondorf. *phew*

[KyleJCrb]

The game is nothing but boring sidequest after boring sidequest. If you took out all of the pointless missions, the game wouldn't be half as long. Let me give you an example.

The quest is to go overseas to find Doulmagus, and kill him. But first you need to find a boat. You find the boat but it's beached and can't be moved, so you go back to your castle to research a way. When you can't figure out a way, the weird harp playing guy comes along and says that he will move it with his magical harp. Yey! But his harp isn't strong enough. First you need to go a neighboring kingdom and see if you can have their harp because you helped them in a sidequest earlier. The king says yes, but when you go to the underground vault, a bunch of moles dug their way into it and made off with the harp. So you need to track them back to their hideout and fight them for it. Now you have the harp to get the boat into the water. You make your way across the sea to Doulmagus but he's protected himself within 'the darkness' and now you need some means to blow away 'the darkness'. So you look for the mirror with enough power to do so. But the only mirror powerful enough to do this is one of another kingdom’s treasures and the king can't just give you a relic of historical importance. So the only way to get it is to first help his majesty's son go through his puberty ritual because he's too much of a wuss to go and do it on his own. Now we can get the mirror. But the mirror has lost it's power. So we then need to go to the west and see the magical sage who will be able to restore its power. But he can't and tells you to first go to the open water and find a certain shark that hits you with a light based attack and when it hits the mirror, then it will be recharged. Now you can blast through 'the darkness' and fight doulmagus. *phew*

BTW, every last VA with exception to Yangus is terrible. Almost as bad as Star Ocean 4.

Doesn't every JRPG EVER have boring sidequest after boring sidequest? It's practically a requirement of the genre. DQ8 is hardly the worst offender.

[Thin Crust]

Zelda games are nothing but boring sidequest after boring sidequest. If you took out all of the pointless missions, the game wouldn't be half as long. Let me give you an example.

The quest is to go save Hyrule from Gannondorf. But first you need to leave the forest you live in. You try to go talk to the magic tree that rules the forest but some guy won't let you because you don't have a sword and shield, so you go find money and buy a shield. When you can't figure out a way to get a sword, some random person tells you that there's one hidden in the forest somewhere. Yey! But he doesn't know where. First you need to go wander around the forest and find it, and when you do you can finally go see the magic tree and ask him if you can leave the forest. The tree says yes, but before you can go, he a tells you about a bad man who cursed him and now he's dying. So you need to go inside the magic tree and fight the monsters to break the curse. Now you have permission to leave the forest. You make your way across Hyrule Field to Hyrule Castle Town but you can't see Zelda because of all the guards and now you need some means to sneak inside. So you look around the grounds for a way to do so. But the only way in is blocked by a fat sleeping guy and you can't just wake him up for some reason. So the only way to wake him up is to first get a chicken egg from his daughter and make it hatch and crow at the fat guy because she's too much of a wuss to go and sneak in on her own. Now we can wake him up. But the egg hasn't hatched yet. So we then need to wait around for a while with the egg in our inventory so it'll hatch. But once you wake the fat guy up and finally get inside the castle there are even more guards inside, so you have to sneak through the gardens. Now you can talk to Zelda and find out how to fight Ganondorf. *phew*

No wonder I never finished watching that ocarina playthrough.

[Native Jovian]

I know right. That's like not even the first quarter of the game.

[Thin Crust]

Zelda games are nothing but boring sidequest after boring sidequest. If you took out all of the pointless missions, the game wouldn't be half as long. Let me give you an example.

The quest is to go save Hyrule from Gannondorf. But first you need to leave the forest you live in. You try to go talk to the magic tree that rules the forest but some guy won't let you because you don't have a sword and shield, so you go find money and buy a shield. When you can't figure out a way to get a sword, some random person tells you that there's one hidden in the forest somewhere. Yey! But he doesn't know where. First you need to go wander around the forest and find it, and when you do you can finally go see the magic tree and ask him if you can leave the forest. The tree says yes, but before you can go, he a tells you about a bad man who cursed him and now he's dying. So you need to go inside the magic tree and fight the monsters to break the curse. Now you have permission to leave the forest. You make your way across Hyrule Field to Hyrule Castle Town but you can't see Zelda because of all the guards and now you need some means to sneak inside. So you look around the grounds for a way to do so. But the only way in is blocked by a fat sleeping guy and you can't just wake him up for some reason. So the only way to wake him up is to first get a chicken egg from his daughter and make it hatch and crow at the fat guy because she's too much of a wuss to go and sneak in on her own. Now we can wake him up. But the egg hasn't hatched yet. So we then need to wait around for a while with the egg in our inventory so it'll hatch. But once you wake the fat guy up and finally get inside the castle there are even more guards inside, so you have to sneak through the gardens. Now you can talk to Zelda and find out how to fight Ganondorf. *phew*

Wow, those sidequests lasted a couple minutes at most. Every last one of the ones I named lasted around an hour. And that is if you didn't level grind along the way. (Which I hate doing but I feel it's necessary.) DQVIII doesn't even compare to the type of game that zelda is, so why even try to make a comparison?

[Native Jovian]

Wait did you just make one post replying to me and then I replied to that and then you made another post replying to my original one? Was that an editfail, or what?

Also the point is that every game ever has subgoals built into its main quest, so complaining that the game doesn't let you go directly from point A (beginning of game) to point Z (killing final boss) without first going through points B-Y is stupid.

[Meteo Xavier]

The game is nothing but boring sidequest after boring sidequest. If you took out all of the pointless missions, the game wouldn't be half as long. Let me give you an example.

The quest is to go overseas to find Doulmagus, and kill him. But first you need to find a boat. You find the boat but it's beached and can't be moved, so you go back to your castle to research a way. When you can't figure out a way, the weird harp playing guy comes along and says that he will move it with his magical harp. Yey! But his harp isn't strong enough. First you need to go a neighboring kingdom and see if you can have their harp because you helped them in a sidequest earlier. The king says yes, but when you go to the underground vault, a bunch of moles dug their way into it and made off with the harp. So you need to track them back to their hideout and fight them for it. Now you have the harp to get the boat into the water. You make your way across the sea to Doulmagus but he's protected himself within 'the darkness' and now you need some means to blow away 'the darkness'. So you look for the mirror with enough power to do so. But the only mirror powerful enough to do this is one of another kingdom’s treasures and the king can't just give you a relic of historical importance. So the only way to get it is to first help his majesty's son go through his puberty ritual because he's too much of a wuss to go and do it on his own. Now we can get the mirror. But the mirror has lost it's power. So we then need to go to the west and see the magical sage who will be able to restore its power. But he can't and tells you to first go to the open water and find a certain shark that hits you with a light based attack and when it hits the mirror, then it will be recharged. Now you can blast through 'the darkness' and fight doulmagus. *phew*

Boy, if you thought DQVIII was bad, check out DQVII. You don't fight a battle for the first 3 hours. And thats just the the first 1/40th of the game.

Also, you completely misunderstand Dragon Quest. The entire appeal of that game is TRADITION. It's intentionally difficult and ridiculous and doesn't care what you think. Its like a David Lynch JRPG, except its so successful that it completely gets away with its "I do whatever the hell I want and make you like it." approach.

[Thalzon]

Dragon Quest 4 certainly felt like that. The only party member who actually said a word after they joined my party was Torneko, and even then it was only because he was locked up in a prison at random. It took silent protagonists to a frighteningly dull extreme. And yet I still beat the game, did all the sidequests, etc etc... Even though the premise, battle system, and characters were all as flat as it gets. There was just something... compelling about the whole game, though I can't be certain what it is.

[Thin Crust]

Wait did you just make one post replying to me and then I replied to that and then you made another post replying to my original one? Was that an editfail, or what?

Also the point is that every game ever has subgoals built into its main quest, so complaining that the game doesn't let you go directly from point A (beginning of game) to point Z (killing final boss) without first going through points B-Y is stupid.

The part I posted about was a mere fragment of the game. [spoilers] Killing Doulmagus isn't even halfway through the game. In fact, I didn't mention the first 25 hours that it took me to get to the part where you get to the boat.[/spoilers] I was talking about from point J to point L in terms of story. I have no problem with sidequests, but when the entire game forces you to leave the main quest for the sole purpose of pushing you towards meeting the rest of the world that they created, I don't like it. Find some other means of showing us the world that they created.

[Native Jovian]

I don't think you know what the word "sidequest" even means.

[Meteo Xavier]

Dragon Quest 4 certainly felt like that. The only party member who actually said a word after they joined my party was Torneko, and even then it was only because he was locked up in a prison at random. It took silent protagonists to a frighteningly dull extreme. And yet I still beat the game, did all the sidequests, etc etc... Even though the premise, battle system, and characters were all as flat as it gets. There was just something... compelling about the whole game, though I can't be certain what it is.

Dragon Quest always emphasizes gameplay over character-story development. Less so than earlier, but thats definitely why there are laws forbidding its release on anything other than a holiday.