Dragon Quest VIII
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was first released in Japan in November 2004, followed by North America in November 2005 and PAL regions in April 2006. It is the eighth installment of the Dragon Quest series and it is the first English version of a Dragon Quest game to drop the Dragon Warrior title. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan in 2013 and worldwide in 2014, with a version for Nintendo 3DS releasing later in 2015 in Japan and 2017 globally.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 2004
- Developer
- Level-5
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 27 November 2004 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Level-5 |
| Publisher | Square Enix |
| Platforms | Nintendo 3DS |
| Genres | Role-Playing, JRPG |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1948338, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Dragon Quest VIII? How long to beat it
Total play time for Dragon Quest VIII is about 113.3 hours to do everything, and around 60.2 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 60.2h | 293 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 76.4h | 358 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 113.3h | 53 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Dragon Quest VIII sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Dragon Quest VIII lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 66ahead of 18% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 38ahead of 79% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Dragon Quest VIII
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Dragon Quest VIII appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Dragon Quest VIII qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Dragon Quest VIII
What platforms is Dragon Quest VIII on?
Dragon Quest VIII is available on Nintendo 3DS. It first released in 2004.
Who made Dragon Quest VIII?
Dragon Quest VIII was developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix.
How long does it take to beat Dragon Quest VIII?
about 60.2 hours for the main story, 76.4 hours with the main extras, 113.3 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.