Square Enix has announced some new details regarding the highly anticipated eighth installment of its Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi for PlayStation 2 will feature more than the traditional level up-based character development system. When a character levels up in Dragon Quest VIII, the player can use the obtained skill points to freely create a character with unique statistics. The boomerang skill for instance will increase the attack power of all boomerang weapons. As the skill level increases, characters will be able to learn special techniques. Furthermore, there will be character-specific special skills. Other skills include barrel smashing, charm and marathon skill. Boomerang, iron ball, dagger, bow and arrow, punch, slap, roll and dropkick are just a few examples of the various attack options the game will offer. Enemies will be visible on the field map. Upon encountering and defeating them, players can execute the scout command. Afterwards scouted enemies can be summoned during battle.

Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi will be released in Japan on November 27th for 8,800 yen ($79.95 US).

• Quiter