Editing Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (section)

==New Features==
===Player conveniences===
*Random encounters are suppressed as long as the {{Party 8}} is on a road.
*There is an automap feature in dungeons, and complete maps of all towns. The locations and contents of chests are marked on the map. Also, it is possible to browse the inventory of the shops while looking at the town map.
*[[Party Chat|Party conversation]]s return from the previous installment, but it is now possible to either select which {{Party 8}} member to talk to, or cycle through them in order.
*All items now have specific icons and illustrations, which can be viewed in the menu.
*The player can now select how long they wish to stay at an [[Inn]], changing the [[Day-night cycle|time of day]].
*In the event of a full {{Party 8}} wipe out, all characters are automatically revived at the last [[church]] the game was saved at.

===Battle refinements===
*Individual monsters within groups can now be targeted.
*{{Wisdom}} now improves the power of offensive spells, addressing the infamous schism between the usefulness of magic and skills in {{VI}} and {{VII}}.
*A new command has been added to the [[Command menu|battle menu]], ''Intimidate''. The purpose of this option is to end battles quickly by driving monsters off, and each terrorized beast still has a chance to drop an item. Success is dependent on the lead character's level against the {{MFamilies}}'s, even if a character not in the lead is shown doing the intimidating.

===[[Alchemy]]===
At a certain point in the early game, the {{Party 8}} receives an [[Alchemy Pot]]. This device can be used to combine two items into a third (usually more powerful) item following various [[Alchemy recipe]]s. The combination takes a certain amount of time, depending on the power of the combined item and the level of the pot. This "time" only advances as the [[wagon]] moves, on the overworld. Later in the game, the pot is upgraded to hold three items, allowing additional, even more powerful recipes.

An invalid recipe will be rejected immediately without consuming the items, allowing the player to experiment to find new recipes. In the [[bonus dungeon]], the player gains a pot that can mix items instantly.

New recipes (or clues to new recipes) are revealed in various books and scraps of paper found throughout the game. All recipes the player has discovered are listed in a "recipe book" accessed through the alchemy menu; recipes which are only partially known (from a clue) will have some item names replaced with "????."

===[[Magic and Abilities#Skills|Skill]] system===
In addition to learning spells when reaching a certain level, characters are now able to attain new abilities by allocating skill points into one of five categories. The types of skills are the character's three favored weapon, unarmed combat, and the character's innate personality. Skill points are awarded upon leveling up, or when using a [[Seed of skill]]], and must be used immediately or the menu will not close.

Because skills are now tied to specific weapon groups, only the abilities learned by developing a character's personality can be used at any time--all other skills are locked to that specific type of weapon. For example, {{Jessica}} may use [[Puff-Puff]] if she is equipped with a {{Whip}}, but not [[Sudden Death]].

===[[Tension]] system===
There is a new ''[[Dragon Ball]]''-inspired [[tension]] system, allowing combatants to spend a turn building up "[[tension]]," which will increase the power level of their next attack or spell. [[Tension]] can be built up repeatedly, increasing attack power by up to seven times. There is a new party AI option to focus on using high-[[tension]] attacks, replacing the old "Leave it to me" option.
Attempting to reach the fourth, "super-high [[tension]]" state has a 2/3rds chance of failure. Also, some {{MFamilies}}s are able to instantly reach the third stage of [[tension]], and will then repeatedly attempt to reach the super-high level.

===Other changes===
*Characters are shown holding their equipped weapons, posture changing on the type of weapon and their state of health and status. In a few cases the character's displayed clothing will change to reflect their equipment, seen most notably with {{Jessica}}'s outfits.
*The battle screens are shown in a dynamic view, with shifting camera angles to display the current combatant and the action being performed. The {{Party 8}} appears in the battle screen, unlike previous installments. At the end of the battle, an animation of the surviving {{Party 8}} members putting away their weapons is played.
*The buildings in a town are visible even from the overworld view.
*The [[Day-night cycle]] of games {{III}}, {{IV}}, and {{V}} is restored. Time now passes even in towns, and the {{Party 8}} can use an [[inn]] to switch from day to night, as well as vice-versa. Thus, there is no longer a [[Night light]], or related spells.
*{{Style}} has been removed.
*Characters cannot be renamed.
*[[Vehicle]]s are shown at their actual size, and the world map is scaled down appropriately when they are in use. The [[ship]] has a bridge which it uses to dock with the land, and its altitude can be changed to match the shorter cliffs, if necessary.
*A Sabrecat steed replaces the traditional [[Flying Carpet]], and is unlocked via a sidequest at [[Chateau Felix]]. It moves much faster than the {{Hero 8}}, allowing the {{Party 8}} to move further between random [[encounter]]s (although they still occur at the same rate).
*Although the {{Party 8}} has a [[wagon]] throughout the game, it has no effect on gameplay other than housing the [[Alchemy Pot]], since the party is essentially fixed throughout the game. Also, it is not normally shown on the display, only appearing during cutscenes or the [[Party Chat]] screen.