Dragon Quest VIII for 3DS Finally Launches January 20, 2017

For those looking forward to another Dragon Quest title - specifically Dragon Quest VIII on the 3DS, will finally find some closure in the release date. Nintendo recently announced that Journey of the Cursed King will launch on the handheld January 20, 2017. Though we've touched upon the title in a previous article, it's always good to reiterate what new goodies will be brought to the plate.

But first, the story: this classic tale unfolds when a jester named Dhoulmagus steals the King of Castle Trodain's scepter. With the scepter, he transforms the king into a troll, the princess into a horse, and the castle's occupants into... plants.

Only one man - the castle guard - escaped the wrath of the scepter, but he now vows to save the kingdom by retrieving the scepter and obliterate the curse.

Now, as for what will be included in the 3DS package is a fresh new Quick-Save feature, and a "Speed Up" option, which speeds up the battle - practically essential in these busy times.

Furthermore, players can take a photo of their adventure outside of battles and cutscenes. These photos can be customized to allow special poses, additions of stickers, filters, and frames. Even better is that when the player meets Cameron Obscura in Port Prospect, they can unlock the Cameron's Codex, which a side quest that allows you to take pictures of certain subject matter for rewards.

On top of that, the images can be shared via StreetPass (but hardly anyone in the US uses StreetPass). The more "thumbs up" an image receives, the higher the chance of receiving a new item! Pretty cool, huh? So again, Dragon Quest VIII will launch on January 20, 2017 for the 3DS.