Has anyone played Dragon Quest II? Is it like Dragon Quest 8? Any insight will be helpful. Thanks again.
Very different. It was Dragon Quest III onwards that DQ's very own style started to take form. You also should remember it was released on 1987 in Japan for SNES, and it hasn't aged all that well. I'd recommend playing it if you are a big fan of the franchise. If not, I'd wager that the DS remakes of DQ 4, 5 and 6 are better fits for you when it comes to older games.
It's about as much DQ8 as Final Fantasy 2 is similar to Final Fantasy 8. I'd say only the basic skeleton of a leveling system and cliche rpg scenario might be the same. You would however find familiar enemies. (if only in looks and not in names)
The Dragon Quest I’m talking about is the latest version. The US version won’t be out until 2018 at least.
What 'latest version'? You mean DQ XI? As in 11? Because what you put was DQ II AKA DQ 2 son. Either way, while I haven't played DQ XI myself, I've heard really good things about it, and what I've seen of it is really promising. It sold amazingly well (as all DQ games do), and received a perfect Famistu review as well. But we'll see how it compares once we get it ourselves.
A bit late, but concerning Dragon Quest XI, it seems like it will follow Dragon Quest's general formula, so it shouldn't be different from DQ VIII. Dragon Quest hasn't changed in the past games, and always sold well, so I don't expect a big overhaul anytime soon for this serie. Maybe they'll add some new minor stuff, but that's the most you can expect. Spoiler Even the "This is not actually the last boss" plot twist stay the same for almost every DQ from III onwards, with the exception of V and IX, so even story structure tends to be the same.
If you like DQ 8, play DQ 4, 5, 6, and 7. Since there are somewhat recent remakes of some of those, aim for the remakes. They always improve the games - I haven't heard of a remake with any negative connotations at all. .. Maybe some dumbing down of the puzzles in the opening of DQ 7. Not that much, though - it's still a ridiculously lengthy and confusing mess! You can play IX, but but it's a very different game in the sense that the party is wholly created by you, no personality, no life, no character, and, in that sense, it's similar to the DQ games before 4, which is, along with severely dated mechanics and graphics, is the reason I'd recommend avoiding them. ... 4 and up are basically the same as 8, but each tend to have their own quirks and twists that make them worth playing - gameplay didn't so much evolve over time for DQ as much as outright change in many ways, lmao. Character classes are a great example of this. The way they work before and after 8 is completely different. (If this thread is secretly about the upcoming release - at least on our side - of 11, can't wait!!)