<P> Jessica later returns, possessed by the staff and battles the remaining party members in an attempt to murder a young man . After the party releases Jessica from her possession, Jessica tells them that the scepter contains the spirit of Rhapthorne, the Lord of Darkness, who was imprisoned in the scepter long ago by seven sages . He seeks to escape from his prison by killing the descendants of the sages . She proceeds to speculate that it is Rhapthorne, and not Dhoulmagus, who maintains the curse on Trodain: therefore, Rhapthorne must be defeated if the curse is to be broken . When Jessica explains this, the scepter takes control of a magician's dog, Sir Leopold, and kills the magician's assistant, who was one of the descendants of the sages . The party attempts to seek out and defend the remaining descendants, but Leopold manages to murder another descendent of the sages . Eventually, the scepter comes into the possession of Marcello, Angelo's power hungry half - brother . Marcello kills the last remaining descendant of the sages, but manages to contain Rhapthorne for a time . Eventually, the party engages Marcello and exhaust him to the point of losing control and releasing Rhapthorne . The party, aided by the godbird Empryea, faces Rhapthorne and defeats him . With Rhapthorne dead, King Trode, Princess Medea, and the people of Trodain are returned to normal . Months later, the protagonist escorts Medea to Savella Cathedral for her arranged marriage to the spoiled Prince Charmles of Argonia, but before the ceremony can take place, the protagonist and Medea escape from Savella Cathedral and live happily together . In an unlockable extended ending, it is discovered that the protagonist is the lost prince of Argonia, and upon this revelation, the King of Argonia decides to allow the protagonist to marry Medea . In the 3DS version, the player can choose to instead begin a romance with Jessica . In the traditional ending the hero goes traveling the world with Jessica while in the unlockable ending the hero can choose to marry Jessica instead of Medea . </P> <P> Dragon Quest VIII focuses on four main characters, each joining the battle party early in the game . The main protagonist of the game, an eighteen - year - old royal guard of Trodain and the only person present in the castle to escape Dhoulmagus' wrath unscathed, is a silent hero, and named by the player . The Hero (主人公, Shujinkō) is the most balanced party member, able to equip swords, spears, boomerangs and use magic . He is immune to all curses . His special attribute is courage . He is accompanied by Yangus (ヤンガス, Yangasu), a former thief and friend of the Hero's who owes the Hero a life debt after the Hero rescues him from the side of a cliff . Yangus is a physically strong character and speaks with a Cockney accent in the English versions, and wields axes, clubs, and scythes . His special attribute is humanity . Jessica (ゼシカ), the only woman to join the party, is a sorceress from the town of Alexandria who seeks to avenge her murdered brother, Alistair . She uses magic but can also equip whips and knives, and she can stun enemies with her special attribute Sex Appeal skills . She is also the only character who can change her appearance in battle through various costumes, with the exception of one costume for the Hero . Angelo (Kukule (ククール, Kukuru) in Japan) is a womanizing noble who was raised in a monastery following both his parents' deaths by a plague . He is a member of the Knights Templar and decides to battle against Dhoulmagus when the villain sets fire to his abbey and kills the abbot . In battle, he can use both magic and physical attacks effectively and has the most healing spells . He can wield swords, bows, or staffs . His special attribute is charisma . </P> <P> Two non-player characters journey with the protagonists: Trode (トロデ, Torode), the titular cursed king who rules over Trodain but was transformed into a toad - like creature by Dhoulmagus; and Medea (ミーティア, Mītia), Trode's daughter, who is the same age as the Hero . Medea was transformed into a horse by Dhoulmagus and has a romantic interest in the Hero . Munchie (Taupo (トーポ, Tōpo) in Japan), the Hero's pet mouse, becomes temporarily playable under certain circumstances . Other important non-player characters include Empyrea (Letis (レティス, Retisu) in Japan), a powerful god - like bird; Marcello (マルチェロ, Maruchero), Angelo's illegitimate half - brother and the Captain of the Templars; Red (Gerda (ゲルダ, Geruda) in Japan), a female bandit and former colleague of Yangus' with whom she shares a rivalry; and Morrie (モリー, Morī), the proprietor of an underground monster - fighting arena . The antagonist of Dragon Quest VIII is Dhoulmagus (ドルマゲス, Dorumagesu), a jester who steals an ancient scepter from Trodain Castle and uses its power to curse the inhabitants of the castle, setting the game's events in motion . He proceeds to embark on a murder spree as the protagonists chase him . Dhoulmagus is eventually revealed to be a pawn of Rhapthorne (ラプソーン, Rapusōn), a demonic lord and the game's true antagonist, who is manipulating the jester in an attempt to free himself from the scepter inside of which he has been imprisoned . </P> <P> Like the other games in the series, Yuji Horii was staffed as the scenario director . Critics praised the colorful designs done by art designer Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame . Koichi Sugiyama composed the music for the game . Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan on the morning of November 27, 2004 with a celebration at Starbucks in Shibuya, Tokyo, starting at 6: 30 am . Horii and Square Enix President Yoichi Wada both made appearances at the event, and several of the first buyers in line received a toy Slime . </P>

Dragon quest journey of the cursed king hero