History YMMV / DragonQuestVIII

* CompleteMonster - Many regard [[spoiler:Rhapthorne]] as the most evil DragonQuest villain to date.

* DemonicSpiders - The monsters from the Dragovian's sanctuary area are awfully powerful.

** Other ThatOneBosses include [[spoiler:Empyrea the God Bird]], and [[spoiler:Captain Crow the ghost pirate]], who vastly prefers attacking when he has ''maximum'' tension. Did I mention all these bosses can go twice in one turn, and can remove every single buff on your party at will (the latter being an obnoxiously common boss ability in this game)?

* ThatOneBoss - The game averts this, because there isn't just "one" boss that gives you that feeling of frustration and despair; there are MANY. Dhoulmagus is the crowd favorite for this title, though. He has two forms -- his first, where he splits into three copies of himself, and the second, where he [[spoiler:assumes a demon form that is somehow even stronger than the combined might of the three from the previous fight.]]
** Other fun battles include the I-was-just-testing-you boss, [[spoiler:Empyria the God Bird]], and [[spoiler:Captain Crow the ghost pirate]], who vastly prefers attacking when he has ''maximum'' tension. Did I mention all these bosses can go twice in one turn, and can remove every single buff on your party at will (the latter being an obnoxiously common boss ability in this game)?
** Let's just say that any boss past the Giant Argon Lizard is a ThatOneBoss.

** Forget that. I screamed when I first saw a Capsichum, one of the first enemies in the game. The "monster" in question is two gigantic, anthropomorphic bell peppers, ''impaled together on a kebab skewer''. They're incredibly disturbing.

* Apparently, Kalderasha has asked Valentina repeatedly not to touch his crystal balls.

* AccidentalInnuendo - To quote Morrie

** Particularly, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taVdFgxvhRg&hd=1 the song]] when you first gain the ability [[spoiler:to fly. Especially as you recall that the embodiment of your flight is Empyrea's dead son whose spirit was shown just before you start flying.]]

* EnsembleDarkHorse - [[TheBigGuy Yangus]], popular enough to earn his own spin-off. Marcello qualifies, [[DracoInLeatherPants given his fangirls]].

* FanPreferredCouple - A nice divide between Jessica/Angelo and Jessia/Hero.

** The guards of the prison island in a world where almost everyone has a British accent, have Australian accents.
** The subtitle. [[spoiler: Trode might be ''a'' cursed king, but he's [[PlayableEpilogue not the only one.]]]]

** Also in the Puff-Puff Club, if you have Jessica as the first character. The puff-puff girl has no problem whatsoever to give a nice [[MarshmallowHell "Puff Puff"]] to Jessica and even call her [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench "cherié and mademoiselle]]. Still, Jessica [[NotDistractedByTheSexy doesn't look amused]]. [[spoiler: Yet if you talk to her after getting a puff puff, she says [[BuxomIsBetter she'd love to have a "pair" like that]]. ]]

* NightmareFuel - It's hard not to get chills at the cursed Castle Trodain. Or seeing a giant shirtless [[spoiler:Rhapthorne]] for that matter.

** The cut-scene where [[spoiler:Rhapthorne breaks free of the statue of the Goddess on Neos]] is rather terrifying--particularly the [[GlowingEyesOfDoom glowing eyes]].

** Actually, his father does seem quite aware his son is a severe wuss and a {{Jerkass}}, and strongly implies he would love to see the boy man up and assume some responsibility. In either ending, I won't spoil it, but King Argonia gets a CrowningMomentofAwesome for taking this to its logical conclusion.
** Also, for those who have played VideoGame/DragonQuestV and VideoGame/DragonQuestVI, Charmles is an unsympathetic {{Expy}} of Prince Harry (V) and Prince Howard (VI). Unlike those two, who actually grew some balls and became honorable and mature, Charmles...[[StaticCharacter doesn't.]]
* TearJerker - Late in the game, [[spoiler: you try to rescue the legendary bird Empyrea's egg from monsters. One of them pulls a TakingYouWithMe after his defeat...on the egg. Empyrea's grief at losing her baby hits ''hard''; the fact that her chick's spirit chooses to become a party power-up doesn't help the sense of guilt much...]]
** It does however make his [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vamr7qq6hoA theme song]] that much more endearing.
** Also, don't forget Angelo's backstory. [[spoiler:While not one of the most emotional ones in the series, his father never told him that he had a half brother who was cast out of the house once Angelo was born - but Marcello at least found a good home in the Abbey where he studied hard. Unfortunately, Angelo as a ''very'' young boy came to the abbey looking for a place to call home after his father died and left him with nothing to his name sans a few possessions he could carry. Still crying from the loss of his family, the first person Angelo met in the Abbey was Marcello who kindly said that everyone in the Abbey would be his family...until that is, Angelo introduced himself and Marcello instantly became a MagnificentBastard, angrily telling him to leave and accusing him of trying to steal ''his'' life from him.]] Sure, Angelo wasn't exactly well-behaved in the Abbey, but if one thinks about it from ''his'' point of view....

* ThatOneBoss - The game averts this, because there isn't just "one" boss that gives you that feeling of frustration and despair; there are MANY. Dhoulmagus is the crowd favorite for this title, though. He has two forms - his first, where he splits into three copies of himself, and the second, where he [[spoiler: assumes a demon form that is somehow even stronger than the combined might of the three from the previous fight.]]

** Well, in this world OurDemonsAreDifferent, and they aren't all evil. You can even meet a good Archdemon monster inside the inn.

** In fact, most of the deaths that occur in the game count as this.

* MoralEventHorizon - Rhapthorne was always evil, but when he murders an old woman in cold blood...''that'' is when he crosses the line.
** It should be noted that said old woman was one of his badass archnemeses and not only fought, but even harmed him.
** And that's not even going into [[spoiler:Gemon destroying Empyrea's unborn son with himself, which Rhapthorne is implied to have ordered if Gemon was ever defeated.]]
** It could have also been when [[spoiler: Rhapthorne kills David, who's even more defenseless than Marta since all his family's magic went to Dominico's.]]

** [[spoiler:Empyria]] also has ways to make her easier. For one, half the reason she's so tough is because she has extremely high defense, but somewhat low HP. Critical attacks ignore defense, so the auto-critical skills of Eight and Yangus can make the battle a VERY quick one if you're lucky enough.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome - Comes mostly from the NPC characters, although your characters have one when they hit [[SuperMode super high tension]].
** Marcello, Angelo's estranged brother. [[spoiler:He fights off being possessed by Rhapthorne, the lord of darkness and the {{Big Bad}} of the game, by ''stabbing himself in the arm''.]]
** King Trode gets ''two'', oddly enough. The first is during the Initiation in Argonia, where Charmles is [[spoiler:abusing Medea.]] He tries to get Charmles to stop, and when he initially fails, says that [[spoiler:Charmles can beat him instead of the horse-princess.]] The second is [[spoiler: n the normal ending, where he disarms a guard wielding a ''halberd'' using nothing but a small twig. Then he knocks him out with one blow to the stomach.]]
** The whole wedding sabotage scene in general, but at one point Trode is fighting off guards, with a twig.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny - Say "no" in the ButThouMust moment during the ending.
** The reactions of Yangus and Angelo to [[spoiler:King Trode's true form in the endings.]]
** Trying to trade Medea to a NPC in Empycchu.
** The bar fight when you first meet Angelo deserves some acknowledgment.
** Yangus' "Golden Oldies" super attack definitely deserves mention. Calling out to King Trode (whom he refers to as "Grandad"), who then rallies a band of Elderly [=NPCs=] to charge your enemies.
** Using a Chimaera Wing or Zoom spell while indoors.
** Angelo's little tidbit when the party must go to Red to retrieve Medea. "So we're off to the bandit woman's house...Urgh! I just had this image of Yangus dressed up as a woman! Merciful Goddess! Purge this frightful vision from my tortured mind!"
** The scene in Purgatory Island in which [[spoiler:High Priest Rolo and the party devise a ruse to escape. The whole ruse is complete with purposefully [[BadBadActing stilted melodramatic acting]] and Yangus' dancing.]]
** Don Mole. From the [[ButThouMust But Thou Must Not]] loops of "Can I hit ya one more time?" and the beleaguered looks on his underlings' faces to spoony James Brown speech to the mole that's knocked out from the music but still standing. When you fight him, his music is bad enough to not only daze and confuse your party, but is allies as well.
** In the Cash/Carrie sidequest, when you're rudely awakened by Cash/Carrie (depends on who are you helping).
** Also the first quest has this when Yangus asks Kalderasha what else did he see in the ball. And Kalderasha notices the scratch and something written near it by Geyzer...
** Another ButThouMust moment: try refusing Morrie's offer of a monster party, and he'll just YELL at you in GratuitousItalian, asking you straight up if you're an imbecil.
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming - [[spoiler: the hero marrying Medea in the true ending.]]
** A second one showed that when [[spoiler: despite Marcello hating Angelo's ''guts'', Angelo ''still'' saves his life all for those few moments of kindness.]]
** Wrapping up the Cash and Carrie sidequest, where the two siblings finally put aside their petty feud to inherit the Golding fortune together. The portrait of Golding in the mansion even smiles.

** Wrapping up the Cash and Carrie sidequest, where the two siblings finally put aside their petty feud to inherit the Golding fortune together. The portrait of Golding in the mansion even smiles. This troper found that cutscene particularly heartwarming.

** Was this troper the only one who cried when [[TheWoobie David]] died?
** '''NO. You were not.'''
** In fact, most of the deaths that occur in the game count as this. The saddest to this troper is [[MamaBear Marta]], because the English VA playing her son did such an incredible job turning a stereotypical Russian guy into a bawling, tragic mess as he weeps over her body...
* ThatOneBoss - The game averts this, because there isn't just "one" boss that gives you that feeling of frustration and despair; there are MANY. Dhoulmagus is the crowd favorite for this title, though. He has two forms - his first, where he splits into three copies of himself, and the second, where he [[spoiler: assumes a demon form that is somehow even stronger than the combined might of the three from the previous fight.]] This troper had ''three'' MP left on his healer when he was finally able to put Dhoulmagus to bed. ''Three.''

** Also, for those who have played DragonQuestV and DragonQuestVI, Charmles is an unsympathetic {{Expy}} of Prince Harry (V) and Prince Howard (VI). Unlike those two, who actually grew some balls and became honorable and mature, Charmles...[[StaticCharacter doesn't.]]

* BaseBreaker - Marcello. Most fans either love him or hate him. Either way, they believe what they want to believe about him.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Marcello. Manipulative, self serving JerkAss, or WellIntentionedExtremist?
** Or he [[TakeAThirdOption could be both.]]

** Well, in this world OurDemonsAreDifferent, and they aren't all evil. You can even meet a good Archdemon monster inside the inn.

* FanNickname - Captain Douchebag for Marcello, as heard in a [=~Let's Play~=] of the game.

** Also, for those who have played DragonQuestV and DragonQuestVI, Charmles is an unsympathetic {{Expy}} of Prince Harry (V) and Prince Howard (VI). Unlike those two, who actually grew some balls and became honorable and mature, Charmles...[[TheScrappy doesn't.]]

** Actually, his father does seem quite aware his son is a severe wuss, and strongly implies he would love to see the boy man up and assume some responsibility. In either ending, I won't spoil it, but King Argonia gets a CrowningMomentofAwesome for taking this to its logical conclusion.
** Also, for those who have played DragonQuestV and DragonQuestVI, Charmles is an unsympathetic {{Expy}} of Prince Harry (V) and Prince Howard (VI). Unlike those two, who actually grew some balls and became honorable and mature, Charmles... doesn't.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap - King Trode is snobby and demanding, and comes across as a whiny, useless plot device for the early part of the game. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that he is not a total buffoon, but a compassionate (if fairly egotistical) monarch who wants to preserve what little dignity he has left. He also builds (and later upgrades) the Alchemy Pot for you, which is absolutely essential for getting higher level items. And of course, there's his showing of ninja skills during one of the endings.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap - King Trode is snobby and demanding, and comes across as a whiny, useless plot device for the early part of the game. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that he is not a total buffoon, but a compassionate (if fairly egotistical) monarch who wants to preserve what little dignity he has left. He also builds (and later upgrades) the Alchemy Pot for you, which is absolutely essential for getting higher level items.

*** Though Crow is lessened somewhat by the MostCommonSuperpower. As he's very easy to puff-puff out of maximum tension.
*** [[spoiler:Empyria]] also has ways to make her easier. For one, half the reason she's so tough is because she has extremely high defense, but somewhat low HP. Critical attacks ignore defense, so the auto-critical skills of Eight and Yangus can make the battle a VERY quick one if you're lucky enough.

** Particularly, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vamr7qq6hoA the song]] when you first gain the ability [[spoiler:to fly. Especially as you recall that the embodiment of your flight is Empyrea's dead son whose spirit was shown just before you start flying.]]