With the release of Dragon Quest V (on March 25) will come a Dragon Quest VIII Premium Disc that will feature a trailer from the game. Six screenshots from the trailer have leaked out on the net and show some battle scenes for the very first time. The images indicate that maybe the characters will be shown in a dramatic fashion before each battle takes place, but it is still hard to confirm.

Link >> DQ8 Leaked Image 1 Link >> DQ8 Leaked Image 2 Link >> DQ8 Leaked Image 3 Link >> DQ8 Leaked Image 4 Link >> DQ8 Leaked Image 5 Link >> DQ8 Leaked Image 6

In addition, the most recent V-Jump magazine had a few pages dedicated to Dragon Quest VIII. The article revealed some character details through Yuji Horii and Akira Toriyama (Character Designer). The hero of the game apparently does not speak in this title either, but carries a sword on his back which can be seen because of the new 3D environments. Yangus is a bandit in the game and is somewhat drawn to the hero, and Jessica is the team's black mage. Kukule apparently has a dark past and wears a Grupppe Uniform which he cannot disobey. Torode is a green skinned creature who often has arguments with Yangus but is still good friends with him. Also, Koichi Sugiyama (Music Composer) mentions how he is going to make full use of the PS2's capabilities to bring great music to the game.

Dragon Quest VIII will be released in Japan before the end of Square Enix's fiscal period ending March 2005.