Dragon Quest VIII/Characters

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A list of characters in Dragon Quest VIII.

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Main Characters

The Hero

A member of Trodain's palace guard, and the sole person who survived Trodain's curse unscathed. He has a pet mouse named Munchie.

• Brown Eyes - Paired with Curtains Match the Window.
• Chekhov's Gun - The Argon Heart.
• Choice of Four Weapons:
  • Blade on a Stick - Perhaps Lampshading that in Castle Trodain, he was originally seen as a mere Spear Carrier.
    • Prongs of Poseidon
  • Heroes Prefer Swords
    • Flaming Sword
  • Battle Boomerang
    • Precision-Guided Boomerang
  • Good Old Fisticuffs
    • Razor Wind - The Thin Air special attack.
• Combat Medic
• Cursed with Awesome - Can't use his dragon powers, but gained immunity to curses as part of the "curse" cast by his grandpa
• Elemental Punch
• Fan Nickname - Eight.
  • Mainly due to the playable demo forcing the name, but the Monster Battle Road games gave him the name as well.
• Gameplay and Story Integration -Averted. Not only did he survive the curse on Castle Trodain unscathed, but he has a natural immunity to curses in battle.
• Half-Human Hybrid - Half human, half Dragovian.
• Hello, Insert Name Here - The voice acting deals with this by having his teammates generally refer to him by the nickname "guv," or omitting his name completely (i.e. the text will say "Right [hero's name], my boy," but the voice actor will say "Right, my boy.")
• Heroic Mime
• Heroic Spirit: His special skill, "Courage".
• In-Series Nickname - 'Guv'. Mainly used by Yangus; over time it starts to really stick.
• Jack of All Stats
• Laser-Guided Amnesia
• Magic Knight
• Nice Bandana
• Playing with Fire
• Power Dyes Your Hair - Toriyama + First 3-D Dragon Quest = Inevitability.
• Shock and Awe
• Shout-Out - Maxing out his Tension makes him look like a pink-haired Super Saiyajin.
• Standard Hero Reward - But only after discovering his Secret Legacy to unlock the Golden Ending.
• Suicide Attack - With the Kamikazee spell, which sacrifices the user to deal heavy damage to enemies.
• Take My Hand - With Yangus before the game proper begins.
• Victorious Childhood Friend - In the good ending

Munchie

The Hero's pet mouse who lives in a pouch at the hero's side. While not seen often, he can provide some amazing support in battle thanks to the many cheese that can be fed to him.

• Badass Grandpa - He's actually the Hero's grandfather, a Dragovian shapeshifter
• Team Pet: Though he doesn't show as often as most pets do.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting - When he reveals himself in the Bonus Dungeon

Yangus

Originally a bandit from the town of Pickham, since trying to reform after the Hero saved his life.

• Ain't Too Proud to Beg - Gets on his knees to plead with Red after she steals Medea.
• Anti-Hero: Type II.
• The Big Guy
• Boisterous Bruiser - His weapon of choice during a pub brawl? A chair. With another patron still sitting in it.
• Carpet of Virility - A type two.
• Catch Phrase - "COR BLIMEY!"
• Choice of Five Weapons:
  • An Axe to Grind
  • Carry a Big Stick / Drop the Hammer
  • Sinister Scythe
  • Good Old Fisticuffs
    • Razor Wind
  • Epic Flail
• Combat Medic - Eventually learns some healing magic, but not nearly as powerful as the Hero's or Angelo's. Except Kerplunk.
• Delusions of Eloquence
• Gentle Giant - Despite his rugged appearance, he's quite sensitive and often reacts the worst to the various Tear Jerkers and Player Punches the team encounters.
  • Encountered in one of his skills: Humanity.
• Heroic Sacrifice: His "Kerplunk" spell, the most powerful healing ability in the game, completely revives and heals all other party members... at the cost of all of his HP and MP.
• How We Got Here - The game begins with him already traveling with the guv; he later recounts how they met to Jessica in a Flash Back.
• I Owe You My Life
• Mighty Glacier
• Nice Hat
• Odd Friendship - With King Trode.
• Perma Stubble
• Reformed but Rejected - His first attempts at reforming fell flat because nobody was willing to give him a chance... until he met the Hero.
• Running Gag - His reaction to Trode's skill at the Stealth Hi Bye maneuver. Lampshaded when he starts to react once, then stops and states he's gotten sick of that old gag.
• Stout Strength
• Video Game Stealing: With about a 1000:1 chance. Later, you can upgrade it to 100:1.
• X Marks the Hero

Jessica Albert

A magician from Alexandria who joins up with the party after Dhoulmagus kills her older brother Alistair. Hot-tempered and sharp-tongued, but a capable spellcaster with plenty of potential.

• Action Girl
• An Ice Person
• Ass Kicks You - Her Hip Drop attack.
• Black Mage
• Brainwashed and Crazy - When she is possessed by Rhapthorne's sceptre.
• Bunny Girl - A Dragon Quest staple, when she has the Bunny Suit, Fishnet Stockings, and Bunny Ears equipped.
• Chainmail Bikini - Many of her alternate outfits qualify, the Magic Bikini in particular. Funnily enough you can get the bikini right before you get to the snow-covered region of the game.
• Choice of Five Weapons:
  • Knife Nut - Which can be upgraded to Heroes Prefer Swords with enough training.
    • Hot Chick with a Sword - Potentially, if you decide to upgrade her Knife skills.
    • Poisoned Weapons
    • Sword Beam
  • Magic Staff / Magic Wand
  • Whip It Good
  • Good Old Fisticuffs
    • Razor Wind
    • She Fu
• Wings Do Nothing - Part of her Divine Bustier outfit.
• Zettai Ryouiki: The above mentioned Divine Bustier.
• Curtains Match the Window
• Dead Little Sister: Her dead older brother.
• Deadpan Snarker - To a LOT of people, but mostly to Angelo, who is not above snarking back.
• Distracted by the Sexy - As her "sex appeal" stat rises, enemies have a random chance of losing a turn by gazing in admiration, and also allows her to learn abilities which can produce the same effect.
• Fetish Fuel Station Attendant - Just about everything she does. Her original outfit is very prim and proper, she can dress up like a bunny girl, a dominatrix, wear a leotard, bikini, or dancer's outfit to battle.
• Fiery Redhead
• Girlish Pigtails
• Hot Witch
• Impossibly Low Neckline - her standard outfit
• Jiggle Physics: When she casts magic.
• Lady of Black Magic
• Leotard of Power - The Divine Bustier.
• Magic Dance
• Magic Knight - A female example, if you chose to equip her with daggers and then swords
• Male Gaze - Used hilariously when the King of Argonia tries to persuade Prince Charmles to marry Medea.
• Marshmallow Hell - Weaponized.
• Ms. Fanservice
• Of Corsets Sexy
• Playboy Bunny - One of her outfits, which is a Dragon Quest staple, of course.
• Playing with Fire
• Rebellious Princess
• Squishy Wizard
• The Smurfette Principle - Well, besides Medea, but she's the only female party member.
• Sphere of Destruction - The Magic Burst spell.
• Stripperific
• Stuff Blowing Up - The Bang-family class of spells.
• Tsundere - Looks like she'll be a full blown tsun-tsun when you first meet, but it's mostly because you've caught her at a really bad time... her default tends to be dere-dere. Unless Angelo is involved.
• The Unchosen One - Variation; it turns out her bloodline is one of the living seals on Rhapthorne, which is why her brother was killed.
• The Unfavorite - Has a very poor relationship with her mother, to the point that she's disowned upon deciding to join the heroes.

Angelo

A Templar from Maella Abbey, who joins the party under orders to hunt down Dhoulmagus after the jester kills the head abbot.

• Backstory - Daddy was a philanderer who left behind a huge debt when he died, leaving Angelo with no place to go other than the Abbey. When he got there, the first person he met was Marcello, who welcomed him warmly and comforted him... until learning just who he was, at which point he violently rejected him.
• Badass Long Hair
• Bishonen
• Blow You Away
• Bring My Red Jacket
• Casanova - Morrie even calls him this.
• Casting a Shadow
• Changeling Fantasy: Deconstructed. Angelo finds out that he has an older half brother...who hates him merely for existing, as Marcello was cast out of the house when Angelo was born.
• Chivalrous Pervert
• Choice of Four Weapons:
  • Bow and Sword In Accord
  • The Archer
    • Energy Bow
    • Multishot
    • Rain of Arrows
  • Heroes Prefer Swords - with a little more of Royal Rapier
    • Flaming Sword
    • Laser Blade - His ultimate sword, the Shamshir of Light.
  • Magic Staff / Magic Wand
  • Good Old Fisticuffs
• Church Militant - As mentioned above, he's a Templar.
• Cruel Mercy - When he saves Marcello after his half-brother has managed to completely ruin his career through his own actions.
• Combat Medic
• Deadpan Snarker
• Defrosting Ice King - He starts out distrustful of the others, but starts warming up to them after revealing his backstory. To King Trode, of all people.
• Dub Name Change - Kukuru -> Angelo
• Freudian Excuse - Is disobedient and smarmy, in large part because he has issues with Marcello.
• Handsome Lech
• Hidden Depths - Introduced as a flirtatious pretty boy who doesn't take his station seriously; turns out to have a pretty damn tragic history and to honestly care about the church.
• Holy Hand Grenade
• One-Hit Kill - He can learn the Whack-family of instant death spells.
• Take My Hand - To Marcello.
• White-Haired Pretty Boy
• Yank the Dog's Chain - The moment in his Backstory where Marcello welcomes him to the Abbey with a smile and a "Don't worry; we're your family now!" only to take it all back upon realizing who he is.

King Trode

The titular "Cursed King" of Trodain, transformed into a green-skinned, troll-like creature by Dhoulmagus. Set out on the titular journey in hopes of tracking the jester down, regaining the sceptre, and restoring his kingdom and his true form.

• Adipose Rex
• Baleful Polymorph
• Break the Haughty
• Character Development
• Dirty Old Man - Just look at his comments after equipping Jessica with any of her Battle Bikini. Also, if you equip a piece of the Bunny Girl outfit on Jessica, he practically screams at you to finish getting the rest.
• Freak-Out - He does not deal well with stressors like being treated like the monster he appears to be or Medea getting horsenapped.
• I Gave My Word - Struggles with this regarding Medea's Arranged Marriage.
• Hidden Depths - Starts off seeming shallow, spoiled and bossy, but reveals other sides of himself over time.
• Item Crafting - He's the one who runs the alchemy pot.
• Papa Wolf
• Stealth Hi Bye - Why is he a ninja? He's insanely good at popping up out of nowhere, startling the heck out of Yangus and the rest.
• Team Dad
• Vitriolic Best Buds - Frequently argues with Yangus, yet comes to respect him enough that the bandit can even learn a team-up move with him.

Princess Medea

The princess of Trodain, transformed into a horse by Dhoulmagus. She uses this form to its best advantage by pulling the party's wagon.

• Arranged Marriage - With none other than Prince Charmless. Naturally, she escapes it either by becoming a Runaway Bride or finding a loophole by marrying another Prince of Argonia.
• Baleful Polymorph
• Cool Horse
• Everything's Better with Princesses: Her 'princess' title is window dressing until the very last scene.
• Fairytale Wedding Dress
• Green Eyes
• Official Couple - With the hero, naturally.
• The Ingenue
• Pimped-Out Dress
• Proper Lady: So proper in fact that the Blind Seer the party encounters says she outshines every princess he's ever seen, while stuck in a horse's body.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something - Again, she pulls the wagon.
• Runaway Bride - In the normal ending.
• Ugly Guys Hot Daughter
• Victorious Childhood Friend - in the good ending.

Antagonists

Dhoulmagus

A vengeful magician who dressed like a jester. He stole the magical sceptre in Castle Trodain and unleashed the curse upon the kingdom.

• Big Bad Wannabe - Stole the sceptre in hopes of becoming insanely powerful, only to wind up a pawn of Rhapthorne.
• Brainwashed and Crazy
• Catch Phrase - "Such a pity. Such a pity..."
  • Its really more like Rhapthorne's Catch Phrase, considering that he says it at least once per vessel.
    • Once per vessel? Try thrice per scene. And that's when he's NOT feeling talkative.
• Disc One Final Boss
• Evil Sorcerer
• Lean and Mean
• Monster Clown
• One-Winged Angel
• Taken for Granite - after you kill him he turns into a stone statue.. and then into dust.
• Who's Laughing Now?

Rhapthorne

An ancient Lord of Darkness who was battled and sealed away eons ago.

• Beard of Evil
• Big Bad
• Dangerously Genre Savvy - Rhapthorne actually manages to kill his targets right in front of heroes without making it look like the Cutscene Incompetence on the heroes' part. While killing the Abbot Francisco, he throws the staff towards the king Trode, fully aware that the good abbot will jump in and take the hit to protect the king. Later with Marta, he holds her son hostage, forcing the party to distance themselves away from her, and then puts all his minions in-between so the party cannot reach her in time even if she manages to save her son.
• Dark Is Evil
• Evil Is Hammy
• Large and In Charge - so it seems judging from the pictures in the Dark Ruins. subverted by his first form, and played straight by his Ultimate form.
• Made of Evil
• Man Behind the Man
• One-Winged Angel
• Sealed Evil in a Can

Supporting Characters

Alistair Albert

Jessica's older brother, who was an accomplished swordsman. Killed by Dhoulmagus before the hero could catch up with the foul jester. His death comes as a serious blow to the town of Alexandria.

• The Chosen One - Inherited the strength to serve as part of Rhapthorne's seal. Hence his death.
• Dead Older Brother - Unfortunately, the brother in question.
• Magic Knight - he is (well, was) a skilled swordsman and wizard.
• Posthumous Character

Marcello

Angelo's older half-brother, who trains as a Templar at Maella Abbey. Despite being a studious monk and soldier, he harbors an old grudge against Angelo, and at times struggles with getting others to recognize his deeds because of his low-born roots.

• Ambition Is Evil
• Backstory - Tied into Angelo's history: Their father was a rich philanderer. After Marcello was born, he made various promises to his mother that he'd leave his wife and make him his heir... until his wife became pregnant with Angelo, at which point he abandoned them. Marcello ended up at the Abbey after his mother passed on, and fought his way up the ranks despite others looking down upon him for being a commoner born out of wedlock.
• Bastard Bastard: He's the illegitimate child. Heck, he could possibly be the Trope Namer.
• Break the Haughty - Suffers quite the fall from grace.
• Cruel Mercy - Angelo saves his life after he gives a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to a stadium full of civilians, then gets publicly possessed by Rhapthorne and breaks the seal. Needless to say, his career's pretty much unsalvageable at this point.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Freudian Excuse - He's a condescending prick to Angelo because he screwed things up just by being born. Also has issues with being looked down upon due to his common blood.
• Hoist by His Own Petard - Happens late in the game, when he chooses to make his big acceptance speech where Rhapthorne's body was sealed while holding the sceptre, then spends so long with his Evil Gloating that the heroes are able to confront him there, breaking his concentration. Then he blames everything on the good guys. Again.
• Jerkass
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope
• Kick the Dog - "So...you intend to destroy this life I've made, just like my old life, do you?"
• Knight Templar
• Magnificent Bastard
• Motive Rant - Combined with New Era / "The Reason You Suck" Speech when accepting his new position as head of the church.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero - Attempts this after the heroes' defeating him also weakens him enough that Rhapthorne manages to possess him and free his body. Of course, he completely ignores his own obvious role in causing the whole mess...
• Pet the Dog: An important part of his and Angelo's Backstory. When Angelo first came to the Abbey, Marcello was the first person he met, and greeted him with kindness. And then told him that he would be seen as family. Even when it turned into full out Kick the Dog, Angelo never forgot that one moment of kindness.
• Tall, Dark and Snarky
• Ungrateful Bastard - After Angelo saves his life, he attempts to go all Nice Job Breaking It, Hero on the heroes despite how he's more to blame for how bad things got.

Abbot Francisco

The head of Maella Abbey, Abbot Francisco is compassionate, caring, understanding, and the ideal representative of everything a Saintly Church should be. One of the few members of the Abbey who hasn't dabbled in corruption... and, unfortunately, one of Dhoulmagus's victims.

• Good Shepherd
• It Always Rains At Funerals
• Mentor Occupational Hazard
• Parental Substitute - Acted as more of a father to Marcello and Angelo than theirs ever did.

Red

An old associate of Yangus. They have quite the history together...

• Action Girl - not quite, she stated that she'll simply avoid the monsters in the Pirate Hideout by simple stealth. When she's faced by Captain Crow's ghost she's easly defeated.
• Epic Flail: "borrows" one to Yangus for the final battle if you visit her.
• Knife Nut - her only visible weapon is a small dagger.
  • Fridge Brilliance - She's a thief, and traditionally, thieves used to carry a dagger as a weapon of last resort and as a tool to help pry open windows and treasure chests. Most thieves in medieval times knew they'd never last in a proper fight, so a dagger was also handy for backstabbing and running, another thievery trademark.
• Pirate Girl: You even race her to some pirate's treasure in a later mission.
• The Rival: See above.
• Tsundere - Common interpretation of her treatment of Yangus, with him being Oblivious to Love.
  • Alternate Character Interpretation - Or, given he's willing to toss aside his pride for her and they wind up Walking the Earth as traders in the ending, he probably has a crush on her and is too shy to admit it.
• Ugly Guy Hot Gal - Her relationship with Yangus.

Morrie

An eccentric fellow who runs a Monster Arena known as the MONSTROUS PIT, along with his assistants Marrie, Merrie, Mirrie and Murrie. Prone to Accidental Innuendo and Hot Bloodedness.

• Casanova
• Hot-Blooded
• Large Ham
• Luck-Based Mission - You can pick what sort of monsters to send into the Arena, but you can't control them directly.
• Poirot Speak
• Tenchi Solution
• Uncle Pennybags

Prince Charmles

Crown Prince of Argonia, and THE Prince Charmless. His father is determined to make the best possible heir out of him, but it's hard when he's reluctant to perform the initiation... or anything else that requires he, uh, work.

• Arranged Marriage - With Medea.
• Blond Guys Are Evil
• Break the Haughty - The ending. And it is AWESOME. Interestingly, this is shown more explicitly in the "lesser" ending but still happens in the Golden Ending.
• Comically Missing the Point - Fails to understand why the rite of passage is so important, expecting to just lie and cheat his way through it.
• Dirty Coward
• Entitled Bastard
• Expy - Follows in the footsteps of Prince Harry and Prince Holse; unlike either one, however, he learns nothing from his trials and expects to coast through life on the backs of other people.
• Hoist by His Own Petard - By buying a heart instead of using one of those the Hero and the others obtained for him during the hunt, he unintentionally proves to his father that he isn't even remotely ready to take the throne. Not only does he get very publicly called out on this in the end, but he ends up losing the right to rule and the right to marry Medea to his long-lost cousin, who already went through the trial and harvested a beautiful heart.
• In-Series Nickname
• It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY" - It's supposed to be "Charmulls", but he prefers "Sharm-LAY."
• Jerkass
• Kick the Dog - His desire to obtain the largest gem possible during his initiation, regardless of the cost. The way he abuses Medea as a horse is also a perfect example, as after he pulls that crap, it's rather amazing he makes it back from the initiation in one piece.
• Prince Charmless - Trope Namer. While his father calls him Charmulls, and he insists on being called Sharm-LAY, everyone calls him Charmless, to his face no less.
• Rite of Passage
• Royal Brat
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money - After all the hard work of his initiation, he up and BUYS a Argon Heart, effectively blowing off all the hard work you did obtaining one for him. This eventually bites him HARD later on.
• Speech Impediment - He sounds like Elmer Fudd.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? - He's totally afraid of lizards of all kind, that's why he's so reluctant to face the initiation, which consist in taking down a large Argon Lizard.

King Clavius

Unlike his son, the current ruler of Argonia is a reasonable, thoughtful man just trying to do the best he can.

• Calling the Old Man Out - Inverted awesomely during the ending, when Charmles tries to get Daddy to fix his problems again and Daddy puts his foot down.
• Covert Pervert - The way he gets Charmles to agree to attempt the initiation.
• Reasonable Authority Figure
• Unexpected Successor - His brother was supposed to become king instead of him, but disappeared from Argonia, leaving him to take the throne.
• What the Hell, Hero? - Starts to call out the Hero and his party when he thinks they tried to fake Charmles' rite by buying an Argon Heart, but corrects himself and apologizes profusely after learning the truth of the matter.

Ishmahri

The keeper of the Moonshadow Land, he possess a magical harp. The party meets Ishmahri twice. First in Ascantha, were they lead him to King Pavan to soothe his broken heart. Ishmahri creates past images of the late Queen Sasha by playing a melody on his harp. The second time involves him useing his powers to restore an old ship to sea worthy condition.

• Aura Vision
• Cryptic Conversation: Not as bad as most mystics out there.
• The Empath
• The Force: Ishmahri's conection to the realm of Moonshadow, plus his powers in general.

Cash and Carrie Golding

The adopted twins of the late Mr. Golding, who established a fantastic casino and left them quibbling about which of them gets to run it now that he's passed on. To settle the score, they have to run a little test... one they both need help with.

• Brother-Sister Team - By the end of their scenario.
• But Thou Must! - Act as bodyguards to one or the other during their test.
• Sibling Rivalry
• Sibling Seniority Squabble
• Spoiled Brat - Both until the end of their scenario.
• Theme Twin Naming
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair - Blue for Cash, and green for Carrie.

EmpyreaRamia/Lamia

Empyrea is referred to as the Godbird. She has the power to travel between worlds. The demon Gemon held her egg hostage at the top of Godbird's Eyrie. The hero's try to recover it for her, but Gemon sacrificed himself to destroy the egg. Empyrea's child, who died before birth, appeared as a spirit before the heroes and the pair decide to aid them in their quest.

• The Phoenix - A textbook example.
• Good Thing You Can Heal - Not Empyrea but her son.
• Power Gives You Wings - After you meet Empyrea her son becomes a power-up that literaly "gives you wings".
• Giant Flyer - Empyrea is so large that she can carry everyone in the party on her back.
• Breath Weapon - One of her most powerful abilities.
• Friend to All Living Things - She hates that Gemon forces her to attack people.