The latest round of Japanese magazine articles on Square Enix's upcoming Dragon Quest VIII offer confirmation of the game's new subtitle. And quite a subtitle it is -- the "VIII" is followed by a lengthy mess of Japanese that translates to "The Sky, the Sea, the Earth and the Cursed Princess."

Which neatly settles the question of what kind of ground this latest Dragon Quest will cover: just about all of it, it seems, plus a cursed princess. This particular subtitle is a good bit less specific than, say, Dragon Quest VII -- "Warriors of Eden" -- or Dragon Quest V -- "Bride of the Sky."

Illustrations of the game's supporting cast have also popped up of late, joining the blue-haired, bandanna-wearing hero. There's Zeshika, a tomboyish redhead wielding a whip; Yangas, a heavyset, scarred swordsman; Torode, a squat green troll-looking sort; and Kukuru, a white-haired young fencer wearing red.

We'll likely learn a lot more about Dragon Quest VIII very soon -- the "image disc" containing new details on the game is slated to arrive alongside the PlayStation 2 remake of Dragon Quest V on March 25. Look forward to more news later this month.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in 1UP.