I love **Dragon Quest**. I’ve played many and [[Dragon Quest IX|written about]] [[Dragon Quest Monsters - The Dark Prince|a lot of]] [[Dragon Quest Monsters 2|them here]]. So many people have said that **Dragon Quest VIII** is one of the best ones, and yet I’ve never gotten past picking up Angelo. This is because I find the game’s pacing to be excruciating compared to other games in the series. Everything about **DQVIII** is so fucking *slow* – your run speed is slow, the combat is slow, the plot is slow-burn, even picking up a damn barrel to break it for an item is slow. It is the anti-[[ADHD]] game. I’ve tried to offset this by emulating the game with fast-forward, but that’s a recipe for obliterating your [[Less Doomscrolling More Silly Lil Tech Toys|silly lil tech toy’s]] batteries, and turning it on and off again is annoying. But I come to you today, dear readers, because I have finally found a solution. The perfect concoction of hacks and system choice to make **DQVIII** actually feel good to play for me. This will probably sound like blasphemy to some of you. Don’t read any further, because it’s about to get a lot worse. --- The first step is grabbing the 3DS version of the game. This is less intense to emulate on your Odin 2 or Retroid Pocket 5 or what-have-you. It also has symbol encounters, which I prefer for the simple fact that I can control my own pace. You also need this version for the cheats. I’ll go over each one and why I use it. ## Allocated Skill Point Return This may seem like it’s not relevant to pacing or speed, but it actually matters a great deal. I spend so much time agonizing over how I’m meant to build my party in **DQVIII**. And while I [[DQVIII Build Plans|have ideas]], the lack of takes-backsies makes me very anxious. But with this cheat, you can swap out skill points whenever and where you want. This takes a huge mental load off of my incredibly stupid brain, because I can change my mind. No more hyperfixating on 100 GameFAQs tabs trying to find a build I *think* I might like. ## Instant Change of Direction This isn’t a big deal, but it does make traversal a little smoother for me to navigate. ## Walk & Run Speed x2.5 This is the big one. It’s like emulator fast-forward…without the fast-forward. Turning this on lets you zip through Trodain’s – *in my opinion* – needlessly large maps. I might turn this off when I get a mount, but even then, it’s still useful in towns and dungeons too. And funny enough, this kind of implements a “random encounter” system in the sense that you’ll run so fast you end up colliding into enemies that spawn in front of you. Couple this with the fast-forward in battles that’s native to the 3DS version of **DQVIII**, and I’ve been able to get all the way to Angelo’s abbey in 4 hours instead of 8. ## Camera Zoom Out This one is optional. I like using it in the world map because the low FOV honestly gives me a migraine, and it helps me see parts of the map that are worth visiting as opposed to dead-ends. But it will give you graphical issues. ## Instant Message Lotta yapping in this game, and I read fast. Save that precious gamer thumb by letting you press the confirm button once instead of twice during cutscenes. May not seem like much, but it adds up. --- I think making your own fun is becoming more important to me as I get older. Engaging with a game’s own terms is important, but if we have a disagreement on those terms, then I reserve the right to modify them until I’m enjoying the conversation again. I’m finally enjoying **Dragon Quest VIII** with my modifications, and am now significantly more likely to finish it. I played it for hours last night because the pacing felt so much better to me. If you’ve had similar troubles with this game, then I hope this helps you.