10 Most Essential Japanese Video Games

7. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey Of The Cursed King

One of the most successful franchises in Japanese gaming history, Dragon Quest's popularity spread so far and wide, it spawned an urban myth that sequels are not allowed to release during the week, as too much of the Japanese population takes time off work at once.

While that was very much a fabrication (but an awesome one, in fairness), Dragon Quest itself is charm personified. Taking everything you love about Saturday morning cartoon ephemera visually, Akira Toriyama's art direction really came into its own with Journey of the Cursed King.

With Level-5 now masters of the craft and Dragon Quest 7 already being a firm fan favourite, Dragon Quest 8 executed on its JRPG formula to perfection. The story of a king turned into a goblin and the queen into a horse is the perfect setup for a cross-country adventure. Along the way you'll indulge in addictive level grinding, snappy combat, rewarding exploration and a super neat monster-capture mechanic expanded on from DQ V and VI.

Yes, Dragon Quest is formulaic but that's the point - this is the franchise that helped craft that formula in the first place, putting JRPGs on the map and further nailing its framework in a way very few get quite so right.