--- description: One of Japanese game studio Level-5's most critically acclaimed roleplaying game is now available for $20 on iOS or Android phones and tablets, and includes tweaks to both the gameplay and graphics. title: Dragon Quest 8 Released for iPhone, iPad or Android Devices image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt216791786f92f0ba/69869135f983e724d504e039/dragon-quest-8.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dragon Quest 8 Is Now Playable on an iPhone, iPad or Android Device by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 2:26 PM CUT  Square Enix by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 2:26 PM CUT I’m looking at _Dragon Quest 8_ on my iPhone 5 as I type this. Hard to believe a game as grand and clever and open-ended and now going on a decade old can exist on a device this slender and elegant and totable, a device no one was really thinking about in 2005 (save Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive), but that now goes hand in glove with millions everywhere. But when you think about the decade thing, it makes sense. The PlayStation 2 version arrived in 2005, about a year ahead of _Final Fantasy XII_ and in the vicinity of _Xenosaga 2_, _Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga_, _Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones_, _Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories_, _Gothic 2_ and _Freedom Force vs The 3rd Reich_. Good times. But now I’m babbling. What I mean by “makes sense” is that _Dragon Quest 8_, being a PS2 original, ran at lowish NTSC and PAL resolutions, whereas the horsepower in your average iOS or Android mobile these days hangs out in Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 territory. The iOS/Android version isn’t cheap: Square Enix usually charges $10-$20 for its phone/tablet ports, and _Dragon Quest 8_ sits at the pricey end of the spectrum, or $20\. But then you’re getting a higher-resolution version of the game, a “reworked” combat engine that supports “one-tap” battles and “more complex play,” and an overall interface redesigned for touchscreens, though it uses an on-screen directional pad for navigation, one of those interface-shoehorning tricks I’ve never cared for. That’s the price you pay to see the thing converted without having to radically reimagine it. It’s a shame Square Enix isn’t doing more HD ports of games like this to consoles like the PS4 or Xbox One (or handhelds like the Vita). I’d rather play a game this expansive and time-consuming with a gamepad (if you haven’t played it, it’s a mammoth thing that can easily consume over 100 hours). But I’ll take what I can get, and close by noting that the game supports [iOS 6 and above](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-quest-viii/id862972069?mt=8 "undefined") (the iPhone 5 or a 3rd-gen iPad are recommended) as well as [Android 4.0 and higher](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square%5Fenix.android%5Fgoogleplay.dq8 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/135849/dragon-quest-8-is-now-playable-on-an-iphone-ipad-or-android-device/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/135849/dragon-quest-8-is-now-playable-on-an-iphone-ipad-or-android-device/"},"headline":"Dragon Quest 8 Is Now Playable on an iPhone, iPad or Android Device","datePublished":"2014-05-29T14:26:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:21.664Z","description":"One of Japanese game studio Level-5's most critically acclaimed roleplaying game is now available for $20 on iOS or Android phones and tablets, and includes tweaks to both the gameplay and graphics.","url":"https://time.com/135849/dragon-quest-8-is-now-playable-on-an-iphone-ipad-or-android-device/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Android","iPhone","iPad","iOS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt216791786f92f0ba/69869135f983e724d504e039/dragon-quest-8.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt216791786f92f0ba/69869135f983e724d504e039/dragon-quest-8.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"dragon-quest-8","caption":"","creditText":"Square Enix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/135849/dragon-quest-8-is-now-playable-on-an-iphone-ipad-or-android-device/","name":"Dragon Quest 8 Is Now Playable on an iPhone, iPad or Android Device"}}]}] ```