Yuji Horii
Like the other games in the series, Yuji Horii was staffed as the scenario director. Critics praised the colorful designs done by art designer Akira Toriyama of "Dragon Ball" fame. Koichi Sugiyama composed the music for the game. "Dragon Quest VIII" was released in Japan on the morning of November 27, 2004 with a celebration at Starbucks in Shibuya, Tokyo, starting at 6:30 am. Horii and Square Enix President Yoichi Wada both made appearances at the event, and several of the first buyers in line received a toy Slime.