TOKYO--Square Enix has announced that it will be bundling a free Dragon Quest VIII trailer disc with the upcoming PlayStation 2 port of Dragon Quest V. While the DQVIII bonus disk will not be a playable demo, it will be the first time Square Enix has released any media from the upcoming RPG since last August. Dragon Quest VIII is called Dragon Warrior VIII in North America.

　　Dragon Quest VIII was originally announced by Enix over a year ago, before the company merged with Square. The game was scheduled to come out during 2004 but has since been delayed to next year. With only a few screenshots revealed and no explanation of game details, little is known about DQVIII aside from its adoption of cel-shaded graphics. Staffers from previous Dragon Quests are currently working on DQVIII’s development, with Yuji Horii writing the script, Kouichi Sugiyama composing the music, and Dragon Ball Z artist Akira Toriyama handling the character designs.

　　Although it is based on the 1992 Super Famicom game of the same name, the PS2 port of Dragon Quest V will feature new 3D graphics and an orchestral soundtrack. The PS2 Dragon Quest V is scheduled for release in Japan on March 25 at a retail price of 7,800 yen ($73.48).