Square Enix’s “Final Fantasy” series is big in the United States, but its “Dragon Quest” series (called “Dragon Warrior” here), while huge in Japan, never quite caught on here.

The newest release in the States, “Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King,” makes me wonder why.

I liken “Dragon Quest” to “God of War.” Yes, they’re completely different games, but they both take standard gameplay and perfect it.

“Dragon Quest” is not the most original role-playing game you’re going to come across, but it does everything so well that you won’t even care.

The story is pretty basic: You play as Hero (or whatever you decide to name him), and you team up with three others to search for an evil wizard/jester who has done dastardly deeds around the world, including turning Hero’s king into a toadlike monster.

The game positively overflows with personality, from its visual style (cel-shaded 3-D anime) to its character and enemy designs. The U.S. versions also get some nice voice acting thrown into the mix.

Plus, despite the presence of evil, the overriding feel is lighthearted — a nice change in a world of depressing RPG storylines. Some of the enemies are downright silly. Lips, for example, are just like they sound — giant lips that kiss you to death. And how I love the oh-so-cute dancing devils!

The random battles can be a bit tougher than expected, and some leveling up is needed before hitting the dungeon areas. But at the same time, the enemies are unpredictable, making for interesting fights. Cats, for example, sometimes will lick their paws instead of attacking.

Battle frequency can seem a little much at times, but overall the pacing seems just about right. And if you get tired of running, you can warp to locations you’ve already visited.

As you level up, you can allocate skills to certain categories, mostly weapons, but also specialized categories such as Sex Appeal for Jessica (which makes enemies stare at her instead of attacking).

There’s also an alchemy pot you can use to combine items and create rare items. And there are lots of side quests, minigames and optional minibosses.

All in all, “Dragon Quest” is a fun romp through a vibrantly colored world that should charm any RPG fan.

Attached to the game is a playable demo of “Final Fantasy XII,” which, if we’re really lucky, finally should be released sometime around Christmas 2006.

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If you’re an RPG or strategy fan with a GameCube, check out “Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.”

This game mixes the two genres, offering a compelling story and character leveling with strategy gameplay.

It’s a tale of nations at war: humans, called beorc, fighting shape-shifting humanoids, the laguz, in addition to each other. The main character, blue-haired Ike, belongs to a band of mercenaries that gets thrown into the middle of the struggle.

Visually, “Fire Emblem” is simple — not stunning, but not horrible either. The story is told through text boxes with a picture of the character speaking. There is lots of reading to be done, so keep that in mind if you’re not a reader.

Each character has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Some are on horseback, some shoot arrows, and some use magical spells. As they level up, they earn new skills and attributes. Battles are fought by matching characters against others who would be weak to them, depending on their weapon or class.

Your band of mercenaries also grows as you recruit throughout the game.

The gameplay unfolds in chapters. Most times, your goal is to defeat all the enemies on the map using turn-based attacks, but sometimes it’s simply to reach a certain location.

“Fire Emblem” throws a nice wrench into the traditional RPG works with death. If one of your characters falls in battle, that’s it. There are no restore potions or save points to bring them back. You must think carefully about what you need to do in order to escape with each chapter unscathed.

While this is interesting and certainly adds an element of tension, it’s also a source of frustration. If you’re a perfectionist like me who can’t stand to lose a character — and at times early on, you really can’t afford to be a man down — you’ll spend many hours restarting and playing the same chapter over and over until you’ve finished in one piece.

Overall, though, it’s an entertaining strategy RPG that really makes you think about your next move and feel like you’ve earned that finished chapter.

Reach Aimee Hatfield at 473-7326 or Aimee.Hatfield@lee.net.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Square Enix, for PlayStation 2

Rated: Teen

Cost: $49.99

Grade: A

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Nintendo, for GameCube

Rated: Teen

Cost: $49.99

Grade: A-