I do agree with keyblade_master uk in only so far that the story of The Journey Of The Cursed King was treading on the most familar territory that the Japanese RPG genre has known to man, but as Espy correctly pointed out, that was the whole point.
I found Dragon Quest / Warrior VIII was, as Espy said, attempting to be a retro-styled game, but made with modern techniques and production values. That's why the storyline is as familar as they come, but as far as I'm concerned that isn't a critisicm. The game harks back to the early days of Japanese RPG's and I think it succeeds.
Its a brilliant adventure game that certainly doesn't feel pretentious. Its ironic that its story can be seen as a strength and a weakness.
In some ways the cast of characters sum it up for me. Sure, they're not original (not that they're meant to be), but they're charming. I think 'charming' is a good way to describe the game (in my opinion).
But hey, its not to everyones taste.