to embark on a murder spree as the protagonists chase him. Dhoulmagus is eventually revealed to be a pawn of Rhapthorne, a demonic lord and the game's true antagonist, who is manipulating the jester in an attempt to free himself from the scepter inside of which he has been imprisoned. Development and release 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. From August through October before the game's US release, the "Simon dTOUR Live" Mall Tour featured playable demos at participating malls across the US. These free events gave away Dragon Quest merchandise and also featured live entertainment. A demo disc for Dragon Quest VIII was also released during the fall of 2005 through Shonen Jump magazine. The game was released in North America on November 15, 2005, and shipped with a playable Final Fantasy XII demo disc. Additions and changes to the North American version of Dragon Quest VIII included voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, additional spells and attacks, and a new menu interface. In a Nintendo Direct in November 2015, it was shown that the game would be releasing for the 3DS in 2016. Dragon Quest VIII was the first game in the series to bear the Dragon Quest name (rather than Dragon Warrior) in North America. Dragon Quest'''s North American name had been changed due to a trademark conflict with the pen-and-paper role-playing game DragonQuest, published by wargame publisher Simulation Publications in the 1980s, until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, Inc., which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987. In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the US, making the Dragon Warrior name obsolete. As this installment of the series was the first after 2003 to be released outside Japan, it was the first to receive the Quest in its title. Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American