October 08, 2004 - Square Enix revealed a couple of weeks back that monster taming would be making its way into Dragon Quest VIII. Today, the company has shared new details on this so-called "scout" system.

As revealed previously, Dragon Quest VIII lets you "scout," or capture, monsters. You can capture monsters who run around on the main battle field; these monsters differ from the monsters you encounter in random battles in that they have special names. By touching the monster, you enter a battle which plays out just like any other battle in the game. The difference is at the end, where you're given the option of scouting the creature. There will be lots of creatures to scout in DQVIII, some harder to find than others.

Once a creature has been scouted, it gets added to your arsenal of monsters. You can assemble your monsters into teams of three, giving each team a unique name. While in battle, you can then call upon the group of creatures to do battle in place of your normal party. It's currently unclear if these monster-based battles are handled through AI or direct player control (we have a feeling it will be AI, given that all characters outside of the main character are controlled by the computer).

Outside of using your monster teams in battle, you can also use them in Dragon Quest VIII's "Monster Battle Road" battleground. In the Monster Battle Road, you place your monster teams against other monster teams, with prizes awarded to the winner. Monster Battle Road is managed by a character named Mori who'll explain the rules of scouting for those who are unfamiliar.

Dragon Quest VIII is just over a month away from Japanese release, and Square Enix keeps on adding more and more to make us want the game more and more. We expect to hear even more details on the game leading up to its release on 11/27. Stay tuned.