There were quite a few changes to DQVIII in comparison to its direct predecessor actually. Battles are now only fought in first person when inputting commands and have reverted to the more Final Fantasy style of presentation (3rd person) for dealing and receiving blows. The menu with all its various functions that had been redundant for quite some time has been ditched in favor for one more like FF as well and the world map has been replaced with 1:1 environments. It still maintains rather simplistic battle mechanics and a plot which is more charming then anything else but it's certainly a step in the right direction for a series that had begun to stagnate over the years.