Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

[Pai Pai Master]

The last few months have been pretty excruciating for Dragon Quest fans.

It's seemed like the Dragon Quest series has been poised to appear on any of the three major consoles for the last few months. With Blue Dragon coming to the 360, Square Enix could have put Dragon Quest IX on it to create some competition. Or they could have sided with the Wii, in order to take advantage of some of the potential the system is showing for success, at least in Japan. Or they could have stuck with Sony, seeing as how Dragon Quest VIII was the most successful in the series and put it on the PS3, despite the slower install rate the system may have in the next year or two.

What did Square Enix decide to go with? Something they'll either regret or be extremely happy about.

Dragon Quest IX: Protectors of the Starry Sky has been announced for the NINTENDO DS. It's almost unprecedented that a major RPG franchise like Dragon Quest is moving from consoles to handhelds, but it'll be interesting to see if this is a permanent or temporary occurrence.

It's a shame really. Dragon Quest may have never been the kind of console to set any standards for graphics, but I would have liked to see what the team could have done with the PS3, or at least on a major console. I'm sure Sony fans are at least counting their blessings that the game isn't showing up on 360 or Wii. That would have sealed the deal for any console in Japan.

I'm really hoping this isn't a permanent change for the Dragon Quest series. I just managed to finish DQVIII (finally) and I'm already hankering for some more. A short, handheld, online-capable action-RPG disguised as Dragon Quest IX just isn't my thing.

[LilithAngel]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Well, that being the case, even though the Wii didn't get it, Nintendo still won the title. That's going to give the DS even *more* of a deathgrip on the handheld market than it already has (if that's even possible; Nintendo already owns the entire handheld empire, and simply *lets* the PSP live at its amusement). The DS is a remarkable piece of hardware, and there's many good games on it that's worth the investment.

[bikkebakke]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

I know I'm extremely happy about it! I won't have to buy a next gen system for it!!!

[raidenn]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

I heard its going to be a card game...

[bikkebakke]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Card game boo!

[Pai Pai Master]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

No, it won't be a card game. That was a separate game announced at the same time; a card-based spinoff of Dragon Quest VIII for DS.

DQIX is going to be a 4-player action-RPG, hardly the traditional Dragon Quest adventure I'd like to see coming after the remarkable DQVIII.

[Gobo]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

No, it won't be a card game. That was a separate game announced at the same time; a card-based spinoff of Dragon Quest VIII for DS.
DQIX is going to be a 4-player action-RPG, hardly the traditional Dragon Quest adventure I'd like to see coming after the remarkable DQVIII.

Not really true:

Those who are worrying about Dragon Quest losing its charm as a single player game needn't. You won't have to play the game with others. "We'd like to make an epic title that can be fully enjoyed when playing alone," said Horii. "I can't discuss the game content yet, but the fact that we attached IX to it means that we'll be making a game of the appropriate level."

Think of it more like FF12 than say KH or Zelda. The game has been in development for over a year (so what right after DQ8 was released in the US?). Square-Enix has said they will put Dragon Quest on the system with the highest market share and the DS is pretty much blowing everything else out of the water across the world.

There is stuff about it on IGN. Don't fret too much about it Pai-Pai, it will all be ok in the end.
http://ds.ign.com/ (latest news section on the side. 3 articles about DQ9)

[bikkebakke]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Personally the DS is my favorite system out there right now.

[Coinspinner]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

DQ7 and 8, by how late in their respective platform's lives they showed up, showed that DQ goes to the system where it will sell the most. PS2 has the largest user-base at the moment, but how long will it be before DQ9 is released? Might PS2 be fading away by then? Would PS3 owners buy a PS2 game? In markets outside Japan? How important now are global sales compared to Japan sales? If not PS2 then who? 360, PS3, PSP, DS, and Wii are the choices.

Dragon Quest has never been about flashy graphics. But to compete globally on the 360 or PS3 (and also to not embarrass themselves) they need to step up to Blue Dragon level graphics at least. Those assets take a lot of resources to produce. This either means a long development time to produce the same size of game as old DQs or else a smaller game to try and reduce development cost. For what though? Only better graphics, which was never what DQ was about.

So we have the Wii, DS, and PSP. All would be easier to develop for. Of the three, DS has the most momentum and the largest current user base. In fact it still has the most momentum and the largest user base if you include PS3 and XBox360. DS seems the logical choice if you think along those lines.

Square-Enix says they'll be "making a game of the appropriate level" which I think means they'll be lavishing the sort of development time and talent they would have if it had been a console game. But since DS level assets are easier to create (read: quicker and less expensive) what we'll wind up with is, probably, a lot more content than if it had been made for PS3 or XBox 360. The difference may not have been much at all were made for PSP or Wii, where it would have been acceptable to reuse assets (such as the engine and enemies.)

Anyway... I think this is the first Triple-A title ever for a handheld. That's one step closer to my dream: a handheld capable of rendering 1080p that can be plugged into an HDTV and played with a wireless controller.

[Dopples]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Isn't there already a Dragon Quest game announced for the Wii and the PS3 too? I dunno for sure, have to look up my sources again.

[Pai Pai Master]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

There's no DQ game coming to PS3 or 360 at this point. Dragon Quest has officially returned to Nintendo platforms at this point~

[Jei]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Wonder how the game play will be like if I'm playing alone.... not like there's many DS partner I can play with -.-

I need to send mails to unlock onion knight in FF3.... Can anyone tell hook me up to your DS please >.>

[Legal Fish]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Why wouldn't they go with DS? It's the most popular system.

[Susurrus]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

The main thing I see w/ this is is that they're putting it on a portable.

Why do companies insist on protable rpgs?

Personally, I like to play RPGs on my TV in long periods of time.

Playing portable RPGs for long periods of times gives me cramps.

Who plays RPGs for short periods of times?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Dragon Quest IX, DAMMIT!

Why do companies insist on protable rpgs?

- Cheaper to do.
- Japan likes portable gaming.
- Shorter development time.
- Japan likes portable gaming.
- They can rehash an entire backlog of RPGs if they so desire.
- Japan likes portable gaming.
- The games are sold cheaper, so more copies move.
- Japan likes portable gaming.
- Development for RPGs on consoles takes an eternity, if a RPG does get released in the first six months of a console release, its utter crap (Untold Legends, anyone?)
- Did I mention Japan likes portable gaming?