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Dragon Quest VI: Screens of Reverie

by JC Fletcher { Oct 7th 2009 at 2:15PM }

At Tokyo Game Show 2009, Square Enix showed off the last in its trilogy of announced DS Dragon Quest remakes, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie, and now Famitsu has some new screens of the RPG. Unsurprisingly, it looks, graphically, just like the other two DS Dragon Quest remakes, also developed by Artepiazza.

So why is it exciting? Well, for one thing, Dragon Quest games tend to be good. But most importantly, like Dragon Quest V, the Super Famicom version of Realms of Reverie never left Japan, and this DS version has already been announced for localization. North America will then finally have the whole numbered Dragon Quest series. Well, except for IX, but we can also be pretty sure that's coming.

Square Enix looking to develop more best-selling IPs

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 29th 2009 at 5:30PM }

RPG juggernaut Square Enix already has a handful of reliable ~~internet protocols~~ intellectual properties in Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts -- however, the company is looking to expand its portfolio of best-selling franchises. In a recent interview with Reuters, Squeenix's Yoichi Wada explained that the developer is hoping to have eight flagship IPs, each installment in which will be capable of selling two million units. He added that with the company's average development time of two years, one of these flagship games could be released every quarter.

So, where are these other five franchises going to come from? According to the interview, Square Enix is cooking up two or three potential blockbusters which should drop by late 2010 or early 2011. For the other IPs, the company may not need to look further than its recent Eidos acquisitions -- a haul which includes the recently successful Batman: Arkham Asylum. We certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of Bruce Wayne on a biennial basis.

[Via Siliconera]

NintendoWare Weekly: Dragon Quest Wars, Arkanoid Plus, Altered Beast

by David Hinkle { Sep 28th 2009 at 11:21AM }

Welcome to another Monday, a day when most of us with jobs or school must go back to that place we just love to spend most of our time each week. That is, unless you're one of the lucky few who just sit around waiting for the Wii and DSi shops to update.

If you fall into the latter group, we'd just like to thank you for waking up this early to check out what's available for download today on the Wii and DSi. It's nice of you to do so considering you don't have any obligation to be up before noon. Boy, that must be nice. So head past the break and see what's available already!

Continued →

ESRB: Dragon Quest Wars draws near

by JC Fletcher { Sep 14th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Right above Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (!!!) on the ESRB ratings page, a listing for Dragon Quest Wars reveals that Square Enix is considering a North American release for the DSiWare game.

Dragon Quest Wars is a simplistic strategy game in which players control teams of four monsters, each trying to destroy the other teams or invade their bases (represented by a goal line). It's developed by Intelligent Systems, which makes it sort of a Nintendo/Square Enix collaboration. And it's got online multiplayer! It seems like a nice diversion while we wait to hear anything at all about Dragon Quest IX.

Square Enix 'considering' Dragon Quest IX localization sometime after April

by JC Fletcher { Aug 9th 2009 at 3:30PM }

Having sold well over three million copies of Dragon Quest IX in Japan, isn't it the obvious choice for Square Enix to bring the hit RPG worldwide as soon as possible? Well, maaaaaaybe.

In an investor Q&A session, president Yoichi Wada said that the company is "considering" releasing DQIX overseas, according to Siliconera's translation, and still deciding which regions will receive it. And when Square Enix does get around to it, the company doesn't plan to release it anywhere until after April 2010, the start of the company's next fiscal year.

The Dragon Quest series, obviously, isn't as major anywhere else as it is in Japan, but Dragon Quest VIII sold around half a million copies in North America, which seems, at least ... worth the trouble.

There are now 3.5 million Dragon Quest IX cartridges

by JC Fletcher { Aug 6th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Welcome to your weekly Dragon Quest IX sales update! We don't do this for most games, but, well, most games don't sell over two million copies in the first week. The relevant part of Square Enix's latest statement about the RPG's success is actually about shipments rather than sales: the company announced that as of yesterday, it had shipped out 3.5 million copies.

Sales are currently at 3.39 million, so we're confident that the 3.5 million shipped copies will be out of stores soon enough, and within a couple of weeks we'll hear about the number hitting 4 million. Still no announcements about a release outside of Japan, however, presumably because ... actually, we have no idea why Square Enix isn't using this ridiculous popularity to promote an international release.

Square Enix expects to ship 5 million copies of Dragon Quest IX

by JC Fletcher { Jul 20th 2009 at 12:30PM }

Last week, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada gave a statement to Japanese press that helps illustrate the company's (justifiable) sales expectation for Dragon Quest IX. "We're looking at reaching over 5 million copies of Dragon Quest IX shipped," he said, as translated by Kotaku. With three million shipped in the game's first week, 2.3 million of which sold right away, five million seems conservative, and we can only assume Wada is referring only to shipments in Japan.

Somewhat less conservative is the forecast Wada made last year, of ten million units. While we have absolutely no doubt DQIX will break a record or two in Japan with the combination of Dragon Quest-level initial sales and DS-style longterm sales, that still seems optimistic.

Famitsu hands Dragon Quest IX a 40

by JC Fletcher { Jul 15th 2009 at 12:25PM }

Famitsu has given Dragon Quest IX a perfect 40/40 score in its review. According to Kotaku, the reviewers lauded DQIX's "ground breaking" multiplayer and its music, and called the storyline "easy to follow and straightforward, but also with moving scenes as well."

While it's kind of a running joke that Famitsu basically rubber-stamps effusive reviews for Square Enix titles, we were surprised to discover that this game is actually the first Dragon Quest to receive a perfect 40, and is one of only ten 40 scores awarded. Of course, Dragon Quests III, VII, and VIII weren't far off with their 39 ratings.

Kotaku also notes that the Amazon Japan reviews tend ... not to be as positive, though they apparently center around complaints about the Sandy character, an annoying ganguro fairy who has already inspired a "Die Sandy " Flash game.

Dragon Quest IX sells 2.3 million copies in two days

by JC Fletcher { Jul 13th 2009 at 10:30AM }

Japanese consumers eagerly grabbed up copies of Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX over the weekend, putting to rest any concern that the move to a handheld system would bother fans in the least.

Enterbrain reports that the game sold 2,343,440 copies in its first week -- its "first week" actually being two days. Media Create reports a similar total of 2,318,932 copies. This beats the first-week record set by ... Dragon Quest VIII, of course! Media Create reports a sell-through rate of 81.56%, suggesting (according to Andriasang) that it probably sold out in some locations.

There's something very comforting about reading stories of massive Dragon Quest sales in Japan. It's a reminder that some things in the gaming world are just like we remember them, even after decades. After the break, you can watch the game's intro movie as you begin the long wait for localization.

[Image via GAME Watch, video via Gemaga]

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Dragon Quest IX save data 'enormous;' only one slot allowed

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 8th 2009 at 6:00PM }

The upcoming DS-exclusive RPG, Dragon Quest IX, is massive. In fact, producer Ryutaro Ichimura notes that "the amount of freedom we give players is huge." The consequence? "The data that needs to be saved is enormous." Instead of providing multiple save slots, as found in most DS games, Dragon Quest IX is too large to fit more than one save file in the DS cartridge's limited memory.

While those who prefer creating multiple save points (before a dungeon, for example) will be disappointed, we're reminded of yet another huge DS game: Pokemon. And like Nintendo's monster collecting RPG, Dragon Quest IX will feature a backup system just in case your DS battery dies. "The scariest for save data is when the battery dies," notes DQ creator Yuji Horii. With this system in place, you'll be safe knowing a failed save won't result in hours of gameplay lost.

[Via Kotaku]

Seven minutes of Dragon Quest IX

by JC Fletcher { Jun 16th 2009 at 2:15PM }

Square Enix has finally started ramping up the promotion for a game that basically needs no promotion: Dragon Quest IX. With a new semi-open-ended structure and multiplayer gameplay, there's a lot of mysterious new content in this game -- even after Square Enix and Level-5 toned down the "new."

The last half of this (seven-minute-long) new trailer focuses on the multiplayer mode, which adds a bit of the unexpected to the expected (the expected being a tavern lobby and multiplayer dungeons). You can see players taunting each other and dancing, and one player even demonstrates the ability to be a jerk to other players by setting pit traps. Classy. Check out the trailer after the break.

Continued →

Square Enix introduces some new Dragon Quest IX characters

by JC Fletcher { Jun 11th 2009 at 1:00PM }

One month before the Japanese launch date (can it really be that soon?) Square Enix has released new screenshots of Dragon Quest IX, with brief introductions to some of the cast. The game has quite a sizable ensemble of characters! Most of them are humans living in a village, but at least some portion of the game is also set in an "angel world" where angels feed a World Tree to get it to yield fruit.

Some of the colorful cast of (human) characters introduced in today's update include Olga (Origa?), a young girl who frequently wades into the sea to pray; Lu Fin and Eliza, an archaeologist and wife, and Ratena, a mysterious, hooded girl who has some kind of sway over the hero.

Dragon Quest IX's semi-sandbox structure means we could be engaging in various optional side quests for all of these people. We're willing to guess those archaeologists would pay for relics found in dungeons, for example.

Gallery: Dragon Quest IX

Square Enix announces Dragon Quest Wars for DSiWare

by JC Fletcher { May 18th 2009 at 10:29AM }

Square Enix has revealed the Dragon Quest Wars whose title was trademarked last month. Anyone expecting some kind of MMO tactics game will be disappointed, because while the new game does feature online play, it's nothing quite so grandiose. In fact, it's a 500-point DSiWare download.

Dragon Quest Wars is an online-capable board game for up to four players. Each player creates a team of four classic Dragon Quest monsters and participates in "simple battles" against up to three other AI or player teams. The small game has some decent strategy game cred: it's being developed by Intelligent Systems, the Nintendo second party responsible for both the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series. Dragon Quest Wars will be out in Japan this June.

[Via 1UP]

Square Enix files trademark for 'Dragon Quest Wars'

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 28th 2009 at 6:50PM }

It's beginning to look like Square Enix might have a fairly revealing show at E3 this year -- following last month's trademark filing for Vanguard Storm (the assumed title of Squeenix's unannounced action title), the developer recently filed a trademark which reserves the title Dragon Quest Wars. The game will likely feature adorable, slime-based creatures participating in large-scale conflicts -- or, like many trademarked titles, won't actually get developed. We're banking on the former option, as Japanese gamers seem to love them some Dragon Quest.

[Via Siliconera]

85 million Final Fantasy games sold, global takeover imminent

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 23rd 2009 at 1:42PM }

Hot on the heels of yesterday's official acquisition of "the house that Lara built" (Eidos, folks), Square Enix has released a load of numbers on its biggest IPs -- including some that it just acquired yesterday. Unsurprisingly, the Final Fantasy series flies high above its brethren (in a fancy airship, of course) with over 85 million units moved over the series' lifetime. We imagine after the company releases its flurry of FFXIII titles, that number will jump considerably.

Among other details in the release is Dragon Quest's lifetime sales, reaching nearly 50 million units, and the Tomb Raider series showing up with 30 million units sold in the past 13 years. Also of note is Kane & Lynch: Dead Men selling nearly two million shameful, shameful copies. Can we expect the layoffs to stop for now?

[Via Edge]

Source (warning: PDF)