Now fans of the previous canonical games are obviously furious at the choice of platform, and many were probably giggling at the thought of Dragon Quest IX being a drop dead gorgeous PlayStation 3 exclusive, but the fact is that Dragon Quest started its journey on Nintendo. So, it makes sense that they would pick this generation’s best selling console for their new magnum opus.
Let’s jump straight to the graphics. Say what you want about the DS but Dragon Quest IX looks like a real stunner. The Final Fantasy DS remakes looked nice but Dragon Quest IX looks like a major leap. The game retains the same visual style of Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King and it comes reasonably close in terms of quality. Akira Toriyama (of the Dragon Ball Z fame) lends his artistic talents once more by designing some really unique and charming characters.
DS, you lookin good bro!
In terms of gameplay, Dragon Quest IX will retain the traditional turn based battle system that was used in past games. In terms of presentation, it closely resembles what we saw in Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King. The game will of course feature the same level of challenge as previous games, and it has been billed as the ‘hardest’ Dragon Quest game by the Japanese press.
Other cool new features include the removal of random battles (finally!), with enemies now appearing on screen instead. The game enters into battle mode upon contact with them. The game will also allow players to fully customise the appearance and abilities of a character, in ways that have never been seen or done before in a Japanese RPG. It will allow players to create a completely unique character with a variety of different clothing sets and physical features. You will also get to choose a ‘profession’, which will influence the type of weapons and fighting style a character can use. Also worth noting is that weapon and armour upgrades will be made visible in-game, something which we saw in Tales of Vesperia. The main gimmick of this game is multiplayer. In fact, that will be the game’s primary focus since it will allow up to four players to play together. There will of course be a single player aspect but the multiplayer seems to be heavily involved in the game.
A lot of customization here.
Although we can’t say much about the story at this stage, we do know that it carries strong religious themes as seen in the previous games. Remember how God was the true final boss of Dragon Quest VII? Still, we can certainly expect the content to be modified for Western release. Musically, we haven’t heard much yet but fans can certainly expect the same style and quality of music that the series is known for.
Dragon Quest IX may become the most commercially successful Dragon Quest ever, mainly because it is on the DS. Critically, the game has done well in Japan, but we shall see soon enough how the rest of the world treats this game.
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