Akihabara Killing To Cause Japanese Internet Regulation?

It's been several days since tragedy hit Akihabara. While the internet is having its own grinning nerd witch hunt, the Japanese media is having its own. Standard defaults are bandied about (video games, anime). Website Canned Dogs has a handy recap:

• Chugoku Shimbun states the the "Dagger knife" the killer used is an featured in popular games like Dragon Quest.
• Yomiuri Online also says the "Dagger knife" is also in video games and quite popular with teenagers.
• Zakzak points out that the killer was into doujin games like Eternal Fighter Zero and Chantelise, and he apparently loves a cutesy bullet hell shooter for the PC.
• According to Yahoo, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Hiroya Masuda is keen to regulate dangerous information on the internet, since the Akihabara killer posted his plans on a cell phone BBS (not 2ch) about his murderous plans before authorities could stop him.

And like clockwork, the agendas descend like vultures. Lovely.

Akiba Incident [Canned Dogs]

Dragon Quest IV DS Coming to America

It hasn't been officially announced, but a Square Enix Dragon Quest IV teaser site has popped up online. That's kind of official! Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is getting an American September 16th release. That's not all! The Square Enix site also lists Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie as well, but doesn't provide drop dates. So, just like Japan, the US should be getting those as well. This should makes some folks very happy.

English Site Open [Rpgmonkey@NeoGAF via Siliconera]

Retailer Strikes Up Dragon Quest Shortage Fears (Again!)

Excited about Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride? Well, mister, take that excitement elsewhere. According to Japanese retailer Tsutaya, the DS remake will be in short supply when it goes on sale on July 17th. A Tsutaya notice reads:

An Important Notice From TSUTAYA
Regarding reserves for DS title Dragon Quest (7/17 on sale), security the product is difficult as the shipment from the maker is limited. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the game for customers who pre-order from now. Please understand this in advance.

Huh. That sounds a lot like what happened last year at TSUTAYA when Dragon Quest IV went on sale. What a kwinky-dink. Can't wait until the next DQ remake goes on sale at TSUTAYA. Wonder what will happen? Oh, the suspense, it's killing me!
『ドラゴンクエストⅤ』発売を前にメーカーからまた出荷制限！？ [my game news flash]

The 20 Essential Japanese RPGs As Chosen By Gamasutra

Gamasutra contributor Kurt Kalata has the unenviable honor of determining what is surely to be a hotly contested list, a run-down of the best, most essential Japanese role-playing games, most of which have made it stateside. Kalata limits his list to the accepted RPG norm, leaving online and strategy RPGs for a possible future list. Sure, most of the genre's best make appearances—Xenogears, Earthbound, Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millenium—but I'm sure vocal enthusiasts will have their own picks.

For those who are relatively green to the world of JRPGs, it's at the very least an informative read. One that makes me think I should get around to that cheap copy of Chrono Cross that never saw the inside of a PlayStation.

A Japanese RPG Primer: The Essential 20 [Gamasutra]

Square Enix Bringing "Dragon Quest Party" Stateside?

Is Square Enix finally bringing its Itadaki Street series to North America? We've got a hunch it is. The latest entry, known as Itadaki Street DS in Japan, features a guest appearance in the long-running board game series from the Mario universe cast, including Peach, Bowser, Wario and Yoshi. While previous games in the series featured characters from Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, the inclusion of Mario and pals may have the star power Square Enix needs to finally localize it.

Square Enix has made no such announcements about such a game, but its recently filed trademark for Party Castle certainly makes us think it may have sights set on an English port. Everyone knows "party" translates to "dice-rolling board game" in Nintendo-speak. Plus, Itadaki Street DS has no shortage of castles. Conjecture? Totally. That's why we're getting in touch with Square Enix to learn more about what this new trademark means. (Pray it's not a mobile game!)

Party Castle Trademark [USPTO]

It's been a while since our last papercraft and given the slow post GDC weekend I figured it would be a good time to pull out some cardstock and get our craft on. This week's offering comes from that bastion of papercraftery, Paperkraft.net. The model is of a Mimic chest from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. These feisty little guys like to disguise themselves as treasure chests and when you go to open them, they launch their attack. This is a fairly simple model for those of you just getting started in the fine art papercraft. For our more experienced crafters, you might try these Chromehound models.

Dragon Quest VIII Mimic Papercraft [PaperKraft.net - Thanks, Sonia]

The History of Dragon Quest

Gamasutra posted a great breakdown of one of my favorite series, Dragon Quest (née Dragon Warrior), all in a mere 10 pages — lengthy, but worth a read through if you're a fan of the games. After a flying introduction on why Dragon Quest has been very popular, the author takes a detailed look at each installment of the series.

Throughout its life, Final Fantasy constantly reinvented itself, keeping certain aspects but bucking trends with each iteration. On the other hand, Dragon Quest has been strongly about keeping with tradition. All of them take place in the same European-style medieval world. All of them feature the same key staff members — Horii, Toriyama, and Sugiyama. As a result, the method of storytelling, the characters, the battle system and the style of music is pretty much the same throughout. It's a series that prides itself not only on familiarity and nostalgia, but also in its consistency.

I'm not sure Final Fantasy deserves credit for 'constantly reinvent[ing] itself,' since I do wonder how many mopey, bizarrely coiffed heroes of dubious renowned one company can churn out, but be that as it may — it's a fun and nostalgic look back at one prolific series.

The History of Dragon Quest [Gamasutra]

Dragon Quest IX "Almost Finished"

It's almost finished... The balance of single play and multiplayer is very important... Because it's such a big title, we didn't want to rush it out.