• 2009 line-up

    Square Announces, Surprise, New Dragon Quest, Valkyrie Games for 09

    Surprising absolutely no one, Square Enix today announced that a new Dragon Quest and a new Valkyrie Profile are planned for release in North America early next year. Both are for the DS.

    Dragon Quest V: Hand of The Heavenly Bride is set to his the U.S. on Feb. 17

    Never before released in North America, this entry in the Zenithia Trilogy follows a journey that transcends three generations. Travel alongside your father on his quest to see the world, grow to set forth on a journey of your own and face life-altering decisions as you continue your family's legacy. DRAGON QUEST V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride makes its way to Nintendo DS on February 17, 2009.

    More »

    1:00 PM on Tue Nov 11 2008
    By Brian Crecente
    4,858 views, 54 comments

  • crime

    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]

    6:40 AM on Wed Jun 11 2008
    By Brian Ashcraft
    5,788 views, 61 comments

    Latest by FLitz: Honestly I thought the American media was a bit over sensitive. I guess I was a bit arrogant to think more »

  • square enix

    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]

    5:00 AM on Wed May 21 2008
    By Brian Ashcraft
    4,980 views, 50 comments

    Latest by ctuck: @Wubbytoes: That would be pretty sweet, but I highly doubt we'll see anything like that. more »

  • japan

    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]

    2:00 AM on Tue May 20 2008
    By Brian Ashcraft
    906 views, 14 comments

    Latest by Hades: @Channing: Doubt it. DQ games are big...wait..BIG in Japan. I doubt it's fear. Maybe sometime of plan to raise awarness more »

  • final fantasy

    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]

    6:40 PM on Wed Mar 19 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    11,450 views, 121 comments

    Latest by Tull: Good to see Suikoden series and Suikoden II get its proper respect on this list. Of all the JRPG series more »

  • party castle

    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]

    3:20 PM on Mon Mar 3 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    2,073 views, 41 comments

    Latest by Bokusatsu_Tenshi: Nice... I always wanted to play Itadaki Street. And I'm mainly using my PS2 for party games right now, so this more »

  • papercraft

    Papercraft: Dragon Quest Mimic

    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]

    8:00 AM on Sun Feb 24 2008
    By fdemarco
    5,715 views, 25 comments

    Most discussed AvidAbey: Holy crap, it's the Luggage! Where's Twoflower... more »

  • dragon quest

    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]

    10:30 AM on Sat Feb 9 2008
    By Maggie Greene
    3,797 views, 96 comments

    Latest by Colwyn vs. The Beast: First of all, I'm going to say that I'm glad DQ is still around. It's always nice looking forward more »

  • square enix

    Dragon Quest IX "Almost Finished"

    It's been over a year and some change that Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky was first announced for the DS &mdash and about a half a year that it was announced the game would be delayed to 2008. When talking about Square Enix's M&A business strategy, company honcho Yoichiro Wada tells Bloomberg:

    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.

    Fair enough! We're patient. We can wait.
    Wada Talks M&A [Bloomberg via Siliconera]

    12:00 AM on Mon Feb 4 2008
    By Brian Ashcraft
    2,724 views, 43 comments

    Latest by P4P: 9 versions of mediocrity. and that's being nice more »

  • game announcements

    Dragon Quest Swords Dated For US, Canada

    Square-Enix announced today that the Wii exclusive slime slasher Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and The Tower of Mirrors will be shipping to North American retailers on February 26th. The best part? Those of us in the West will be given new, never before released bonus content, which the publisher describes as "a "Payback Mode" and four hidden bosses." This will inevitably lead to Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and The Tower of Mirrors Payback: International Remix + being released in Japan in the summer or fall of 2008. It will then sell an extra 50,000 or so extra copies of the game to people who already own it. Those poor bastards probably don't even see it coming.

    4:40 PM on Mon Dec 10 2007
    By Michael McWhertor
    1,523 views, 25 comments

    Latest by Latonone: can someone send these people a worldmap. more »