Dragon Quest XII and Dragon Quest III Remake Announced
Square Enix announced Dragon Quest XII, a remake of Dragon Quest III, and several other new projects from the franchise.
In celebration of the 35th birthday of the Dragon Quest franchise, Square Enix held a presentation that was a true celebration for fans of the series. Not only was the next, 12th installment of the series announced, but the remake of the third part and several other new projects were also revealed.
Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate
- Dragon Quest XII,
- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake,
- Dragon Quest Treasures,
- Dragon Quest X Offline,
- Dragon Quest X: Tensei no Eiyuu-tachi Online,
- Dragon Quest Keshi Keshi.
The information released by the developers on Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate are modest. The father of the series Yuji Horii revealed that the plot will contain serious and dark elements, and players will be forced to make hard decisions that will shape the lives of the characters.
The development team is lead by Takeshi Uchikawa, who held the same role on Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. The combat system is to be improved, but it will retain the elements that fans like the most and will be easy to master for veterans of the series. The game is being developed on Unreal Engine 5.
Neither target platforms nor planned release date were provided for Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate. The script is already finished, but the development team has only just developed prototypes of the new mechanics, so we should not expect a quick release. What is interesting, however, creators assured that they want the game to debut simultaneously around the world. This is an important declaration, because so far the games from this brand were released first in Japan and left its borders only after a longer time.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Waiting for the 12th installment should be made more pleasant by other announced projects. One of them is Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. As the title reveals, the project will refresh the classic 8-bit installment of the series.
The game looks very promising. The graphics will combine two-dimensional character sprites with 3D backgrounds and modern visual effects. The whole things is reminiscent of Octopath Traveler and the game's producer, Masaaki Hayasaki, is also involved in work on Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.
The game is going to consoles, but we do not know which ones. The release date was also not revealed. In the case of this project, the devs also aim for a simultaneous worldwide release.
Dragon Quest Treasures
Another announcement is the spin-off called Dragon Quest Treasures. It will be an RPG, but very different from the traditional installments, although details were not disclosed. The protagonists will be Erika and Mia, both of them characters known to fans of the series, but in this game we will learn about their adventures from childhood.
In the case of Dragon Quest Treasures no hardware platform or release date was provided either. Also this game is to be released simultaneously around the world.
Dragon Quest X Offline
Another novelty turned out to be Dragon Quest X Offline. As the title reveals, the project will transform the tenth installment of the series, which was an MMO game, into a single-player title. However, it will not be a simple conversion. The visuals will be changed, now having much more exaggerated style than the original. Large modifications are also to affect gameplay mechanics, although in this matter there were no details.
No hardware platforms were given, but it was announced that the game will debut in Japan next year.
Dragon Quest X: Tensei no Eiyuu-tachi Online
Work on the offline version of the tenth installment does not mean, however, that Square Enix intends to abandon the original. The company has announced another expansion, titled Dragon Quest X: Tensei no Eiyuu-tachi Online, The release will take place this fall.
Dragon Quest X is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, Wii U, 3DS and in a browser version. Unfortunately, the project has never lived to see an English-language version and this is unlikely to change.
Dragon Quest Keshi Keshi
The last novelty is a mobile puzzle game Dragon Quest Keshi Keshi. The game will debut in Japan this year, with further plans to release it in Western markets as well.
