Despite only being available in North America and Europe since 12th July, Dragon Quest Builders 2 has now sold more than 1.1 million copies worldwide.
Of course, the game has been available in Japan since December last year, but we're sure the sheer number of potential buyers in the west have made a significant difference over the past few weeks. The news comes from the official Dragon Quest Twitter account.
It deserves those sales, too. We enjoyed our time with the game for review, arguing that in many ways, it manages to beat its inspiration Minecraft at its own game. Here's a snippet of what we said:
The melding of JRPG conventions with the open-ended and creatively focused sentiments of sandbox gameplay proves to go over much smoother than you’d expect, especially now that Square Enix seems to know what it’s doing with this sub-series. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a much more confident game than its predecessor, boldly expanding on its concepts, fixing many of its flaws, and providing an overall more robust adventure experience that fans won’t want to miss out on.
Have you bought a copy? Enjoyed your time with it so far? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 46
This game is really addicting. I can’t stop playing it.
Loved the first one, I am having trouble getting into the second one. There's wayyy too much dialog. I want to adventure and build dangit! Stop talking to me about growing forests.
But I am sure when the world opens up I will have a blast! I did have a lot of fun building the farm though, I just wish there was less dialog.
Still haven't brought my copy of this yet. I want to finish the first one before jumping in. Currently on Chapter 4 in DQB1.
How the sales split across the platforms?
@Chunkboi79 That's what turned me off about Dark Cloud 2 on the PS2 as well. I enjoyed the immediacy of Dark Cloud one's introduction compared to #2. But yeah, once you get past this condescension, both DQ Builders 2 and Dark Cloud 2 really become better than its progenitors
Where's Anti-Matter? He would be all over this news!
Already sank 80 hours into it lol.
@AnnoyingFrenzy
I'm here !
Sorry, i was late due to do my chores just now. 😅
Anyway, i'm really hyped with DQB2 for building the house aspect.
Even better than The Sims.
I will get my DQB2 Switch on Sunday due to last week i was sick and i couldn't take my pre-order from my local game shop.
@GreenX1 Yeah, I have no problem with dialog by any means. It just can slow down the pace of the game, but I'm glad to hear it gets better!
@Tantani Thats what I'm wondering. I believe it's opening weeks sales were best on the Switch. I would like to think it's continued to sell more....
The legacy of Smash.
Isn’t it supposed to be to rubbish on Switch?
IMO all games should have a free demo. Two games i thought i would never buy where Dragon Quest Builder 2 & Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu. But i enjoyed their demos so much that i bought and enjoyed both games.
@SpicyBurrito16 yess.
I was afraid I'd lose any interest to continue playing after the story like what happened with Builders 1 but here I am, into the post-game, and still building on my Isle of Awakening.
@mgnoodle depends.
Optimization could be better(they were definitely too generous trying to have that 1080p resolution when docked instead of a more reasonable 720p, and LoD could be more optimized).... but performance are actually really okay, especially during story mode.
In story more you can generally expect 25-30FPS since even the bigger lands are sometimes cleverly optimized.
The issues are when you visit other player's islands that are so over engineered(fully furnished skyscrapers everywhere, entire subway networks under the ground, etc) but without an eye for optimization such that even the PS4 Pro version players end up getting only 14-17FPS performances.
On Switch the lower performance are largely offset by the portability that lets you tweak your build just a bit more wherever you are... even in your own house(sharing an household with others this has been a godsend) which definitely helps it retain a fair bit of appeal especially for less intensive Builders or at least the more intensive ones that know how to keep an eye for performance optimizations(for some players will make sure that nonessential purely aesthetic structures are filled-in with blocks since "filled" spaces don't seem like that have to be rendered but hollow spaces might be, making the even more complex "furnished" ones heavier to process).
Plus, on re: handheld play, since handheld keeps to a more reasonable 720p, some players have even reported when playing in handheld mode than the more intense 1080p docked resolution.
Ultimately the game give you a lot of freedom but on the flipside that also mean "freedom to turn your game into an interactive slideshow framerare even on the strongest hardware" if you're not careful.
This said since so much seem to be dependent on how players build stuff, I like it in the sense of actually introducing(even if that wasn't the intent) players to the challenge of optimization when developing levels/etc in games.
Honestly though the only improvement I might argue in favor of is that it would have been a perfect game for a dual "performance / beauty" setting option like other games such as Rocket League and others have done.
You would use lower(720p) resolution, shorter view distance and more balanced LoD in performance mode for a better framerates and could switch to the more intensive "beauty" mode when wishing to take screenshots(as can be shared on the online noticeboard) where framerates is less important.
@Dellybelly i... what???
@mgnoodle Yeh, that's why no-one's buying it and the few that have don't like it at all.
@Tantani At least in Japan it sold more on Switch, I saw some numbers on reddit a day or two ago. They didn't have split numbers for worldwide though.
@spurryitboi Having played through the whole thing, performance is fine throughout story mode. I had a few times it slowed slightly but only for a moment. Bigger issues are in post-game if you either build your island with an incredible amount of detail or visit other player-made islands that do. (See what Ludovsky said above.) But I have visited a lot of player islands and most still perform ok. There have been a small number where the framerate is super low and you can tell why by the level of detail over their entire island (rather than number of buildings it seems to be object density to me). That said you can build/visit some incredibly detailed worlds that don't have issues, as the game gives you post-game options for making/sharing a smaller sized island too. I have visited some islands of this smaller size that were just as detailed as the ones that gave me a ton of issues but performed much better at the smaller size.
Anyway I'm still extremely happy with the game.
@Dellybelly Not sure about this whole building optimisation but I can attest that:
Some other things people may not like:
Other than that it's awesome and the possiblity of building on the go outweights the performance bonus of the PS4 version for me. It's great that the game is doing well. I'm very pleased with the treatment of Dragon Quest on the Switch (Builders 1 +2, DQ 11S, Hero in Smash). Maybe we'll see a port of Dragon Quest Heroes 1+2 in the future
@chagrined I'm sure here in the UK Switch was the best selling version by quite abit also...
Bought last week. Very hard to put down.
I only played the demo of the first one. Can I dive into the 2nd one without the background of the first game?
Good! Now bring Steam release A.S.A.P. a game like this needs 4K 60fps on PC. Bring it!
@Dellybelly Well, in this case it's facts. 67% of the Dragon Quest Builders debut sales in the UK were on Switch and 33 % were on PS4
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-07-15-uk-charts-super-mario-maker-2-scores-third-consecutive-no-1
https://nintendoeverything.com/dragon-quest-builders-2-sold-67-of-its-debut-sales-in-the-uk-on-switch/
@Dellybelly Digital Foundry has shown the PS4 PRO version dropping into the teens.
Only 109 million more to go, to top GTA 5
@Tandy255 absolutely. I only played the demo to the first game but never bought it as I knew the sequel was being developed. Never really was a problem during story mode (not very acquainted with the DQ universe/lore either), even though I probably missed some references.
The sales count for this game is so deserved. I have lost count of the time I’ve spent on it and I am too scared to look it up in my profile.
Did anybody actually like this game? I'm genuinely curious, because Dragon Warrior 2 is my all-time favorite in the series, and I know DQB is built around DW2. I enjoyed DQB 1 for a bit, but it got stale after an hour and I never picked it up again. Is DQB 2 much different, or is it vastly improved, as the reviewers all claim? Thank you!
@echoplex Amazing icon! Love it.
@Anti-Matter True Gamers don't do chores 😎
Love this game. The only thing that got me to put it down is Fire Emblem. Juggling the two is taking up all my free time.
@Mr_Muscle I only played a little of DQB1 and have not played either of the original DQ games they spin off, but from what I played of DQB1, DQB2 is improved in almost every way. In terms of visuals, the detail/things to find/do of places you visit, characters & story, 2 is superior. When I played a bit of 1 it didn't really feel like any of the villager characters mattered. In this game there is a very strong narrative and lots of character bits. (I've heard some people dislike that because they only want to build and don't care about the plot but I loved it.) The plot is not extremely complex but it has a ton of heart and there were still a few moments in the game that totally caught me off guard, and I got very invested in one character in particular.
You also have a much better inventory system and many new building tools. 2 also changed how villager AI works so now they have a whole daily routine and seem to behave more like actual "people" (eating meals, using the bathroom, bathing, engaging in leisure activities and doing their jobs). Plus there are all the online features and multiplayer (though I haven't used the latter).
One possible negative difference I would say is I've heard the boss fights in 1 actually used the building aspect more than 2. The combat is not the series's strong suit and I did feel like especially the final boss was disconnected from the rest of the game. But I was so into the story at that point I didn't really mind. Terrific game overall.
@chagrined Awesome, thanks for the reply! Appreciate the deep synopsis. Story can be hit or miss for me, but I do always love stories in Dragon Quest games. Simple yet enjoyable. I'll have to give this a go at some point. Who knows? Maybe they will make DQB3 which will be based on DW3? That would be interesting!
I’m having a hard time getting motivated to go to the third story island. I loved the first game and went straight through it, but on this one I feel I need a break. Maybe because the “chapters” are longer. Not sure. It’s still a great game though.
@Mr_Muscle I loved it myself! There was actually "less" but also "way much more" DQ2- related content than I expected when I started.
Which is to say that at first there is a strong relation with DQ2's story... then a subtly building twist that had you wondering where that connection had gone and why everything is suddenly so different from Dragon Warrior 2's world... before another twist massively tying the whole game and world back with Dragon Warrior 2's world in a massive way by tying it all into the one thing I had myself completely forgotten of Dragon Warrior 2's world and story that I didn't expect in the slightest but suddenly explained everything perfectly.
And the whole just before a glorious finale to what was an awesome buddy comedy between a creative apprentice builder and the amnesiac reincarnation of the God of destruction.
It was great, really funny, pretty awesome and even charming all at once.
@Joekun personally I alleviated this by making a point to give myself "creative building breaks" on the island of Awakening by trying to do a bunch of building and clearing enough side-objectives until I'd finally reach the point when I felt ready for more story content.
It was worth it because tools or infinite ressources supplies I unlocked(through the Explorer's Shores islands) during these breaks could also be used during the story chapters themselves which really helped a ton.
@Tandy255 yup! The second game didn't even need the background of the first. In fact technically there's hints it's a mostly separate reality than the first(which was revealed to be set in a dream in it's ending before giving an hint of the setting the second game would be set into through an Easter egg).
The second game is thus itself a very well self-contained story that you can utterly play in it's own. It's strongly based on major plot points of the classic Dragon Quest 2 rpg but even those connections are very well established and explained by Builders 2 without requiring one to have played Dragon Quest 2 first.
In fact I would argue it probably flesh out more the story of Dragon Quest 2 than Dragon Quest 2 itself had(which make sense if you think that DQ2 was an NES game and limitations of the era meant there was a limit to ambitions of the developers).
@Ludovsky Thank you for taking the time to reply! I'm getting more excited for this! LOL
I absolutely love this game. I finished the campaign and now I'm turning my attention to building my island. I'm so thrilled to see this title has grown in popularity. Gives me hope that Square Enix will consider a Dragon Quest Builders 3 in the future.
@Nintendofan83 i'm hoping the same myself!
Heck i'm already super pleased we're also getting an "epilogue" update eventually (Japan gets it on the 20th) and that's something I never expected considering the original game(Builders 1) never had anything close to post-game post-release updates.
This give me lots of hopes for this.
So expect to see the Ark soon again based on what was hinted
@Dellybelly I dunno man, I'm not gonna try to read the dudes mind to explain that specific number. DFs article says it goes to," around 17," so it is possible there blips lower than that. But it certainly is fair to mention that other consoles struggle with free building mode as well. It's not a perfect experience anywhere. And he does say the Switch version could be better optimized but what is there is still playable if you aren't trying to build super intense worlds.
Story mode acquits itself pretty well. A lower bound fps of 25 is pretty decent and if you don't care about 60 the portability is nice...as always.(Reduced draw distances on Switch only apply to shadows, not objects in the world.) Square should go back and lower the resolution a bit to get the framerate locked to 30 though. They should also cap it there rather than let it wobble to 40.
As an aside, I would love to see what the base PS4 version runs like.
I still need to pick up the first one!
I really need to get this game, but there's simply too many games vying for my wallet's attention. I played the demo on PS4 and loved it, despite not being too big on Minecraft myself. If it ever goes on sale before then, this will definitely be one of those impulse buys.
One of the best Switch games I played this year, next to Super Mario Maker 2 and Yoshi's Crafted World.
@Mr_Muscle Thank you !
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