The Dragon Quest 35th anniversary live stream has just concluded and while it was packed out with six announcements, the highlight of the lot was arguably the very ending of the show - revealing the name and logo for the next entry in the mainline series.
It's called Dragon Quest XII and the subtitle translates to "The Flames of Fate". Details are limited right now, but according to series creator Yuji Horii, it'll be a much "darker" and adult-themed take on the long-running JRPG series. Players can apparently look forward to some decision-making as well:
"it's about having options you have to take some options... you have to choose your own way of how to play...you're in control of the game or your life..."
A few other aspects of the game are also changing - including command battles. They're still in the prototype stages right now, which suggests the game could be a while away. No release date or platforms have been revealed for DQXII just yet, but Horii says there'll be more updates in the future and that it should be a simultaneous worldwide release.
Are you excited for the next chapter in the Dragon Quest series? Leave a comment down below.
Comments 67
I was sold and then I heard them mention that you can make choices that change the narrative. Day 1 for me.
Keep it turn-based.
I can't wait! I loved XIS and it got me into the series. Hearing that the story will branch off into multiple paths based on player choice, and a darker tone for said story, makes me even more excited for this one. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on this one.
I'm gonna keep an eye on this. It seems interesting that it's being boasted as a darker entry, and the hook of making your own choices also seems pretty interesting.
Just hope the music isn't crappy midi music.
Hope it's not TOO dark. There are TONS of gloomy RPGs. I like the brighter, sunnier Dragon Quest games.
I don't think they needed to change the battle system.
A lot of excitement from just a logo! I hope they commit to this change of tone and make something really special.
2D-HD Remake of Dragon Quest III should have a post - that looks fantastic!!!! Definitely a Switch release.
@Synecdoche He said there will still be a “command battle” option present.
It'll be hilarious if it's like Game of Thrones level of dark.
This and the Dragon Quest 3 remake were super hype! Can't wait to get more information in the future!
@Pak-Man How dark can it be really? There will be slimes. I’m imagining a tone like Final Fantasy 7 & 8 where it can take itself seriously but still have very silly and colorful moments. I don’t expect a grimdark DQ.
@Dezzy Final Fantasy XVI looks to be going that route, so this will be an interesting companion piece. I think GoT and Witcher 3 may have been very influential for Japanese makers, or at least showing the appetite for darker fantasy in the West.
Honestly if you don’t think Dragon Quest is already dark then you aren’t paying attention. The individual stories in each town often border on the miserable or downright macabre.
It is such a good time to be a Dragon Quest fan. Now they know how to celebrate an anniversary!!
Whether dark or not doesn't matter it just had to be good and hopefully coming to Switch and/or PC.
@Synecdoche
I agree, But Square Enix did already mess up Final Fantasy so I'm a bit scared that they will do the same with Dragon Quest.
Great news, though I'm sceptical that we'll see it on Switch. Shame we didn't get to see any gameplay.
I'm actually more hyped for the DQIII remake, that one looks awesome!
I'm currently playing the already existing Switch version of DQ3...
And then they announce a better version.. Oh well, I guess I'll play that one as well if it comes to a console I own
Yes! XI was amazing so I can't wait for this to release
Keep in mind they said they would change the command battle but not get rid of it.
@DaniPooo Final Fantasy already lose its creator while Dragon Quest still had theirs, that's the difference between both series and why Final Fantasy change for the worst too much while Dragon Quest remains faithfully true to their root throughout. The creator is the heart and soul of its creation, without him the series will slowly dwindle or lose its identity. Hironobu Sakaguchi left Square Enix and Final Fantasy while Yuji Horii remains with Dragon Quest no matter where the series end up at. As Final Fantasy lose its charm and identity, Dragon Quest still kicking old-school while evolving at the same time.
@nessisonett pretty much this, the series is light-hearted for the most part, but also has dark settings and narratives.
@Slowdive The game can't be that demanding surely.
@Ghost_of_Hasashi
I know that, but it the higher ups are pushing for DQ to be more "Mainstream" then he still have to comply..
@DaniPooo That's true and I feel as the series continue to go forward it may come to that. Once it gets to that point the best we as fans could hope for the series is either glad we made it through them all or hope it got a respectful reboot. A reboot doesn't need to be like how the original creator envision, it could just be a restart of the franchise by another creator that wants to carry the torch of the series through a different perspective.
That "HD2D" game certainly doesn't look like Octopath Traveler.
I cannot wait to experience this game when it releases in the future, and hopefully on a Nintendo platform!
@Ghost_of_Hasashi I mean, there are some good recent Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy XIV being one of them. Another being the Final Fantasy 7 remake. XV is decent, albeit not as great due to a troubled development history. XVI is in good hands, since the team responsible for it revived XIV.
The series is no longer a "turn-based JRPG", but it's still a pretty decent RPG series.
finally a dark DQ game!
Oh that's gonna be awesome! Great (if not expected) news, love me some Dragon Quest
Horii said they were still experimenting with DQXII's combat system, so it's a 2024 launch at the absolute earliest.
It's very likely that the Switch 2 could be on the market by the time this game is released.
As long as it has a simultaneous release on PS5 and 3DS, I’m fine
This looks a long way off as people are speculating but exciting news nonetheless.
@Slowdive No prob, thanks for participating in the chat!
Oooooh choices that change the story. Like "Do you want to help me?" No. "But please." No. "But please." No. "But please." No. "But please." No. "But please." No."But please." Yes. "Oh you are the best!"
I will believe it when I see it.
@Daniel36 Yeah, that's the only thing. We don't know what they mean by "choices that influence the story". It could be something minimal like changing the dialogue, or it could function like a Telltale game, where in which the choices don't even matter in the end since it's all scripted anyways, while just giving you a feeling like it's not.
However, it would be cool if this game did give you multiple choices through the story that changed the outcome. Maybe a route where you become the villain of the game, instead of having it as a spin-off series themed around building a town.
As long as it's turn-based, I'm all in!
I don't like when developers boast about a 'darker tone' in a video game. It usually means they will add gore or some 'edgy' themes which really aren't all that deep or meaningful to understand in the first place unless you're perhaps below your teenage years.
In Dragon Quest's case especially I really hope they don't grim down the aesthetic and colour. Dragon Quest is a series that stands out as one of the real few colourful RPGs with an easily identifiable aesthetic left out there. This doesn't mean that Dragon Quest doesn't already have some mature undertones. There are plenty of stories in the DQ series where, when you look at them individually, do really strike some sensitive topics.
It seems they're going with the same approach for FFXVI, and to me that game is so far separated from Final Fantasy games to this point which almost makes it lose some of its identity in my eyes.
I do have trust in the creative vision behind the DQ team and hope they prove me wrong.
The mention of the combat system changing has me a little bit concerned, but I haven't played a DQ game I dislike yet, so I'm sure it'll still be fun. That being said, since we knew DQXII was coming anyway, this wasn't as exciting as the reveals with gameplay trailers for me. I do look forward to seeing more eventually, though.
@VoidofLight Yeah I don't believe it. Dragon Quest is about as linear and as cookie cutter as JRPGs go. Which is fine, I don't mind cookie cutter per sé, but I don't see it happening.
For all the improvements and new options developers have these days, Dragon Quest always remained firmly in the same gameplay mold. The only real thing that changed from the first game to the last is the graphics, the rest didn't change much.
But I suppose that is a gripe I have with many JRPGs these days, not so much a DQ only problem.
This seems weird. Most of the DQ games are hellscapes anyway (Seriously VIII was just a tragedy roller coaster)... not sure what would make it “darker”. They are forever destroying towns and kingdoms or turning folks to stone or cursing children or putting them in slavery. And it is a bad idea to be a parent in this series, you gonna die. Usually horribly. (I’ve been wondering if Horii-san is ok for years).
Ether way I will buy. Hope it goes to switch.
Would love to play another DQ, but the combat is something I can just no longer stomach. I have zero issue with TBS, I actually quite enjoy, but if you go TBS, your system needs to have enough depth to support that approach, which DQ just doesn't offer, and in no way, shape or form should feel like a TBS system of yore.
Plenty of games in the last 15-or-so-years have provided great examples for how to create TBS systems, that are both, compelling to play and compelling to look at. There is really no excuse for shallow, mostly static exchange of grinded stat-based menu-driven "attacks".
@nessisonett Very true. Dragon Quest is like a bright and fun pop song with dark lyrics- not all what it seems on the surface. I think the concern here is that they’ll take the aesthetics into a grittier direction and maybe even tone down the goofiness of DQ which is really the complete opposite of what I think many are drawn into the series by, myself included. Not really worried personally, I don’t think they’ll lose sight of what makes DQ work but it’s odd to hear them say it’s going to be a darker game when as you say, it can be a grim series anyway.
Can you even make Dragon Quest darker without redesigning all the goofing looking enemies??
The mention of changes to the command battles has me concerned. I haven't been able to enjoy a single Final Fantasy title since that series went to real-time, hack-n'-slash, combo-chain mechanics. I prefer my RPGs turn-based where I can control and micromanage my entire party, and there's a relaxing element to it that can sustain long play sessions for me.
Ditto what others have already said here regarding going "too dark". A big part of the charm and staying power of JRPGs like the DQ franchise is the bright palettes and generally upbeat tones. Many of these games have handled serious and mature topics excellently without resorting to the more Westernized (and visibly more graphic and/or violent) tropes.
Bottom line: if they hijack DQ with the same "mainstream gamer-friendly" mechanics and/or over-the-top darkness that dominates Western-designed games, I'm done with it. Innovation and trying new approaches are vital to keeping long-running IPs like DQ fresh, but certain lines must never be crossed or it will lose the heart and soul of what makes it so beloved by fans.
I’ve always seen Dragon Quest as the lighter alternative to final fantasy so to make a darker DQ game is completely missing the point
I hope they don’t change the Combat style too much. For me Dragon Quest has always been a relaxing game. The music, the combat, and just a familiarity of it. I’m totally in for this one obviously.
I am very doubtful this will come to Switch as it is likely being aimed at current gen consoles like the PS5 but if I found out it was being targeted for the Switch I would be pleasantly surprised, especially considering the Switch is far more popular than the PS5 in Japan since Sony has all but abandoned the country.
I'm not hyped. I've aways been a person more focused on gameplay instead of the narrative, and some people always hype about choices and consequences, but it's always disappointing in the end. You either end up with meaningless choices that don't matter, or you have strong choices which means that no choice matter and you get two or three storylines where everyone can die so they can't really matter in the game. And if there is a type of game I wouldn't want to replay, it's a turn based jRPG. That said, maybe this is the reason they had to change some things about the battle system. But considering how conservative the series is, I wouldn't get too hyped about that part too. Squareenix already have Final Fantasy for the more experimental stuff.
I have yet to play a game where choices really matter, I'd rather have a strong and unique narrative story.
Besides that, I have faith in the Dragon Quest franchise, I'm sure it will be a good game as usual. I'm just not hyped about that narrative thing and choices.
Sounds great! Now I have to finish DQXIS.
@Agent069 Have you played the Mass Effect trilogy? I know a lot of games give you the illusion of choice and I agree, they rarely change anything meaningful, but in ME I did feel like the relationship choices and later actions which decides who lives & who dies play a part in how the story unfolds. I loved the Dark Side vs Light Side choice in Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight too, despite it only really changing the cutscenes ^_^
The problem is that "adult themes" in video games are actually more teenager-oriented, while traditional Dragon Quests have universal themes that do appeal to adults. Let's see how they tackle this
More adult? More puff puff?
Sounds good! Just finished VI, moving on to VII (3DS) very shortly.
Just hoping that 8 and 9 will make it on the Switch.
@Synecdoche "Keep it turn-based"
100% this. I loved Ni No Kuni, but it was clear that they tried to make the DQ system real time and was a bit of a mess.
Not sure how I feel about the "darker tone". The biggest draw to Dragon Quest for me, is how whimsical and colourful it is.
After 20 years i would love a more mature DQ. Maybe its time for Hero to learn the power of the dark side.
@Daniel36 can I just thank you and let you know that the fact you wrote "per sé" correctly almost made me shed a tear of joy, as an Italian who's constantly seeing it butchered in English? Lol 😂
@Dpishere Handhelds dominate Japan and since the Switch is the best of both worlds I’d be shocked to not see it on there. Also remember DQXI came to both PS4 and 3DS at the same time to capture both markets and every mainline DQ has at this point come to a Nintendo console. It’s a very Nintendo-centric franchise.
If it’s not on Switch it’ll be on it’s successor. Can definitely see it being multiplatform, though.
we are going dark and appealing to Westerners so there will be a gang of criminal skateboarding teenagers who call themselves “The Slimes”
As expected. I would've loved to see a bit more, like concept art at least. Can't wait to hear more news in the future!
I also loved the literal whistleblower for when Yuji Horii almost revealed too much. XD
Dragon Quest 12 Snyder cut
I recently beat Final Fantasy IX for the first time - a whimsical, colorful, slightly cartoony game that gets to some pretty dark and existential places what with the war and mass destruction... and best boy Vivi. But it doesn't wallow in angst for its own sake, and it's broken up with (very good) humor throughout.
So I have hopes it can be pulled off.
@larryisanassman I actually forgot that XI was released on 3ds so that makes me believe this is much more doable.
Very excited for this, can't wait to see more!
@clvr Haha, you're welcome. As a language teacher I better have some proficiency, right? If it makes you feel any better, many native English speakers regularly butcher their own words all the same, but I'd wager that holds true for any language.
@Synecdoche Personally I would like a tactical RPG battle system, like in games like Fire Emblem.
@Daniel36 yeah that's pretty much inevitable 😃
"Per se" is perfectly fine, as English doesn't use graphic accents, but "per say" is really ugly lol
I really hope by Dark/adult-themed they mean Metal Gear Solid dark and not adult-themed-inappropriate-dark. If it's dirty like MGS 3 or your average 80's PG movie then I won't play it.
And that makes me really sad because DQ (Dragon Quest not Dairy Queen) is very important to me.
Tap here to load 67 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...