Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii has dedicated much of his life to the legendary role-playing series and it doesn't seem like he wants to slow down any time soon.
Speaking to Famitsu recently, the 70-year-old mentioned how he intends to continue making games. Here's a translation of what he had to say, courtesy of GamesRadar:
Yuji Horii: "I think I'll continue to make games for a long time... I've never thought about retirement. After all, I'll always be a game designer."
His work is set to continue with the next entry Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate - the next mainline entry in the series featuring a darker tone. Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is also on the way.
Horii was recently acknowledged for his life's work in Japan, winning a Cultural Affairs' Commissioner's Award - an award given to individuals who have made a distinguished accomplishment in artist and cultural activities (via GoNintendo).
Here's what he had to say in response to this and you can see some photos of Horii winning this award in the social media post below:
"It was an honor to receive this award from the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Looking back, about 40 years ago, games were blamed for crimes and were widely frowned upon, but after so many years, they have come to be recognized as a culture by the country. I am deeply moved. I look forward to your continued support for the game industry."
This special occasion follows the release of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on the Switch and multiple other platforms in November.
In our review on Nintendo Life, we called this latest revival a faithful adaptation of a treasured RPG classic and thought it was a great way to relive the original title:
What are your thoughts about Yuji Horii continuing to work on Dragon Quest? Let us know in the comments.
[source famitsu.com, via gamesradar.com]
Comments 16
If he's happy doing his work with the DQ series, all I can say is I'm more than happy for being able to enjoy his superb work. The franchise is alive and kicking both with retro and new releases, so there's never been a better time to be a DQ fan
The next entry is XIV? A couple must have passed me by.
I had never played a Dragon Quest game until a month or so ago, but now after spending so much time with XIS, XII is my most anticipated title. The thought of an even bigger adventure, with a darker tone and better graphics is an exciting one. 3 and a half years have passed since it was revealed. Perhaps it's not too far off.
Hopefully we're gonna see the next DQ game soon, 11 was legitimately one of my favourite JRPGS of all time.
Yuji Horii is a gem of a man. Dragon Quest is absolutely one of my personal favorite series. III, V, & XI in particular are some of my top 10 favorite games of all time. Hearing him having no plans on retirement makes me happy, so I pray good health, longevity, and happiness for him in return.
John Madden: "I have never worked a day in my life. I went from player to coach to a broadcaster and I am the luckiest guy in the world.”
Follow your heart kids. You only live once.
When you love what you're doing, there's no such thing as retirement.
Must be a lot of pressure being the last of the old DQ guard, hope he can keep going as long as he wants but not work himself too hard.
I'm both excited and a little afraid for XII. There's definitely directions I'd like to see DQ change in, and I think it could grow to fill a classic FF shaped hole in my heart I haven't been getting enough of from FF lately. (Music not being bad MIDIs will of course be a huge upgrade from the get-go.) But I hope they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Dragon Quest being a more consistent series has its own charms, and I don't want all of that to be lost in chasing something new!
As much as I hope he at least takes it slower, at the same time I'm so happy to hear that Horii-san isn't retiring from making games anytime soon and regardless, congratulations for the award!
Well I hope he lives as long he thinks, "a long time"^^
guy has a no-nonsense attitude. big plus in my book
Someone who actually enjoys creating games is always a plus. Now that the music department doesn't have Koichi Sugiyama, I'm willing to give DQ 9 - 11 another try
I will have to read the original article to verify but I do wish people would stop asking/pressuring older folks about retirement when they aren’t part of the ruling class. If a person is fortunate to find a job they enjoy let them do that job until they don’t want to instead of foaming at the mouth for them to move on. That replacement mentality is just as bad as the corporations that see us as a number. Work is for better or worse a part of our lives. Losing that can speed up decline before our time. Let people live their lives so long as they are able and show them the respect that they can do so for the entirety of their lives and not just during the traditional working range. The ruling class is different because they are holding on to power and influence that can impact the lives of many but some dude making video games? Yeah just ask him when the next one is coming out. Not about retirement.
11 was great, looking forward to 12, hopefully in a year or 2. And if Switch 2 is as powerful as rumored then maybe we can just get 1 version of the game and not 3 or 4, whatever it was, that they need to be working on.
If the guy wants to work, let him work. If he has to work at 70, then that’s another discussion. And it’s not like he’s going to kill anyone making video games. Even Cyberpunk on PS4 didn’t kill anyone. Concord did kill Firewalk but that’s a whole other story. 😂
My second fave series after Zelda - he's a legend, so much respect for him continuing to do what he loves.
@OorWullie how did you get on with the final push by the way?
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