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Bargain Quests and a Cheaper Fantasy
Looking for a DS RPG, but Square-Enix's sky-high prices have you eying those Volume 9 DS Games carts from across the pond? Bat away those temptations to take to the seas and don an eye patch; consider these Amazon deals instead! Up until tonight, Amazon is offering copies of Final Fantasy III for almost half the game's usual price, marking down the 3D remake to $16.99. If Dragon Quest spin-offs are more your thing, DQM: Joker and Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime are also featured with sub-$20 sales, and those markdowns should stay up while stocks last. Those games should keep you busy for weeks, and you didn't even have to spend £6,000! [Via CAG] Read - Final Fantasy III at Amazon- $16.99 ($29.99) Read - Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker at Amazon - $17.96 ($29.99) Read - Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime at Amazon - $14.99
No joke: DQMJ for $25
Though $25 might not sound like much of a sale for a DS game, this is the lowest price we've seen for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker yet. Developed and published by Square-Enix, this Pokemon-esque spin-off of the Dragon Quest series normally retails for $39.99! Amazon will ship the game to you for free, but you'll have to order soon -- before the end of the day, at least -- to buy the monster-collecting RPG at that reduced price. Check out that guy's hair! Wouldn't that cover look great on your shelf? %Gallery-9915% [Via CAG]
Europe gets a date for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
A 2008 release date for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker was always on the cards for Europe, and Square Enix has now settled on March 14th. Yes, that's a whole 146 days after the Pokémon pretender monster-hunting RPG first arrived in North America, and well over a year since it cropped up in Japan, but heck, are we really all that surprised? We probably don't need to mention that the region won't be seeing any consolatory preorder bonuses. Fellow Europeans are welcome to quash their sense of injustice by perusing our gallery below for some pretty images of the game in action. Pretty images solve everything. %Gallery-9915% [Via press release]
DS Fanboy Review: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Whether you want to call it "fashionably late" or "missed the party," Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker has finally hit North America. During Q4 and its incredible torrent of releases, DQMJ still manages to stick out as one of the highest-profile titles releasing on the system this year. Is it the real deal, or just another imitator? Read on and find out! %Gallery-9915%
Scouting out Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Square Enix's Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is out this week for gamers in North America, and to celebrate, we have a few things for you. Oh, wait, did we say a few? Basically, we have half the game in our gallery below. On top of that, the latest ad is out, and you can watch it here as well. Don't say we didn't do anything for you, because oh, we did. [Via press release] %Gallery-9915%
New DS trailer blowout!
The non-disclosure agreements have just expired on what was shown at last week's Nintendo of America Media Summit; naturally, within seconds the Internet has become flooded with information about new games. Rather than post each trailer individually, we've decided to embed the newest DS trailers from this event into one roundup post-- because we're Bloggin' Cowboys! Above, obviously, is a new trailer for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Check after the break for brand new material on Mario Party DS, Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings, EA Playground, Professor Layton, and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker for Europe early next year
Square Enix's Dragon Quest spinoff (and one of about five hundred DS Dragon Quest games) Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker came out in Japan way back in December. It was well-received there, getting the highest compliment a game can get: lots of people's money. We're still waiting for it over here, but our wait, at least, is almost over. Now, for a little while, we can be waiting buddies with PAL gamers, since the game has been announced for a European release. According to the press release, "all PAL territories" can expect a release of Joker in early 2008. No idea if it'll bring along it's dazzlingly multipurpose preorder gift!
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker has hard-to-picture bonus
According to RPGamer, copies of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker preordered from Amazon, GameCrazy or GameStop will include a "combination DS charm, keychain, and map." Apparently the map can also be used as a screen cleaner. Alone, none of these are particularly unusual giveaways. The cloth map has been an RPG box standby since early Ultima, and keychains are ubiquitous as preorder bonuses. But in combination? Are we really supposed to hang our keys from our DS? We'll need more than a screen-cleaning map (that part, at least, is super-clever) to buff out the hundreds of scratches to the surface of the system. [Via GayGamer]
Square Enix release dates: RoF due next spring?!
Square Enix spent the morning revealing its lineup of "fresh new faces and timeless classics" that the company plans to exhibit this week at E3, attaching US release dates to its upcoming titles: Heroes of Mana - August 14 Front Mission - October 23 Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - November 6 Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - November 20 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - Spring 2008 We're jumping on our beds with glee over the fact that we'll be receiving Front Mission so early after the localization was announced, but several disappointing details failed to escape our attention -- Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, It's a Wonderful World, FFIV DS, and Dragon Quest IX's absence; and Ring of Fates' distant date. The multiplayer ARPG and its DS Lite bundle are scheduled to hit Japan this August 23rd. [Via NeoGAF]
Revenant Wings and DQM: Joker get tentative NA dates
If you've been dying to know when Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings would be soaring onto your DS, then take heart: we at least have a release window now. The game is scheduled to make its way to North American gamers this winter. Considering it was just released in Japan, the wait isn't terribly long. Plenty of time to run through Final Fantasy XII again, if you're so inclined! It's been a much longer wait for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, which is also slated for later this year, though the game was released last December in Japan. Square Enix wants all our money this holiday season, and with games like these, they just might get it. [Via press release]
DQM sells over a million
By way of Father, we are informed of a great feat on the part of Square-Enix's Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. This feat, which you may have guessed based on the post title, is surpassing the million sold mark in Japan. The game released on December 28th in Japan, meaning that the title has accomplished this in little under a month. What's even more impressive is that this is only the second third-party title to achieve the million mark in Japan, with the previous title being Bandai's Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi. Japanese consumers were distraught in trying to find the game this last week, however stocks have been replenished today, hopefully quenching the thirsty Japanese public.
Fresh from Japan: more DQMJ screens
The latest update on Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker comes from Famitsu's site, placing the game's setting at center stage. With two islands in Nobisu and Sandoro, the first being a lush and green place that possibly hides a large monster inhabitant and the second being a desert island with a large dragon monster constantly roaming about. Famitsu also talks about encountering NPCs out in the wilderness ...
Japanese site has plenty of DQMJ videos
The official Japanese DS site has a slew of videos up for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. The first video is pretty short, showing some of the 3D environments. The second video shows the player roaming around some more before engaging in a battle. The third video, which we find a bit more interesting than the previous two, shows the player using the previously announced splicing feature. Finally, the fourth video really doesn't make much sense to us. Last, but not least, we've got some Japanese commercials here, here, and here. One could argue that the commercials hold more worth than the other videos, offering up a cornucopia of footage for the various parts of the game, but we'll leave such a discussion for the comments section. [Via Go Nintendo]
DQM: Joker preview reveals monster creation for Wi-Fi
During a preview look at Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, Famitsu revealed that players will be able to splice two different monsters together in order to create a new, hybrid monster for use in battling over Wi-Fi Connect. The cool thing about combining monsters is, if our translation is correct, that the "parent" monster may pass on attacks and skills to the new hybrid monster. It appears as if this only applies when the original "parent" monster has learned this technique or skill through experience, not the stock traits of said monster.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker battle footage
Taken from Nintendo World 2006, this embedded video reveals more on the battle system for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Featuring a turn-based system, it appears that the player will have a roster of 3 monsters that are out, in battle, by default. Also, is it just us, or does this game look amazing?
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker game footage
The Dragon Quest franchise has hit the ground running on the DS. The next installment in the franchise looks to offer fans a different experience in the universe, albeit more traditional in the gameplay department from the looks of it. The embedded video is a promotional video for the game, yet features the first ever bits of gameplay. As always, the video is embedded into the post after the break.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker screens
Dragon Quest, as we all know, is getting a lot of recognition. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is shaping up rather well even though we swear we are looking at another episode of Dragon Ball Z every time we get a new screenshot. Doesn't the main character look like Trunks with extra crazy hair? Too bad Pokemon already grabbed the main concept of the game or DQM:J would really cause a ruckus in this industry. We realize that not everything similar to Pokemon can be traced back to it but you have to admit the similarities are present. Joker doesn't have a set release date for Japan and who really knows if we will see it stateside. It would be a nice change of pace for Pokemon lovers or haters.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker details
Thanks to the typical chaos-incarnate informative advertisements found in Japanese magazines, some new details regarding the upcoming Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker have surfaced. The game will have the player choose a team of monsters to battle for him or her, and in typical RPG fashion, they'll get stronger as you use them. You can (genetically?) combine two monsters together, providing for new abilities and balance: the key is not simply choosing the strongest two of your bunch, but to pick the pair whose abilities compliment each other. We'll be honest, the game does remind us vaguely of a Pokemon clone. However, the Dragon's Quest series is nigh revered in Japan; the depth of the game, in both complexity and plot, will most likely exceed the typical "defeat the Elite Four" business found in everyone's favorite cuddly GBA cartridge.
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker magazine scans surface
While it is unconfirmed which magazine source these scans originate from (the forum poster assumes V-Jump), the media within is very appealing to the eye. It appears that DQMJ will retain the cell-shaded graphical style of Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King. While DQMJ will have the player capturing, training, and battling with monsters, the article does not present any further information on the game unless you're fluent in Japanese. So, anyone out there care to translate?
Dragon Quest details emerge
Supposedly the newest iteration in the Dragon Quest series, geared to release on the DS and set to release over in Japan this year, is being officially dubbed Dragon Quest Monsters Joker and will feature 3D visuals for both battle and movement. Also, the game is to support Nintendo's wonderful Wi-Fi service, allowing the Japanese to have at it in by causing their monsters to battle in a tournament called Jokers' GP. As if that wasn't enough "Pokemon inspiration" for you, the lead character holds the Scout Ring, something which delegates his Monster Master status. In all, however, these tidbits of info do sound reasonably appealing, so let's hope that when a trailer and/or screens are released, they live up to the promising ideas presented by the game so far.
