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DS releases for the week of July 14th
Good thing you'll be caught up with E3 this week, because there's not a whole lot out on shelves -- at least, not in the U.S.. The most exciting thing this week? Metal Slug 7 finally comes out somewhere, with that somewhere being Japan. But that's not even close to being the most exciting Japanese release this week. Mister Slime Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society Space Chimps Yamaha Supercross Bounce past the break to see what's out in the rest of the world.
Alisha Karabinus07.14.2008
Square Enix E3 lineup loaded with sequels, remakes
With 2008's edition of E3 just days away, the role-playing steam engine that is Square Enix has revealed what titles that it will spring on press types as they shuffle past. Of the eleven titles on display, the company's lineup this year is noticeably remake and sequel heavy, with over half of the games representing a return to the well for another drink. Boasting "simultaneous global releases for several platforms," the company has also re-confirmed dates for much of its lineup as well, with the following games also noted as being playable during the show: Chrono Trigger (DS; Holiday 2008) Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS; September 16) Final Fantasy IV (DS; July 22) Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360; September 2) Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes (iPod; Now Available) In addition, the remainder listed below will be shown in non-playable form: The Last Remnant (Xbox 360, PS3; Winter for Xbox 360, TBA for PS3) Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP; October 21) Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP; January 6) Star Ocean: The Last Hope (Xbox 360; 2009) Exit DS (DS; October 7) The Legend of Kage 2 (DS; October 7) And coming soon to a grocery store near you, Star Ocean: Whole Wheat Clusters.
Jason Dobson07.09.2008
There's plenty to do in Dragon Quest V
Dragon Quest V is going to be one of the most feature-packed games on the DS. Don't try and argue with us, for Famitsu's recent look at the title only cemented that fact in our mind. There is a lot going on here. Famitsu's article highlights not only a DS-exclusive character, Deborah, but also documents some of the other timesinks available in the game, should you wish to take a break from the main story. You can enjoy some Poker or Slots over at the casino, or partake in one of the other many mini-games available. You can even enjoy some combat in the Fight Field. If you want to check out some new screens, head on over to Famitsu. %Gallery-12146%
David Hinkle06.30.2008
Here comes the Heavenly Bride, all dressed in a DQV promotional trailer
Though Dragon Quest IV hasn't even washed up onto U.S. shores yet (look for it in September), Japan is gearing up for Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride's release on July 17th with a new trailer. We can't complain too much about the wait, however, as publisher Square Enix has already announced that it will be bringing its DQV and DQVI (both originally released for the Super Famicom) remakes to the states eventually, having kept the two games in Japan for over 15 years. Comparatively speaking, a one- or two-year wait for DQV DS isn't that long! %Gallery-12146% [Via NeoGAF]
Eric Caoili06.28.2008
September chosen for Australian Dragon Quest IV release
While Square Enix announced their intention to release Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen in "PAL territories" this September, they aren't the ones handling the Australian release. Ubisoft is the company's distributor in Australia and New Zealand, and thus the duties for Dragon Quest IV fall to them. Reassuringly, Ubisoft has made their intention to release the game for real official in a new press release.Maintaining the numberless "Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen" title that should keep PAL gamers from finding out there have been other Dragon Quest games, the Australian release of the game is also planned for September. A specific date has yet to be revealed. Also ominously absent from this press release is any mention at all of Dragon Quests V and VI.%Gallery-23400%
JC Fletcher06.26.2008
Dragon Quest V: The Search for Stuff
Rare items will play more of a part in Dragon Quest V's sidequests than just the wireless Item Shop mode. DQV features "special items" that can be collected throughout the game simply for the novelty of having rare items. Some items are found in dungeons, and others are actually purchased as souvenirs. Some items, like the Chizotto Compass, which marks your current location, have in-game use in addition to intrinsic rarity-driven value. Your stuff can be displayed in a Museum found along the journey. Apparently, the more stuff you put in this special museum, the more visitors will come, who will in turn alert you to the locations of more stuff. You can trade your special items wirelessly, and you can populate your shop with rare local goods.
JC Fletcher06.16.2008
A new bride in Dragon Quest V?
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride won't just be a straight remake of either the Super Famicom or PlayStation 2 versions of DQV. New characters, both original and pulled from other Dragon Quests, and new features are being put in. The Jailcat enemy from Dragon Quest VIII has been revealed to appear in the new game, and there's a new item shop feature, but Square Enix has something even more significant planned: a new character named Deborah. DQV follows the hero character over 20 years of his life, even including the option to marry one of two women. It seems likely that the newly-announced Deborah will be a third potential wife. You can see the full Jump scan at Jeux-France.
JC Fletcher06.12.2008
Dragon Quest V for entrepreneurs
The latest issue of Shonen Jump features a nice blowout of screens from the upcoming Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride remake, as well as character and monster art. We quite enjoy Akira Toriyama's art when he's drawing stuff like Slime Knights and not extremely similar-looking protagonists. The scans demonstrate a new feature: the player item shop. Using "wireless communication" of some sort (probably local, but we hope not!), players will be able to operate their own item shops. You can choose your inventory, rename the items, and then set prices. It sounds a lot like the shop system in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, which did use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. So there is some hope that we'll be gouging strangers.
JC Fletcher06.09.2008
Analyst: Dragon Quest IX to sell 5 million in Japan
Takashi Oka, analyst with Cosmo Securities, has predicted that Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX will bring in 20 billion yen ($190.28 million) from sales of 5 million units. That's in line with Square Enix president Yoichi Wada's sales predictions, since Oka's number is limited only to Japanese sales. Can a third-party game sell 5 million copies in Japan? Only the Pokemons, New Super Mario Bros. and Brain Age 2 have broken the 5 million mark, and all of those are published by Nintendo. Oka said that a portable Dragon Quest doubling the sales of a console release would be "not surprising," and Dragon Quest VIII sold about 3.5 million units in Japan (at least, according to VGChartz). Given the lower price point of DS games, the ubiquity of the DS, and the inestimable popularity of Dragon Quest, 5 million doesn't seem out of the question.
JC Fletcher06.03.2008
Checking out new screens from Dragon Quest V
We all know that the DS has a lot of support from the big RPG house, Square Enix. This year, gamers are preparing for a flood of titles, including remakes in the popular Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series of games. If you're looking forward to the Dragon Quest V remake, then Famitsu has some goodies for you. Along with some new screens to look at, Famitsu has up some general information about the game and its protagonist. It's basic stuff, which we all pretty much know. But, if you've been holding back on learning anything about the game, Famitsu's preview is a nice overview on what to expect from the game.
David Hinkle06.02.2008
Dragon Quest V site takes turn to update
Eager fans anticipating the release of Dragon Quest V, get your eyeballs wrapped around some of the new content on offer at the game's official Japanese website. Within, you'll find some descriptions for the characters that will be populating the game world, as well as various other goodies. On top of that, you can also enjoy the Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest VI sites. So, go click crazy over there and check out the content. %Gallery-12146% [Via Go Nintendo]
David Hinkle05.30.2008
Square Enix not lacking confidence in Dragon Quest IX
Is Dragon Quest IX really "almost done"? And does it even matter? We're not so sure, because Square Enix still isn't budging on a release date for the game. Company President Yoichi Wada announced at Square Enix's recent earnings briefing that the game will be released at some point in the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2009. Are we about to see that hopeful 2008 release date cruelly taken away from us? How much longer will we be writing paragraphs consisting almost exclusively of questions? However long we wait, Square Enix is confident of one thing: Dragon Quest IX is going to sell like cakes of the exceedingly hot variety. "With the DS, 10 million units is a possibility," proclaimed Wada to a bunch of no doubt beatific investors. He's presumably talking about global sales rather than Japan-only figures, but even so, isn't that a touch optimistic? We think it is, anyway -- as it stands, no game published by a third-party has come even close to the magical eight digit mark.
Chris Greenhough05.27.2008
Promotional Consideration: Dragon Quest IV commercials were weird
With the Dragon Quest IV DS remake announced for the US and Europe this week, we thought it'd be good a time to dig up Enix's commercials for the original Famicom game's release in Japan. They're completely different from the retro ads used last November when the DS remake shipped.As with Squaresoft's chocobo commercials for Final Fantasy IV on the Super Famicom (launching a little over a year after Dragon Quest IV), these ads were just plain odd! They show hardly any in-game video, relying on logos and recognizable theme music instead. Gather your party and meet us in the fifth chapter, past the post break, for the commercials.
Eric Caoili05.25.2008
The history of Dragon Quest IV boxart
Square Enix released an image of the box for the North American release of the Dragon Quest IV remake, and it looks pretty nice! It suffers from Akira Toriyama "every character looks exactly the same" syndrome, but there's not really much that can be done about that! It's the same art as the Japanese version, with a more traditional layout, highlighting the hero.Dragon Quest IV has been sold a bunch of times over the years, on three different systems, so it's naturally had a few different box designs. We thought it might be interesting to show you the boxarts for each iteration of the game. Well, not all of them -- we've omitted stuff like the budget rereleases of the PlayStation version, because they're exactly the same art with a different border.Out of all the variations, we like the art on the Famicom release the best. It seems the most dynamic and exciting. We think we like the NES version's art the least, because there isn't any.%Gallery-23461%
JC Fletcher05.22.2008
Dragon Quest trilogy also headed to PAL territories
Is today the DS day of awesome for Europe, or what? The latest trio of games announced for the continent are none other than the Dragon Quests. We only reported this morning that Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI were North American bound, so hearing about a European (and other PALs) confirmation so soon afterward was a pleasant surprise. Not only that, but DQIV will be releasing in PAL nations this September, too -- maybe Square Enix really meant it when they said they were aiming for simultaneous worldwide releases. (Yes, we know it came out in Japan ages ago.) Together, these three games combine to form the Zenithia Trilogy. There's no word on when to expect Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride or Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie, but that's okay. We're just glad to know they're coming. Also, check out our brand-spanking-new Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen gallery below if all this Squeenix news has you gushing. %Gallery-23400% %Gallery-12146%
Candace Savino05.21.2008
Square Enix reveals Dragon Quest IV US release date, confirms V and VI releases
The first official news is out regarding a North American release for Dragon Quest IV, in the form of the official website. The site doesn't have much information up about the game -- except its release date, September 16. English screens and stuff can come later! The real news is on the new Dragon Quest series site, which shows pretty unambiguously that the Dragon Quest V and VI remakes are on the way as well, with matching alliterative subtitles (Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie). This will be the first U.S. release for these two games (IV was released on the NES) and their availability will mean that, for the first time since IV, every main Dragon Quest game has had a U.S. release. %Gallery-12146% [Via NeoGAF]
JC Fletcher05.21.2008
Dragon Quest IV DS remake coming September 16
A slime approaches, and by slime we of course mean the DS remake of 1990 Famicom classic Dragon Quest IV. A NeoGAF poster has found that Square Enix has quietly launched the official teaser site for Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, listing the still unannounced localization for release stateside on September 16. Even more interesting, the site also shows off logos for upcoming remakes Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie as well, though sans release dates, all but assuring that North American role-playing enthusiasts will be neck-deep in metal slimes for the foreseeable future.
Jason Dobson05.21.2008
More Dragon Quest DS decor: DQV cover
Just yesterday, NCSX began taking preorders on adorable Dragon Quest slime DS Lite styli. Today, they've revealed a thematically appropriate companion piece: this Dragon Quest V DS protector. Much like other Hori Protect Cases, this is a transparent hard plastic cover for the DS, with attractive monochrome artwork on the top. This one features artwork of the Hero and the game's logo, and looks cooler than we expect things with Akira Toriyama art on them to look. This one doesn't come with any other accessories, which in our minds is just another excuse to go ahead and spend the $7 on a Slime Stylus. The Dragon Quest V Accessory will ship in July for $13.90. Try not to scuff up your DS before then!
JC Fletcher05.20.2008
Another way to get Dragon Quest into your DS [update 2]
[Update 2: Pretty sure you get two.] There just aren't enough Slime products for us. The hundred bajillion or so that currently exist fail to completely cover every aspect of our lives. Square Enix is working to make sure that we never have to not look at a Slime again, starting with the outside of our DS Lite. For just $7, you can get one of two adorable Slime styli that fit into the Lite just like the normal ones, with one important difference: a pleasantly vacant little Slime peeking out from the stylus slot. Preorders are set to ship in July, just in time (we think) for the Dragon Quest IV remake.
JC Fletcher05.19.2008
Dragon Quest V: Heavenly Screens
The website for the Dragon Quest V re-remake (probably to be titled Dragon Quest V: Heavenly Bride in its probable U.S. release) has been updated with character art and a little bit of history about the game. Most importantly for English readers, it's been updated with screens -- tons of them, in one- and two-screen format. You can look at pictures of the party (tiny horse and carriage and all) walking in towns, fields, and dungeons and pretty much get the idea. Dragon Quest V appears to be cleaning up beautifully, proving that even if developer Artepiazza isn't the most adept at creating Wii RPGs (except by default), they're certainly up to the task of recreating RPGs on the DS. [Via NeoGAF]
JC Fletcher05.09.2008