The Dragon Quest franchise has persisted for decades as one of the world's most popular JRPG franchises. Square Enix has turned Dragon Quest into a wide-reaching multimedia franchise, releasing all kinds of media, but the thing fans care most about are the Dragon Quest video games. To celebrate the franchise's 35th anniversary, Square Enix recently hosted a presentation that featured a number of major Dragon Quest video game announcements.
During the Dragon Quest 35th anniversary stream, Square Enix announced a slew of new Dragon Quest video game projects. These games range from remakes of previously-released Dragon Quest titles to completely brand new titles. It's possible that there will be more information revealed on these games at E3 2021, since Square Enix has been confirmed for the show, though that remains to be seen.
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While it's unclear if Square Enix will reveal more about the Dragon Quest games at E3, there's a decent amount of information that fans learned about the games from the 35th anniversary stream. Here is everything from the recent Dragon Quest stream and what fans found out about each project that's in development.
Similarly to how it's handled the Final Fantasy games, Square Enix has produced remakes for a number of games in the Dragon Quest franchise as well. Some of the more high profile Dragon Quest remakes are the ones that it made for the Nintendo DS and 3DS, where it worked to remake Dragon Quest 4 through 8 for modern audiences. Now Square Enix has announced that it is doing the same for an even older Dragon Quest game, Dragon Quest 3: The Seeds of Salvation.
As announced during the recent Dragon Quest 35th anniversary event, Square Enix is remaking Dragon Quest 3 for modern consoles in the form of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. Gameplay-wise, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake will likely be familiar to those who remember the original game, but the title is otherwise getting a major makeover. It's taking its cues from titles like Octopath Traveler and Project Triangle Strategy, blending classic-looking character sprites with eye-popping backgrounds. This should give Dragon Quest fans a prime opportunity to revisit the classic game on new consoles.
All of the main series Dragon Quest games are available to play in the west with the exception of one, Dragon Quest 10. For one reason or another, Square Enix decided to make Dragon Quest 10 only available in Japan, and not only that, but it made it an MMO as well, greatly limiting the number of people who could play it. While there is still no western release confirmed for Dragon Quest 10, there is some new hope that fans outside of Japan may soon get to play this entry in the long-running franchise.
Square Enix has officially announced Dragon Quest 10 Offline. As its name implies, Dragon Quest 10 Offline is a single-player version of Dragon Quest 10. This means that fans should be able to enjoy the content from the MMORPG without having to actually play it as an MMO. Since the vast majority of Dragon Quest games are single-player experiences, this is a move that will likely be very appreciated by fans of the franchise.
Here's hoping that this version of Dragon Quest 10 makes it outside of Japan. But at the very least, it should be easier for fans to import now.
Due to how wildly successful the Dragon Quest series has been, there's a running assumption that Square Enix is always working on the next game in the series in some capacity. Dragon Quest 11 was particularly well-received and helped expand the franchise's fanbase in a big way, and so it's no surprise that the company has wasted no time getting to work on Dragon Quest 12. Officially announced during the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary event, Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is in active development for unspecified platforms.
Details on what exactly Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate will entail are scarce at the time of this writing. However, the title and logo imply that it will be a bit darker in tone than most games in the series. The Dragon Quest games have typically been pretty traditional, rarely straying away from series norms, so this is going to be a big gamble for Square Enix for sure. Regardless, it will definitely be exciting to see what form Dragon Quest 12 does take, and so fans should be excited to see more.
Another big Dragon Quest announcement from the 35th Anniversary Stream was the reveal of Dragon Quest Treasures. Dragon Quest fans were treated to a brief teaser trailer for Dragon Quest Treasures, which will feature the characters Erik and Mia from Dragon Quest 11 as children. Not much else is known about the game, but the teaser trailer did suggest that Dragon Quest Treasures will feature platforming, which is unusual for a Dragon Quest game. It's also known that the game is in development for consoles, though fans will have to wait for more concrete information.