This is a blog mostly centered on upcoming video games that I am interested in and it may evolve over time to feature my other interests as well, such as animé, manga, or movies. I typically enjoy RPGs, FPS, and some puzzle solving games. I am a connoisseur of many different games, but I update this blog rather infrequently, so please be aware. I try to post roughly once per month or more often, as time permits. The information I provide is accurate with cited sources.
Dragon Quest X’s next expansion, The 5,000 Year Journey to the Distant Homeland Online will arrive in Japan on November 16, 2017. According to an issue of issue of Jump magazine, the story will take players into the world of the past.
The latest iteration of the game features two essential key characters, including the knight in black (who appears to be reminiscent of an evil version of Dragon Quest XI protagonist) as well as a mysterious fairy named “Kyururu” who lends his unique powers to the hero player.
Apparently players will have a "fateful encounter" at the Eterne Kingdom, featuring completely new areas including fields of flowers, fancy roads, and ominous buildings.
Some of the additional characters that the player encounters include:
Meleade: A female you first meet in the past world. She’s a softhearted noble with a black cat.
Chacol: Meleade’s mischievous pet cat. Her collar and ribbon matches that of her owner, both being red. The cat's collar and Meleade's choker collar have a yellow star tag.
Quord: The commander of the Eterne Kingdom army, and the younger brother of Meleade. He’ll defend against anyone who tries to harm his sister.
The Druid job that was last available in Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past also makes a reappearance. It's a vocation that allows players to target and attack numerous enemies at once using the power of nature. It used to be known as the "Summoner" class in the original Dragon Warrior VII translation for the PlayStation 1.
Author's Note:
It would be interesting to see the timeline and progression of events, especially considering how far into the past the players will travel. It's a pity that this game has not been announced for Western localization.
Works Cited Dragon Quest X Expansion Adds Druid Job And A Story That Takes Place In The Past. (2017, August 17). Retrieved September 07, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/08/17/dragon-quest-x-expansion-adds-druid-job-story-takes-place-past/
Dragon Quest X Reveals Two Key Characters And A Cat For Its New Expansion. (2017, August 31). Retrieved September 09, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/08/31/dragon-quest-x-reveals-two-key-characters-cat-new-expansion/
In April of this year (2017), Square Enix chose three winning submissions for a project, called “The Adventurers’ Miracle.” Essentially, users would submit entries based on real events inspired by Dragon Quest 10 that affected their lives. This was a pitched idea from Dragon Quest X Producer Yosuke Saito in December of 2016 in order to explore how those fantastic virtual worlds we've come to explore can make an emotional impact on us as players and as people in general.
The first episode in the series comes from a player whose character name in the game is Yukina, who wrote in with a submission titled “The Name of Feelings” or "The Feeling of a Name”. Her story is about how a family honored the memory of their oldest daughter, Yukina, through their in-game characters.
The anime short aired today (August 7, 2017) during the Dragon Quest Summer Festival celebration.The episode alternates between real, in-game footage and animated original scenes. The roughly seven minute presentation shows that Dragon Quest 10 has to much more to offer than one might expect and it can not be broken down into merely fighting monsters, crafting gear, or taking on epic level quests. It is also an emotional experience unlike any other.
In the animation, a young girl watches her parents enjoy the in-game fireworks celebration for what appears to be Dragon Quest X's fourth anniversary celebrated on August 2, 2016. She subtly points out to her father that it looks like everyone has gathered to celebrate Yukina’s birthday. Yukina is the name of her mother’s character, but in a flashback viewers learn that she was named after their eldest daughter, Yukina, who had passed away. The flashback scene is from four years before, when the mother is creating her character on the old (and now discontinued) Wii version of the game.
A one year time skip occurs and we see the girl's father at a cafe, chatting in Dragon Quest X via his laptop, where he proposes to his online friends as his Weddie character (named Yuuri), the idea his daughter mentioned only a year prior, the notion of celebrating Yukina's birthday in-game. On August 2, 2017 (as depicted by the calendars), the family is gathered once again to watch the fireworks celebration for the game’s (now) fifth anniversary. It is then that everyone watching the fireworks display begins to wish Yukina a happy 15th birthday, bringing tears to the surprised mother’s eyes. Had she been alive, Yukina would have turned 15 years old that day. It's a subtle gesture, but a tear-jerkingly heartfelt one nonetheless.
The entire series has been created in an effort to celebrate Dragon Quest 10’s recent fifth anniversary. After the airing of the video, many of the hosts, developers and even some of the guests on stage were holding back tears.
MMOs allow players to connect with distant family members or friends, and regardless of distance, these games foster brotherly bonds, rivalries, and camaraderie through play. These can lead to life-changing events like marriage or tributes to those that we have come to know and have lost.
As previously indicated, two more of these shorts are in development. The second will be titled “Beyond Time and Space, Meet me in Astoltia” (Astoltia is the name of Dragon Quest X‘s world) and will come in the fall later this year. A third episode will soon follow sometime afterwards.
The video will be featured below.
Works Cited
Frank, A. (2017, August 07). A Dragon Quest 10 anime is the most tearjerking thing you'll watch today. Retrieved August 07, 2017, from https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/7/16109212/dragon-quest-10-anime-short
Nelva, G. (2017, August 07). This Dragon Quest X Anime Short Will Hit You Straight in the Feels [UPDATED]. Retrieved August 07, 2017, from http://www.dualshockers.com/dragon-quest-x-anime-short-straight-feels/
Romano, S. (2017, August 07). Dragon Quest X anime short Episode 1: 'The Feeling of a Name'. Retrieved August 07, 2017, from https://gematsu.com/2017/08/dragon-quest-x-anime-short-episode-1-feeling-name
Square Enix has officially announced the fourth major expansion (or rather, "version") of Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online titled "5,000 Year Journey to a Faraway Hometown Online", during the Dragon Quest Summer Festival 2017 in Tokyo on Saturday, August 5th, 2017. It will launch for Wii U, PC, PlayStation 4, and Switch on Thursday, November 16, 2017 in Japan for 3,800 yen (approximately $34.33 USD).
Pre-orders are available now apparently via the Square Enix e-Store. Japanese players who have previously purchased the Dragon Quest X: All-In-One Package, which includes Version 1, Version 2, and Version 3 of Dragon Quest X, from the Square Enix e-Store, will receive a 500 yen discount (approximately $4.52 USD) coupon to purchase the all new Version 4 update.
Image by Gematsu
Square Enix has also announced "Dragon Quest Rivals", a card based battle game which will be released for iOS & Android (in Japan) sometime this fall, and they have also stated that a PC version, currently in development, will also launch sometime soon.
Additionally, the publisher announced that the original Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II will be available digitally for PS4 and 3DS in Japan on Thursday, August 10, 2017 for 600 yen (approximately $5.42 USD) and 850 yen (approximately $7.68 USD), respectively. Dragon Quest III will arrive later that month for 1,500 yen (approximately $13.55 USD).
The franchise's latest installment, Dragon Quest XI: In Search of Departed Time (or Echoes of an Elusive Age), launched last month in Japan and has sold incredibly well. Perhaps even more exciting is that Square Enix has confirmed that DQXI will be coming to the west in 2018.
Additionally, there is an early-access demo for Dragon Quest X on PS4 via a "Spell of Restoration" code (entered through Dragon Quest XI) which provides access to the demo available on Thursday August 10, 2017.
Players simply enter the Spell of Restoration code of “あすとるていあへたびだとう” to access the additional content. The demo is now available for download, but it’ll be available to play from Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 12:00pm JST through Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 11:59pm JST.
Author's Note:
If you want to let Square Enix know that you want Dragon Quest X to be localized, please send a letter to:
SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
SHINJUKU EASTSIDE SQUARE
6-27-30 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 160-8430
JAPAN
Works Cited
S. (2017, August 06). Dragon Quest X’s Early-Access Demo For PS4 To Be Available Via Dragon Quest XI Spell of Restoration. Retrieved August 06, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/08/06/dragon-quest-xs-early-access-demo-ps4-available-via-dragon-quest-xi-spell-restoration/
S. (2017, August 06). Dragon Quest X’s Next Expansion Announced, Launches November 16 In Japan. Retrieved August 06, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/08/06/dragon-quest-xs-next-expansion-announced-launches-november-16-japan/
Osborn, A. (2017, August 06). Dragon Quest X Expansion, Rivals Card Game, More Coming to Japan Later This Year. Retrieved August 06, 2017, from http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/08/06/dragon-quest-x-expansion-rivals-card-game-more-coming-to-japan-later-this-year
Romano , S. (2017, August 06). Dragon Quest X Version 4 expansion announced. Retrieved August 06, 2017, from https://gematsu.com/2017/08/dragon-quest-x-version-4-expansion-announced
Dragon Quest XI: In Search of Departed Time's release launch is drawing close in Japan (Expected to arrive on Saturday, July 29, 2017). As such, Square Enix is celebrating alongside the franchise’s previous iteration, Dragon Quest X. This event will start on Friday July 14, 2017 and end on Monday, August 14, 2017. The Dragon Quest XI character Silvia will appear in Dragon Quest X for a limited time. Engaging in conversation with Silvia will grant players a fabulous parade outfit, which you can see in action in the video towards the end of this post. Square Enix has released a Dragon Quest XI video showcasing the parade in-game.
The second part of the event will start on Saturday July 29th and end on Wednesday, November 15th. In Dragon Quest X players will use Dragon Quest XI‘s “Spell of Restoration” passwords to receive reward items. These unique items include a pet yocchi, a Dragon Quest XI poster and character figurines for the in-game housing, as well as a rather "engaged" gesture featuring a magazine (visible in a video located towards the top of this post). Gamers will have to approach a member of the Yocchi tribe at an in-game church in order to redeem the codes. The second part of the event is expected to run for a total of 110 days from the start date to the end date (or 3 months, 18 days including the end date). This leaves players with plenty of time to partake in the festivities. Apparently, the "Incarnation of Time" Kerucchi will also be making an appearance sometime during the commemoration.
Dragon Quest X will launch in Japan on PS4 on Thursday, August 17th, while the Switch version will release on Thursday, September 21st. It’s already available on the Nintendo Wii (services discontinued), PC, Wii U, and on the Nintendo 3DS, Apple iOS and Android mobile via streaming.
As always, you can read all of the latest Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online posts here.
Works Cited
Duine, E. V. (2017, July 08). Dragon Quest XI details Silva's parade gameplay clip. Retrieved July 08, 2017, from http://www.novacrystallis.com/2017/07/dragon-quest-xi-details-silvas-parade-gameplay-clip/
Nelva, G. (2017, July 07). Dragon Quest XI Gets Fabulous PS4 Video Revealing Crossover Events with Dragon Quest X. Retrieved July 13, 2017, from http://www.dualshockers.com/dragon-quest-11-ps4-video-crossover-event-10/
Romano, S. (2017, July 07). Dragon Quest XI 'Silvia's Parade' gameplay. Retrieved July 13, 2017, from http://gematsu.com/2017/07/dragon-quest-xi-silvias-parade-gameplay
Next month in Japan marks the release of the PlayStation 4 version of Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online. Square Enix shared a brand new trailer (depicted below) that highlights scenes from the MMORPG title on PS4. The new “All in One Package” edition of the game, features enhanced visuals with improvements on facial textures and other parts of the game with 1080p resolution and 60fps performance on PS4 (which is a great improvement when compared to the original Wii version). It also contain the game’s first three expansions, or rather "versions" since it was launched back in August 2, 2012.
Dragon Quest X releases in Japan on August 17, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Fall of 2017 (estimated September 21, 2017) for the Nintendo Switch. Both of which are priced at 4,800 yen (approximately $42.14 USD). The game is currently available on Wii U, PC, iPhone, and Android.
PlayStation 4 users will need to pay about 1,500 yen a month for five characters and the Switch version will cost around 1,000 yen (approximately $8.78 USD) to 1,500 yen a month (approximately $13.17 USD) for three to five characters.
A beta test for both versions was announced, and it will go live from Wednesday, July 19, 2017 through Thursday, August 10, 2017. Unfortunately, the Beta test application period ended Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 23:59.
Have a PlayStation® 4 / PlayStation® 4 Pro or Nintendo Switch ™ main unit
Have 16 GB of free space in their PlayStation® 4 / PlayStation® 4 Pro HDD
OR:
A Nintendo Switch ™ Main unit storage memory or microSD card with 16 GB of free space
In addition:
There must be an environment where you can connect to the Internet
Users must have a Square-Enix account
If Nintendo holds up on their claim that their console is region free, the earliest Nintendo Switch users could see this game is September of this year.
You can read all about my past posts regarding this title here.
Works Cited
Dragon Quest X Highlights Scenes In A New Trailer For Upcoming PS4 Version. (2017, July 06). Retrieved July 08, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/07/06/dragon-quest-x-highlights-scenes-new-trailer-upcoming-ps4-version/
Dragon Quest X On Switch Gets Its First Footage, Release Dates For PS4 And Switch In Japan. (2017, May 27). Retrieved July 08, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/05/27/dragon-quest-x-switch-gets-first-footage-release-dates-ps4-switch-japan/
Hey everyone! It's been a busy month, so I figured I'd post this information really quick while I still had time. I'm not one to post April Fool's jokes at the beginning of the month (especially when it comes to video games) because I think it's overdone in gaming magazines. This is especially true when you're paying about $22.97 for a 12-month subscription to say, Game Informer with one month's articles being abnormally thin on content and it begins to feel like a bit of a nuisance. It's annoying when you realize that you're paying about $1.91 an issue and feels as if you're tossing that one issue out the window because the editors want to have a cheap laugh (Insert Half-Life 3 jokes here). You could use that towards a STEAM game. Nonetheless, I apologize for the delay for my own input.
Square Enix announced during the Japanese Nintendo Direct earlier this month (April 12, 2017) their MMORPG title, Dragon Quest X, will now be releasing in Japan in the Fall/Autumnal Season of 2017 for the Nintendo Switch. Apparently, there will be a featured free campaign option to help those who played on the (services now terminated) Wii version to transfer all their characters to the Switch version. More details on that will be revealed in a future update. Below is the full fledged video.
Just as a refresher, Dragon Quest X Online: Rise Of The Five Tribes was announced in 2008 by Yuji Horii. There was a long period of silence however and not much was really known about the title until a September 5, 2011 conference in which Mr. Yuji Horii officially revealed that Dragon Quest X Online: Rise Of The Five Tribes would be an MMORPG that would not only be expansive, but very plot driven (Nintendo Power pg. 24, Vol. 272). Players have the ability to change vocations (at special shrine locations) and use skill points in a similar fashion to the previous title in the franchise Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for the Nintendo DS. They are also able to chose from among five different races (hence the title), from the "sprite-like" Pukuripo, Wedies (aquatic "music-loving" creatures), woodland elves, ogres, or the lofty dwarves. Humans are not made initially available "as the human populated continent has been sealed away by the game's villain and it's up to the other races to liberate it." (Nintendo Power pg. 18, Vol. 273).
The main world, known as Astoltia is comprised of five islands (according to the NGamer Staff for NGamer Magazine and the official Facebook page). One of which, is actually a cluster of smaller, individual islands. There is a central continent in where most of the world's humans reside.
Gamers begin their journeys in Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online as a human from Etene Village. Later on, the player becomes a new character from one of the five other remaining races (Dwarf, Kuripo, Elf, Wedie, or Ogre).
Players can customize their characters with numerous option, choosing everything from gender to size, as well as naming them and altering their appearances to their own liking. In addition, the player also creates another "sibling" character, which also aids in the main storyline.
Once players reached a certain point within the single player (offline) story mode (approximately 2 - 2½ hours into gameplay), they were prompted to connect online to continue play. This however, required a paid monthly subscription in order to be granted full access. Fortunately, "Director Jin Fujisawa didn’t want that to be a barrier for long time fans of the [Dragon Quest] series". As such, there was an implementation of a "Free Play" period that lasts for two hours each day in which players of all ages could log on and play the online portions of the game without a penalty fee. Whether or not this feature will be implemented in the future Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 versions of the game remains to be seen.
Dragon Quest X is currently available on the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, iPhone, Android, and PC. The PlayStation 4 version will still release this summer in Japan.
I'm really hoping for this game to be localized in the west. If it does come to the United States, it could be the next Phantasy Star Online 2. Works Cited
1.) Loe, Casey. "A Quest of Millions." Nintendo Power Oct. 2011: 24. Print
2.) Loe, Casey. "The Dragon's Hoard" Nintendo Power Nov. 2011: 18. Print
3.) S. (2017, April 13). Dragon Quest X Marches To Nintendo Switch In Fall 2017 In Japan. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/04/12/dragon-quest-x-marches-nintendo-switch-fall-2017-japan/
Square Enix has recently announced during a livestream that their MMORPG title Dragon Quest X releases on PS4 this summer, while their Nintendo Switch version will arrive this summer or autumnal season in Japan.
A beta test period is being planned prior to Dragon Quest X’s launch on PlayStation4 and the Nintendo Switch. Production of the Wii version of the game has already ended and they’re planning on terminating online services for it.
I'm still hoping for localization of this title here in the United States. Even if Square Enix determines that it would not be suitable for Western markets and doesn't follow through, I will either import the game physically, or download it via the e-shop to play (if that option is available). Both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 consoles will be region free, meaning any game manufactured for the respective console can be played on it. I've been looking forward to this for about five years now.
Dragon Quest X is currently available on Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, iPhone, Android, and PC.
Works Cited
S. (2017, February 21). Dragon Quest X Headed To PS4 This Summer, Switch This Summer/Fall In Japan. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.siliconera.com/2017/02/21/dragon-quest-x-headed-ps4-summer-switch-summerfall-japan/
Sigler, (2017, February 21). Dragon Quest X Heads to PS4 in Summer, Switch Later in 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://nichegamer.com/2017/02/21/dragon-quest-x-heads-to-ps4-in-summer-switch-later-in-2017/
