A lasting three-decade legacy – and counting – is certainly a feat worth celebrating, and Square Enix commemorates the occasion by honouring a beloved series in style. As Dragon Quest reaches its 35-year milestone, the Japanese game giant heralded announcements of several new entries and spin-offs for the franchise, with Dragon Quest XII stealing the show.
The first mainline entry since 2017, the upcoming game is described to be a Dragon Quest ‘for adults’ by the creator of the series, and ships with a brief trailer that hints at a turn towards dark fantasy via a logo reveal. In a first for the franchise’s mainline title, Dragon Quest XII will also be slated for a simultaneous worldwide release, although launch platforms and dates have yet to be determined.
Elsewhere, a remake of Dragon Quest III was unveiled for console for an unspecified date in the future. Taking on the stylings of Octopath Traveler, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake seeks to offers a three-dimensional feel by adding 3D effects to pixel-based backgrounds.
Accompanying the above is Dragon Quest Treasures, which stars Erik and Mia of the Dragon Quest XI fame. Primed for worldwide release, the spin-off explores the pair’s childhood by means of an RPG treasure-hunting adventure. A free-to-play mobile puzzle game for both iOS and Android is currently in development as well, where popular characters, monsters, and items from the series are used as erasers to eliminate graffiti in the game. Yeah, ‘bizarre’ sounds about right.
That’s a whole wealth of Dragon Quest content in store for fans, indeed.