An episode of the best J-RPG series will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, perhaps finally the opportunity for a remake. A major opus, it is absolutely necessary to see him spread his (angel?) wings again.
Debate and Opinion
This article falls under the heading “Debate and opinion”, it is by nature subjective. The author’s opinion is personal and is not representative of that of the rest of the JV editorial team.
In July we will celebrate 15 years of a game that initiated an entire generation to the J-RPG genre: Dragon Quest 9. A worthy heir to the legendary series from which it comes, it is the first original episode for the Nintendo DS and one of the most acclaimed in the saga. At the dawn of the release of the new Nintendo console, It’s imperative for this legendary iteration to get a remake worthy of the name, in order to take us to the ninth heaven.
An idea already in the works
Sold more than 5.35 million copies worldwide (including 4.32 million in Japan alone) with its DS version alone, Dragon Quest 9 is the second best-selling opus in the series and the 16th most popular game on the machine. If it is second in the ranking of the series, it is because it is behind Dragon Quest 11, an episode with more than 5 versions of the same title, therefore reaching more potential players.
Its popularity is such that on the occasion of his tenth birthdayon July 11, 2019, a TV show was dedicated to him in the land of the rising sun. This was an opportunity to go into more detail about the secrets behind the title, some anecdotes from the teams and to collect testimonials from the players. As part of the show,‘big names from the series were invited”’, among others Ryutaro Ichimura, producer of Dragon Quest 9, Hitoshi Fujisawa, its director, Akihiro Hino, president of Level-5 as well as Yuji Horii, father of the series.
The team, although it clarified that no remake of the title was then validated by Square Enix, did not stop herself from discussing such a perspective. They therefore indicate thinking about a remake of the ninth episode for a long timenotably due to the fact that “the Dragon Quest, from the 1st to the 8th, have already been remade or ported several times, which is not the case for the 9th”.
The Switch as a model system
If Akihiro Hino announces himself starting a project, Yû Miyake – then producer of the series – explains to what extent the Nintendo Switch could constitute hardware compatible with their ideas. He then agrees with the public of the event who favored the hybrid console for a possible remake.
Dragon Quest IX was on a handheld console featuring StreetPass communication, drawing the principle of treasure card exchanges and other features that complicate the choice of which platform to choose for a remake. – Yu Miyake
For the president of Level-5, “a remake of Dragon Quest 9 with Dragon Quest 11 level graphics would be amazing. It might be possible to do something similar to StreetPass with the Switch.” The track of a remake is added in their “list of things we would like to do”.
Already experienced in the exercise, Level-5, which developed Ni no Kuni on Nintendo DS in 2010, took care of its 2019 remake, released on Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC, transforming it into a sublime RPG all in colorful 3D and cel-shading. It is on this basis that fans are starting to dream of a similar treatment for the ninth opus of the DQ series, which would allow you to discover the rural environments, the different towns and the dungeons of the game in the same way as in the 11th episode of the series. A remake would make this new iteration an almost new game, as the changes that can be made to the base material appear gigantic.
A game trapped in its support
If Dragon Quest 9 took advantage of the Nintendo DS hardware to implement new features such as StreetPass, he is also dependent on it. Where the various old opuses ported to the portable console were composed of 2D sprites on mini world maps and small tables, Dragon Quest 9 made the choice to 3D sprites and an open world. If the result was impressive 15 years ago, the game is now almost a prisoner of its support. The graphics today appear almost more dated than those in 2D and the game can have a tendency to jerk very slightly, due in particular to the number of elements in memory, sometimes too large for the console.
It’s the same for the OST of the title, which shines with the quality of Koichi Sugiyama’s compositions, and is part of the pantheon of the series’ most beautiful soundtracks, but sees its pieces reduced to their synthetic version to match the DS speakers. Even if his symphonic suite, performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, pays homage to him, it is criminal not to be able to enjoy it in game.
If there is one criticism on which the game is difficult to defend, it is on its menus. A real tangle of windows and multiple submenus, the interfaces of the title is one of its biggest black points, at the same level as its fights, sometimes considered a little slow, especially in the presence of a horde of enemies. A quick mode similar to that of Dragon Quest 11 would be a real plus. Finally, and if we had to remember only one negative point of the game, it is that of the companions, real bodies without an ounce of life.
Empty Shell Festival
The game, if it is faithful to the constraints of previous Dragon Quest by offering an excellent solo storywas originally thought of as an adventure to be done together with an emphasis on the multiplayer aspect of the title. When playing alone, you are then led to create your companions as you wish, ranging from their physique to their vocation through their equipment and their statistics. They then perfectly fulfill the role assigned to them except for one detail: they are completely empty.
In fact, they were basically thought of as simple replacements for your friends’ characters, when the latter were not available to play. The approach is completely understandable in Japan, since the console and the game were massively widespread and regularly taken by players during their travels. However, it was different in the West, Americans and Europeans tend to play more at home. The opportunities to share the adventure with other owners of the game were much more minimal. From then on, and as long as we have done other Dragon Quests, the lack of stories and personalities for the companions makes them much less striking than a Bianca, an Angelo or a Jade having their own stories.
In Dragon Quest 9, However, it was indeed possible to have companions with a real background. The hero’s master, Aquila, as well as the three owners of the Ablithia inn can indeed be recruited into the team, but only via Wi-Fi quests. Little problem, Nintendo closed its Nintendo DS servers in 2014, barely 4 years after the game’s arrival in France! Suffice it to say that a player who wanted to play the game today would be deprived of a good number of the game’s quests. To overcome this problem, and to take the example of the remake of the 8th episode which added Morry and Ruby to the cast, some Dragon Quest 9 characters could become recruitable like Martial, Bérangère’s successor at the Chérubelle inn, for example.
A game that occupies a long time (really)
The issue of companions lacking lifesparks was largely attributable to the title’s multiplayer ambitions. But if these were only possible in a local network 15 years ago, they can absolutely be transposed to current technologies. The Switch and its potential future iteration, can quite make multiplayer gaming possible online in addition to local. In addition to offering much greater gaming comfort, allowing distant friends to come together on a common adventure to save the Protectorate and partially replace Dragon Quest 10 that we will never have in the West (you wouldn’t say it like that, but I’m very naughty).
In addition to the question of playing with others, the title is known for its large number of downloadable content additional. Whether it’s around sixty quests, in addition to the famous VPC DQ (a service for obtaining items, quests and bonus characters, working with an Internet connection), Internet connection offers short-term gaming systems, precisely what Nintendo is looking for for the Switch and/or for his successor. Rumors of a new console are becoming more and more pressing, and there is no doubt that a name as strong as Dragon Quest 9 will help ensure a good launch, at least for sure in Japan and very probably in the West.
Still without news of future titles in the license, whether it is the 12th opus or the remake of Dragon Quest 3 remake, the re-release of a title like Dragon Quest 9 would be a great way for fans to be patient. In fact, in addition to the main quest and the numerous quests (in addition to those downloadable), the original game has a post-game with a bit of story which could be extended during a remake. And again after that, the system of randomly generated lairs, the myriad of vocations for the characters and the different “legacy bosses” (bosses from previous games to face) offer almost inexhaustible entertainment for playersespecially with several people!
The game is so rich that see him imprisoned on Nintendo DS for 15 years is truly heartbreaking. But while fans and developers shout their love for the title and their desire for a remake, Square Enix has never communicated on such a prospect. Still without news of the next two games already announced, the last of which brings together Yuji Hori, Akira Toriyama and Koichi Sugiyama during their lifetime, Dragon Quest is more than ever subject to fabrications. We now hope that these echoes will, perhaps one day, find an attentive ear.