Really not something to get excited over, IMO, and that's coming from someone who loves the DS and its games. As mentioned before, I loved what DQVIII did for the series and was looking forward to either more of the same or further refinement of what we saw then.

Well, can't fault them for trying to make money, though. Now they can pump out a DQ every year for a simpler system.

Hm. Not sure how I feel about this. This doesn't seem like a series that needs to be on a handheld (any handheld, mind you). DQ8 was huge and expansive, and my fear is that sensation going to the wayside just to make it portable. Glad as I am that Level 5's handling the project once again, and that DQ9 is even in existence, I'm remaining skeptical for now.

What I said in the DS-specific thread about it. I just don't think this series is meant for any handheld. Spin-offs, sure. But not the full blown concept.

You guys do know that Level 5 is creating this, right? =|

"Oh waaah it'll never be as good as Level 5's masterpiece DQVIII!!!1"

You might as well just go and smack the guys in the face. =/

I don't think Dragon Quest IX it will be the full blown concept, to be honest.

I can only agree to what has already been said about the game: Many of the things that made Dragon Quest VIII so special will be sorely missed in a DS installment.

A blow for Sony, indeed. I can see why they'd want to do this. As with Nintendo's strategy, I'm sure SE wants to get a bigger audience with its Bread and Butter series, and as the DS is being billed as the system for everyone, I suppose its only natural that the put it there, despite the fact that there are more PS2 owners than DS owners.

From a business perspective, it's a smart move. But from a gamer's perspective, I don't like it. The DS's cart size is miniscule compared to a DVD, meaning they won't be able to do everything that they want to do. Also, personally, I don't like playing the DS for long periods of time, something which RPG demand. I'd rather they'd kept this on the PS2, or it they had to put it to a portable, the PSP. Oh well.

I was talking about this with Skills last night and the DS has shown that it can house some pretty big games in those small chips. Plus there are some people that are talking about a multicart system that would be pretty interesting if implemented, and really not that much different from multicart CD's if you think about it.

I'm curious to see just how they'll go with implementing this and what will become of it in terms of future games from various companies. because you KNOW that if this succeeds other companies will follow suit in trying to emulate it. There's a lot of opportunity here to see just what kind of things one can really do with the DS if you push its productivity to its limit. It's just a matter of trying to figure out what works and what can be done with it. I think it could be really neat.

Something of this scope has never been tried on a handheld (the closest we've ever really gotten are ports of large games). The DS certainly isn't a GBA, so this will be interesting in how it pans out.

I'd agree with you, but the fact of the matter is that Final Fantasy III on the DS is so different from its original version that it can be considered an entirely new game.

Plus: There have been a few RPGs on the PSP and the GBA too.
Golden Sun and GS:TLA were both on the Gameboy Advance.
The PSP has PoPoLoCrois.

As far as this DQ goes, I think the graphics look ridiculous. What is it supposed to be, some kind of super-deformed Akira Toriyama art?

If Level 5 announced that Dark Cloud 3 or a Rogue Galaxy sequel was going to be on the PSP, I think you'd see the same reaction. No one wants to be teased with an immersive experience only to have the series on a far more limited platform.

Hopefully this points to DQX being on Wii or any other major console, rather than the series sticking to the DS.

Edit: "same"

I wouldn't know. I haven't played FF3 yet and probably won't for a very long time. =\

I've never played a DQ game so this will be my very first...I'm interested in seeing what they'll do with it, but I think they can pull it off with some good ideas and creative implementation.

Matt, I'm not sure what Dragon Quest games you've been looking at before DQ8 but most of them were super-deformed Akira Toriyama art. =/

Besides going into battle everything was super-deformed otherwise because that was the formula until they decided to use Akira Toriyama's art EVERYWHERE in DQ8.

The only RPG to really do Akira Toriyama completely before DQ8 was Chrono Trigger. Otherwise it was super-deformed and little elements of the game that used it.

So smashing an old school super-deformed vibe while maintaining an Akira Toriyama style shouldn't be much to complain about as long as there is still that epic Dragon Quest story that Level-5 managed to create in 8. If it's just a dungeon crawl like Children of Mana then there is reason to be disappointed but until that's confirmed I look forward to a full-fledged rpg with some SoM elements for my favorite handheld.

Basically, what it boils down to is this: DQ isn't about graphics and such, the DS is currently the most sustainably popular 'system' in Japan, and the next-gen thing is incredibly up in the air right now as to which will be emerge to the top of the heap. Considering that the game is apparently schedule for release in Summer '07, it's been in the works for a while, and most likely will be some kind of pit-stop on the way to something else. Either that or the cash-cow theory with shorter development times for Japan's #1 franchise.

To add, about the screens released so far... I'm so-so about the game's looks. I really don't like how they rendered the monster in the 2nd shot (is he charging his laser?) -- But yeah, we'll see.

I think the deciding factor for me is
A) How the game moves and flows (no lag, intuitive controls, deep gameplay)
B) How the game sounds on the DS (amazing soundtracks often get turned to grainy mush with synth bass due to the restrictions...)

Edit: Checked out the gameplay video Soldier posted. Actually looks rather nice! Seems they really are doing the whole four-player co-op dealy. Could get a ton of mileage out of it for me and my friends...

This news is incredibly stupid to me. Why put the next main entry on handheld? I don't care what system its on, just as long as its a home console, not a handheld. I hate playing games on handheld compared to playing it on a console. I have a PSP, but only own one game, because I don't enjoy enough, to buy more. This reminds of how Final Fantasy 11 had to become an MMORPG.

I hope they port this very quickly to Wii after it comes out.

I hope to god the game will have character classes or something similar. I also hope that there will be a great amount of weapons and armor to find or buy.

I'm beginning to notice a rather disturbing trend with people talking about this. People who started playing Dragon Quest with Dragon Quest VIII suddenly talking like they know what's best for the franchise without even finishing DQVIII or playing the other seven games.

"I PLAYED THROUGH SOME OF DRAGON QUEST VIII IT WAS BORING LOL I'VE NEVER PLAYED THE OTHERS BUT THIS IS THE WORST NEWS LIKE EVER I'M GONNA SUICIDE OVER IT OMG WTF"

I guess the people who played FFVII first now have an ally in the people who played DQVIII first. Not all of you are obviously annoying, but the last thing I want to see is the wave of stupid doubled.

I hope the lot of you wait until we have enough information to actually make a decision as to whether this will suck or not, before throwing your arms in the air and repeatedly screaming "Y U MOVE ASSBACKWARDS HAW HAW HAW FAIL" about this. ;_;

I'm disappointed. I would have liked to see it on the PS3. I hope that they can pull off the action rpg though.

Well said. I have beat all of the existing Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy games. I think DQ9 can work if it feels like a DQ. The music, sound effects, weapons, armor, magic. If they succeed in all the areas that makes DQ a DQ, but have it be an action RPG, it might work afterall.

I applaud the move to the DS. 4-player co-op for the win.

As immersive as DQ8 was, for me, games are a lot more enjoyable if I can play them with my friends. Let's hope we get something that's at least Secret of Mana quality in terms of its multi-player experience.

And I don't see how a move to a game card from a DVD necessarily dooms it. We'll have to wait and see to see how well the experience transfers, but I think it's premature to assume that the game will be any less fun just because of any technical limitations a move to a portable might have.

For your information, mister smarty-pants, none. :(

What elements from DQ8 can't be ported to a smaller media? The voice? (which, btw, is the best VA work ever)

The more I learn about this game the more I can't help but think management is behind this one. For all purposes this game is taking the series in a different direction enough to be a spin-off game, but DQ spin-off games have traditionally not done well when compared to the titles in the main series.

This has Final Fantasy XI written all over it.

To put it simply, the grand scale that was DQ8. There is no way they are going to be able to create such a deep and immersive game on a platform with limited media storage, tiny 2-inch screens and at best headphones for sound. Plus the games is already showing signs of being a watered down DQ8. The platform itself is going to dictate it to be a pick-up and play type game rather than a game you can sit down with for hours and the online aspect just further supports this theory.

And here's a (possibly real) picture to stir the pot:
http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/pho..._sssphp_01.jpg

But, you know, the game isn't even finished, so who knows.

Statements like this have been tossed around the GAF thread the last couple of days, and it pretty much shows the forum's ugly side magnified for everyone to see. Their constant need to use every single piece of news or quote that Sony is doomed is just annoying as shit. I bet not even half of those guys even like DQ, but they still love having any excuse to cheer for Nintendo.

I don't see how moving DQIX to the DS affects the PS3 or the Wii in any way. They probably just didn't want to pick a side with the two consoles when both of them barely got into the market. The DS is already a huge success, so having this game isn't going to make it bigger (just like how the PS2 was already dominating the market before DQVIII came around).

This does, however, hurt the PSP, which quite honestly is struggling. Considering that I spent $250 (much of it in trade-ins), I really hope it still has a chance to pick up, because I can't stand to see wasted potential.

Ironically, a port/remake of FFT was announced for the PSP on the same day, something that I'm sure tons of people have been waiting for. But since GAF spits on all things Sony-related, they dismiss the news as "unecessary" along with lines like "it'll suck without Matsuno" "anything on the PSP is crap, so this is crap" "Nintendo forever" etc etc.

I've been wanting Nintendo to try the multi-cart route since the N64. However, I doubt multi-carts will ever become a reality. Nintendo always tries to cater to the mass market of gamers and non-gamers out there, and they probably think most people are too stupid to figure out which cart goes first.

Oh, and the game looks pretty amazing in that video. How does Level 5 do it?

Where did you get that pick? If it's fake then who made it?

It is quite a blow to Sony, because the DS is receiving an original title rather than yet another slightly updated port of a game. If they ported over FFT to the PSP with the same level of additions that FFIII got on the DS (content over graphics, obviously) they'd have all kinds of win going for them. But alas, that isn't the case. This is a huge blow to the PSP, and should 10 be announced on the Wii, an even larger blow to the PS3 in Japan. Dragon Quest is bigger than Final Fantasy there, so anything DQ-related announced is serious business.

New FFT without Matsuno will indeed be crap. The port should survive, though.

Where's all this negativity spewing from, if you don't mind me asking? PSP's been dead in Japan for a good while, and it's been floundering everywhere else. This is less "a blow for Sony" and more "SE clamoring for even more money". For reasons already stated, the DS was the logical choice seeing as how the newer consoles haven't established themselves and they could pump out a new DQ every year now (taking advantage of the rabid fans' wallets).

As for FFT, I wouldn't worry. New blood is more often than not, a good thing.

Now, after seeing DQ:Swords screens and reading up on it, it really has me anxious for a Wii DQ.