We haven't heard much about Dragon Quest IX for a while. Most of the news coming out about the franchise in the last month or so has been focused on the Dragon Quest IV remake, instead of, you know, the new one.
Square Enix spent the morning revealing its lineup of "fresh new faces and timeless classics" that the company plans to exhibit this week at E3, attaching US release dates to its upcoming titles:
Supplementing this afternoon's Dragon Quest IX gameplay details post, we have some new screenshots of the much-anticipated RPG. Square Enix hasn't skimped on this production at all, as it already looks to be one of the most visually impressive games on the Nintendo DS.
Graphics aside, the scanned Shonen Jump pages also give a glimpse of this title's character customization options and turn-based multiplayer combat. Head past the post break for a couple of the Dragon Quest IX scans.
It seems some people were concerned that in trying to keep Dragon Quest fresh, the upcoming iteration might be heading too far away from the basics of the franchise -- specifically, by moving away from a turn-based combat system in favor of something a little more action-oriented. But don't worry, DQ buffs; the rumors were just that, and according to the latest Shonen Jump, DQIX will in fact retain a turn-based combat system. Also, players will be able to customize the appearance of their characters, from height and weight to hair and face, and even their costumes. There's no word yet on how extensive this system may be, but even a small dose of customization can go a long way.
The talk around town is that Nintendo might have a significant presence this year at the traditionally Sony-dominated Tokyo Game Show, going so far as to secure a booth. The video game trade show hasn't made much of an effort to include Nintendo in the past, as the company stuck to the Space World expo and its own events to make announcements. But with the Wii's current momentum and Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Sky set to appear on the Nintendo DS, leaving Nintendo out of TGS just doesn't make sense.
2006 was a banner year for gamers, particularly DS gamers. We've got it all: a rainbow of system colors, an incredible library of games, and powerful studios clamoring for a piece of the action. Our favorite handheld consistently rocked out, thundering over the competition -- all the competition -- for the entire year. The DS avalanche of awesome can't possibly continue at this rate ... and yet, when we look at the forthcoming year and the incredible parade of titles set for the year, it seems that the DS will, in fact, continue to dominate global gaming.
Continue reading FFV: Dragon Quest IX already rocking airwaves
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