It seems as if it wasn't that long ago when rumors of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen coming stateside first appeared, querying our next command. But here we are, less than two months away from the 3D remake's September 16 release, and Square Enix already has its marketing engine for the game running. The publisher has certainly done its part to push summer along by keeping the past couple of months busy withqualityreleases.
This week's edition of Promotional Consideration pulls out a page from the latest issue of Nintendo Power to bring you Square Enix's new DQIV ad. Join us past the post break!
Perhaps taking a cue from their RPG-localizing rivals, Atlus, whose Izuna sprite comics are a game-promoting delight, Square Enix has made the first of a series of Dragon Quest IV comic strips available on the Square Enix Members website. It follows the dapper Ragnar McRyan as he embarks on the quest to purchase some clothing!
Even if it is a cute online comic whose access is restricted to people who sign up for Square Enix Members, we're glad to see Square Enix doing something to promote this game. Dragon Quest, for whatever reason, still needs a bit of a push in the U.S.
So, like, is new screens and a release date for Square Enix's Dragon Quest IV totally not worth your time? Well, we've got something better than screens. We've got a bunch of screens, that form together like Voltron to become a game trailer. It's like magic. Like casting Thundaga on a robotic enemy.
Now that we've got you in a good mood, check out the new screens below. Everything, even a screenshot from a game, deserves a second chance.
Those looking forward to both Final Fantasy IV and Dragon Quest IV might have had a little scare earlier due to what seems to be a typo on the official release lists. DQIV, originally dated for September in the U.S., was on that list with a date of July 22 -- the same day as Final Fantasy IV. That's way too much IV for one week, but luckily, it appears to have been a typo. The official E3 press release for Dragon Quest IV still reads September 16, 2008. Whew. We're saved from hundreds of hours of battling in one week!
The Final Fantasy IV and Dragon Quest IV screens definitely feature the English versions of the game, but with the other three, it's kind of hard to tell for various reasons! The Chrono Trigger image has no text, so it sort of doesn't matter if the screen has been localized or not. Exit has English text, but it's the same English text found in the Japanese game. And Kage has both Japanese and English elements in its interface. If we hadn't just been told these games were coming out over here, we wouldn't be sure if these games were coming out over here.
While Square Enix announced their intention to release Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen in "PAL territories" this September, they aren't the ones handling the Australian release. Ubisoft is the company's distributor in Australia and New Zealand, and thus the duties for Dragon Quest IV fall to them. Reassuringly, Ubisoft has made their intention to release the game for real official in a new press release.
Maintaining the numberless "Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen" title that should keep PAL gamers from finding out there have been other Dragon Quest games, the Australian release of the game is also planned for September. A specific date has yet to be revealed. Also ominously absent from this press release is any mention at all of Dragon Quests V and VI.
Remember that haaauuuuge list of Japan's 500 highest-selling games of 2007? Well, sorry, but you'll have to forget them all. Yep, every last one of 'em. That's because we now have a new list which is also claiming to feature the 500 best-selling games of 2007 in Japan. This one has been compiled by Enterbrain (the original was from rival data-gatherers Media Create), and it's ever so slightly different.
The good news is that, despite the origins of each list being different, the overriding message is still the same, and that message is: DS rules all yaaay. Both lists agree that Wii Sports was top dog, but the top DS games have been jumbled about. Now, for example, it is the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers games that are top of the DS pile, while Mario Party DS drops to second. The changes are subtle, but definitely exist. Hit the break to see the top ten DS games!
Eager fans anticipating the release of Dragon Quest V, get your eyeballs wrapped around some of the new content on offer at the game's official Japanese website. Within, you'll find some descriptions for the characters that will be populating the game world, as well as various other goodies. On top of that, you can also enjoy the Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest VI sites. So, go click crazy over there and check out the content.
With the Dragon Quest IV DS remake announced for the US and Europe this week, we thought it'd be good a time to dig up Enix's commercials for the original Famicom game's release in Japan. They're completely different from the retro ads used last November when the DS remake shipped.
As with Squaresoft's chocobo commercials for Final Fantasy IV on the Super Famicom (launching a little over a year after Dragon Quest IV), these ads were just plain odd! They show hardly any in-game video, relying on logos and recognizable theme music instead. Gather your party and meet us in the fifth chapter, past the post break, for the commercials.
Posted May 22nd 2008 11:00AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
Square Enix released an image of the box for the North American release of the Dragon Quest IV remake, and it looks pretty nice! It suffers from Akira Toriyama "every character looks exactly the same" syndrome, but there's not really much that can be done about that! It's the same art as the Japanese version, with a more traditional layout, highlighting the hero.
Dragon Quest IV has been sold a bunch of times over the years, on three different systems, so it's naturally had a few different box designs. We thought it might be interesting to show you the boxarts for each iteration of the game. Well, not all of them -- we've omitted stuff like the budget rereleases of the PlayStation version, because they're exactly the same art with a different border.
Out of all the variations, we like the art on the Famicom release the best. It seems the most dynamic and exciting. We think we like the NES version's art the least, because there isn't any.
The latest trio of games announced for the continent are none other than the Dragon Quests. We only reported this morning that Dragon Quest IV, V, and VIwere North American bound, so hearing about a European (and other PALs) confirmation so soon afterward was a pleasant surprise. Not only that, but DQIV will be releasing in PAL nations this September, too -- maybe Square Enix really meant it when they said they were aiming for simultaneous worldwide releases. (Yes, we know it came out in Japan ages ago.)
Posted May 21st 2008 8:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
The first official news is out regarding a North American release for Dragon Quest IV, in the form of the official website. The site doesn't have much information up about the game -- except its release date, September 16. English screens and stuff can come later!
The real news is on the new Dragon Quest series site, which shows pretty unambiguously that the Dragon Quest V and VI remakes are on the way as well, with matching alliterative subtitles (Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie). This will be the first U.S. release for these two games (IV was released on the NES) and their availability will mean that, for the first time since IV, every main Dragon Quest game has had a U.S. release.
[Update: you just get one! Blue or orange. I am a sad slime.]
There just aren't enough Slime products for us. The hundred bajillion or so that currently exist fail to completely cover every aspect of our lives. Square Enix is working to make sure that we never have to not look at a Slime again, starting with the outside of our DS Lite.
For just $7, you can get one of two adorable Slime styli that fit into the Lite just like the normal ones, with one important difference: a pleasantly vacant little Slime peeking out from the stylus slot. Preorders are set to ship in July, just in time (we think) for the Dragon Quest IV remake.
The rumors of a DS Elebits sequel, fueled by an "Elebits 2" Gamefly listing, have gotten a lot more plausible with a revision to that same listing. The title for the supposed sequel is now Elebits 2: Adventures of Kai & Zero, and the release date has been moved up two weeks to August 14.
If this is real, we expect to hear about it very soon, since a Konami Gamer's Day took place yesterday. If it's fake, we expect to feel surprised.
In other Gamefly news, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen has an August 30 release date on the rental service's web page. No idea if it's accurate, but if it is, this is the summer of Square Enix "IV" remakes!
Apparently, a listing for Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen has shown up on the USK (or Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle, but we're sticking with the easier, shorter name), Germany's classification board. Not satisfied with just knowing the title exists in their database, we hit the USK's official website to see it with our own eyes and found this listing for the game.
The chances that Europe will receive this game just increased, but we're curious about one thing. Just why isn't the game listed as Dragon Quest IV? It merely says Dragon Quest: The Chapters of the Chosen. Odd, if you ask us.
Perhaps taking a cue from their RPG-localizing rivals, Atlus, whose Izuna sprite comics are a game-promoting delight, 
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