A 2008 release date for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker was always on the cards for Europe, and Square Enix has now settled on March 14th. Yes, that's a whole 146 days after the Pokémon pretender monster-hunting RPG first arrived in North America, and well over a year since it cropped up in Japan, but heck, are we really all that surprised? We probably don't need to mention that the region won't be seeing any consolatory preorder bonuses.
Fellow Europeans are welcome to quash their sense of injustice by perusing our gallery below for some pretty images of the game in action. Pretty images solve everything.
The non-disclosure agreements have just expired on what was shown at last week's Nintendo of America Media Summit; naturally, within seconds the Internet has become flooded with information about new games. Rather than post each trailer individually, we've decided to embed the newest DS trailers from this event into one roundup post-- because we're Bloggin' Cowboys!
Square Enix's Dragon Quest spinoff (and one of about fivehundred DS Dragon Questgames) Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker came out in Japan way back in December. It was well-received there, getting the highest compliment a game can get: lots of people's money. We're still waiting for it over here, but our wait, at least, is almost over. Now, for a little while, we can be waiting buddies with PAL gamers, since the game has been announced for a European release.
According to the press release, "all PAL territories" can expect a release of Joker in early 2008. No idea if it'll bring along it's dazzlingly multipurpose preorder gift!
Posted Aug 30th 2007 2:40PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
According to RPGamer, copies of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker preordered from Amazon, GameCrazy or GameStop will include a "combination DS charm, keychain, and map." Apparently the map can also be used as a screen cleaner.
Alone, none of these are particularly unusual giveaways. The cloth map has been an RPG box standby since early Ultima, and keychains are ubiquitous as preorder bonuses. But in combination? Are we really supposed to hang our keys from our DS? We'll need more than a screen-cleaning map (that part, at least, is super-clever) to buff out the hundreds of scratches to the surface of the system.
Posted Jul 9th 2007 12:20PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
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:
We're jumping on our beds with glee over the fact that we'll be receiving Front Mission so early after the localization was announced, but several disappointing details failed to escape our attention -- Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, It's a Wonderful World, FFIV DS, and Dragon Quest IX's absence; and Ring of Fates' distant date. The multiplayer ARPG and its DS Lite bundle are scheduled to hit Japan this August 23rd.
If you've been dying to know when Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings would be soaring onto your DS, then take heart: we at least have a release window now. The game is scheduled to make its way to North American gamers this winter. Considering it was just released in Japan, the wait isn't terribly long. Plenty of time to run through Final Fantasy XII again, if you're so inclined! It's been a much longer wait for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, which is also slated for later this year, though the game was released last December in Japan. Square Enix wants all our money this holiday season, and with games like these, they just might get it.
The latest update on Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker comes from Famitsu's site, placing the game's setting at center stage. With two islands in Nobisu and Sandoro, the first being a lush and green place that possibly hides a large monster inhabitant and the second being a desert island with a large dragon monster constantly roaming about. Famitsu also talks about encountering NPCs out in the wilderness ...
During a preview look at Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, Famitsu revealed that players will be able to splice two different monsters together in order to create a new, hybrid monster for use in battling over Wi-Fi Connect. The cool thing about combining monsters is, if our translation is correct, that the "parent" monster may pass on attacks and skills to the new hybrid monster. It appears as if this only applies when the original "parent" monster has learned this technique or skill through experience, not the stock traits of said monster.
Taken from Nintendo World 2006, this embedded video reveals more on the battle system for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Featuring a turn-based system, it appears that the player will have a roster of 3 monsters that are out, in battle, by default. Also, is it just us, or does this game look amazing?
The Dragon Quest franchise has hit the ground running on the DS. The next installment in the franchise looks to offer fans a different experience in the universe, albeit more traditional in the gameplay department from the looks of it. The embedded video is a promotional video for the game, yet features the first ever bits of gameplay. As always, the video is embedded into the post after the break.
Dragon Quest, as we all know, is getting a lot of recognition. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is shaping up rather well even though we swear we are looking at another episode of Dragon Ball Z every time we get a new screenshot. Doesn't the main character look like Trunks with extra crazy hair?
Too bad Pokemon already grabbed the main concept of the game or DQM:J would really cause a ruckus in this industry. We realize that not everything similar to Pokemon can be traced back to it but you have to admit the similarities are present.
Joker doesn't have a set release date for Japan and who really knows if we will see it stateside. It would be a nice change of pace for Pokemon lovers or haters.
While it is unconfirmed which magazine source these scans originate from (the forum poster assumes V-Jump), the media within is very appealing to the eye. It appears that DQMJ will retain the cell-shaded graphical style of Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King. While DQMJ will have the player capturing, training, and battling with monsters, the article does not present any further information on the game unless you're fluent in Japanese.
Supposedly the newest iteration in the Dragon Quest series, geared to release on the DS and set to release over in Japan this year, is being officially dubbed Dragon Quest Monsters Joker and will feature 3D visuals for both battle and movement. Also, the game is to support Nintendo's wonderful Wi-Fi service, allowing the Japanese to have at it in by causing their monsters to battle in a tournament called Jokers' GP.
As if that wasn't enough "Pokemon inspiration" for you, the lead character holds the Scout Ring, something which delegates his Monster Master status. In all, however, these tidbits of info do sound reasonably appealing, so let's hope that when a trailer and/or screens are released, they live up to the promising ideas presented by the game so far.