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Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King,^[a] known in the PAL regions as Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King, is a role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was first released in Japan in 2004, and was later released in North America in 2005 and PAL regions in 2006, making it the first main series installment released in the PAL region.^[9] It is the eighth installment of the popular Dragon Quest series and it is the first English version of a Dragon Quest game to drop the Dragon Warrior title.^[10] A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan in December 2013,^[4] and worldwide in May 2014.^[2][3]

Dragon Quest VIII uses cel shading for the characters and scenery and is the first game in the series to have fully 3D environments and character models.^[11] The game retains most of the series' role-playing game elements, such as turn-based combat and the experience level system. Dragon Quest VIII follows the silent Hero, the main character, and his party of allies as they journey towards the goal of defeating the wicked Dhoulmagus. The kingdom of Trodain has been cursed by Dhoulmagus, with the King, Trode, and his daughter, Medea, transformed into a troll and a horse respectively, and it is up to the Hero to return them to their original form and save the kingdom. Dragon Quest VIII was both a critical and financial success, becoming a Sony Greatest Hits game.

In Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, there’s literally a lot of things to do aside from completing the main quest like visiting Casinos, collecting recipes, and doing sidequests. For players looking forward to getting items that can’t be obtained anywhere else and mini medals, their. Dragon Quest VIII OST. Full OST from the game. Dragon Quest VIII OST - Strange World World Map Theme (Symphonic Version). Dragon Quest VIII OST - To a Vast World World Map Theme. Jul 13, 2013  Dragon Quest VIII OST. Full OST from the game. Dragon Quest VIII OST - Strange World World Map Theme (Symphonic Version). Dragon Quest VIII OST - To a Vast World World Map Theme.

• 2Synopsis
• 3Development and release

Gameplay[edit]

In Dragon Quest VIII Whatsapp pc versiyonu indira. , the player controls the Hero in a fully three-dimensional environment. Players are able to pan the camera a full 360 degrees around the character, as well as look in a first-person perspective mode.^[12] The visual controls allow players to examine people and objects more closely than the top-down perspective of the game's predecessors. With a new fully integrated world, towns and dungeons are no longer identified by two-dimensional icons found on the world maps. Players can guide the Hero across vast landscapes to reach full-size towns and buildings.^[10]

Battles are randomly occurring and turn-based. When encountering an enemy, the game switches to a battle scene with the enemies facing the party where characters from both sides take turns attacking each other. These battle scenes have visually changed dramatically from earlier games in the series, yet retain a similar text based menu system for battles.^[13] In the earlier games, battles were shown from a first-person perspective. For this installment, the battles are shown in a first-person perspective while choosing what to do, but the view then shifts to a third-person perspective with all of the members of the Hero's party shown on the screen along with the enemies.^[12] During battle, each character in the party has the ability to attack, use items, or use magic and skills. New to Dragon Quest VIII is the tension system, which allows the player to choose the 'Psyche Up' command for a character during battle.^[14] This command allows the player to skip a character's turn in order to build 'tension', making that character's next attack stronger. By using it multiple times in succession, the character's attack will do more damage. Another new feature, the Alchemy Pot allows players to mix items in order to create new, stronger items. This can be done while walking on the world map. There is also a monster capturing feature, but it is not as fundamental to the gameplay as it was in Dragon Quest V.^[12] The player may find enemies visible on the world map that can be recruited if defeated and used during the Monster Arena mini-game and during battle.

Through the traditional experience point system, characters advance through experience levels and develop their abilities, similar to previous games in the series. Defeating enemies grants experience points and gold to the party, which allows the player to purchase items and weapons at in-game shops. In addition to this, Level-5 incorporated a secondary skill development system to allow players a chance to customize each character to their liking.^[10] After characters gain an experience level past level four, they accrue skill points distributed as the player chooses among five different skills—three different weapon skills (which vary from character to character), 'fisticuffs', and a character-specific special attribute. Gaining enough points in a skill can allow the character to gain strength in weapons and learn new abilities and magic spells.^[15]

Synopsis[edit]

Plot[edit]

The game begins with the court jester of the kingdom of Trodain, Dhoulmagus, stealing an ancient scepter and casting a spell on Trodain castle. The spell turns the king, King Trode, into a troll; the princess, Medea, into a horse; and the rest of the castle’s inhabitants into plants. The only one left unaffected is the unnamed protagonist, a Trodain guard. The guard, King Trode, and Princess Medea set out on a quest to track down Dhoulmagus and break the spell.^[12] They are joined by Yangus, a bandit whose life the hero saves from a collapsing bridge; Jessica, a mage seeking to avenge her brother; and Angelo, a Templar Knight with a penchant for flirting and gambling. Tracking Dhoulmagus' murderous path, the party journeys west, across the ocean. Eventually, the group hunts down Dhoulmagus and kills him, but Dhoulmagus' death fails to break the spell. Jessica claims Dhoulmagus' scepter, and soon after disappears.

Jessica later returns, possessed by the staff and battles the remaining party members in an attempt to murder a young man. After the party releases Jessica from her possession, Jessica tells them that the scepter contains the spirit of Rhapthorne, the Lord of Darkness, who was imprisoned in the scepter long ago by seven sages. He seeks to escape from his prison by killing the descendants of the sages. She proceeds to speculate that it is Rhapthorne, and not Dhoulmagus, who maintains the curse on Trodain: therefore, Rhapthorne must be defeated if the curse is to be broken. When Jessica explains this, the scepter takes control of a magician’s dog, Sir Leopold, and kills the magician’s assistant, who was one of the descendants of the sages. The party attempts to seek out and defend the remaining descendants, but Leopold manages to murder another descendent of the sages. Eventually, the scepter comes into the possession of Marcello, Angelo's power hungry half-brother. Marcello kills the last remaining descendant of the sages, but manages to contain Rhapthorne for a time. Eventually, the party engages Marcello and exhaust him to the point of losing control and releasing Rhapthorne. The party, aided by the godbird Empryea, faces Rhapthorne and defeats him. With Rhapthorne dead, King Trode, Princess Medea, and the people of Trodain are returned to normal. Months later, the protagonist escorts Medea to Savella Cathedral for her arranged marriage to the spoiled Prince Charmles of Argonia, but before the ceremony can take place, the protagonist and Medea escape from Savella Cathedral and live happily together. In an unlockable extended ending, it is discovered that the protagonist is the lost prince of Argonia, and upon this revelation, the King of Argonia decides to allow the protagonist to marry Medea. In the 3DS version, the player can choose to instead begin a romance with Jessica. In the traditional ending the hero goes traveling the world with Jessica while in the unlockable ending the hero can choose to marry Jessica instead of Medea.

Characters[edit]

Dragon Quest VIII focuses on four main characters, each joining the battle party early in the game. The main protagonist of the game, an eighteen-year-old royal guard of Trodain and the only person present in the castle to escape Dhoulmagus' wrath unscathed, is a silent hero, and named by the player. He is the most balanced party member, able to equip swords, spears, boomerangs and use magic. He is immune to all curses. His special attribute is courage.^[12] He is accompanied by Yangus, a former thief and friend of the Hero's who owes the Hero a life debt after the Hero rescues him from the side of a cliff. Yangus is a physically strong character and speaks with a Cockney accent in the English versions, and wields axes, clubs, and scythes. His special attribute is humanity. Jessica, the only woman to join the party, is a sorceress from the town of Alexandria who seeks to avenge her murdered brother, Alistair. She uses magic but can also equip whips and knives, and she can stun enemies with her special attribute Sex Appeal skills. She is also the only character who can change her appearance in battle through various costumes, with the exception of one costume for the Hero.^[12] Angelo is a womanizing noble who was raised in a monastery following both his parents' deaths by a plague.^[13] He is a member of the Knights Templar and decides to battle against Dhoulmagus when the villain sets fire to his abbey and kills the abbot. In battle, he can use both magic and physical attacks effectively and has the most healing spells. He can wield swords, bows, or staffs. His special attribute is charisma.^[12]

Two non-player characters journey with the protagonists: Trode, the titular cursed king who rules over Trodain but was transformed into a toad-like creature by Dhoulmagus; and Medea, Trode's daughter, who is the same age as the Hero.^[15] Medea was transformed into a horse by Dhoulmagus and has a romantic interest in the Hero. Munchie, the Hero's pet mouse, becomes temporarily playable under certain circumstances. Other important non-player characters include Empyrea, a powerful god-like bird; Marcello, Angelo's illegitimate half-brother and the Captain of the Templars; Red, a female bandit and former colleague of Yangus' with whom she shares a rivalry; and Morrie, the proprietor of an underground monster-fighting arena. The antagonist of Dragon Quest VIII is Dhoulmagus, a jester who steals an ancient scepter from Trodain Castle and uses its power to curse the inhabitants of the castle, setting the game's events in motion.^[12] He proceeds to embark on a murder spree as the protagonists chase him. Dhoulmagus is eventually revealed to be a pawn of Rhapthorne, a demonic lord and the game's true antagonist, who is manipulating the jester in an attempt to free himself from the scepter inside of which he has been imprisoned.

Development and release[edit]

Like the other games in the series, Yuji Horii was staffed as the scenario director.^[16] Critics praised the colorful designs done by art designer Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame.^[17][18]Koichi Sugiyama composed the music for the game.^[19][19]Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan on the morning of November 27, 2004 with a celebration at Starbucks in Shibuya, Tokyo, starting at 6:30 am. Horii and Square Enix President Yoichi Wada both made appearances at the event, and several of the first buyers in line received a toy Slime.^[16]

From August through October before the game's US release, the 'Simon dTOUR Live' Mall Tour featured playable demos at participating malls across the US. These free events gave away Dragon Quest merchandise and also featured live entertainment.^[20] A demo disc for Dragon Quest VIII was also released during the fall of 2005 through Shonen Jump magazine.^[21] The game was released in North America on November 15, 2005 and shipped with a playable Final Fantasy XII demo disc.^[11] Additions and changes to the North American version of Dragon Quest VIII included voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, additional spells and attacks, and a new menu interface.^[17] In a Nintendo Direct in November 2015, it was shown that the game would be releasing for the 3DS in 2016.

Dragon Quest VIII was the first game in the series to bear the Dragon Quest name (rather than Dragon Warrior) in North America.^[17]Dragon Quest's North American name had been changed due to a trademark conflict with the pen-and-paper role-playing gameDragonQuest, published by wargame publisher Simulation Publications in the 1980s, until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, Inc., which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987.^[22] In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Questtrademark in the US, making the Dragon Warrior name obsolete. As this installment of the series was the first after 2003 to be released outside Japan, it was the first to receive the Quest in its title.^[23]

Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American and European localizations of the game mark a departure from previous Dragon Quest titles due to the inclusion of voice acting in certain parts of the adventure pertaining to the advancement of the storyline.^[10] The game retains the series' tradition of allowing the player to name the lead character, reconciling the two by having the voice acting script skip incidences of the Hero's name, (e.g. the line 'Okay, Hero, my boy..' appears on-screen, while the voice acting says, 'Okay, my boy..') and occasionally replacing the name with Yangus' nickname for him, 'guv' (as in 'governor', pronounced with a Cockney accent).^[14] Unlike some earlier games in the series, which were censored during localization for North America, Dragon Quest VIII had no such censorship. The English translation is credited to Plus Alpha Translations and AltJapan Co., Ltd. Richard Honeywood, of Square Enix's localization office and famous for his work with Final Fantasy VIII and Chocobo Racing, was the main force behind the game's English localization.^[24]

Dragon Quest VIII was released in PAL regions in April 2006 under the title Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King, dropping the Roman numeral. This marked the first time a main game in the series had been released in the PAL region.^[9] In an interview with Horii in London, he mentioned that the 2003 merger between Squaresoft and Enix (creating Square Enix) allowed the company to release more games in more localities, with producer Ryutaro Ichimura adding that 'European tastes have changed because of the influence of anime and cartoons, so Europeans are more willing to receive this type of artwork.'^[25]

Music[edit]

As with most Dragon Quest games, Koichi Sugiyama wrote the game's original score. An official soundtrack for Dragon Quest VIII was released in December 2005, published by Aniplex.^[19] In the Japanese release of the game, the game features sequenced music, whereas the North American and PAL versions contained the symphonic suite orchestral recordings performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, with Sugiyama serving as the conductor.

Reception[edit]

Released for the PlayStation 2 on November 27, 2004 in Japan, Dragon Quest VIII went on to ship over three million copies within its first week, making it the fastest selling Japanese PlayStation 2 title upon release.^[31][32] By September, 2008, total worldwide shipments of Dragon Quest VIII surpassed 4.9 million copies,^[33] of which over 430,000 were from the North American release.^[34]Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.^[35] It was the first Dragon Quest game to receive a score of 39 out of 40 from Famitsu.^[36] It won both 1UP.com's and GameSpy's 'Best RPG of E3 2005' award, ahead of runner-up Kingdom Hearts II.^[37][38] The iOS version became the 2nd top-seller of Japan AppStore in the debut half day, highlighting the influence of the series.^[39] In 2017, the 3DS version was nominated for 'Handheld/Mobile Game of the Year' at the Golden Joystick Awards,^[40] and for 'Best Portable Game' at Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017.^[41] It was also nominated for 'Handheld Game of the Year' at the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.^[42]

The US release of Dragon Quest VIII received mostly positive reviews, receiving a score of 89 out of 100 on Metacritic.^[26] Critics were quick to praise the 3D cel shaded visuals, noting that it was the first game in the series to be fully three-dimensional.^[13][17] A staple of the Dragon Quest series is the simplicity of its gameplay, a factor which has been criticized in the past.^[43] However, several critics pointed out that the simple gameplay works for Dragon Quest VIII. Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot wrote that the lack of 'dozens of characters of all types' allows the game to remain simple, letting the player become very familiar with the main characters.^[13]Edge magazine, however, commented that the game's substance seemed out of place for 2005.^[27]

A majority of reviewers cited the English localization of the game as one of its best qualities.^[13][17][18] Nich Maragos of 1UP.com praised the game's British tinted localization, saying how the humor is often successful except for 'a few puns that will, on occasion, make you want to die.'^[18] Parkin described the voice acting as 'a mash up of Monty Python and The Princess Bride: fantasy farce driving the cute narrative in the ideal aural vehicle.'^[28] The game's world map has also been a major topic of praise for critics. The 1UP.com staff suggested that the player stop playing 'to just look around and absorb the scenery' and said that it rivals Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' map of San Andreas in size and detail.^[44]IGN writer Jeremy Dunham wrote that the 'only exception in the game's mass list of progression is the plotline,' explaining that it has one of the more basic Dragon Quest stories; but he also mentions that the game still manages to take a simple plot and make it entertaining.^[17]

Legacy[edit]

Characters from the game have made appearances in other Square Enix properties. Dragon Quest Yangus, a roguelikeMysterious Dungeons game developed by Cavia for the PlayStation 2, follows the storyline of a young Yangus.^[45] It was released in Japan in 2006.^[46] Jessica, Angelo, and Yangus also appear opposite other Dragon Quest characters, as well as Final Fantasy and Mario characters in titles of the Fortune Street franchise, a cross-over board game spanning multiple platforms.^[47] Appearances include Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable, Itadaki Street DS for the Nintendo DS^[48] and Itadaki Street Wii/Fortune Street, an enhanced remake of Itadaki Street DS for the Wii.^[49]Dragon Quest VIII characters also make appearances in Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies: Jessica, Angelo, and King Trode appear as special WI FI guests in the Quester's Rest inn in Stornway,^[50] Dhoulmagus and Rhapthorne appear as optional legacy bosses, and the player can acquire a 'Trodain Royal Guard' costume to dress as VIII's Hero.^[51]

The protagonist will appear as a playable character in the crossover fighting gameSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, included as an alternate costume for the protagonist of Dragon Quest XI.^[52]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Known in Japan as Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi (ドラゴンクエストVIII 空と海と大地と呪われし姫君)

References[edit]

1. ^'Dragon Quest VIII (US) - November 2005'. LEVEL-5 International America. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
2. ^ ^ab'DRAGON QUEST VIII on the App Store on iTunes'. Square Enix. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
3. ^ ^ab'DRAGON QUEST VIII - Android Apps on Google Play'. Square Enix. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
4. ^ ^ab'SQUARE ENIX will release DRAGON QUEST VIII for iOS and Android on December 12,　2013 in Japan (For Japan)' (in Japanese). Square Enix. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
5. ^'The New Year Brings a New World to Save When DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Releases for Nintendo 3DS on Jan. 20'. Business Wire. Nintendo of America, Inc. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
6. ^Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 13, 2015). 'Dragon Quest 8 coming to Nintendo 3DS'. Eurogamer. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
7. ^'DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King releases for Nintendo 3DS on January 20th 2017'. Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
8. ^'The New Year brings a new (DRAGON) quest, on 21st January 2017!'. Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
9. ^ ^abJenkins, David (April 23, 2009). 'Square Enix Releases Tomb Raider, Dragon Quest Sales Data'. Gamasutra. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
10. ^ ^abcdOnyett, Charles (May 19, 2005). 'E3 2005: Interview with Yuji Horii'. IGN. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
11. ^ ^ab'Dragon Quest VIII at GameRankings.com'. 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2007.
12. ^ ^abcdefghKalata, Kurt (April 4, 2008). 'The History of Dragon Quest'. Gamasutra. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
13. ^ ^abcdefMassamilla, Bethany (2005). 'Dragon Quest VIII'. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
14. ^ ^abErikson, Brendon (December 13, 2006). 'Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King'. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
15. ^ ^abHartman, Ryan (April 20, 2006). 'Dragon Quest VIII Review at psxextreme.com'. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
16. ^ ^ab1up.com staff (November 29, 2004). 'Dragon Quest VIII Launch Report'. 1up.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
17. ^ ^abcdefgDunham, Jeremy (November 16, 2005). 'Dragon Quest VIII at IGN'. IGN. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
18. ^ ^abcdMaragos, Nich (November 14, 2005). 'Dragon Quest VIII Review'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
19. ^ ^abcWilson, Mike (2005). 'Dragon Quest VIII OST'. RPGfan.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
20. ^Square Enix (2005). 'Dragon Quest VIII Official Website'. DragonQuest8.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
21. ^Shonen Jump volume 3, issue 8, pg. 3. Viz Media. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
22. ^Cassidy, William (February 1, 2002). 'The GameSpy Hall of Fame: Dragon Warrior'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2011-06-03. Retrieved May 29, 2005.
23. ^Kennedy, Sam (2005-12-02). 'Dragon Quest vs. America'. 1up. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
24. ^Parish, Jeremy (March 11, 2007). 'GDC 2007: The Square-Enix Approach to Localization'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
25. ^Garrat, Patrick (January 16, 2006). 'Mr Dragon Quest: The Cursed King'. Eurogamer.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
26. ^ ^abMetacritic staff. 'Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for PlayStation 2 Reviews'. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
27. ^ ^abEdge staff. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King review. January 2005, p.78.
28. ^ ^abParkin, Simon (December 22, 2005). 'Dragon Quest VIII Review'. Eurogamer. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
29. ^Famitsu (2005). 'Famitsu scores'. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
30. ^Vassar, Darryl (Jan 10, 2006). 'Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the PlayStation 2 Review'. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
31. ^Gantayat, Anoop (November 15, 2005). 'Dragon Quest Ships Triple Platinum'. IGN. Retrieved November 16, 2005.
32. ^Sahdev, Ishaan (September 25, 2009). 'Notable Japanese Game Developer Level-5'. Gameguru.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
33. ^'Dragon Quest IX: About the Developers'. Level-5. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
34. ^Niizumi, Hirohiko (January 30, 2006). 'Four million Dragon Quest VIIIs shipped'. GameSpot. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
35. ^Kohler, Chris (December 12, 2006). 'Dragon Quest on DS: What It Means'. Wired. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
36. ^Edge staff (November 30, 2005). 'Inside Famitsu: Rogue Galaxy and More'. Edge-Online.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
37. ^1up.com staff (2005). 'Best of E3 2005'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
38. ^GameSpy.com staff (2005). 'Best of E3 2005'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-06-01. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
39. ^'国民的RPGの底力を見た　『ドラクエVIII』が早くもトップセールス2位!! [ファミ通App]'. famitsu.com.
40. ^Gaito, Eri (November 13, 2017). 'Golden Joystick Awards 2017 Nominees'. Best in Slot. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
41. ^Moyse, Chris (December 13, 2017). 'Nominees for Destructoid's Best Portable Game of 2017'. Destructoid. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
42. ^Makuch, Eddie (January 14, 2018). 'Game Of The Year Nominees Announced For DICE Awards'. GameSpot. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
43. ^'Dragon Warrior VII for PlayStation Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
44. ^1up staff (November 15, 2005). 'journey of the Cursed King'. 1up.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
45. ^Gantayat, Anoop (April 24, 2006). 'Dragon Quest Yangus: Import Playtest'. IGN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
46. ^Alfonso, Andrew (May 1, 2006). 'Dragon Quest Yangus'. GameSpy.com. Archived from the original on 2006-07-01. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
47. ^Jenni (April 30, 2008). 'How to get to Itadaki Street Portable'. Siliconera.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
48. ^'Itadaki Street at Square-Enix.com'. Square-enix.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
49. ^'Itadaki Street Coming to Wii in 2011'. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
50. ^'Dragon Quest IX full guest list revealed'. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
51. ^Lummis, Michael; Owen, Michael. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Brady Games Signature Series Guide). Brady Games. ISBN0-7440-1238-4.
52. ^Minotti, Mike. 'Dragon Quest characters join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'. VentureBeat. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

External links[edit]

Dragon Quest IX^[a] (also known as Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies) is a role-playingvideo game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Level-5, and published in 2009 by Square Enix in Japan; it was published by Nintendo internationally a year later, in 2010, making it the second numbered installment of the series to be released within Europe and Australia, after the eighth game.

Dragon Quest IX introduced local multiplayer functionality to the series, as well as limited compatibility with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It was also the first to be initially released for a handheld game console, and the first to feature spawning of enemies, rather than random encounters. The game retains many of the series' traditional role-playing elements, such as turn-based combat and a level system based on gaining experience points. The game was designed to be the most difficult title in the series.

Dragon Quest IX achieved record-breaking sales within Japan, and has set a Guinness World Record for its anonymous communication mode.^[3][4] Critically, the game has been well-received both inside and outside Japan, with a Famitsu score of 40/40, a GameRankings score of 88%, and a Metacritic score of 87.

• 1Gameplay
• 4Release
• 5Reception

Gameplay[edit]

Dragon Quest IX continues the Dragon Quest tradition of turn-based combat and is considered harder than the other Dragon Quest games before it.^[5][6] The game allows players to have a cooperative wireless multi-player experience with up to four players; it does not, however, feature multi-player capabilities via Nintendo Wi-Fi.^[7] Multiplayer play requires a game cartridge for each player. The game includes only one save slot, whereas most have at least three.^[5][8]

In part due to Dragon Quest IX's design as a multiplayer game, party members are characters created and chosen by the player. Unlike previous games, the player has more control over their character's appearance. While Dragon Warrior III and Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen allowed players to choose between playing a hero or a heroine, Dragon Quest IX offers more customization by also allowing players to define themselves with characteristics such as hair styles and skin tones.^[9]

Each character can be customized, both during creation and throughout the game. During character creation selectable features include, gender, hair style and color, eye shape and color, body type, skin tone, and, for characters other than the protagonist, vocation (the game's term for character class). Customizing a character continues into the main game with weapons and armor, now visible during battles and while exploring the world map and towns. Weapons and armor equippable include one weapon, a shield, a helmet, body armor, leg armor, gloves, boots, and accessories (rings or amulets, for example).

Each playable character has a vocation that determines his or her stat(which increases per level), usable weapons and armor, and spells. Six vocations are available early in the game: warrior, mage, priest, martial artist, thief and minstrel. An additional six classes (armamentalist, ranger, gladiator, sage, paladin, and luminary) can be unlocked through successful completion of quests. The protagonist starts as a minstrel, and when additional party members first become available, they can be created with any of the six starting vocations. To have a character become a different vocation the player must talk to 'Jack of Alltrades' of Alltrades Abbey or use the sage's ability 'Jack's Knack'. The ability to change a character's active vocation can be unlocked through gameplay. Characters have separate levels and experience totals for each vocation, and a character's stats and spells are based on his or her active vocation. The game also includes a skill system similar to the one in Dragon Quest VIII, each vocation has five skills: one skill exclusive to the vocation, three weapon skills shared with one or more other vocations, and either Shield or Fisticuffs, an unarmed skill. As characters gain levels, they obtain skill points, which can be spent to increase any of the current vocation's skills. Whenever the points invested in a skill reach a certain threshold, a new ability (active command) or trait (passive bonus) is gained, with the 10th and final ability or trait gained at 100 points. In the case of weapon skills, the 100 point trait allows a character to use the relevant weapon with any vocation, while the 100 point shield trait allows any vocation to use shields. Abilities and traits which have been gained through the skill system are carried over to other vocations, as are unspent skill points.

Dragon Quest 9 World Map Printable

Battle[edit]

Battle is conducted from a combination of first and third-person perspectives. The character plans his or her attack from a first person perspective, selecting which opponents to target (including the ability to target specific monsters in a single group) and then switches to a moving third-person view to watch the main character's party and the monsters battle for the round. Combat includes a combo system available both to players and monsters. When two or more identical attacks are performed consecutively on the same opponent the attack damage increases by a multiplier. A two-hit combo receives a 1.1x multiplier (1.2x in the NA and UK version), a three-hit combo a 1.5x multiplier, and a four-hit combo a 2.0x multiplier. Experience points earned from battle are divided amongst all party members based on level; higher level characters receive a greater share of the experience points than lower level characters. Characters who are killed during a battle still receive some experience as well, depending on how much of the battle they remained alive for. The tension system from Dragon Quest VIII makes a return, allowing characters to store up power to increase the potency of the next attack or spell. Also, some monsters will be provoked when certain actions are performed: provoked enemies will focus their attacks on the offending party member, which could be a problem if one character ends up provoking many enemies in one action as they run a great risk of being targeted by a combo.

The protagonist's actions are controlled directly by the player, while other party members can either be controlled directly or assigned various AI modes such as Show No Mercy (which prioritizes damage), Focus on Healing or Don't Use MP using the Tactics system first introduced in Dragon Quest IV.

Features[edit]

Dragon Quest IX gives the player optional quests to complete during and after the main game. Quests serve as side-stories helping non-player characters around the game's world. Multiple quests can be performed simultaneously; some are interlocking, others unlock stages in fellow quests.^[10] Early quests include gathering magical spring water, slaying monsters and stealing for a fellow thief. Unlike previous Dragon Quest installments, Dragon Quest IX contains many open ended mini-quests. Upon completion of the quests, a 'Quest List log', serving as an in-game achievement list.^[11]

In addition, the game features infinitely generating treasure maps where the player can earn treasure and fight monsters not found in the main game.^[12] New weapons, armor, and other items can be created through alchemy. Using an alchemy pot (called the 'Krak Pot'), one can mix items with alchemy materials found in treasure chests, the world map, and dropped by monsters. Recipes can be found hidden in bookcases through the world and the player can experiment with new recipes of their own.

Story[edit]

Dragon Quest IX begins in the Observatory, the kingdom in the sky where the angelic beings called Celestrians, including the main character, reside. The main character begins as the guardian who has just undertaken protection of Angel Falls, a human village. The Celestrians have been trying for some time to move into the Realm of the Almighty. However, before they can leave, they require a rare fruit called the Fygg. Yggdrasil, the 'World Tree' that it grows on, must be empowered with benevolessence, spiritual energy that can only be obtained by helping people in the Protectorate, the world of mortals.^[11]

By protecting Angel Falls and earning the gratitude of its people, the main character obtains enough benevolence for the World Tree to produce the fyggs. As the tree blooms, the celestial train known as the Starflight Express arrives to ferry the Celestrians to the Realm of the Almighty. However, before the Celestrians can board the train, the Observatory is attacked from below by a mysterious and powerful force. The force scatters the assembled angels and knocks the fyggs, the Starflight Express, and the main character down to the Protectorate.

The main character awakens without wings or a halo and finds themself rescued from the base of the waterfall in Angel Falls. They come to learn a little about their fall on the great earthquake that happened at the same time. Having lost most of their Celestrian powers, but not their memory or the ability to see deceased and magical spirits, they travel about trying to find a way back to the Observatory. During an adventure to reconnect their village to the nearby castle after landslides caused by the great earthquake, the main character finds the broken-down Starflight Express and its fairy engineer, Stella. Stella promises to help the main character return to the Observatory if they can prove they are a Celestrian.

By helping humans, the main character gathers benevolessence, though they can no longer see it. Their ability to aid and protect the humans convinces Stella that they are indeed a Celestrian. The main character then uses the benevolessence to restore power to the Starflight Express and returns to the Observatory. Upon their return, the main character discovers that the fyggs have also fallen to the Protectorate and that many Celestrians have been dispatched to find them, though none of them have returned. Their prayers to become a Celestrian again are unanswered, but a vision is presented to the main character as they stand before the World Tree. Taking the vision as a sign, the main character returns to the Protectorate to help collect the Fyggs.

As the main character travels the Protectorate in search of the fyggs, they find out that fyggs have the ability to grant those who eat it any wish. Unfortunately, the wishes are not always fulfilled in the way they were expected and those who eat the fruit succumb to strange and demented ways. The main character travels from land to land and battles those possessed by the Fygg's power, freeing them from their twisted forms and regaining the fyggs one by one. After the main character collects seven fyggs, the Starflight Express is attacked by the hero's former mentor, Aquila, who is now working for the Gittish Empire, an evil organization thought to have been wiped out three centuries ago. Because Celestrians are unable to fight their superiors, Aquila easily defeats the main character and steals the fyggs before meeting up with two more of the Gittish Empire's forces: Lieutenant Hootingham-Gore of the Triumgorate and the dark dragon Barbarus. Hootingham-Gore has Barbarus attack the Starflight Express, causing Stella and the main character to tumble out of the train and fall back down to the Protectorate.

The two land in an isolated village called Wormwood Creek, whose residents have come to despise outsiders after an attack by the Gittish Empire hundreds of years ago. The main character is met with hostility by all of the town's residents except for the mayor's nephew, Wallace, who sympathizes with the main character and helps them recover. Thinking they may be an accomplice of Barbarus, the townspeople kick the main character out of town, despite Wallace's protests. Wallace then suggests that the main character travel to the town of Upover and enlist the help of Barbarus' mortal enemy: Greygnarl, the legendary dragon that lives atop a volcano called the Magmaroo. In order to open the path to Upover, Wallace directs the main character to a sealed cave known as the Bowhole. Along the way, the main character and Stella meet a ghost named Serena who is searching for Corvus, the former guardian Celestrian of Wormwood Creek and Aquila's mentor. Serena reveals that she was the daughter of Wormwood Creek's elder who nursed Corvus back to health after he fell from the Observatory. When the Gittish Empire invaded the town and tried to take Serena, Corvus fought back in her defense and forced them to retreat, only for them to return later and kill her.

The main character obtains an artifact from the Bowhole and uses it to restore the bridge to Upover, and as a result the people of Wormwood Creek realize their town's original purpose - it was originally named 'Wyrmward Creek', and the natives served as wardens of Greygnarl. They apologize to the main character and send them off to Upover, faithful that they can defeat Barbarus with Greygnarl's help. The main character passes through Upover and meets with an aged Greygnarl, who initially mistakes them for a member of the Gittish Empire and attacks. After the main character convinces Greygnarl of Barbarus' return, Greygnarl gives them a seal he stole from the Gittish Empire and allows the hero to take on the role of the Dragon Warrior. The two take to the skies to confront Barbarus, but in the ensuing battle Greygnarl throws the main character off his back and sacrifices himself to save Upover from Barbarus' attack.

The main character is then captured by Hootingham-Gore's forces and taken to the Goretress, a Gittish Empire prison watched over by Triumgorate member Goreham-Hogg. Using the Gittish Seal, the main character is able to bypass the Goretress' force fields and helps Sterling, the prison's foreman, to lead a rebellion against Goreham-Hogg. The two defeat Goreham-Hogg and use his key to free the prisoners of the Goretress' solitary confinement, who are actually some of the missing Celestrians that were sent to recover the fyggs. Before anyone can leave the Goretress, however, Barbarus attacks, but Stella arrives with the Starflight Express and drives him away. Sterling reveals that he is the captain of the Starflight and the three return the captured Celestrians back to the Observatory.

The main character informs the head Celestrian, Apus Major, of the Gittish Empire's return and Aquila's betrayal, and is surprised to learn that Aquila had returned the fyggs to the Observatory. With the fyggs in hand, the main character, Stella, Sterling and Apus Major are able to travel to the Realm of the Almighty, but upon arriving at the Temple of the Almighty they find the place had been hit by the ray of light that struck the Observatory and the Almighty, Zenus, is nowhere to be found. The main character offers the fyggs to Zenus but instead his daughter, the Goddess Celestia, appears before them. Celestia reveals that she had transformed herself into Yggdrasil to prevent Zenus from destroying the Protectorate, intending to prove that the mortals were capable of kindness. Swayed, Zenus decided to spare the humans and created the Observatory and the Celestrians, though he was doubtful that they would ever manage to accomplish their task. The grottoes' boss monsters are revealed as the different parts of Zenus.

Assuring everyone that Zenus had not been killed by the blast of light, Celestria then explains that the being who launched the attack was the same one who revived the Gittish Empire and tasks the main character with preventing him from destroying the world. The main character then goes to the Gittingham Palace, defeating both Hootingham-Gore and the final member of the Triumgorate, Goresby-Purrvis, before finally confronting Aquila and the emperor King Godwyn. Aquila is revealed to have been working as a double agent and attempts to kill Godwyn, only to be killed himself. The main character then defeats King Godwyn and descends into the dungeon beneath the palace, the Oubliette.

Within the Oubliette the hero finds Corvus, who had been captured by the Gittish Empire when they returned to Wormwood Creek. Upon freeing Corvus, the main character learns that he attacked Realm of the Almighty and revived the Gittish Empire, having developed an intense hatred for mortalkind during his three-hundred-year captivity and concentrating it into a powerful force. Corvus attacks the main character and escapes the Oubliette, with Serena appearing soon after his departure. She explains that when the Gittish Empire returned to Wormwood Creek, Corvus tried to defend the town again despite his injuries. To keep him safe, Serena fed Corvus a sleeping potion, but Serena's father delivered Corvus to the Gittish Empire, leading Corvus to believe that Serena betrayed him.

The main character returns to the Realm of the Almighty, finding that Corvus has changed it into a dark and twisted world known as the Realm of the Mighty. Confronting Corvus, they eat one of the fyggs and become a mortal in order to fight back against the fallen angel. Surprised by this, Corvus sends Barbarus to attack the main character, but they manage to best the dragon and goes on to fight and defeat Corvus. After the battle, Serena arrives and explains her intentions to Corvus, managing to redeem him. The two then disappear and the Realm of the Almighty is returned to its former state.

The main character then learns that because they wished to become a mortal, the hero will eventually become unable to perceive the world of the Celestrians and is returned to the Protectorate, having a final farewell with Sterling and Stella before they vanish before their eyes. However, during the events of the epilogue, the main character comes across another fygg and eats it, restoring their ability to see them.The hero is then tasked by Celestria to protect the world from the grotto bosses down under the world.

Development[edit]

Dragon Quest IX was primarily designed around the idea of attracting a wider overseas market by 'giving the game a more action-oriented premise than previous games in the series.^[13] Shinji Hatano, General Manager for Nintendo's Marketing Division, believes that Dragon Quest IX, which he says is a quality title, not only could, but should, sell more copies in the United States and Europe.^[14] In addition to the overseas market, the entire game is designed around the multi-player aspect. Minor aspects like party talk, which was in previous titles, and only a few pre-defined non-player characters and more significant things like the quest system which can often be taken multiple times and are presumably designed around getting friends to help with specific missions. Other changes, like the lack of random battles also are structured toward this goal, but on a more tangential level.^[9]

In mid-2006, Dragon Quest series composer Koichi Sugiyama confirmed that Dragon Quest IX was in development. He said, 'I'm not sure when Dragon Quest IX will be released, but it seems that progress is continually being made. I'm personally excited.'^[15] On December 12, 2006, during a press conference celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Dragon Quest franchise, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest IX would be released exclusively for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console, making it the first main Dragon Quest title to debut on a handheld.

The Japanese release of Dragon Quest IX was subsequently delayed from 2007 to 2008. The company cited the need for more time to make a better game as reason for the delay.^[16] At the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, a new trailer was shown at the Square Enix booth which showed a glimpse of the changes made to the gameplay and graphics. At the end of the video, a confirmation of the release date (set for March 2009) was unveiled. Square Enix released another new trailer for the game, showing various aspects of the storyline, boss battles, along with cutscenes; the end of the trailer showed a then-correct release date for March 28, 2009, along with a price point of ¥5,980, which still stands.^[17]

On February 12, 2009, after having delayed the release of its quarterly financial by a week, Square Enix announced the game would be delayed once again to a Japanese release on July 11 of the same year. The game's release delay worried Final Fantasy fans, who were told by Square Enix president Yoichi Wada that Dragon Quest IX's delay may affect Final Fantasy XIII's release, stating that he '[could] not say there [would not] be an effect.'^[18]

Dragon Quest IX was designed to be the hardest Dragon Quest game yet. The rationale is that the developers said, 'people can always find out information on the internet — like that's part of the game experience.' In addition, the game has only one save slot.^[5] Ryutaro Ichimura, producer of Dragon Quest IX, clarified the reason explaining that there is not enough space on the system given the amount of freedom the game allows. Instead, the extra slot is used for a backup in case of battery failure.^[8]

Also included in the game was the chance to experience boss battles from previous Dragon Quest titles such as fighting Baramos from Dragon Quest III and Dhoulmagus from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.^[19]

Release[edit]

Months after its Japanese release, Square Enix trademarked the name Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, as well as corresponding titles for the four other main languages of Western Europe (French, German, Italian and Spanish), confirming that the title will be released there.^[20] It also registered the English trademark in the United States confirming its North American release around the same time.

Nintendo expected a boost in its DSi sales with the simultaneously timed launch of the red DSi in Japan,^[21] and reports show an increase of 152% in Nintendo DS sales during the first weeks of Dragon Quest IX.^[22] Square-Enix expected not to fare as well despite the record sales. After a last minute delay in the release date from March 28, 2009 to July 11, 2009 Square-Enix dropped its expected yearly earnings by 17 percent and profits by 62.5 percent. The company hoped to bolster the worldwide appeal of the series with the redesign of the game.^[13]

According to Square Enix, 4.29 million copies of the game were sold in Japan as of March 2010.^[23] Square-Enix aims to have 5 million copies of the game shipped, though the company didn't specify if the target was for Japan only or worldwide.

Square Enix announced on May 19, 2010 that Dragon Quest IX would be released in North America on July 11, 2010; exactly one year after the Japanese release. The European version followed on July 23, 2010.

Japan[edit]

Dragon Quest IX shipped with over 2 million pre-order sales.^[21][24] While the official release date for Dragon Quest IX in Japan was July 11, 2009,^[18] some retailers had already shipped orders; one such dealer asked its customers to not play the game until the official release date.^[25] In spite the large number of pre-orders and additional release shipments by Square Enix, lines still formed for the release.^[21][24] Within a two-day period, the title had sold 2,318,932 copies out of an estimated three million copies that had been shipped. Some analysts said that three million may be too conservative and expected five million copies sold in Japan alone with large overseas sales expectations that could break previous Dragon Quest sales records.^[21][22][26] The sale was the largest post-2000 debut week sale which broken the record previously held by the former title, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King and with over 4 million copies shipped Dragon Quest IX is as of September 25, 2009 on track for becoming the most popular and best-selling Nintendo DS game ever.^[21][27] The game sold over 4.1 million copies in Japan by the end of 2009,^[28] and the Ultimate Hits version sold a further 171,000 copies the following year.^[29] Shortly before the official release a malwareROM claiming to be the Dragon Quest IX ROM was released on 2ch. Instead of the actual game, it was a hentai slideshow that bricks the Nintendo DS.^[30]

The saturation of Dragon Quest IX in Japan had increased the number of Passing-By Connections because the number of people carrying a DS on them outside home increased. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, this development has led Nintendo to figure out more ways of creating something unique for this.^[31]

North America and Europe[edit]

Dragon Quest 9 World Map 2

On July 10, 2010, one day before the official release, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii visited the Nintendo World Store to commemorate the release of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies in North America at a special launch event.^[32] The North American release of Dragon Quest IX was heavily promoted by Nintendo - the company ran commercials featuring Seth Green in theaters and on television,^[33] featured Dragon Quest IX for two weeks on Nintendo Week, and sponsored special Dragon Quest IX events at select GameStop, Best Buy, and Simon Mall locations from July 31, 2010 through August 2010 where players could obtain exclusive downloadable treasure maps.^[34]Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was also the subject of two segments of Iwata Asks, where Satoru Iwata interviewed Yuji Horii and Ryutaro Ichimura concerning the North American release of Dragon Quest IX.^[35] The August 2010 issue of Nintendo Power also featured Dragon Quest IX on the cover.^[36]

In the United Kingdom, Nintendo of Europe held a promotional event on November 13, 2010 in Covent Garden, London. Set up as a medieval village, the event featured demo stations for the game, a leaderboard where Nintendo employees tracked those with the most play time, and an appearance by Jedward. Slime plushies were given away at the event, and players could add John and Edward Grimes' in-game characters to their inns via tag mode, and receive the Nokturnus treasure map.^[37]

Excluding pre-orders, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was the top-selling DS game in the first two weeks since its release, according to Gamasutra and Amazon.com.^[38] It was the eighth best-selling game of July 2010 in the NPD charts, with 132,000 units.^[39] As of the ending of Nintendo's fiscal year 2010, Dragon Quest IX sold 1.02 million copies in the United States and Europe.^[40]

Reception[edit]

On January 1, 2009, Dragon Quest IX was the most anticipated game in Japan according to a monthly poll conducted by Famitsu magazine. It displaced Final Fantasy XIII from the top spot after 15 months.^[47]

Days after the game's release, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave the game a score of 40/40, making Dragon Quest IX the tenth game to achieve a perfect score.^[43] The game was also voted as the best game of 2009 in Dengeki online's reader poll.^[48] Jeremy Parish, editor for 1UP.com, gave the game an overall positive preview.

Awards[edit]

Dragon Quest IX has received several awards. It was received well at E3 2010 amongst the media and was given a nomination for Best DS Game of the Show by GameTrailers.^[49] It is listed by Gamasutra as the #1 handheld game for 2010.^[50] GameSpot listed it as the best DS game of 2010.^[51]Dragon Quest IX also won the 2010 Nintendo Power awards of Best DS Game of the Year and Best RPG.^[52]

Cultural impact[edit]

The ability to exchange treasure maps with others has allowed the game to act as a catalyst for more social interaction. Patty's Pub, an inn from the game, has opened as a tourist destination in Akihabara after the release of this game to help facilitate this by having known meet-up locations where players can exchange treasure maps, specifically one particular map with characters who appear once during normal gameplay. After the game's release in 2010, people would make Akihabara a tourist destination when visiting Tokyo just to get a valuable map.^[53]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Known in Japan as ドラゴンクエストIX 星空の守り人 (Doragon Kuesuto Nain Hoshizora no Mamoribito).

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abCullen, Johnny (2010-05-19). 'Dragon Quest IX to launch on July 23 in Europe'. VG24/7. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
2. ^'Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies'. IGN. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
3. ^'DORAKUE9, GINESU nintei 'surechigaitsuushin' ichiokunin kosu'. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
4. ^Ashcraft, Brian (2010-05-20). 'Dragon Quest IX Enters The Guinness Book of World Records'. Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
5. ^ ^abcdAshcraft, Brian (2009-07-06). 'Dragon Quest IX Is Gonna Be Hard, Yo'. Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
6. ^'Scan featuring the turn-based system'. Jeux-France.com. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
7. ^Gantayat, Anoop (2006-12-12). 'Dragon Quest 9 Set for DS'. IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
8. ^ ^abAshcraft, Brian (2009-07-08). 'Dragon Quest IX's One Save Data Slot Explained!'. Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
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10. ^'スクエニ、DS「ドラゴンクエストIX」新情報「クエスト」や超重要キャラクタなどを公開'. Game.Watch.Impress.co.jp (in Japanese). 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
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14. ^'Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi-annual Financial Results Briefing Q&A'. Investor Relations Information. Nintendo. 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-11-09. For the U.S. and European sales, we would like to fully cooperate with them. Nintendo would like to play a key role in expanding the Dragon Quest title in these markets because our preposition is that such quality title could and should sell more in the overseas markets.
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31. ^'Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi-annual Financial Results Briefing Q&A'. Investor Relations Information. Nintendo. 2009. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2009. Actually because Dragon Quest IX made Passing-By Connection much more popular, there has been an increase in people carrying around their DS, and we are trying to develop something unique around that factor.
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33. ^Michael McWhertor (June 28, 2010). 'Watch Seth Green Sell Dragon Quest IX To Teenagers'. Kotaku. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
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39. ^Graft, Kris (2010-08-13). 'Nintendo Titles Again Reign Over NPD Top 20 In July'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
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43. ^ ^ab'Famitsu July 14 (DQ9 review)'. NeoGAF. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
44. ^Game Informer, 208, GameStop Corporation, August 2010, p.113
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47. ^Wales, David (2009-01-01). 'Final Fantasy XIII no longer most anticipated title in Japan'. PS3.PSU.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
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External links[edit]