Square Enix revealed more information about the next numbered Dragonquest title in a recent press event. The official title is Dragonquest: Awakening of the Five Tribes, and is confirmed for both the WiiU and the Wii. There is no release date set for the WiiU, but the Wii will be getting the game sometime in 2012.
This latest installment of the popular Dragonquest JRPG series has been eagerly awaited by fans since the game’s announcement in 2008. Yuji, Horii, composer Koichi Sugiyama and of course character designer Akira Toriyama are all on board with the project. However, Square Enix will not be relying on third-party developers for the game, so that means DQ8 and developers Level-5 are out of the picture.
Rise of the Five Tribes’ main innovation is the MMO leaning. The game will be an online RPG, less WOW, probably more like Monster Hunter Tri. Players will form parties online, and there may be a monthly online fee.
The WiiU version will have a visual advantage, but will inhabit the same online world as that of the Wii’s. Players will be able to use all the attachments, from Wiimote to USB keyboard. There is also talk that the 3DS will be used in the game, players will be able to transfer and share data using Streetpass.
The game will consist of with five races from the five continents the large world of Astortia. Players will have the option of choosing a character from one of the five races: dwarf, ogre, elf, little robed “pukuripo” and the blue “weddy” water creatures. Doesn’t seem to be any room for humans.Players will be able to play offline and can recruit NPCs into their party, though its not clear if offline play is only limited to a few initial hours. Battle commands will be menu based.
This definitely calls for a sigh of relief as Dragonquest X was starting to look like it would never be released, though the 2012 is for Japan not North America. Those of you that want it sooner, beta testers will be needed in the future. Keep checking the games’ site at www.dragonquest.jp.
