Dragon Quest IX
Encyclopedia
is a role-playing video game
for the Nintendo DS
released on July 11, 2009 in Japan
. It is the ninth and most recent installment in the acclaimed Dragon Quest
series created by Yūji Horii
. The game was developed by Level-5
and published by Square Enix
in Japan and by Nintendo in North America and Europe. The game was primarily designed around multiplayer gameplay.
Dragon Quest IX marks several firsts for the main series: it is the first to be initially launched for a handheld system; first to have almost no random encounter
s by allowing players to see enemies on the map (except when sailing); and the first to be designed primarily with the intent of being a multiplayer video game. In addition, it is the first Dragon Quest title to use a graphical menu system in the Japanese-language version.Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed Kings English translation is the first time a graphical menu system is used. The Japanese version retains the traditional text-based menu system. Dragon Quest IX was designed to be more difficult than any previous game in the series, including spinoff titles.
The sales of Dragon Quest IX set new records in Japan; these sales helped boost Nintendo
's earnings and have impacted future plannings by the company. Dragon Quest IX set a Guiness World Record with its Chance Encounter mode surpassing 100 million people communicating anonymously as reported on May 20, 2010.
In part due to Dragon Quest IXs design as a multiplayer game, party members consist entirely of characters created and chosen by the player. Unlike previous games, the player has more control over their characters' appearance. While Dragon Warrior III
and IV allowed players to choose between playing a hero or a heroine, Dragon Quest IX offers more customization by also allowing players to define characteristics such as hair style and skin tone. 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 slots 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 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 all trades or use the sages 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 attack. 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 trait which have been gained through the skill system are carried over to other vocations, as are unspent skill points.
s around the game's world. Multiple quests can be performed simultaneously; some are interlocking, others unlock stages in fellow quests. 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.
In addition, the game features infinitely generating treasure maps where the player can earn treasure and fight monsters not found in the main game. New weapons, armor, and other items can be created through alchemy. Using an alchemy 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.
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. Just as the Starflight Express that will take the angels to the Realm of the Almighty arrives, 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 himself/herself rescued from the base of the waterfall in Angel Falls. He/She comes to learn a little about his/her fall on the great earthquake that happened at the same time. Having lost most of his/her Celestrian powers, but not his/her memory or the ability to see deceased and magical spirits, he/she travels about trying to find a way back to the Observatory. During an adventure to reconnect his/her village to the nearby castle after landslides caused by the great earthquake, the main character finds the broken down celestial train and its fairy driver, Stella. Stella promises to help the main character return to the Observatory if he/she can prove he/she is one.
By helping humans, the main character gathers benevolessence, though he/she can no longer see it. His/her ability to aid and protect the humans convinces Stella too, restoring power to the Starflight Express with the benevolessences, helps the main character return to the Observatory. Upon his/her 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 no one has yet returned except the main character. His/her prayers to become a Celestrian again are unanswered but a vision is presented to the main character as he/she stands before the World Tree. Taking the vision as a sign, the main character is charged to return to the Protectorate to help collect the Fyggs.
As the main character travels the Protectorate in search of the fyggs, he/she finds 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. It is the hero's mission to travel from land to land, finding and battling those possessed by the Fygg's power. As he/she defeats their twisted forms, the main character sets the possessed free and regains the fyggs one by one. At one point the Starflight Express is attacked by the hero's master, Aquila, who escapes with the fyggs. The hero then crashes outside a isolated village, Wormwood Creek, where they learn of an organization called the Gittish Empire and also of another Celestrian named Corvus, who was Aquila's master. The hero travels to the city of Upover where they fight a legendary dragon named Greygnarl. After defeating Greygnarl and making a pact with him, the hero descends the mountain to see that the city is under attack by monsters that claim to be soldiers of the Gittish Empire, even though it was demolished by Greygnarl over 3 centuries ago. The hero then travels to Gittingham Palace, where they fight King Godwyn, who just killed Aquila before the hero's eyes. King Godwyn is killed, but danger still lurks underneath the palace in a place called the Oubliette. The hero encounters Corvus here, but he is demented and consumed with rage. Corvus escapes the Oubliette to the Realm of the Almighty. Eventually, the hero learns that Corvus is responsible for the attacks on the Yggdrasil and the Starflight Express, the hero eats a Fygg and turns into a mortal, because Celestrians can not act against Celestrians. The hero then travels to the Realm of the Almighty and confronts Corvus, who escapes and transforms the Realm of the Almighty into the Realm of the Mighty. The hero then fights Corvus for real and defeats him, but it matters not, for he plans on destroying the world with his rage but is averted just in time by his sweethearts ghost, Serena. Corvus then realizes his failings and wrongdoings. Serena and Corvus then disappear. The hero is then furthermore tasked by Celestria, the daughter of the Almighty, to forevermore be the sole guardian of the Protectorate.
and Europe
. 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 character
s 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.
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." 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. 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.
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 IXs delay may affect Final Fantasy XIII
s release, stating that he "[could] not say there [would not] be an effect."
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. 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.
Also included in the game was the chance to experience boss battles from previous Dragon Quest
titles such as fighting Baramos from Dragon Warrior III
and Dhoulmagus from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.
, German
, Italian
and Spanish
), confirming that the title will be released there. 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, and reports show an increase of 152% in Nintendo DS sales during the first weeks of Dragon Quest IX. 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.
According to Square Enix, 4.29 million copies of the game were sold in Japan as of March 2010. 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.
ROM
claiming to be the Dragon Quest IX ROM was released on 2chan
. Instead of the actual game, it was a hentai
slideshow that bricks
the Nintendo DS.
The saturation of Dragon Quest IX in Japan has, as of October 30, 2009, increased the number of Passing-By Connections because the number of people carrying a DS on them outside home increased. According to Shigeru Miyamoto
, General Manager for Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, this development has lead Nintendo to figure out more ways of creating something unique for this.
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.
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, 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. 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. The August 2010 issue of Nintendo Power also featured Dragon Quest IX on the cover.
In the United Kingdom
, Nintendo of Europe held a promotional event on November 13, 2010 in Covent Garden
, London. Set up as a midieval 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.
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. It was the eighth best-selling game of July 2010 in the NPD
charts, with 132,000 units. As of the ending of Nintendo's fiscal year 2010, Dragon Quest IX sold 1.02 millions copies in the United States and Europe.
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 where characters who appear once during normal gameplay. , people would make Akihabara a tourist destination when visiting Tokyo just to get a valuable map.
At the game's launch a series of highly negative user reviews were posted on Amazon
Japan, particularly regarding Stella the gyaru
-ish fairy.
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. The game was also voted as the best game of 2009 in Dengeki online's reader poll. Jeremy Parish, editor for 1UP
, gave the game an overall positive preview. He noted the game's design toward the local multi-player aspect, though had yet to try it. Instead his preview focused on the single-player gameplay. While he enjoyed it and felt it still stayed true to the heart of a Dragon Quest game, he noted that hardcore fans may still not like the amount and type of changes, though he did not give specifics. Parish also noted that while the graphics quality was not up to the same level as the previous title it still was quality work.
. It is listed by Gamasutra
as the #1 handheld game for 2010. GameSpot listed it as the best DS game of 2010. Dragon Quest IX also won the 2010 Nintendo Power awards of Best DS Game of the Year and Best RPG.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
released on July 11, 2009 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is the ninth and most recent installment in the acclaimed Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
series created by Yūji Horii
Yūji Horii
is a Japanese video game designer and scenario writer best known as the creator of the Dragon Quest series of console role-playing games, as well as the visual novel adventure game Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken.-History:Dragon Quest is recognized as the first role-playing game to posit the idea...
. The game was developed by Level-5
Level-5
is an independent video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 200 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft...
and published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
in Japan and by Nintendo in North America and Europe. The game was primarily designed around multiplayer gameplay.
Dragon Quest IX marks several firsts for the main series: it is the first to be initially launched for a handheld system; first to have almost no random encounter
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
s by allowing players to see enemies on the map (except when sailing); and the first to be designed primarily with the intent of being a multiplayer video game. In addition, it is the first Dragon Quest title to use a graphical menu system in the Japanese-language version.Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed Kings English translation is the first time a graphical menu system is used. The Japanese version retains the traditional text-based menu system. Dragon Quest IX was designed to be more difficult than any previous game in the series, including spinoff titles.
The sales of Dragon Quest IX set new records in Japan; these sales helped boost Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's earnings and have impacted future plannings by the company. Dragon Quest IX set a Guiness World Record with its Chance Encounter mode surpassing 100 million people communicating anonymously as reported on May 20, 2010.
Gameplay
Dragon Quest IX continues the Dragon Quest tradition of turn-based combat and is considered harder than its predecessors. 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. Multiplayer play requires a game cartridge for each player. The game includes only one save slot, whereas most have at least three.In part due to Dragon Quest IXs design as a multiplayer game, party members consist entirely of characters created and chosen by the player. Unlike previous games, the player has more control over their characters' appearance. While Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior III, known in Japan as , is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix . It is the third installment in the Dragon Quest series , first released for the Famicom in Japan, and then the NES in North America...
and IV allowed players to choose between playing a hero or a heroine, Dragon Quest IX offers more customization by also allowing players to define characteristics such as hair style and skin tone. 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
Dragon Quest character classes
In installments of the Dragon Quest series of console role-playing games, published by Square Enix, character classes are specific roles for playable characters that determine a character's proficiencies and weaknesses...
). 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 slots 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 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 all trades or use the sages 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
Dragon Quest VIII
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, known in Japan as and in 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...
, 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 attack. 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 trait which have been gained through the skill system are carried over to other vocations, as are unspent skill points.
Battle
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.Features
Dragon Quest IX gives the player optional quests to complete during and after the main game. Quests serve as side-stories helping non-player characterNon-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s around the game's world. Multiple quests can be performed simultaneously; some are interlocking, others unlock stages in fellow quests. 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.
In addition, the game features infinitely generating treasure maps where the player can earn treasure and fight monsters not found in the main game. New weapons, armor, and other items can be created through alchemy. Using an alchemy 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
Dragon Quest IX begins in the Observatory, the kingdom in the sky where the angelic beings called Celestrians, including the main protagonist, 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 fruit called the fygg. The fruit is very rare, and Yggdrasil, the "World Tree" that it grows on, must be empowered with benevolence, which is spiritual energy that can only be obtained by helping people in the Protectorate, the world of mortals.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. Just as the Starflight Express that will take the angels to the Realm of the Almighty arrives, 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 himself/herself rescued from the base of the waterfall in Angel Falls. He/She comes to learn a little about his/her fall on the great earthquake that happened at the same time. Having lost most of his/her Celestrian powers, but not his/her memory or the ability to see deceased and magical spirits, he/she travels about trying to find a way back to the Observatory. During an adventure to reconnect his/her village to the nearby castle after landslides caused by the great earthquake, the main character finds the broken down celestial train and its fairy driver, Stella. Stella promises to help the main character return to the Observatory if he/she can prove he/she is one.
By helping humans, the main character gathers benevolessence, though he/she can no longer see it. His/her ability to aid and protect the humans convinces Stella too, restoring power to the Starflight Express with the benevolessences, helps the main character return to the Observatory. Upon his/her 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 no one has yet returned except the main character. His/her prayers to become a Celestrian again are unanswered but a vision is presented to the main character as he/she stands before the World Tree. Taking the vision as a sign, the main character is charged to return to the Protectorate to help collect the Fyggs.
As the main character travels the Protectorate in search of the fyggs, he/she finds 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. It is the hero's mission to travel from land to land, finding and battling those possessed by the Fygg's power. As he/she defeats their twisted forms, the main character sets the possessed free and regains the fyggs one by one. At one point the Starflight Express is attacked by the hero's master, Aquila, who escapes with the fyggs. The hero then crashes outside a isolated village, Wormwood Creek, where they learn of an organization called the Gittish Empire and also of another Celestrian named Corvus, who was Aquila's master. The hero travels to the city of Upover where they fight a legendary dragon named Greygnarl. After defeating Greygnarl and making a pact with him, the hero descends the mountain to see that the city is under attack by monsters that claim to be soldiers of the Gittish Empire, even though it was demolished by Greygnarl over 3 centuries ago. The hero then travels to Gittingham Palace, where they fight King Godwyn, who just killed Aquila before the hero's eyes. King Godwyn is killed, but danger still lurks underneath the palace in a place called the Oubliette. The hero encounters Corvus here, but he is demented and consumed with rage. Corvus escapes the Oubliette to the Realm of the Almighty. Eventually, the hero learns that Corvus is responsible for the attacks on the Yggdrasil and the Starflight Express, the hero eats a Fygg and turns into a mortal, because Celestrians can not act against Celestrians. The hero then travels to the Realm of the Almighty and confronts Corvus, who escapes and transforms the Realm of the Almighty into the Realm of the Mighty. The hero then fights Corvus for real and defeats him, but it matters not, for he plans on destroying the world with his rage but is averted just in time by his sweethearts ghost, Serena. Corvus then realizes his failings and wrongdoings. Serena and Corvus then disappear. The hero is then furthermore tasked by Celestria, the daughter of the Almighty, to forevermore be the sole guardian of the Protectorate.
Development
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. 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 StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. 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 character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s 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
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
also are structured toward this goal, but on a more tangential level.
In mid-2006, Dragon Quest series composer Koichi Sugiyama
Koichi Sugiyama
is a Japanese music composer, council member of JASRAC , and honorary chairman of the Japanese Backgammon Society...
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." 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
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
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. At the 2008 Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
, 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 ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
5,980, which still stands.
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
Yoichi Wada
is the current president and representative director of the Japanese video game and publishing company Square Enix as well as its subsidiary Taito...
that Dragon Quest IXs delay may affect Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth major installment in the Final Fantasy series...
s release, stating that he "[could] not say there [would not] be an effect."
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. 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.
Also included in the game was the chance to experience boss battles from previous Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
titles such as fighting Baramos from Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior III, known in Japan as , is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix . It is the third installment in the Dragon Quest series , first released for the Famicom in Japan, and then the NES in North America...
and Dhoulmagus from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.
Release
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 (FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), confirming that the title will be released there. 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, and reports show an increase of 152% in Nintendo DS sales during the first weeks of Dragon Quest IX. 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.
According to Square Enix, 4.29 million copies of the game were sold in Japan as of March 2010. 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
Dragon Quest IX shipped with over 2 million pre-order sales. While the official release date for Dragon Quest IX in Japan was July 11, 2009, some retailers had already shipped orders; one such dealer asked its customers to not play the game until the official release date. In spite the large number of pre-orders and additional release shipments by Square Enix, lines still formed for the release. 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 say that three million may be too conservative and expect five million copies sold in Japan alone with large overseas sales expectations that could break previous Dragon Quest sales records. 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. Shortly before the official release a malwareMalware
Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
ROM
ROM image
A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board...
claiming to be the Dragon Quest IX ROM was released on 2chan
2channel
is a Japanese textboard. In 2007 there were 2.5 million posts made every day. Launched in 1999, it has gained significant influence in Japanese society, comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines. As of 2008, the site generates revenue upwards of ¥100...
. Instead of the actual game, it was a hentai
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
slideshow that bricks
Brick (electronics)
When used in reference to consumer electronics, "brick" describes a device that cannot function in any capacity . This usage derives from the fact that some electronic devices are vaguely brick-shaped, and so those which do not function are useful only as actual bricks. The term can also be used...
the Nintendo DS.
The saturation of Dragon Quest IX in Japan has, as of October 30, 2009, increased the number of Passing-By Connections because the number of people carrying a DS on them outside home increased. According to Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
, General Manager for Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, this development has lead Nintendo to figure out more ways of creating something unique for this.
North America and Europe
On July 10, 2010, one day before the official release, Dragon Quest creator Yuji HoriiYuji Horii
is a Japanese video game designer and scenario writer best known as the creator of the Dragon Quest series of console role-playing games, as well as the visual novel adventure game Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken.-History:Dragon Quest is recognized as the first role-playing game to posit the idea...
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.
The North American release of Dragon Quest IX was heavily promoted by Nintendo - the company ran commercials featuring Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
in theaters and on television, featured Dragon Quest IX for two weeks on Nintendo Week
Nintendo Week
Nintendo Week is a weekly entertainment and news series that reports on the latest and upcoming video games and news concerning Nintendo platforms, including Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS...
, and sponsored special Dragon Quest IX events at select GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, and Simon Mall locations from July 31, 2010 through August 2010 where players could obtain exclusive downloadable treasure maps. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was also the subject of two segments of Iwata Asks, where Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata
is the fourth president of Nintendo, succeeding the long-standing previous president of the company, Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002. He was responsible in great part for defining Nintendo's strategy both before and during the release of its Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001, a vision which...
interviewed Yuji Horii
Yuji Horii
is a Japanese video game designer and scenario writer best known as the creator of the Dragon Quest series of console role-playing games, as well as the visual novel adventure game Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken.-History:Dragon Quest is recognized as the first role-playing game to posit the idea...
and Ryutaro Ichimura concerning the North American release of Dragon Quest IX. The August 2010 issue of Nintendo Power also featured Dragon Quest IX on the cover.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Nintendo of Europe held a promotional event on November 13, 2010 in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London. Set up as a midieval 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
Jedward
John Paul Henry Daniel Richard Grimes and Edward Peter Anthony Kevin Patrick Grimes are an Irish hip pop duo. They are identical twins and perform under the name 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.
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. It was the eighth best-selling game of July 2010 in the NPD
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
charts, with 132,000 units. As of the ending of Nintendo's fiscal year 2010, Dragon Quest IX sold 1.02 millions copies in the United States and Europe.
Cultural impact
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 AkihabaraAkihabara
, also known as , is an area of Tokyo, Japan. It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo Station. Its name is frequently shortened to in Japan...
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 where characters who appear once during normal gameplay. , people would make Akihabara a tourist destination when visiting Tokyo just to get a valuable map.
Reception
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.At the game's launch a series of highly negative user reviews were posted on Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
Japan, particularly regarding Stella the gyaru
Gyaru
is a Japanese transliteration of the English word gal, that of girl being . The name originated from a 1970s brand of jeans called "gals", with the advertising slogan: "I can't live without men", and was applied to fashion- and peer-conscious girls in their teens and early twenties. Its usage...
-ish fairy.
Days after the game's release, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
gave the game a score of 40/40, making Dragon Quest IX the tenth game to achieve a perfect score. The game was also voted as the best game of 2009 in Dengeki online's reader poll. Jeremy Parish, editor for 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, gave the game an overall positive preview. He noted the game's design toward the local multi-player aspect, though had yet to try it. Instead his preview focused on the single-player gameplay. While he enjoyed it and felt it still stayed true to the heart of a Dragon Quest game, he noted that hardcore fans may still not like the amount and type of changes, though he did not give specifics. Parish also noted that while the graphics quality was not up to the same level as the previous title it still was quality work.
Awards
Dragon Quest IX has received several awards. It was received well at E3 2010 amongst the media was and given a nomination for Best DS Game of the Show by GameTrailersGameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
. It is listed by Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
as the #1 handheld game for 2010. GameSpot listed it as the best DS game of 2010. Dragon Quest IX also won the 2010 Nintendo Power awards of Best DS Game of the Year and Best RPG.
External links
- Official Dragon Quest IX European website
- Official Dragon Quest IX North American Website
- Official Dragon Quest IX Japanese Website
- Official Dragon Quest IX Facebook
- Teaser Site The Official Dragon Quest IX Teaser Website from Level 5
- Dragon Quest IX game guide and database