Square Enix has made some major Dragon Quest announcements on the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary livestream this week.

The livestream began on May 26 at 11:30PM EDT. It has since concluded but the announcements it dropped were like bombshells for fans.

You could go back and watch the VOD version of the livestream here. But if you want a tl;dr, that’s what we are here for.

So, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the stream!

A Legend Appears

The livestream was opened with an appearance by video game legend and creator of the Dragon Quest series, Yuji Horii.

I know this isn’t a major game update but I want to highlight him because more game-likers (especially JRPG lovers) need to know this man. 

He is a Japanese gaming legend on par with famous names such as Hiranobu Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy), Koji Igarashi (creator of Castlevania), Yoko Taro (creator of the NieR series), and Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear series). 

As such, it was a pleasure to be greeted by the man himself, epic sunglasses and all.

Anyway, Horii stated that six new games would be announced in the livestream! 

Dragon Quest has really come a long way since being first released in 1986.

Dragon Quest Keshi Keshi

The first announcement to come out of the pipeline was a game called Dragon Quest: Keshi Keshi.

The game is apparently a free-to-play puzzle game for the mobile. There is no official release date yet. However, the tentative release date is said to be sometime in 2021.

The trailer showed off a really cute and chibi-looking aesthetic and showed smaller monsters combining into a larger form. 

What little we saw of the gameplay, if that can be considered anything close to the final product, looked like those mobile games where you match 3 or more objects of the same color to eliminate them and clear space. Something like this. 

You can check out the adorable trailer below.

Dragon Quest X – Version 5.5

This next one is for our Japanese and Japanese-speaking readers. (Do we have any?)

Dragon Quest X, which is a Japan-only MMO, is getting its version 5.5 update. The update was announced in a gorgeous and cute CG trailer.

Dragon Quest X came out in 2012 and has been on the Wii, Wii U, PC, iOS, Android, the 3Ds, the PS4, and the Switch. However, it has not been released in the West despite fans wanting it for years.

For now, if you want to play this one, you need to either A) move to Japan, B) learn Japanese, or C) all of the above.

Anyway, the game is getting a cool new update and more details will be revealed soon. You can watch the trailer below.

Dragon Quest X – Offline

Behind door number three is the announcement for Dragon Quest X – Offline!

This seems to be an offline version of the previous game mentioned. In addition to being offline, the game also looks to be an adorable chibi version of the original.

The game is meant to be an easy-to-pick-up, easy-to-play, standalone version of Dragon Quest X.

There will be a later announcement with more details in the future. For now, we know that the team is working to bring it to audiences in early 2022.

And no, they didn’t mention anything about a Western release. But hey, they didn’t deny the possibility. So maybe…?

Anyway, here’s the cute trailer.

Dragon Quest III Remake

The fourth announcement on this list is a remake of the third Dragon Quest game.

First released in 1988, Dragon Quest III sold over 1 million copies on the first day of release and… and I swear I’m not making this up… led to almost 300 arrests for truancy among the students who skipped school to go buy it!

Anyway, the game has been remade before for platforms such as mobile and the Switch. But unfortunately, it was lacking in visual polish by modern standards.

This new game is being made in the HD-2D style that has become quite popular with Square’s own Octopath Traveler. This style is made up of gorgeous and detailed sprite art, wonderful particle effects, and breathtaking backgrounds.

For a game such as Dragon Quest III to get this treatment is a dream come true for many longtime fans of the series. 

Oh, and the game is getting simultaneous worldwide release! This is obviously very exciting for those of us not in Japan! Perhaps this move might even bring in new fans to the franchise…

In the meantime, check out this beautiful trailer.

Dragon Quest – Treasures

The next announcement they made was for a game called Dragon Quest – Treasures. 

The game was revealed to be a spin-off title starring Erik and Mia from Dragon Quest IX. The team also stated that some of the main themes of the game will be “Erik and Mia’s childhood” and “treasure hunting”.

The game has also been described as an RPG but “not a traditional one”. 

We don’t have any info on a release date or platforms, but a worldwide release is planned here too. (About time, Square! We’re over here loving Dragon Quest too!)

You can check out this cool trailer below.

Dragon Quest XII

Color me extremely shocked and delighted because the last announcement was the best one; they are making another mainline Dragon Quest game!

The livestream announced Dragon Quest XII and gave us its subtitle: “The Flames of Fate”. So far, only a title card and subtitle has been revealed. 

Yuji Horii also hinted that there might be some changes coming to the classic battle system which has remained relatively unchanged since its inception in 1986! Either he’s joking or he has a way to make something this perfectly fine tuned even better which is… a little exciting to say the least. 

Oh, and the game is getting a simultaneous worldwide release!

And that brings us to the end of our coverage of the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary livestream. We hope you found these announcements interesting or exciting.

Have you played any of the Dragon Quest games? Now might be the perfect time to do so.

There is currently a sale going on for Dragon Quest titles on PSN and PC stores.

Don’t miss this golden opportunity to experience JRPG history!

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