Square Enix Ltd has today announced that its legendary RPG franchise Dragon Quest will make its debut in Europe this April with the release of Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (known in territories outside of Europe as Dragon Quest VIII).
The Dragon Quest franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide, mostly in its home country of Japan. The franchise has been established in Japan for 20 years now and, with 27 titles under its belt it is, as the SquEnix release so proudly announces, "a cornerstone of family entertainment" over there. The Journey of the Cursed King is the biggest selling PS2 game in Japan, selling over 3.6 million units since launch. One in every 12 Japanese households owns a copy of the game.
Some of the biggest names in the Japanese entertainment industry work on the Dragon Quest series; Akira Toriyama, famed for creating Dragon Ball, designs the characters; Yuji Horii writes the story and script; and Koichi Sugiyama, who has composed music for TV and released over 100 soundtracks and orchestral CDs, is responsible for the music.
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King is being developed by the highly respected development studio Level-5 Inc., who we are assured "...deliver a richly detailed environment, vast enough to house Yuji Horii’s sweeping drama, and a cel-shaded graphics engine which perfectly captures the spirit of Akira Toriyama’s character designs".
Earlier this month SPOnG incorrectly identified Shadow of the Colossus as being the PS2’s swansong game. We may well have spoken to soon.
It's fair to say, looking back at the long and illustrious history of the franchise, that Dragon Quest pioneered the role playing game genre for home console platforms. If you don’t agree with us or believe us, then here, in its entirety, is that history (hint: look very closely at the sales figures):
Thanks to Square Enix for the potted history.
The Dragon Quest franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide, mostly in its home country of Japan. The franchise has been established in Japan for 20 years now and, with 27 titles under its belt it is, as the SquEnix release so proudly announces, "a cornerstone of family entertainment" over there. The Journey of the Cursed King is the biggest selling PS2 game in Japan, selling over 3.6 million units since launch. One in every 12 Japanese households owns a copy of the game.
Some of the biggest names in the Japanese entertainment industry work on the Dragon Quest series; Akira Toriyama, famed for creating Dragon Ball, designs the characters; Yuji Horii writes the story and script; and Koichi Sugiyama, who has composed music for TV and released over 100 soundtracks and orchestral CDs, is responsible for the music.
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King is being developed by the highly respected development studio Level-5 Inc., who we are assured "...deliver a richly detailed environment, vast enough to house Yuji Horii’s sweeping drama, and a cel-shaded graphics engine which perfectly captures the spirit of Akira Toriyama’s character designs".
Earlier this month SPOnG incorrectly identified Shadow of the Colossus as being the PS2’s swansong game. We may well have spoken to soon.
It's fair to say, looking back at the long and illustrious history of the franchise, that Dragon Quest pioneered the role playing game genre for home console platforms. If you don’t agree with us or believe us, then here, in its entirety, is that history (hint: look very closely at the sales figures):
Dragon Quest®
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES)
Released: 27/05/1986
Unit Sales: 1.5 million
Released as Dragon Warrior in the US in 1989
Dragon Quest introduced a single hero beset by an evil Dragonlord and a princess kidnapped from her family. Many of the series hallmarks were forged here, including a minimalist menu system and face-to-face enemy battles. One of the first NES titles to sell over a million copies.
Dragon Quest® II
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES)
Released: 26/01/1987
Unit Sales: 2.4 million
A world four times the size of the original and with a host of new creatures and spells Dragon Quest II was a tougher adventure than the original mainly due to the new ability to attack monsters in groups.
Dragon Quest® III
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy® Color
Released: 10/02/1988
Unit Sales: 3.8million
Refining the traditional design of the first two titles in the series, Dragon Quest III introduced player designed parties, the diversion of casinos and the first appearance of Dharma Temple, the core of Dragon Quest’s new class change system, a now common concept not seen in rival series until the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) era.
Dragon Quest® IV
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES), PlayStation®
Released: 11/02/1990
Unit Sales: 3.1million
With sixteen named characters, Dragon Quest IV boasted the largest cast of its time and went to great lengths – a chapter-based story-telling system and sub-quests for supporting characters before they can aide the hero – to let the player know that a true hero does not fight alone.
Dragon Quest® V
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System® (SNES), PlayStation® 2
Released: 27/09/1992
Unit Sales: 2.8 million
The leap to new hardware saw the introduction of a variety of new characters through the monster capture and tamer mechanics including series mascot Slalin the blue slime. This episode of the Dragon Quest epic follows the vast, dramatic adventures of three generations of heroes, determined to defeat the evil lord and bring peace to their homeland.
Dragon Quest® VI
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System® (SNES)
Released: 09/12/1995
Unit Sales: 3.2 million
Playing on the theme of imagination that is synonymous with the series, Dragon Quest VI offered a world of dreams and reality with airships, dream islands, boats and demons. A revision to the class system allowed any character to be any class, alongside their own natural skills, letting the player truly shape their party.
Dragon Quest® VII
Platform: PlayStation®
Released: 26/08/2000
Unit Sales: 4.1 million – the biggest selling PlayStation game in Japan
One of the largest and longest RPG’s ever to be produced – over ten thousand pages of storyline and up to 150 hours to complete – Dragon Quest VII focused on exploration and journeying back and forth through time in order to restore the world after the great war. The game also broke new ground by ignoring the orthodox RPG style of gathering the maps of the lands you are to explore and replacing it with a system that requires you to gather the lands themselves.
Dragon Quest® VIII (European Title - Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King)
Platform: PlayStation® 2
Released: 27/11/2004
Unit Sales: 3.6 million – the biggest selling PlayStation 2 game in Japan
With over three million copies sold within the first three days of sale, the Dragon Quest phenomenon shows no sign of stopping in Japan. The latest entry in the series is a combination of familiar storytelling and a modern cel-shaded style that brings Akira Toriyama’s artwork to life. Extra enhancements for its Western release include a full orchestral score and British localisation and dialogue. The exciting world of Dragon Quest awaits its latest hero.
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES)
Released: 27/05/1986
Unit Sales: 1.5 million
Released as Dragon Warrior in the US in 1989
Dragon Quest introduced a single hero beset by an evil Dragonlord and a princess kidnapped from her family. Many of the series hallmarks were forged here, including a minimalist menu system and face-to-face enemy battles. One of the first NES titles to sell over a million copies.
Dragon Quest® II
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES)
Released: 26/01/1987
Unit Sales: 2.4 million
A world four times the size of the original and with a host of new creatures and spells Dragon Quest II was a tougher adventure than the original mainly due to the new ability to attack monsters in groups.
Dragon Quest® III
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy® Color
Released: 10/02/1988
Unit Sales: 3.8million
Refining the traditional design of the first two titles in the series, Dragon Quest III introduced player designed parties, the diversion of casinos and the first appearance of Dharma Temple, the core of Dragon Quest’s new class change system, a now common concept not seen in rival series until the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) era.
Dragon Quest® IV
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System® (NES), PlayStation®
Released: 11/02/1990
Unit Sales: 3.1million
With sixteen named characters, Dragon Quest IV boasted the largest cast of its time and went to great lengths – a chapter-based story-telling system and sub-quests for supporting characters before they can aide the hero – to let the player know that a true hero does not fight alone.
Dragon Quest® V
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System® (SNES), PlayStation® 2
Released: 27/09/1992
Unit Sales: 2.8 million
The leap to new hardware saw the introduction of a variety of new characters through the monster capture and tamer mechanics including series mascot Slalin the blue slime. This episode of the Dragon Quest epic follows the vast, dramatic adventures of three generations of heroes, determined to defeat the evil lord and bring peace to their homeland.
Dragon Quest® VI
Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System® (SNES)
Released: 09/12/1995
Unit Sales: 3.2 million
Playing on the theme of imagination that is synonymous with the series, Dragon Quest VI offered a world of dreams and reality with airships, dream islands, boats and demons. A revision to the class system allowed any character to be any class, alongside their own natural skills, letting the player truly shape their party.
Dragon Quest® VII
Platform: PlayStation®
Released: 26/08/2000
Unit Sales: 4.1 million – the biggest selling PlayStation game in Japan
One of the largest and longest RPG’s ever to be produced – over ten thousand pages of storyline and up to 150 hours to complete – Dragon Quest VII focused on exploration and journeying back and forth through time in order to restore the world after the great war. The game also broke new ground by ignoring the orthodox RPG style of gathering the maps of the lands you are to explore and replacing it with a system that requires you to gather the lands themselves.
Dragon Quest® VIII (European Title - Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King)
Platform: PlayStation® 2
Released: 27/11/2004
Unit Sales: 3.6 million – the biggest selling PlayStation 2 game in Japan
With over three million copies sold within the first three days of sale, the Dragon Quest phenomenon shows no sign of stopping in Japan. The latest entry in the series is a combination of familiar storytelling and a modern cel-shaded style that brings Akira Toriyama’s artwork to life. Extra enhancements for its Western release include a full orchestral score and British localisation and dialogue. The exciting world of Dragon Quest awaits its latest hero.
Thanks to Square Enix for the potted history.
Companies:
Level-5 Square Enix
People: Akira Toriyama Koichi Sugiyama Yuji Horii
Games: Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King
People: Akira Toriyama Koichi Sugiyama Yuji Horii
Games: Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King
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Comments
tg0006 9 Feb 2006 05:16
1/1
To anyone who doesnt know, Dragon Quest VIII is VERY GOOD!!! Its already released in America and i have to say its great.