Dragon Quest X Embraces MMO Design

[Marshall Honorof]

Dragon Quest X Embraces MMO Design

Soon, the slimes will feel your cooperative, online wrath!

Now and then, it's a good idea for a long-running series to try something new. Following the success of Dragon Quest IX on the DS, Square Enix decided to stick with Nintendo for its next installment. Dragon Quest X will come out for the Wii and the WiiU, but don't expect another traditional single-player installment. Instead, the game will adopt MMO features, allowing players to quest cooperatively.

How much of the game is really an MMO and how much is a single-player game with cooperative elements is still unknown, but Square Enix has revealed a few helpful details. Players can solo the game if they wish, although they will need the help of computer-controlled party members. They may also require a constant internet connection. For human parties, each player will input a single command in a traditional Dragon Quest-style menu, then wait for his or her next turn to roll around. Square Enix has also highlighted features such as hub cities, a crafting system, persistent characters and locations, and a potential monthly fee.

While players of the Wii and WiiU versions will be able to play on the same servers, the WiiU version will boast enhanced graphics. Both versions may also be compatible with the 3DS, which would allow players to download characters to their handhelds and share them with other physical consoles.

Final Fantasy, another venerable JRPG franchise, has already tried the MMO route twice with varying degrees of success. Dragon Quest X looks to be keeping much of its original formula intact, which should help it avoid some of the growing pains that its analogue has faced. Japan will see Dragon Quest X sometime in 2012.

Source: GamePro [http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/222648/everything-we-know-about-dragon-quest-x-so-far/]


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[mfeff]

Worse news I have had all day. Thanks for that...

 

[Sartan0]

Worse news I have had all day. Thanks for that...

Same here. Well I guess I can play 8 again on my P2 if they overdo the MMO elements.

 

[nohorsetown]

Multiplayer turn-based battles sound dreadful. I don't like where the series seems to be headed. Dragon Quest 9 is okay.. I mean, my kid likes it and everything.. but I think they had the right idea with 8: better characters, storytelling, exploration, and voice acting that was actually halfway decent. If they wanna do a sandbox-style / create-and-customize-yr-characters / all-system-and-no-soul kinda thing (which is what MMOs are), why not just stick with the DQ Monsters line? I dunno, Squeenix. Sounds like a bad move.

 

[Adam28]

I am actually interested in how this will turn out, as long as it is not Square Enix developing the game. Level 5 did a good job with Dragon Quest IX in my opinion, and VIII is a usual fan's favourite.

I am not going to dismiss this game until I see more of it. Final Fantasy is starting to seem hopeless but the last two Dragon Quests have show hope for Square Enix, at least as publishers (as well as Dues EX, Just Cause etc).

Edit: It seems it will be co-developed between Armor Project and Square Enix. Gotta try and keep hope for this game, it is a shame level 5 won't be developing it although Armor Project seems to have a lot to do with the older games seeing as their head has a lot of classic dragon warrior/quest experience.

 

[RandallJohn]

See, this sounds awesome if you have someone to play it with. If you're going solo, though, you stand to miss out on a lot.

 

[GeorgW]

Worse news I have had all day. Thanks for that...

Same here...
DQ is one of my favourite series of all time, just keep making the exact same game over and over and I'll keep buying it! Also, for the record, the 6th one is the best.

 

[CrankyStorming]

DQ is one of my favourite series of all time, just keep making the exact same game over and over and I'll keep buying it! Also, for the record, the 6th one is the best.

You mean the one with Milly, a woman who casts buff when a Metal Slime is sitting right in front of her?

Why having all the supporting cast of DQ9 as non-playable people worked is that it made them more believably flawed, since you couldn't see them lobbing a hammer at fire-breathing watermelon. I'm glad Yuji Horii seems to be doing this sort of thing again. What I'm not glad about is that he seems to be doing this with people who don't really understand what they're working with, like if John Lasseter was booked to write something for Legendary Pictures. SEs internal team don't really have experience with a game that makes fun of itself, and could easily misinterpret certain attributes as problems.

 

[GeorgW]

DQ is one of my favourite series of all time, just keep making the exact same game over and over and I'll keep buying it! Also, for the record, the 6th one is the best.

You mean the one with Milly, a woman who casts buff when a Metal Slime is sitting right in front of her?

Why having all the supporting cast of DQ9 as non-playable people worked is that it made them more believably flawed, since you couldn't see them lobbing a hammer at fire-breathing watermelon. I'm glad Yuji Horii seems to be doing this sort of thing again. What I'm not glad about is that he seems to be doing this with people who don't really understand what they're working with, like if John Lasseter was booked to write something for Legendary Pictures. SEs internal team don't really have experience with a game that makes fun of itself, and could easily misinterpret certain attributes as problems.

Are you seriously not playing all the chars yourself?? But yes, that's the one I meant.

 

[dmase]

I want a game like dragon quest 7. Why can't they just go back to the old style of doing things. Stand alone game, if you want to add an online element be my guest but make the 1st person experience the priority. They spend copious amounts of time on these games as far as i can tell and they can't rap their head around the simple concept make it the same over and over. Its not like they're churning out a dynasty warriors game they are making art in ever DQ game. Oh and give me more fucking class systems when you do finally bring it back to sony... you know in like half a decade.