Dragon Quest Celebrates 40 Years With Major Updates and a Long-Awaited Title Change
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Square Enix celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dragon Quest with a new title and trailer for Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams, which restarted development from scratch. The stream also revealed a new Dragon Quest Monsters spinoff and a Switch 2 port for Dragon Quest 11 S.
Square Enix recently marked four decades of its legendary role-playing franchise with a concise digital showcase that delivered a mix of excitement and patience-testing news for fans. Originally announced during the series 35th-anniversary stream back in 2021, the game previously known as Dragon Quest 12 has officially resurfaced with a new title, Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams. Producer Yosuke Saito addressed the lengthy radio silence during the stream, revealing that development was completely restarted from scratch following a team reshuffle. While the new trailer offers a glimpse into an expansive open world featuring a drowsy-eyed protagonist, Square Enix confirmed that players will be waiting quite a bit longer before the title finally hits platforms.
To help bridge the gap until Beyond Dreams eventually arrives, the publisher also announced a brand-new spinoff entry in the creature-collecting subseries. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World was revealed with an adorable trailer highlighting dual protagonists Bianca and Nera from Dragon Quest 5, alongside a massive roster of classic monsters to capture and train. For players who love monster-taming adventures, this spinoff should provide plenty of familiar loops to dive into while development continues on the main franchise entry.
Additionally, the showcase highlighted a new platform release for modern players, confirming that Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition is heading to the upcoming Switch 2 on September 24. While the port brings the beloved RPG to new hardware, Square Enix noted that save data from the original Nintendo Switch version will not carry over. Between the upcoming monster-taming spinoff and the eventual arrival of Beyond Dreams, the team is setting the stage for the next era of the franchise, though community patience will certainly be tested in the meantime as reported by Polygon.
Tags: Dragon Quest, Square Enix, RPG, Nintendo Switch 2, Gaming News
Original article: Polygon