Happenstance Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Square Enix is porting Dragon Quest 1-8 to iOS and Android. Dragon Quest 1 will release in Japan this winter, according to Square Enix's website (via TouchArcade). A western launch is yet to be confirmed, but Square Enix has released its mobile ports of the Final Fantasy games on these shores, so we'd be surprised if the Dragon Quest ports failed to come out over here eventually. The first Dragon Quest game released in Japan in 1986 for the NES. Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King launched in Europe in April 2006 for the PlayStation 2. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-10-08-dragon-quest-1-8-all-coming-to-ios-and-android
Ike Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 I think I've died on the inside. Dragon Quest I - III I don't mind. The rest not so much.
Happenstance Posted October 8, 2013 Author Posted October 8, 2013 I was just always waiting for an HD remake of 8 to come to the PSN, its the only one I really wanted to play again.
Debug Mode Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 I hope Dragon Quest VIII isn't limited to vertical, I may be interested if you can play horizontally.
S.C.G Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Ewwww... what self-respecting gamer would actually want to play an inferior version of a classic like Dragon Quest VIII on a tiny screen of a device that has no real buttons to control the game with? Would love a PSN re-release though for sure, but this? No chance in hell.
Cube Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Aren't Sqeenix mobile games usually pretty expensive (for mobile games)?
Debug Mode Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Ewwww... what self-respecting gamer would actually want to play an inferior version of a classic like Dragon Quest VIII on a tiny screen of a device that has no real buttons to control the game with? Would love a PSN re-release though for sure, but this? No chance in hell. A person who loves Dragon Quest VIII and knows full well that classic styled RPG's are completely okay with phone controls? Other genre's not so much. Plus, what's wrong with with playing games on a 'tiny screen'? My Galaxy S4 is probably one of the largest portable screens I've ever owned and I'm more of a portable gamer any way. Aren't Sqeenix mobile games usually pretty expensive (for mobile games)? This is the one thing that puts me off. To be fair, some games kind of deserve the higher price tag compared to the vast majority of shit on the mobile phone platform that usually pushes ads every where, but some of them are charged as if they're like brand spanking new and boxed..
Grazza Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Seems like good news to me - it makes me want to get the best Android tablet to play them on. Many tablets are 1080p now so (assuming these ports are done well), I don't see any disadvantage to playing them this way rather than on an HDTV. Only thing is, I'd want to use a stylus, so assuming that's possible this seems a positive thing.
liger05 Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Seems like good news to me - it makes me want to get the best Android tablet to play them on. Many tablets are 1080p now so (assuming these ports are done well), I don't see any disadvantage to playing them this way rather than on an HDTV. Only thing is, I'd want to use a stylus, so assuming that's possible this seems a positive thing. I dont think they will be ports upping the resolution to 1080p. This is simply a cheap cash in job from SE.
Sheikah Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Eww...the fuck is this. Put it on Vita man, not this.
Dcubed Posted October 8, 2013 Posted October 8, 2013 Disgusting. S-E really don't give a crap anymore do they? At least put out DQ8 on 3DS before doing this! (Even a straight port would've made them a ton of cash and the console can handle it with ease - at least do that before shitting out this mobile crap!) Well... Looks like DQ11 may not be a 3DS exclusive (if it even gets a version at all) anymore...
liger05 Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Disgusting. S-E really don't give a crap anymore do they? At least put out DQ8 on 3DS before doing this! (Even a straight port would've made them a ton of cash and the console can handle it with ease - at least do that before shitting out this mobile crap!) Well... Looks like DQ11 may not be a 3DS exclusive (if it even gets a version at all) anymore... Just give us DQ7 3DS in the West already!!
Ike Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Well... Looks like DQ11 may not be a 3DS exclusive (if it even gets a version at all) anymore... They've been talking about how they can't do single platform exclusives anymore recently for whatever reason so probably not exclusive. Unless Nintendo drives a truck load of money to S-E's HQ.
Agent Gibbs Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 So this is SE's new stratergy to release games quicker, release them on a nongaming platform/terrible gaming platform for only people who have an iphone........... what a waste Dragon Quest will now die a death as the sales will be poor and SE will say its not worth producing more in the series This feels very like the situation with The Legacy of Kain and the release of Nosgoth, which will surely do badly and jsutify them never redoing anything in the series
Dcubed Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) Suppose it's only fitting that I post this... "It is basically like a remake of the original VI," Tokita said as he proudly revealed his surprise at the end of a presentation about the recent smartphone release of FFV and the upcoming mobile release of FFIV: The After Years. "But there have been some enhancements." "The battle systems have been altered for the other [mobile remakes] for Final Fantasy and VI will be the same. For instance grinding was an issue and people had to spend a lot of time leveling up. Now on the mobile devices the battle systems have been adjusted so you don't have to fight as much and can enjoy the game for what it is." The graphics, he said, will be refined for cellphones. They'll still be 2D but sharpened, a la the recent mobile release of V. We all know what the bolded means... Also, FF5 iOS for visual reference... So yeah... This is the new face of Square Enix. Fuck their amazing legacy! Fuck their fans! Fuck everything! Edited October 9, 2013 by Dcubed
Grazza Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Ah well, seems I don't understand the politics of this. I just thought it was a cash-in, albeit a potentially good one. Not having any experience of smartphone/tablet gaming, I have very little idea of what it's like. Don't get me wrong, I am as concerned over Dragon Quest's future as anyone else, although I have been for a long time. Dragon Quest VIII was, to me, perfect. All they had to do was try to surpass that. Alarm bells rang when I heard IX was going to be a DS game, although I am glad they made it as it was a great experience. Dragon Quest X being an MMO though, and not even by Level-5... sorry, no. I doubt I'll ever play it (and I consider Dragon Quest my favourite series of all). So whether these Android/iOS ports are any good or not, I join others in wanting a proper, offline-optional Dragon Quest XI that at least tries to better the old ones.
Sheikah Posted October 9, 2013 Posted October 9, 2013 Yup. They lost their way with DQ when they went with a considerable downgrade but a popular console to make more cash. Then an MMO of some sort...bleeding hell. And now this. RIP
Ike Posted October 10, 2013 Posted October 10, 2013 Some gameplay footage of VIII: Menu looks a bit laggy.
Dcubed Posted October 10, 2013 Posted October 10, 2013 A BIT laggy!? I'd hate to see your definition of "very laggy"! The game looks like it runs at about 5-10 FPS!
Agent Gibbs Posted October 10, 2013 Posted October 10, 2013 raaaaaaaaaahhhh *flips table* at least release them on Vita/3DS as well god damn SE the EA of the east
Ike Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 So Dragon Quest I came out last week and I just got the apk. Seems they used slightly updated tiles from DQIII. The Hero/NPC sprites look too tall and squashed to me. Difficulty seems toned down and pretty sure I levelled quicker than normal. Makes sense since it's a mobile game I suppose. Ah well. Guess I have something to play on the bus now. :p Oh, and there was a new trailer for DQVIII: Can't See a Thing edition.
Dcubed Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 That un-even sprite scaling is positively wretched at least it's not as bad as FF6 iPhone though I guess...
Ike Posted December 9, 2013 Posted December 9, 2013 (edited) Well I finished my play through, apart from the resolution/sprites it's a pretty good port. Although admittedly it doesn't look as bad on the actual hardware. They also updated the music and sounds great. Seems the port was handled by Square Enix China and Phil Rogers (CEO of SE Europe and America) was also mentioned so I wonder if that points to an English localisation? If it does I would recommend picking it up. Certainly sped up my commute home. Screenshots (spoilers, I guess, they are mostly from late game): A Metal Slime draws near! Look at that EXP! Encountered around 7 Metal Slimes (which seemed pretty high to me) while grinding, managed to kill 3 in total. To survive the southern/late game areas you pretty much need the Healmore spell which you learn at level 17 so the Metal Slimes helped a bit. Oolong draws near! Thankfully Stopspell works on him. He still hits pretty hard which is why Healmore is needed. Obtaining Roto's Armour! Vs Dragon. Actually probably should have fought him before Oolong since you can take him down at around level 15 so I was a little overpowered. He gave a nice amount of EXP which would have reduced my grinding earlier. Oh well. Rescuing Lora. Doust thou love me? If only dating in real life was as simple as defeating a dragon. She gives you Lora's Love item which tells you the needed experience needed to level and how many steps away you are from her. Talk about clingy. You actually use it to locate another item a bit later. Next up, the Golem! This guy hits hard. You need the Fairy Flute to put him to sleep otherwise it's nearly impossible to beat him. Weird thing is, I can't tell if he's protecting the town or just blocking people from entering/leaving. The town is protected by a wall so seems like it's protecting it but no one references the fact you got past it in the town. Grabbing Roto's Emblem. This is what you use Lora's Love item and some info you get from the previous town to locate. (Although if you know where it is you can just grab it anyway). You need this otherwise the old guy won't create the Rainbow Drop for you without proof your a descendant of Roto or something. What a jerk. Anyway off to the Dragonlord's castle. You find Roto's Sword here but I didn't screenshot it. :p The Dragonlord draws near! "This isn't even my final form". Yes he killed me in his first form so I went off to level/recover MP. Fairly sure Stopspell used to work on his first form but it didn't this time. Also Hurtmore doesn't even work on him in this version. Defeated! Everyone waiting for my return. "But thou must marry me!". Well yes, otherwise DQII won't happen. Bonus: Puff puff... Edit: Just remembered this was the 3rd time in a year I've played DQI... Edited December 9, 2013 by Ike
Ike Posted December 15, 2013 Posted December 15, 2013 So it turns out the Dragon Quest VIII port has localised texts already in the apk file so this means there's a good chance we're going to be getting at least VIII over here. I don't think DQ1 requires much translation. VIII doesn't run too bad on my Nexus 4, although there's still the occasional slow down.
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