Dragon Quest XI is an offline game for consoles and SE looks to localize 3DS titles
Dragon Quest XI has yet to be revealed officially, but Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii told Final Fantasy fan site FFRing during an interview at Japan Expo this week that it will indeed be an offline game for home consoles. Read some of the information that was shared from the translated interview below.
What's going on with Dragon Quest XI? Have you prepared something for the series' 30th anniversary? Is it another online game?
Horii: (Laughs and smiles along with his team) Nothing's completely set! But yes, we're working on something. We can't tell you right now, but yes, we're working on it. One thing's for sure: Dragon Quest XI will be an offline game. More information to come on this subject.
Does the real time combat in Dragon Quest Heroes make you want to evolve the gameplay of previous episodes, like Square Enix is doing with Final Fantasy?
Horii: No, Dragon Quest XI will me a return to the classical game mechanics of the Dragon Quest series. If we do another action RPG, we'll do so in the Dragon Quest Heroes series. We really want to differentiate between these two types of games.
Is there a chance that Dragon Quest VII and VIII release in Europe one day? Numerous fans would love it.
Horii: (Laughs) We read and we hear a lot of passionate fans about these games, and we're thinking about it.
Square Enix has finally unveiled Final Fantasy VII Remake. Do you see any future remakes of Dragon Quest games using a 3D cel-shaded method, in Dragon Quest III for example, which is my favorite game?
Horii: Nothing planned at the moment, but in the future, it's not impossible for us to take a look at. But... (laughs) Some small things could happen, yes. (Several hours later we learned there will be an announcement in July 13th's Shonen Jump)
Dragon Quest I and VI were ported to mobile devices. I'd like to klnow your opinion on the publishers strategy for games on smartphones.
Horii: I don't think that the success of smartphone games should be a reason to only make games for smartphones. I really think that games need to be designed for different platforms. Dragon Quest XI, for example, will be designed for the home console, since it will be created with the controller in mind. We have other games typically created for smartphones: Dragon Quest Monsters Parade, which we control with the tips of our fingers with the tactile screen. We need to really think about the hardware the most suitable when creating a game. Our mobile remakes stem from fan service more than anything.
It has now been 30 years that you've worked on this license. I would like to know which game was the most difficult to develop, and why?
Horii: I have a lot of memories of these games, and there were so many difficulties with each one... The world map in Dragon Quest VI was a very tough challenge, the development of IX for a portable console was also a challenge, in X, an MMO, was also very difficult to conceive. Each episode brought their own share of difficulties. Dragon Quest Heroes is an action game, and we had to once again come face to face with new challenges!
On the internet, we find a lot of fan adapted mangas mixing the universes of Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest, which is pretty great. Have you ever developed a cross-over game, say for instance a Dragon Ball game developed by Square Enix?
Horii: (Laughs) This would be very difficult due to the fact that the license belongs to Bandai Namco.
This will be my last question, and surely the weirdest one. A few years ago, you created Dragon Quest Swords, an epic adventure where use of the wiimote was very important. Do Virtual Reality helmets make you want to experience new game concepts like that one?
Horii: It's incredible! I personally had the chance to try on Morpheus, it's a strange feeling, and I really had the feeling that a girl was next to me. Another scene had a shark, which was really impressive and realistic. If time allows, I would love to make a Dragon Quest for this technology.