SweetieGames

When I was a 10-year-old, I was reading one of my favourite magazines where I found something unusual. At the back of the magazine on a double page spread was an article for an upcoming game on the Nintendo DS, called Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. I read the ad multiple times; I was utterly fixated by the winged characters and the opportunity to make a character of my own. I told my dad that I had to have it.

Fast forward almost 12 years later, and Dragon Quest IX still remains as one of my favourite JRPGs. As an aspiring creative writer, the potential to make a band of original characters with their own backstories was too strong for me to ignore, and it similarly captured the imagination of millions of players across the globe. So why is it that IX is the only Dragon Quest title without a remake or rerelease of its own?

Dragon Quest IX could be considered as one of the rarest DQ titles, with only one release: its original release onto the Nintendo DS in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in the west. And it’s not as though Dragon Quest is a stranger to remakes or rereleases either, with every game from I-VIII being released onto IOS and Android and popular games such as IV, V, VI, VII and VIII being remade for the DS or 3DS. Even their latest title, Dragon Quest XI, has been rereleased onto the 3DS as well as the Nintendo Switch as the Definitive Edition, and Dragon Quest III has the confirmed 2D HD remake in the works. So, where is the love for IX?

IX was a lot of people’s introduction to the Dragon Quest franchise. The game sold over 1 million copies in North America and Europe, making it the among the biggest selling Dragon Quest games of all time. With its customisation options, charming NPC characters and huge potential for online play, the sales number comes as no surprise. IX really took advantage of the DS’s online play capabilities, encouraging players to meet with friends and defeat bonus bosses and share items among each other. It’s regarded among fans as one of the best-looking DS titles ever released, pushing the DS’s graphics to the limit and incorporating 2D character sprites and 3D graphics into its style.

Dragon Quest IX would be perfect for a remake on the Switch. As online play has developed, players no longer need to be in the same room to play co-op with their friends. With a more powerful console, the opportunities for character customisation could be endless as it allows for more options, whether that be hairstyles, clothing, or weapons. Creating your own character has never been more popular; just take a look at the popularity of Final Fantasy XIV or Elden Ring!

Of course, there are also challenges that come with making the game for a different console. IX was tailor made for the DS hardware; the screen is only a few inches wide, giving the player a very limited view, and the game really made use of the console’s dual screens, displaying maps and stats for the player. In battle, the player can see their characters on the top screen and input their moves on the bottom screen. This charm will be very difficult to replicate on a single screened console, especially one that’s much wider than the screen it was originally made for. The tag mode was designed for a portable console, where you could pick up items from passer’s by (which made it an absolute hit in Japan, where many people owned the game). Although a Switch is portable, it’s not really the pocket-sized console the DS was, even when you consider the smaller Switch Lite.

Despite this, how likely is it that we’ll see a DQIX remake in the future? Many fans were anticipating its appearance in the Dragon Quest 35^th Anniversary Livestream, but it never showed. Chairman for the Dragon Quest Fanclub SackChief commented on the fact that it has been mentioned before in another livestream by the creators, saying: ‘Dragon Quest IX is a unique entry in the series in that it is the first and only game made specifically for the Nintendo DS, utilizing many of the DS’s features including the DS’s local “Tag Mode” and multiplayer options… I believe a remake is very likely given that series creator Yuji Horii and DQIX director Akihiro Hino played around with the idea during a special livestream, though it might be a while until we see this.’

In the special livestream, Horii and Hino discussed rebooting DQIX for either phones or for the Nintendo Switch, listing pros and cons for both. A mobile port of the game would fix the issue regarding the Tag Mode due to a phone’s portability and the fact that everyone owns one but wouldn’t allow for enhanced graphics or many changes to the experience of the game, which many people want in a remake. Despite the drawbacks, a remake on Switch is totally feasible.

Dragon Quest director Jin Fujisawa said in the stream that he always wants to hear from fans as to whether they want IX to be rebooted. So, it’s down to fans like us to make some noise to Square Enix; IX still holds such a special place in mine and hundreds of other people’s hearts, and we’re not ready to not see it again!