「誕生２５周年 ドラゴンクエ​スト新作発表会」

『ドラゴンクエスト X 目覚めし五つの種族』
ONLINE on Wii & Wii U

The presentation was hosted by Yasumoto Hiroki and a woman (no idea who she is) because... I got kicked out right when she was about to explain why. Luckily I was able to get back in soon after.

Guests included the game's designer Horii Yuuji, executive producer Miyake Yuu, producer Saitou Yousuke, and director Fujisawa Jin. Lastly, the boss of Nintendo Iwata Satoru.

A debut PV (no photo taking allowed during this playback), some screen shots, and two short play demo videos were shown during the presentation.

To summarize, DQ X is still under development and will be an online game on Wii and Wii U, and possibly using the 3DS for walk-by character swapping. USB keyboards can be plugged in for typing, in addition to choose from stock phrases when communicating with other players.

Character design and music are done by the same Toriyama Akira and Sugiyama Kouichi, and maintain the DQ feel very nicely. This is the first DQ game that's 100% developed in-house at Square Enix.

As indicated in the game's subtitle, there are five main races (didn't see humans though, even though the player character was human in the play demo shown) to choose from. There are the usual job classes of soldier, priest, wizard, etc., and there will be a system to change job classes.

Player can do solo play, acquire NPC from the Bar, or party up with other players. In other words, one can still enjoy the game by oneself. This is especially important for me (and a lot of people from the looks of the comments XD), as I tend to fall behind a few years when it comes to playing games.

One can log out anytime and leave one's character at the Bar as NPC for other players to use for party, so the character will grow even when one isn't playing!

Players enter into battles upon contact with the enemy on the field map. Battles are turn-based with the usual "fight" "magic" "tools" (I didn't read the last one...) commands, and onlookers (shown as half-transparent) can cheer for the players in battle to bring up the mood. Judging from this, only one group can enter the battle with the enemy, so kill stealing is unlikely to happen. On the other hand, the turn-based battle system makes the pace seems slower, so it might take time to get used to.

There's also an option to call for help during battle, where the onlookers can then help revive defeated party members. This should be fun. XD

Outside of the battle fields, players can also be masters of daily jobs such as blacksmiths or tailor and create customized equipment. Players also build their own houses and dictate the outer appearance and interior looks, and even invite friends over. The dwellers of different towns and villages will be actual players (except for the real NPC that tells the story and hints, I assume?).

The scenarios weren't touched on much since that's the meat of the game, and the guests didn't want to spoil the fun. From the looks of the screen shots, there world of DQ X would be a great one to explore. Of course, being an online game means there will be expansions for quests and jobs after the game's release. There will also be events in game depending on the seasons of the real world.

There's mention of USB memory, but I'm not sure how it'll be used...

Since the game is still in development, there's no information on the release time (except that they're aiming for 2012), price, or how they would charge for the online system. This will be crucial in determining the player demographics and popularity, and whether I'll be able to play it.


*gremz* 絶滅動物