Square Enix took a step back from English releases, handed the car keys to Nintendo (who also seem to have cooled on localizations), and wouldn’t handle Dragon Quest again themselves outside Japan until, well, today. Perhaps they went to the paint a bit too hard, though, since by the time Dragon Quest 5 DS released, sales had greatly tapered off. In the next few years, Square Enix would translate several spin-offs and remakes, releasing almost every game without fail. The game ended up a critical and commercial hit, and it finally seemed like Dragon Quest was overseas to stay. Just for extra mustard, Square Enix packed in a demo disc for Final Fantasy XII. This game was also the first release of the main series in Europe. The publisher went the extra mile for the English release, adding excellent voice acting, extra animations, an overhauled menu system, and an orchestrated version of the soundtrack. It helped that the Japanese version was already a gorgeous game, in sharp contrast to Dragon Quest 7. Unfortunately, that game was about as pretty as the south end of a northbound mule, and it released almost a year after the PlayStation 2 released, so it wasn’t exactly a big hit.Īfter Square and Enix merged, the company clearly decided they wanted to make a strong effort to establish Dragon Quest outside of Japan with the release of Dragon Quest 8. Enix of America then briefly reappeared in the PlayStation 1 era, translating the massive Dragon Quest 7. Enix of America quietly translated and released the other three NES games, then disappeared shortly into the 16-bit generation before they could release Dragon Quest 5 and 6. Nintendo gave the first game a massive push, overhauling the graphics, interface, and save system, and featuring it prominently in their magazine Nintendo Power, only to be left with so many unsold cartridges they ended up giving them away with subscriptions. However, it’s never quite taken in the west, and it’s certainly not for lack of trying. I mean, as I type this review, I can hear the theme being played by a school band at the local elementary school, and that’s hardly a rare occurrence. It’s a bonafide cultural icon in its home country of Japan in a way few games have managed to become anywhere. The Dragon Quest series has had an odd relationship with western gamers.
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