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Opinion – Why Dragon Quest’s Future Looks Bleak In North America
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Dragon Quest. The traditional RPG franchise crafted the foundation for console RPGs, and even to this day, it evokes charm and nostalgia with its art style and famed slimes. I'm still captivated by it, even though the series hasn't gone through much of a revolution since it began in '86. It retains that classic RPG feel, and I love how you don't need a hefty tutorial to grasp the basics. Even so, the games are challenging and require intelligent management of your turns. Being a Dragon Quest fan outside of Japan has never been easy, and these days its potential in North America looks bleak, causing me to question if the franchise still has a future on our shores.
I don't want to sound jaded, but it's hard to ignore the mounting evidence of a grim future. Facts are facts, and the series has never sold exceptionally well in North America, at least compared to big shots like Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts. This isn't for lack of trying, either. While Dragon Quest hit a bumpy road after the success of the first game in the U.S. market, it saw a resurgence in the last decade. Dragon Quest VII for PS1 put the franchise back in the spotlight and the excellent Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King on PS2 followed with acclaim and solid sales undoubtedly boosted by a packed-in Final Fantasy XII demo. This at least encouraged Square Enix to put more effort into getting the series to catch on here, following with releasing remakes of IV and V along with spinoffs like Rocket Slime and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.
Then something unexpected happened. Square Enix stepped aside and Nintendo took over publishing the Dragon Quest VI remake, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, and main numbered entry, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Square Enix has never given a statement on why it made the decision, but I can only guess it has something to do with sales not meeting expectations. At the very least, Nintendo still had faith in the series. That was until Nintendo didn't bring over the Dragon Quest VII remake or Dragon Quest X. It makes sense to not want to test a Dragon Quest MMORPG in the U.S. market. Dragon Quest X didn't boast the sales that the other entries did in Japan either, so why would it suddenly captivate a North American audience that is even more selective? But the Dragon Quest VII remake still bothers me; it feels like both Square Enix and Nintendo left an unfinished job, leaving North American fans wondering about what might have been.
Given these recent events, I'm worried about the franchise's future in North America, and it's been nagging at me more as we continue into this new generation. Dragon Quest Heroes, a spin-off in the Dynasty Warriors vein was announced for PS4, and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii has already confirmed that Dragon Quest XI is in the works to commemorate its 30th anniversary and will appear on consoles. Dragon Quest Heroes could be promising considering the success of Hyrule Warriors, but Zelda has more appeal stateside than Dragon Quest does, lessening its localization chances. I stomached missing Dragon Quest X due to it being an MMORPG, but I couldn't stand not having a mainline console entry, like Dragon Quest XI, localized. That will be the true test: If Dragon Quest XI isn't brought over, I'd say that's the nail in the coffin, crushing all hope for the series' future here. Even sadder is that North American fans have finally had access to all the mainline Dragon Quest entries thanks to the DS remakes, but this would put them back in the dark.
This is all a bit unnerving, especially since Square Enix and Nintendo set a solid foundation for the series to gain notoriety, but a niche franchise isn't going to just light fire overnight. It takes time, and all the work that Square and Nintendo did to get Dragon Quest to catch on in North America will be in vain if it disappears. Yes, Dragon Quest never scored the sales it did in Japan, but that was a pipe dream – entries usually hit two to four million there. I mean, come on, Japan has a restaurant devoted to the series alongside a myth that most Dragon Quest games launch on Saturdays to prevent kids from skipping school to get a copy. Still, in America many people were just learning about the series through the remakes or rekindling their slime-filled love. Level-5 also worked on the past two main titles and its touch was a positive one, adding even more depth to the gameplay. Maybe all Dragon Quest needs is more time to cook stateside and another solid console entry to turn its fate around. Dragon Quest XI could be that game.
However, even if Dragon Quest XI is outstanding, the question remains: Is Square Enix willing to take the risk and give the series another shot in the North American market? The one hope that I have comes from what the company recently experienced with Bravely Default, where Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda admitted the company lost focus, especially in not seeing its potential in markets outside of Japan. At this point, we're more likely to see Bravely Second localized by Square Enix than a new Dragon Quest game.
This raises another question, if Square is done with Dragon Quest in North America, could it just pass it off to a niche publisher that isn't dependent on large sales? Sadly, it's unlikely that a small publisher, like Xseed or Atlus, could afford the rights to take over localizing Dragon Quest. Square owns the brand and isn't going to let it go without a hefty fee, one I doubt a small company could afford.
Right now, all Square seems to be interested in is releasing subpar mobile ports of Dragon Quest entries. Is that really all North America has left? I hope not. The franchise, which is approaching its 30th anniversary, is still around for a reason. Beyond just being integral to the history of console RPGs, it still captures the spirit of being an adventurer. I know I'm not ready for my Dragon Quest adventures to end, and something tells me there's a North American fanbase who feels just the same.
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