This past week, Dragon Quest celebrated its 35 anniversary with many announcements. Among these were an offline version of the MMORPG Dragon Quest 10, an Octopath Traveler-Esque upgrade for Dragon Quest 3, and the announcement of the 12th game in the series. With the announcements, fans were left to wonder what was to follow Dragon Quest 11 and it seems that question will be answered sooner rather than later.
Dragon Quest 11 was released in 2017 and received incredibly high marks for a series that has not always hit the mark outside of Japan. However, with the upswing from Dragon Quest 11, Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate will have big some shoes to fill. It seems that the team developing Dragon Quest 12Â is wasting no time in making that happen.
In a posting to Square Enix's recruitment site, Dragon Quest 12 is currently seeking team members to work on the project, as there are expected to be many changes. Yuji Horii, the creator of the Dragon Quest series, has announced that the company is looking to change up the command-style combat that was implemented in Dragon Quest 11. While no final changes have been approved, he notes that the team is working with different prototypes to deliver the best experience. He also mentions that the story is completed, but that there is still much work to be done. With all of this, Dragon Quest 12 is expected to be quite different, and Square Enix is looking to gain more team members to continue the work.
It appears that the Dragon Quest 12 team is looking to keep to some of the old Dragon Quest conventions while introducing new experiences for incoming players to the series. Fans of non-turn-based RPGs will likely be more attracted to this style of gameplay.
Dragon Quest has long been a mainstay in the JRPG community but has not always been as popular in North America as its counterparts. With the release of Dragon Quest 11, much of the opinion has changed. With the 2D-HD Remake of Dragon Quest 3, as well as the latest upcoming title, Dragon Quest is prepared to continue where it left off.
Even with the story being completed, and battle systems being tested, Dragon Quest 12 is still a ways away. A new combat system is definitely going to be an interesting prospect, as Dragon Quest has kept to a command/turn-based system since the beginning. With the Dragon Quest team recruiting and expanding, fans will have to enjoy other Dragon Quest titles while waiting for a release date.
Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is in development for unspecified platforms.
Source: Square Enix