The recent Dragon Quest livestream for the franchise's 35th anniversary saw several new projects be revealed, perhaps the biggest among them being a teaser announcement for Dragon Quest 12, the next mainline game. Another announcement was a spin-off game titled Dragon Quest Treasures, and while Square Enix hasn't revealed much about it, it already has enough of a hook to entice fans of Dragon Quest 11.
Dragon Quest Treasures is a spin-off game, which producer Taichi Inuzuka describes as an untraditional RPG, whatever that means. For now, the only key detail that has been shared is that Dragon Quest 11's Erik will be one of the main characters. As a reminder, Erik was among the game's party members. In fact, he was the first one encountered by Dragon Quest 11's main protagonist, the Luminary, and joins him on his quest.
Erik won't be the sole protagonist in Dragon Quest Treasures, though. He is joined by his sister Mia, who was a minor supporting character in Dragon Quest 11. In that game, she had been cursed and needed to be rescued, so Treasures will see her take a far more proactive role.
As can be seen in the trailer, Erik and Mia are depicted as children, meaning Dragon Quest Treasures acts as both a spin-off and prequel to Dragon Quest 11. Fans can probably expect Treasures to provide more backstory for the two, with it likely set before they were taken in by the Vikings. Perhaps it will explain how the two became orphans to begin with. All Inuzuka shared regarding the plot is that two key themes are the pair's childhood and treasure hunting.
Not a lot of gameplay was shown either, outside of what appears to be some platforming. Inuzuka says that more details will be shared at a later date, including which platforms it will release for and its release date. Nothing is guaranteed but Square Enix is hoping for a simultaneous worldwide release, so Western fans can enjoy the game at the same time as Japanese fans.
In terms of other announcements, Square Enix also revealed that it was working on an offline version of the Dragon Quest 10 MMORPG. This game first released for the Nintendo Wii back in 2012 and has never seen a Western release. There's currently no word if this new version will be a Japanese exclusive as well.
AÂ remake of Dragon Quest 3 is in development too and is being worked on by the same team which did Octopath Traveler. As such, the game will feature a similar art style of HD sprite work that both Octopath Traveler and the upcoming Project Triangle Strategy have.
Dragon Quest Treasures is in development.
Source: Square Enix