Sony has announced a new State of Play livestream for Wednesday, March 9. These streams are used to reveal new games for PlayStation consoles, with this stream said to focus specifically on games from Sony's Japanese publishers. Many fans are anticipating reveals for the Final Fantasy series — either Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2, or the highly anticipated Final Fantasy 16 — but Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate would truly shine here.
Dragon Quest 12 was first revealed in May 2021 to celebrate the long-running series' 35th anniversary. Touted as a darker, action-oriented entry to the series, no real information has been given about the game since. Due to the Dragon Quest series' massive popularity in Japan, and the fact this State of Play is focusing solely on Japanese publishers, Dragon Quest 12 would be the perfect announcement to crank the hype to the maximum.
Square Enix's Relationship with Sony
Sony's tweet announcing the State of Play says "special focus" will be given to games from their Japanese publishers. Many developers and publishers come to mind here, like Bandai Namco, Capcom, or Sega, but the big name people's mind jump to is Square Enix. Square Enix is responsible for some of the greatest JPRG series of all time — Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest, to name a few. There are bound to be announcements from multiple companies during the livestream, but a lack of anything from Square Enix would be a huge surprise.
Fans are eagerly awaiting more information about multiple games from Square Enix. Final Fantasy in particular has three games on the horizon: The aforementioned Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 and Final Fantasy 16, as well as Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, for which details of a new demo apparently have leaked ahead of the State of Play. That being said, Dragon Quest is not to be forgotten about. The series has been gaining massive popularity in the west recently, but it has always been far more popular in Japan. Due to this, this Japan-focused State of Play is a better opportunity than ever to reveal more on the elusive Dragon Quest 12.
Dragon Quest's Successful History
The Dragon Quest series is massively successful. As the creator of turn based JRPGs, the first game (known as Dragon Warrior in the states) debuted on the NES in 1986. Since then, there have been 10 more main entries into the series, most with special editions and re-releases, plus countless spin-offs. The most recent mainline entry, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, has been released on every modern console. Despite the sheer number of games, the formula of the series has gone relatively unchanged since the original Dragon Warrior. Players journey through vast areas, explore towns, and fight turn-based battles until the day is saved. Dragon Quest 12 seems to want to end this trend.
Dragon Quest 12 was announced to be a darker game immediately after the game's first reveal. While the franchise has tackled some darker themes in the past, the iconic, cheery art style and music definitely lighten the mood. On top of this, Dragon Quest 12's combat is said to be action-oriented, in what seems to be a growing modern JRPG trend. These are both huge departures from what the series is traditionally known for. A darker Dragon Quest with a completely revamped combat system has definitely caught the attention of many — more information is needed to really bring the excitement to the next level.
Regardless of what is announced, whether it be Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, or even something else entirely, fans will not have to wait long, as the State of Play livestream airs on March 9, 2022, at 5 p.m. EST.
Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is currently in development.
