So, Dragon Quest. It's kind of a paradox. While it is unquestionably the biggest JRPG series in Japan, and fiercely defended by JRPG purists around the world, its presence outside of Japan is niche at best, unmemorable at worst.Though Square Enix has tried several times to make the series relevant to North Americans, their recent effort with the DS remakes has been with an air of resignment. "Westerners just aren't interested in Dragon Quest," seems to be the attitude, and many fans have been worried that Dragon Quest IX might be passed up for localization completely.But with over 4 million copies sold in Japan, it appears that Nintendo isn't interested in letting this one slip under the radar, and has announced that they will be assuming publishing duties of the title on this side of the Pacific.Though Nintendo claims that they have formed a "unique partnership" with Square Enix to make this happen, Microsoft and Ubisoft have made similar partnerships to publish titles Square Enix wasn't interested in (Project Sylpheed and Drakengard 2 respectively, if anyone is counting).Though Nintendo has yet to announce a formal release date, they have promised that the game will be out sometime this summer for Nintendo DS, and will be released as Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.[Kotaku]
Nintendo held a press event today called the Nintendo Media Summit, where they've shown off and announced release dates for several of their 'core' titles.Among the list of (mostly) first and second party offerings, Capcom made an appearance to talk about the long overdue North American release of Monster Hunter 3 (pronounced 'Monster Hunter Tri' for reasons still unknown). Released last summer in Japan, MH3 was a game Nintendo hoped would draw core gamers back to their white box of waggle, and though the game enjoyed decent sales, it wasn't the phenomenon the PSP titles were in the Land of the Rising Sun.Regardless, it appears that Capcom has decided to allow North American gamers to hunt monsters alongside their Japanese counterparts this Spring. Like the Japanese version, the North American release will be fully playable with a classic controller and be able to utilize the WiiSpeak peripheral for chat online with friends/co-players. However, Nintendo and Capcom are aware that Monster Hunter is not popular on our side of the ocean as it is in its native land, and have announced that Monster Hunter 3's online functionality will be available for the very agreeable price of FREE.For those interested in trying before buying, a demo disc is set for release exclusively from GameStop/EBGames on March 8, 2010.Monster Hunter 3 will be available for Nintendo Wii on April 20, 2010 in North America. It is already available in Japan.[Destructoid]
So, Dragon Quest. It's kind of a paradox. While it is unquestionably the biggest JRPG series in Japan, and fiercely defended by JRPG purists around the world, its presence outside of Japan is niche at best, unmemorable at worst.
