Dragon Quest XI reconfirmed for NX, may launch alongside other versions
Square Enix recently reconfirmed Dragon Quest X for NX. Now we can say the same about the series’ latest entry, Dragon Quest XI.
In this month’s issue of Nintendo Dream, Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii, Pokemon series producer Junichi Masuda, and Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai all participated in a roundtable discussion. At one point, the discussion shifted to Dragon Quest XI, and Horii said that the game will indeed be on NX. Moreover, it sounds like the goal is to have all versions launch simultaneously in order to avoid spoilers.
Here’s the full exchange, as translated by Gematsu:
Masahiro Sakurai: Well then, I would like to ask about each of your new games. First, Dragon Quest XI. The 11th installment in the series will be released simultaneously on Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4, and including NX it’s coming out on three platforms, right?
Yuji Horii: That’s right. The use of hardware is different for each system, so it’s quite a challenge.
Sakurai: Thank you for working so hard.
Horii: However, we’re making the 3DS version in both 3D and 2D. I asked my staff, “Is that something we can do?” And they said, “We’ll do it.” So we decided, “then let’s do it.”
Junichi Masuda: I get the feeling that means there will be four versions across three platforms then, yeah?
Horii: That’s right. There are a lot of difficulties because of that. Each one has a different look to it, and there’s also a PlayStation 4 version, so if we make a small fix then we have to fix it across every version.
Sakurai: I see. Including things like the release date, it gets dreadful when development is inevitably drawn out and the debugging piles up… But shifting away from the release date, they’re not going to be released apart from each other, right? Since Dragon Quest games are story-driven.
Horii: That’s right. Spoilers will emerge if we release one version earlier. (Laughs.) However, we’re a little concerned about the sense of distance in movement. It’s different for each of the supported hardware.
Sakurai: Oh, is that so?
Horii: The movement in the 2D of the 3DS version, and the movement in the 3D of the 3DS version and the PlayStation 4 version definitely feels different when it’s in action. However, there are concerns when making several versions at the same time, and to that extent it’s difficult, so we’re making the game to the best of our ability.
Sakurai: I made Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U at the same time, but it was nevertheless difficult. Since you’re making it for hardware from different companies, I would think that it’s even more difficult, so please by all means do your best.
Horii: Indeed. All of the staff is working very hard, so please look forward to it.
