Yuji Horii, the creator for the Dragon Quest series confirmed that Dragon Quest XI: In Search of Departed Time is in development for the Nintendo NX. Talking at a round-table discussion and translated by gematsu.com the announcement puts the total number of announced Nintendo NX games at 5. Four versions (NX, PS4, and both versions of the 3DS) will be released simultaneously. According to Yuji, “spoilers will emerge if we release one version earlier”. Dragon Quest XI has a release date set for March 27th, 2017 – which is close to the tentative launch date for the NX. This is the fifth NX game to get officially announced. Along with the MMO Dragon Quest X, other confirmed games include a new Sonic, Just Dance and Zelda Breath of the Wild. What are your thoughts, are you excited for a new Dragon Quest game? See a copy of the transcript below, translated by gematsu.com.
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 you’re not going to shift the release date and release them 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.
