A little while back, renowned Japanese developer Square Enix announced that it was working on a new Dragon Quest game for mobile, which would reportedly deliver a brand new experience. This has led many fans to speculate that it would be a premium port of an older Dragon Quest game, or even a 2D version of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age – the latest installment to the mainline series.
The new game turned out to be Dragon Quest Walk, and it seems Square really meant it when it said “a brand new experience”, as this new title will feature Augmented Reality mechanics similar to Pokémon GO. Surely, not many people expected that. Check out the trailer for the game below:
From the footages that have been revealed, it looks like the new game will (thankfully) not lose too much of the Dragon Quest charm that we all know and love in the transition to mobile – a trap that so many popular franchises have fallen into. Several familiar monsters have made a turn, as has the traditional turn-based combat system.
The gameplay of Dragon Quest Walk will have players explore their real world, physically walking around their neighborhood to visit landmarks, take on quests, and interact with NPCs. According to the game’s official website, the story will continue to develop as you walk, and your daily life will “become an adventure”. On top of that, you’ll be able to build your own room in this fantasy world and decorate it with items and furniture that you discover during your journey as well.
Dragon Quest Walk will launch this year in Japan for both Android and iOS. As of now, it’s unclear whether it will become available in other regions. The franchise has always had a mixed history when localization is concerned, and the AR nature of this specific release might prevent it from expanding outside of Japan.