Dragon Quest V Remake Hits Big In Japan

Thanks to GamerFeed for its article noting that Square Enix's PlayStation 2 remake of Dragon Quest V has debuted big in Japan, since this previously mentioned SNES remake has already "sold over a million units in just 2 days", additionally helped by "the inclusion of a preview disc of Dragon Quest VIII." The series, known as Dragon Warrior in the States, has never really taken off outside Japan, however: "Dragon Quest VII went on to sell more copies than any other PSOne game in Japan ever. By contrast, Dragon Warrior VII, and the Dragon Warrior series, has never attained more than a small but loyal cult following in the US."

Comments

FFVII Remake

[BlueCodeWarrior]

Too late.

As it says in the post, check out Game Informer. Awesome screenshots of it all...Barret looks especially impressive.

Re:FFVII Remake

[simoniker]

Actually, I think the Final Fantasy VII project ended up being a CG movie, and not an actual game remake, sadly?

Re:FFVII Remake

[CaptMonkeyDLuffy]

CG Movie versus game remake? Since we're talking about Square, there isn't much difference between the two to begin with.

The question is...

[dancingmad]

Anyone know if there are plants to bring 5 over here to the U.S.? With DQ8 coming out later in the year and Final Fantasy 12 being pushed back for DQ, I really need my RPG fix.

Re:The question is...

[metroid composite]

Look to a different system perhaps? I've noticed that RPGs comming out for the GBA are suddenly going up, whereas PS2 RPGs were never really released at the same rate as PSX RPGs. As far as those go, I can personally reccomend Mario and Luigi, have heard good things about Fire Emblem 7 and mediocre things about FFTA. Golden Sun...is made by the same people as Beyond the Beyond, though a fair bit better polished at least....

Though, even on the PS2, La Pucelle is comming out in...3 days actually; and that's a quite significant release (sequel to Disgaea).

Re:The question is...

[dancingmad]

La Pucelle isn't a sequel to Disgaea, it was created and released before Disgaea in Japan and they're unconnected (though Pucelle is supposed to make a cameo in Disgaea, I haven't seen her).

I liked FFTA as much as my commentary is worth. It wasn't as grand as FFT, but I did like the graphics and battle system. It had its bad points, but I loved it and played it all the way through.

As for the GBA, I am playing Tactics Ogre now, and FE and Mario and Luigi are slated next on my list.

As for Square screwing up FF, yes kinda. FFX-2 is a directy sequely and it's not that great a game, but FFX was a reasonable successor to the FF series. My only major compliant was FF8, which blew hard, but my favorite has been FF6. I was like you, not caring much about a new FF title, but since FF12 is being made by the the team from FFTA and being set in more or less the same world, I'm letting my self get excited about it.

My thoughts

[DarkkOne]

I've been a fan of the DQ/DW series since the first game... it was actually the first RPG I played on the NES. I think the problem with sales in the US is that RPGs never were *incredibly* popular at first anyway. Once FF2 and 3 (4/6) came out on the SNES, even among the niche, the party system of FF had lodged itself in everyone's minds, as well as the variety of travel in its world.

Then came FFVII, and the way it somehow attracted a fairly large crowd of what previously weren't RPG players. By the time we got DQVII, Final Fantasy was far superior, at least if you were looking purely at polycount. The people attracted to eyecandy, and action (the kind of people FF7/8 seem to have appealed to) found the mostly sprite-based (yes, they *were* 3D to an extent) graphics, and slower gameplay of DQVII not to their liking.

Since the series stayed mostly under the radar, I know most of the people I've asked didn't realize there were more than one until VII came out, the fact that the only two games they've tried were both "behind the line" from their perspective is surely not going to help the game stateside.

Regardless, I personally can't wait to play any future releases. This series has been one of my favorites. I quite like the gameplay (and for some reason, Drakees are my favorite critter of all time.)

Re:My thoughts

[cgenman]

Ahh... Memories.

Don't forget, though, that Dragon Warrior was quite popular on the NES. I, II, III, and IV all made it to the cover of Nintendo Power, had good sales (except IV), and created fond memories. Dragon Warrior 1 is most console people's first RPG, and is still copied to this day on smaller devices. But the NES is where U.S. Dragon Warrior sat for many years. While Final Fantasy 2 never came out for the NES (I had a pre-order. Sigh), it did make two large splashes on the 16 bit generation, and three on the 32 bit systems.

Dragon Warrior, on the other hand, was conspicuously absent after the NES. With absolutely nothing on the SNES, and a title snuck in at the end of the Playstation's lifetime, there was little to really keep the series fresh in player's minds. To them, Dragon Warrior was an old outdated game that had been done a million times before, and a million times better. They waited too long to do a sequel, but not long enough that it could be considered new again.

Now I need to whip out the old emulator and find a copy of DQ IV.

I personally love Gold Golems, but Drakees were adorable.

DQ/DW's popularity

[Pluvius]

Dragon Quest VII went on to sell more copies than any other PSOne game in Japan ever. By contrast, Dragon Warrior VII, and the Dragon Warrior series, has never attained more than a small but loyal cult following in the US.

That's probably because the DQ/DW series is about a decade behind the times. I'm not just talking about graphics, either. Fighting the hordes of palette-swapped enemies that DQ subjects you to with the limited amount of innovation that the DQ series has just isn't all that fun anymore.

Rob

Re:I Once Read A Cool Fact About DQ...

[BlueCodeWarrior]

Google is your friend.

From the link:
Dragon Quest is so popular that when Dragon Quest 3 was release in Japan, many people skipped school to buy it and fights broke out over the carts. Because of this, law now requires them to release Dragon Quest games on weekends.

Obscurity is not the issue.

[metroid composite]

Say what you will, but collecting from 26 raters on the RPGDL forums who had played an average of 53 (mostly console-style) RPGs each, Dragon Warrior RPGs are regarded as fairly average at best (with the exception of the DW4 remake on the PSX which very few had played). I've certainly heard suggested that Dragon Warriors are just generally mediocre games (yet inexplicably popular in Japan; like how Pokemon Snap sold well for some odd reason). It's also may just fit Japanese culture better. I'll repost an old version of the list now (most easily accessible to me on this computer). There's a few mistakes, as this older document was never recompiled, but close enough....

A few things to note about this list:
1. it is in no way cannon; a few people admitted that they have odd taste. This was what one group of people enjoyed more on average.
2. Games that a lot of people have played will end up closer to average in general. I've tossed all games with less than two raters, because those just end up fairly random.
3. Games that are on here are things which people decided to rate. Nobody considered Zelda a Console-style RPG; sorry to disappoint those who insist otherwise. Star Control 2 was briefly here and kicking butt, but the raters decided not to include it in their revised lists.

Rank. Game Name: standard deviations (Number of people who rated) (systems on which it has appeared)

1. Disgaea: 1.28 (5)(PS2)
2. Brigandine: 1.26 (7)(Playstation)
3. Final Fantasy Tactics: 1.17 (25)(Playstation)
4. Suikoden 2: 1.07 (21)(Playstation)
5. Paper Mario: 0.97 (7)(N64)
6. Suikoden 3: 1.02 (18)(PS2)
7. Rhapsody: 0.96 (3)(Playstation)
8. Final Fantasy 6: 0.93 (24)(SNES, Playstation)
9. Tales of Phantasia: 0.88 (10)(SNES(JP), GB/C(JP), Playstation(JP), GBA(JP))
10. Final Fantasy X: 0.84 (19)(PS2)
11. Phantasy Star 4: 0.7 (16)(Genesis)
12. Koudelka: 0.68 (8)(Playstation)
13. Xenosaga: 0.64 (16)(PS2)
14. Seiken Densetsu 3: 0.58 (12)(SNES(JP))
15. Chrono Trigger: 0.56 (24)(SNES, Playstation)
16. Skies of Arcadia: 0.58 (6)(DC, GCN)
17. Shadow Hearts: 0.56 (17)(PS2)
18. Breath of Fire 5: 0.69 (7)(PS2)
19. Xenogears: 0.55 (23)(Playstation)
20. Valkyrie Profile: 0.53 (23)(Playstation)
21. Final Fantasy 3: 0.53 (11)(NES(JP))
22. Threads of Fate: 0.5 (5)(Playstation)
23. Seiken Densetsu 1 (=FFA): 0.49 (4)(GB/C)
24. Final Fantasy Legend 2: 0.2 (3)(GB/C)
25. Ogre Battle 64: 0.48 (5)(N64)
26. Final Fantasy 4: 0.41 (24)(SNES, Playstation)
27. Tactics Ogre: 0.42 (7)(SNES(JP), Playstation, Sat(JP))
28. Tales of Eternia: 0.4 (11)(Playstation)
29. Grandia2: 0.36 (14)(DC, PS2, PC)
30. Breath of Fire 4: 0.39 (16)(Playstation, PC)
31. SaGa Frontier: 0.32 (12)(Playstation)
32. Live a Live: 0.33 (6)(SNES)
33. Final Fantasy 7: 0.33 (25)(Playstation)
34. Persona 2: 0.31 (5)(Playstation)
35. Lunar 2: Eeternal Blue Complete: 0.31 (18)(Playstation, Sat(JP), SCD)
36. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete: 0.29 (17)(Playstation, Sat(JP), GBA, SCD)
37. Pokemon R/B/Y: 0.17 (13)(GB/C)
38. Ogre Battle: 0.27 (10)(SNES, Playstation, Sat(JP))
39. Wild ARMs 3: 0.27 (13)(PS2)
40. Sailor Moon: Another Story: 0.24 (6)(SNES(JP))
41. Earthbound: 0.24 (11)(SNES)
42. Suikoden: 0.21 (22)(Playstation)
43. Shadowrun: 0.2 (3)(SNES)
44. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits: 0.19 (7)(PS2)
45. Lufia2: 0.21 (19)(SNES)
46. Vanguard Bandits: 0.17 (3)(Playstation)
47. Legend of Legaia 2: 0.16 (6)(PS2)
48. Azure Dreams: 0.13 (3)(Playstation)
49. Alundra: 0.11 (3)(Playstation)
50. Bahamut Lagoon: 0.16 (6)(SNES)
51. Shining Force 2: 0.06 (14)(Genesis)
52. Persona: 0.06 (6)(Playstation)
53. Pokemon G/S/C: -0.2 (5)(GB/C)
54. Front Mission 3: 0.02 (6)(Playstation)
55. Dragon Warrior 4: 0.02 (11)(NES, Playstation(JP))
56. Tales of Destiny: 0.06 (11)(Playstation)
57. Wild ARMs 1: 0.01 (16)(Playstation)
58. Vandal

Re:Obscurity is not the issue.

[geminidomino]

Uh huh... So the majority of people rated Final Fantasy X trash above DW/DQ. The majority also uses windows on their PCs. No one says the Majority has to be right.

People love to comment about the "Lack of innovation" in the DQ line, especially compared to FF. I always found that amusing since FF was a knockoff.

Aside: The original "Final Fantasy" was so named because Square was on the verge of ceasing to exist, and it was going to be their last game. At the time, DQ was kicking major ass in Japan, so they copied that. It did so well it saved them and started an awesome series (until FF7 changed the format, at least).

What kind of "innovations" do these people want? Pretty eye candy? Mind-numbing teen-drama storylines? Vapid characters? Oh, I know... hours and hours of inane mini-games that have nothing to do with the game in general, but they tend to distract the current crop of ADD-infected gamers.

If they do to DW8 what they did to FF, I'm done. I have 5 of the first 6 Final Fantasies (except FF3) on PS re-release, and DW on emulators. Not to mention other GOOD rpgs, like Lunar, Vay, Beyond the Beyond, Xenogears... etc..

Re:Obscurity is not the issue.

[metroid composite]

Uh huh... So the majority of people rated Final Fantasy X trash above DW/DQ. The majority also uses windows on their PCs. No one says the Majority has to be right.

Actually the first set of people who played FFX called it trash, and the rest avoided it for a while; when they finally did play it they were mostly impressed; FFX's sphere grid is something that hasn't been done before, the characters have strong personalities, and the music is quite good. Overall the remaining group of haters still pulls it down a few notches but it has strong redeeming qualities.

What kind of "innovations" do these people want? Pretty eye candy?

Not according to this list because Brigandine and Koudelka are two of the highest-rated here, and Xenogears isn't far off. Tell me those games have good graphics.

Mind-numbing teen-drama storylines?

The games that get praised for their storylines (at least in this group) are more along the lines of Xenogears, Koudelka, FFT, Suikoden 2....

Vapid characters?

You should see how badly people bash Justin (Grandia) and Rinoa (FF8).

Oh, I know... hours and hours of inane mini-games that have nothing to do with the game in general, but they tend to distract the current crop of ADD-infected gamers.

FFT has none (removed when ported from Japan, thank goodness). I didn't see any in the parts of Brigandine I played. None in FF6 from what I've played so far.

Not to mention other GOOD rpgs, like Lunar, Vay, Beyond the Beyond, Xenogears... etc..

I personally regard Lunar as an uninnovative rehash and not really worthwhie, but that's just me. Can't really comment on BtB or Vay having not played them, though.

People love to comment about the "Lack of innovation" in the DQ line, especially compared to FF. I always found that amusing since FF was a knockoff.

Your point? Should we only buy fighting games from Capcom? (Was Capcom even the first?) Should we only buy platform games from...was Activision's Pitfall the first one? *three* Dragon Warriors and even Phantasy Star came out in North America before a single Final Fantasy; you can't claim FF was the first series to be ported giving it some sort of "unfair advantage".

Never understood why it didn't catch on.

[DroopyStonx]

Back in the days of the NES, the only good RPGs were Final Fantasy and the Dragon Warrior series.

Final Fantasy was cool and all, but... compared to games like Dragon Warrior 3 and 4, it didn't stand a change. Those games were HUGE, chock-full of dungeons, monsters, stories with twists and turns, hidden quests, and more.

Not only that, but the Final Fantasy games were pretty short (the early sequels, anyway). Aside from the first, the DW games were LONG. I think DW7 was the longest clocking in at at least 100 hours.

It might not've had the fancy backdrops/cutscenes like FF7/8/9 had, but that was probably the BEST RPG I ever played for PSX.. just because it was so true to its roots.

Why the series never caught on is beyond me.

What's even more strange is the amount of people who are hardcore RPG fans who have NEVER played a single Dragon Warrior game. That is just insane. That's like being a Quake/Unreal fanatic without ever having played Wolfenstein 3D.

What also irritates me is that these companies think there's no market for it when there is. If you already made the game for Japan, how much harder is it to translate the text and ship it to the US for those who want it?

We've been jacked out of tons of great games because of this.. like the Mother series. Earthbound was the only release the USA ever had of it. Final Fantasy V never saw the light of day till the Anthology was released. FFII didn't have a US release until not even a year ago! (April 9, 2003). What about FF3?

Square definitely found a nice niche in the market for porting the unreleased games. I was disappointed to find out that Enix never considered it, but after Squaresoft bought Enix, it looks like it's becoming a reality.

While remakes are good, I'd be happier than hell to even play the ORIGINAL games ported to PSone/2. It kinda sucks to play the translated versions through an emulator.