Wow! Square Enix today announced that after Dragon Quest VIII’s PS2 appearance, the next game in the RPG series is not coming to the PS3 (although a spinoff could), but instead the game jumps to the Nintendo DS! The ninth game in the series is titled Dragon Quest IX: Defender of the Starry Sky.
The game is developed by the same team at Level 5 as the previous game was, although with some big differences:
* The 3D game has an action-oriented battle system, instead of turn-based.
* It will feature 4-player co-op play (see in below video).
* It might feature Wi-Fi online multiplayer (unconfirmed).
* Series creator Yuji Horii says it’s not a spinoff like the other two DS RPGs (Slime & Joker) based on the series, but instead it’s “a true part of the series”.
Straight from the Square Enix “20th anniversary Dragon Quest commemoration” press conference comes this first gameplay video of Dragon Quest IX.
The Japanese release date is before end 2007. Japanese magazine Famitsu has the first screenshots. Via Gamebrink
Update: A TV ad is already spreading the word in Japan.