Square Enix producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto recently shared the latest information on Dragon Quest Builders in an interview featured in this week’s issue of Famitsu magazine. [Thanks, Hachima.]

Are there any differences that come with the protagonist’s gender?

Fujimoto: None. Equipment are the same, skin and hair color can be customized. Appearances can be changed on the system menu, where you can also change your name.

About Free Build Mode?

Fujimoto: Think of Free Build Mode as a giant map that is entirely a town, where monsters don’t spawn. If you’d like to fight monsters [in this mode] then you can go to “Island with Post-Game Materials” or an island called “Battle Island” that is made for fighting. You can get special rewards by using a Battle Ticket on Battle Island.

How long does it take to clear Story Mode?

Fujimoto: With the main story alone, you can play for about as long as you would with your conventional Dragon Quest games. You could probably go over 100 hours if you want to get the most out of all the continents. I believe it’ll be about 50 to 60 hours if you stick to the main story. The towns in Story Mode aren’t that huge, as we’ve put limitations on it. If you’d like to make a giant town, then please give Free Build a try.

About share function?

Fujimoto: Spoilers are okay, and you can do it all.

Are all the towns from Dragon Quest 1 in the game?

Fujimoto: It was all made using Dragon Quest 1’s map as the base, so it’s safe to assume that you can more or less go to all the areas that existed in Dragon Quest 1. I hope you get to see how it actually tuned out for yourselves.

Are there any buildings that weren’t in Dragon Quest 1?

Fujimoto: There’s a pyramid in the desert and things such as towers that you may not have seen before. We weren’t thinking about completely replicating Dragon Quest 1. You can climb mountains and find caves, and find treasure chests, so I believe we’ve made it into a title that makes it clear that it’s a block-make RPG.

Dragon Quest Builders will release in Japan on January 28, 2016 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.