Dragon Quest IX Switch Remake Teased on 10th Anniversary Stream

Iyane Agossah July 12, 2019 7:30 AM EST

A Dragon Quest IX Switch remake developed by Level 5 was teased during the game's 10th anniversary stream.

Square Enix held on July 11 a special stream for the 10th anniversary of Dragon Quest IX Sentinels of the Starry Skies. The stream included Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii, Dragon Quest series Executive Producer Yu Miyake, DQ IX Producer Ryutaro Ichimura, DQ IX Director Jin Fujisawa and Level 5 CEO Akihiro Hino. At some point, the topic of a remake came up, and while all on stream announced that no remake is planned yet, they heavily teased that one could easily be made and might be coming soon.

After asking the audience which console they’d like a Dragon Quest IX remake, most of the comments answered “Switch”, triggering the discussion on how the Switch could easily replicate the online systems and gameplay feel of Dragon Quest IX. A possible remake would also include current standards graphics, similar to Dragon Quest XI. They also mentioned how Dragon Quest IX’s postgame was so rich that most people forgot the main storyline, so if there’s a remake they’ll try to add elements to it and make it more memorable.

While again stressing out there are no plans for a remake yet, Akihiro Hino jokingly mentioned how he thought the reason they called him on stream was that Square Enix would announce one then, as Level 5 developed the original DQ IX. Akihiro Hino also noted how “if we don’t add additional story content compared to the original and simply remake it, Level 5 can remake the game in around a year”. They also mentioned how they’re coincidentally having this discussion the same day the Nintendo Switch Lite was officially announced.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies initially released on Nintendo DS in July 2009 in Japan. The game is quite different from other Dragon Quest main entries as it lets players customize their characters, and heavily focused on the Nintendo DS’s multiplayer capabilities. Dragon Quest IX had a Treasure Map trading system which was nearly all of the post-game, and each time you cleared them you could either claim rewards or basically level up the map, making it harder but also making its rewards better and better.

You can find the Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies 10th anniversary stream included below.

Dragon Quest XI S is launching on Switch on September 27. The spinoff Dragon Quest Builders 2 is available on PS4 and Switch. A brand new Dragon Quest title which should be Dragon quest XII is also in development.