Why are they making a Dragon Quest battle royale? Well, that’s the question lots of people are asking now we’ve had a look at Dragon Quest Champions, a new mobile game coming to iOS and Android in the near future – Japan-only for now, however.
Two things seem to have confused most people. One: why is Square Enix trying this again after Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier’s end of service recently? And two: why are they making a turn-based battle royale? Well, for the latter, I guess it’s nice there’s something different coming to the genre. And, for the former, well… Square Enix just loves making a whole load of videogames, it seems.
Still, those above explanations don’t stop it from being a little bit odd. The phrase ‘Dragon Quest battle royale’ sounds pretty strange to me, far stranger than the idea of a Final Fantasy battle royale. Then again, the series is massive in Japan, and if anything can break Square’s mobile game woes, DQ could do it.
Over on a gacha gaming subreddit, people have been airing similar confusions. One user, Parrot-Neck-Dance, doesn’t think it’ll work: “Lmao they couldn’t get Final Fantasy to work as a battle royale and they think Dragon Quest of all IPs would succeed where FF failed? Hilarious SE.”
Well, not everyone agrees, being aware of DQ’s popularity in Japan. One person I suspect is a Final Fantasy fan, chocobloo, makes the point quite clearly: “In Japan? Absolutely. Most of the DQ games outperform all their other games, except Reuniverse, by a comfortable margin usually. Even the ancient ones.”
That positivity isn’t shared by all, as you can imagine. It is the internet after all. Another user, YasuoAndGenji, says, “….this is what they teased? This? Really? It feels like a prank. Last Soldier just closed and I guess they aren’t done losing millions because here comes another battle royal woohoo! This one is only a few years removed from that genres boom!”
So, as you can see, people have strong opinions. Sure, the battle royale boom has come and gone, but mobile games are big business, Dragon Quest is a legendary series, and a turn-based battle royale is a unique proposition. I’m definitely feeling positive – and sure hope we get to give it a go over here.
So, Dragon Quest battle royale is on its way, we’ll just have to wait and see how it is. While we wait for a Dragon Quest Champions release date, check out our Fire Emblem Engage review for some different turn-based action.