After being delayed by Enix for a year plus, the game was originally released on the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the West) in December 1995 for the rough equivalent of $US100, going on to sell 3.2 million copies.

This DS remake will finally bring the game to North America and Europe in official, fully localised form. Release dates are TBA.

The Mariners right fielder said, “Oh, I’ve been indebted to Dragon Quest — especially when I got injured. That was true as well when I played in Japan. The last time I got hurt in Japan, that’s all I did, play Dragon Quest.”

Wonder if Ichiro suddenly gets injured when new Dragon Quest games come out. Probably not, but still!

Ichiro Interview [YouTube] [Pic]

Japanese website Gpara surveyed 99 gamers in Tokyo’s Akihabara, Yurakucho, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro with these three questions:

1. What are your feelings about purchasing DQIX?
2. Out of DQs I-VIII, which is your favourite?
3. What other games are you playing at present?

And here’s a diverse sample of answers:

Male, 26 years (Model):
A1. I’ve been playing DQIX whenever I go to my friend’s house, so I’ve seen it as an example, and so I just kind of lined up to buy it. As such, I think my anticipation level’s a bit different from the people around me (laughs).
A2. I haven’t played any other ones before.
A3. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G on PSP

Female, 63 years (Author):
A1. I’ve been playing the DQ series since the first installment, so i’m looking forward to this release, too.
A2. I like Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen.
A3. Ace Attorney Investigations, 3D Picross and Shin Sangoku Musou.

Male, 18 years (High school student):
A1. I’m happy to have bought it. I look forward to battling with monsters.
A2. Dragon Quest III and Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride.
A3. I’m not playing anything else at the moment.

Female, 25 years (Apparel store employee)
A1. I want to enjoy it during break with everyone at work. As a side note, my coworkers are all getting DQIX, too.
A2. I like Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.
A3. I’m in the middle of playing Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G on the PSP.

Male, 51 years (Office worker)
A1. I didn’t think I’d be able to buy it, so I’m happy I was able to.
A2. I love Dragon Quest III.
3. Currently, nothing.

Old and young, male and female, everybody in Japan loves Dragon Quest. (Well, not everybody, but still!) Feel free to answer the survey yourself.

どの作品が好き?「ドラクエ アンケート」『IX』購入者99人に聞きました [Gpara via Siliconera]

Since Famitsu has been doing its 40 out of 40 reviews, the DQ titles have been rated:

Dragon Quest II 38/40
Dragon Quest III 38/40
Dragon Quest IV 38/40
Dragon Quest V 36/40
Dragon Quest VI 34/40
Dragon Quest VII 38/40
Dragon Quest VIII 39/40
Dragon Quest IX 40/40

So by this number logic, Famitsu thinks the newest Dragon Quest IX is the best one ever made — better than all the others. It’s the pinnacle. Aren’t reviews with numbers just great?

読みゲー ドラクエのファミ通クロスレビュー歴代得点一覧 （新記録追加） [読みゲー]

Japanese developer Illusion seems to be “inspired” by the Dragon Quest III female character designs. The PC game does not yet have a release date, and there is no info on the official website about gameplay so we don’t know how much of You Can’t Escape From The Hero can escape from ripping off Dragon Quest. .

After the Rapelay controversy, Illusion blocked its site to foreign IPs as the Japanese adult gaming industry began revising its standards for what is acceptable in-game content and what is not.

So rape? Certainly not acceptable. Knocking off other companies? Well.

ILLUSION [Official Site via オレ的ゲーム情報 via Sankaku Complex via HongFire via GameSetWatch]

And no, they don’t mean The World Ends With You. The three biggest (at least in terms of units sold) are Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, and when you combine every game ever released in those franchises, you get the following:

So, yes, if you ever find yourself wondering to the night sky why Square Enix insist on milking these franchises – particularly Final Fantasy – to within an inch of their lives, that’s why.

As for the Dragon Quest numbers, we’d say in some ways they’re even more impressive, given the series’ limited popularity in the West.

We’ve been waiting for Dragon Quest IX for a long time. For most of us, we can wait a little longer for the game to come out, but not 73-year-old Japanese actress Keiko Awaji.

For her, it’s a matter of life or death.

Japanese film actress Keiko Awaji wants to play new Dragon Quest and pronto. Awaji, who has appeared in over 160 movies since 1949 including Akira Kurosawa’s police noir Stray Dog, said this about DQ, “I won’t live forever. I’d like to play two more more games… I really want them to put out a new game once every two years.” Don’t we all Awaji-san, don’t we all.

Awaji is a big fan of role-playing games, including Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Mother (known in the West as Earthbound).

Dragon Quest IX was originally dated for 2007. In August of that year, Square Enix changed the game’s release date to 2008. Last fall, Square Enix dated the game “March 2009.” Square Enix announced last month that the game’s release date has been changed to July 11.

3歳が発売延期のドラクエに一言「私はいつまでも生きてない」[Ne-ta NSFW]

Japan routed Korea in their first World Baseball Classic match-up. Considering that Japan lost to Korean in the Olympics, defeating their rival in a 14-2 called game must have been cathartic.

After the game, when a reporter said that the entire Japanese team got pumped up, right fielder Ichiro Suzuki replied, “In Dragon Quest, tension increases, and you get stronger, right? It was like that.”

And the entire nation of Japan went ooooooh, and it immediately got what he was talking about.

「テンションが上がって強くなった感じ」…イチローに聞く [Yomiuri via my game news flash] [Pic]

A recent street survey polled Akihabara folks about which female Dragon Quest character they wanted to get very close with.

It doesn’t get more scientific than this.

Here are the results:

10. Queen of Isis (Dragon Quest 3)
9. Gerda, AKA “Red” in English (DQ8)
8. Female Warrior (Dragon Quest 3)
7. Flora (Dragon Quest 5)
6. Alena (Dragon Quest 4)
5. Female Sage (Dragon Quest 3)
4. Maya (Dragon Quest 4)
3. Jessica (Dragon Quest 8)
2. Barbara (Dragon Quest 6)
1. Bianca (Dragon Quest 5)

Oh, so this is what Akihabara surveys are like. Fascinating.

抱きたい『ドラクエ』シリーズのキャラクターベスト10 [Excite News via my game news flash] [Pic]

A few days London was blanketed in snow. It was the worst snowfall in 18 years. So Kotaku reader Anneka did what any good Kotaku reader would do: She made Rocket Slimes.

And four hours later, the illustrator-by-trade had a stack of Slimes. Look at them! They’re terrific.

Snow Slimes [The Creative Brainwaves of Anneka Tran]