Dragon Quest 12 Development Has Been Restarted, New Subtitle Revealed

Square Enix has announced that development of Dragon Quest 12 has started over, and the game now has a new subtitle as a result of the change in direction. The long-running RPG series has been a staple of the video game industry since the ’80s, and anticipation for Dragon Quest 12 is very high. Dragon Quest has built a passionate audience around the world, and the franchise has seen a number of successes over the last few years thanks to HD-2D remakes of the earliest games in the series.

The previous numbered entry in the series was released in 2017 on 3DS and PS4, and was later ported to additional platforms. Dragon Quest 11 set a record for the series, selling more copies than any previous game. Dragon Quest 11 will have a chance to reach even more players this year, as Square Enix has announced that the game’s definitive edition will be released for Nintendo Switch 2 on September 24.

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A New Direction for Dragon Quest 12

Dragon Quest 12 was announced five years ago, and the game originally had the subtitle “The Flames of Fate.” That subtitle has officially changed, with Square Enix confirming that the game will now be known as Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams. This isn’t a minor change, as it seems the developers are taking the game in a completely different direction than originally planned. Development has started over from scratch, and that means fans will be waiting longer than anticipated for the new game. Unfortunately, no time frame for the game’s release has been revealed. Dragon Quest 12 will feature character designs by Akira Toriyama, with music by Koichi Sugiyama.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

The story for Dragon Quest 12 will focus on a new hero, and they’ve been having strange visions during sleep. In a video released by Square Enix, Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii teased that the main characters will seek out a world beyond dreams. That explains where the new subtitle comes from, and it also offers a hint at what players can expect from the game’s narrative. Dragon Quest 12 was rumored to have a darker story, but it appears that the new direction will abandon that plan.

It seems like Dragon Quest 12 might not be released for a very long time, but that’s become something of a trend for Square Enix lately. Kingdom Hearts 4 also seems pretty far away from release, much to the frustration of fans. However, reception to Dragon Quest 12‘s new direction has been largely positive so far. Across social media, many fans have praised the designs and new trailer for the game. This could be a more traditional direction for the series, and that’s a good thing for those that have long been passionate about Dragon Quest. Change can be a good thing, but not if it sacrifices the elements that have made the series so endearing.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

Time will tell if starting over from scratch will prove to be a good thing for Dragon Quest 12. This isn’t the first time a publisher has decided to go in a completely different direction, while scrapping previous plans. A longer development cycle is always going to be disappointing for fans, but if it results in a better game, it will be worth it. Thankfully, fans will have another option to fill the void, as Square Enix also announced Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World for multiple platforms. A release date for the game has not been revealed just yet, but the publisher has noted that it’s “coming soon.”