Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is one of my favourite games. It will always hold a special place in my heart and was my first adventure into the franchise. I remember seeing an advertisement on the game back on Good Game Spawn Point, and it instantly sold me on the title.
Since then I’ve actually gone back and played all the other mainline titles in the series (save for X…), and some of the spin-offs like Builders and Heroes. I played the DQ7 and 8 remakes on my 3DS, Dragon Quest XI on my PC and the rest on my phone. I’m also super keen for the DQXI: Definitive Edition on Switch later this year.
I’ve easily dropped hundredsof hours into Dragon Quest 9, and I’ve replayed the game a couple times over. It never gets old, and I honestly think it’s one of the best entries in the series. I love the addition of multiplayer and custom party members, though that is kinda controversial. Some people think it detracted from the story.
I’ve always felt that for its time, and even compared to some RPG games now, Dragon Quest 9 was miles ahead in how it handled the multiplayer aspect. During multiplayer you were able to free roam and weren’t forced to buddy up with your friends. You could be sailing the high-seas, whilst a friend was looking for treasure on the other side of the map.
There have been rumours recently accompanying the Erdrick Smash leaks that Square Enix is planning to port the older titles over to the Nintendo Switch. Along with this, the Executive Producer for the series, Yuu Miyake that he is hopeful to bring Dragon Quest 9 to mobile.
This makes me think there’s a chance we could see Dragon Quest 9 in the future soon. Especially since it’s the only Dragon Quest mainline title to not see a port or remake in some way.
The producer also talked about the original limitations of the DS, and how mobile technology would allow them to change up features. It would be awesome for them to change up multiplayer, so instead of local wireless play, allow the option for online co-op with friends.
The graphics of Dragon Quest 9 still hold up pretty well too. Although I’d love a remake that was on par with Dragon Quest XI, the game was originally made with HD Assets. So as you can see in some pictures, or my video below, if you upscale the original game it still looks damn good.
Obviously, Square Enix would need to rework the controls and UI for the Nintendo Switch and Mobile if the game was ported. I’d love for Dragon Quest 9 to follow the footsteps of the other ports for mobile, and focus on a portrait mode playstyle.