Dragon Quest 10 is online-only… huh?

So, DQ10 is online-only.

Yes, I’m late to the party, but thought I’d post about it anyways. I’m not the world’s longest-serving DQ fan, but I respect its history and that it, in many ways, embodies the spirit of JRPGs of old without making everyone beautiful, androgynous and full of clich&eaccute;d angst.

I don’t think I’d be as fussed if the game was going online as a side-story to the main series, kind of like Phantasy Star Online/Phantasy Star Universe or FFXI/FFXIV. MMOs and Diablo-clone MMOs have their place, but they don’t interest me all that much, as I prefer single-player JRPGs, particularly when they have blue skies and are jolly. Or are simply fun. The only exception to that was the original PSO releases (especially the GCN port with 4-player local coop), which was great fun back in the day.

For me, moving DQ10 as an online-only game seems… silly. I’d rather a shinier coat of paint and an interesting storyline. It also limits the accessibility of the game if you go back and play it once the servers get pulled.

Mind, the problem is that JRPGs (with a few exceptions) have languished over the current generation as Japan has shifted development priorities owing to cost and the changes in Japanese gaming demographics. Economic rationalism has also encouraged developers to play it safe rather than get too carried away or ambitious. So, while some of the JRPGs have been fun, the quantity/quality from the last couple of generations hasn’t been matched. At least in my opinion, but I’m old and stuck in my ways. So, my opinion should of course be take with a grain of salt. After all, I’m still whinging about Grandia getting passed up on the Saturn.

Still, there is some hope – Valkyria Chronicles married some superb characterisation and story-telling that echoed Kodama-inspired epics like Skies of Arcadia and Phantasy Star 4 in the guise of a strategy RPG, Monolith has reminded the world of what made JRPGs great to begin with in their amazing Xenoblade Chronicles, and Ni No Kuni looks so sumptuous that I dare to dream that it will bring a 90s-Miyazaki/Takahata soul to the world of JRPGs. In a perfect world, it will also be bilingual as part of the English localisation, much in line with Valkyria Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles.

Should the time come for DQ11, I can only hope it brings back the single-player focus with all the soul its renowned for. Including the Toriyama-requisite of spiky hair.