Dragon Quest Builders

Last updated

Dragon Quest Builders
Dragon quest builders art.jpg
Developer(s) Square Enix Creative Business Unit III
Publisher(s) Square Enix [lower-alpha 1]
Director(s) Kazuya Niinou
Producer(s) Noriyoshi Fujimoto
Designer(s)
  • Shintaro Tamai
  • Nobuki Ando
  • Suguru Ishii
Programmer(s)
  • Takashi Sugi
  • Naoto Uenaka
  • Mamoru Oyamada
Artist(s)
Writer(s)
  • Kosuke Nasu
  • Koya Tsukada
Composer(s) Koichi Sugiyama
Series Dragon Quest
Engine PhyreEngine (Unity for Mobile and PC versions)
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 3
  • JP: January 28, 2016
PlayStation 4, PS Vita
  • JP: January 28, 2016
  • NA: October 11, 2016
  • PAL: October 14, 2016
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: February 9, 2018
  • JP: March 1, 2018
Android, iOS
  • WW: May 26, 2022
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: February 13, 2024 [1]
Genre(s) Action role-playing, sandbox
Mode(s) Single-player

Dragon Quest Builders [lower-alpha 2] is a 2016 sandbox action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android iOS, and Microsoft Windows and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch.

Contents

The game is set in Alefgard, the world of the original Dragon Quest video game, with players controlling the builder who is tasked with rebuilding the world after it was destroyed. The game features a blocky aesthetic style, with gathering and building elements similar to games such as Minecraft. A sequel, Dragon Quest Builders 2 , was released in 2018.

Gameplay

Players build camps out of blocks; the camp gains levels based on how much it has been built up. The player can also build a selection of rooms that contribute to the level of the base. There is also a day/night cycle, with stronger monsters appearing at night. Monsters such as Slime and Dragon from the original Dragon Quest appear in the game. The player has a health bar, and must eat food over time, similar to Minecraft. [2]

Plot

The game is set in Alefgard, the world of the original Dragon Quest . The game is based on a parallel ending of Dragon Quest: before the final battle, the hero accepted the evil Dragonlord's suggestion - each rules a half of the world. The deal turned out to be a trap, leading to the hero's defeat and allowing the land to be dominated by monsters. [3] With time passing by, a new builder (the player character) appears to revive the desolate world for the next hero. Players gather "material" from all over the world in order to rebuild the land of Alefgard from scratch. [4]

Development

The game designers wanted to make an open sandbox game combined with an RPG's purposeful story-driven plot, and since Dragon Quest has always been known for its "pick up and play" accessibility it seemed like the right combination. [5] The original Dragon Quest video game's plot was chosen for its relative simplicity compared to later titles in the series to make the game as accessible as possible to new players. [6]

Release in the west on the PlayStation Vita was chosen so that whether players had busy lives or had time to dedicate to the game, they could enjoy the title. [5] Producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto has said that Sony Interactive Entertainment's multiplatform PhyreEngine was chosen for ease of development across multiple PlayStation consoles. [7] [8] Protagonists were designed by Akira Toriyama, with Etrian Odyssey creator Kazuya Niinou serving as the game's director. [9] [4] Part of the release was to "test the waters" for a big game release like Dragon Quest XI . [10]

Release

‘’Builders’’ was initially announced in July 2015 to be under development for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. [11] Media speculation from when the game was first announced was that Dragon Quest Builders would be a Dragon Quest version of Minecraft , and IGN compared the game to Dark Cloud (2000). [12] [13] [14]

The game was released in Japan on January 28, 2016. PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions were released in North America, Europe, and Australia in October 2016. [15] [16] An "Ultimate Hit" version was released in Japan on December 1, 2016. [17] It was also released for the Nintendo Switch in North America and PAL territories on February 9, 2018, [18] and in Japan on March 1, 2018. [19] Nintendo handled the publishing of the game on the Switch in the Western territories. [20]

Reception

Famitsu 's panel of four reviewers all rated it a 9, giving the game an overall rating of 36 out of 40. [23] IGN awarded it 8.9 out of 10, saying "Dragon Quest Builders admirably mixes the series' RPG traditions with Minecraft." [25] GameSpot awarded it 8.0 out of 10, saying "The excellence of Dragon Quest Builders illustrates the versatility of this 30-year-old franchise as much as it speaks to the engrossing appeal of Minecraft-inspired creation." [24] Kotaku listed it as one of 2016's top ten games, describing it as "an incredible RPG more akin to Actraiser " and "way better than Minecraft could ever be." [27] During the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Dragon Quest Builders for "Handheld Game of the Year" and "Family Game of the Year". [28]

Sales

The game sold over half a million copies in the first few days of its release. [5] It sold 700,000 copies in Japan across all three platforms. [29] In November 2016, worldwide sales surpassed 1.1 million copies. [30]

Sequel

A sequel, Dragon Quest Builders 2 , was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 20, 2018, and worldwide on July 12, 2019. [31] [32] [33] It includes cooperative gameplay for up to four players, and had developmental assistance from Koei Tecmo's studio Omega Force. [34]

Related Research Articles

Dragon Quest, previously published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing games created by Japanese game designers Armor Project, Bird Studio and Sugiyama Kobo to its publisher Enix, with all of the involved parties co-owning the copyright of the series since then. The games are published by Square Enix since its inception, with localized remakes and ports of later installments for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch being published by Nintendo outside of Japan. With its first game published in 1986, there are eleven main-series games, along with numerous spin-off games. In addition, there have been numerous manga, anime and novels published under the franchise, with nearly every game in the main series having a related adaptation.

<i>Dragon Quest II</i> 1987 video game

Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, titled Dragon Warrior II when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Dragon Quest series. Enix's U.S. subsidiary published the American release, Dragon Warrior II, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Dragon Quest II is set one hundred years after the events of the first game.

<i>Dragon Quest</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Dragon Quest, titled Dragon Warrior when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released in Japan in 1986 and by Nintendo in North America in 1989. It is the first game in the Dragon Quest video game series. Dragon Quest has been ported and remade for several video game platforms, including the MSX, MSX2, PC-9801, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, mobile phones, and Nintendo Switch as of 2019. The player controls the hero character who is charged with saving the Kingdom of Alefgard and rescuing its princess from the evil Dragonlord. Dragon Warrior's story became the second part in a trilogy, with several spinoff anime and manga series.

<i>Dragon Quest III</i> 1988 video game

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation, titled Dragon Warrior III when initially localized to North America, is a 1988 role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix. It is the third installment in the Dragon Quest series and was first released for the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan and later for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America. The game saw an enhanced remake for the Super Famicom in 1996 and the Game Boy Color in 2001, and a port to mobile phones and the Wii in 2009 and 2011. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan on September 25, 2014, and worldwide as Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation on December 4, 2014. It was the first time the game was given an official English subtitle. Later in 2021, another remake of the game titled Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, based on Octopath Traveler's style, was announced during the franchise's 35th anniversary livestream.

<i>Torneko: The Last Hope</i> 1999 video game

Torneko: The Last Hope is a 1999 role-playing video game for the PlayStation. The game was co-developed by Chunsoft and Matrix Software and published by Enix. In Japan, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001.

<i>Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart</i> 2003 video game

Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart is the third game in the Dragon Quest Monsters series, released only in Japan by Enix for the Game Boy Advance. The game was simultaneously announced with Dragon Quest VIII in Famitsu in 2002. Like the other Dragon Quest titles, development of Caravan Heart was led by Yuji Horii.

<i>Dragon Quest IX</i> 2009 video game

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is a role-playing video game co-developed by Level-5 and Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. Published by Square Enix in Japan in 2009, and by Nintendo overseas in 2010, it is the ninth mainline entry in the Dragon Quest series. The storyline follows the protagonist, a member of the angelic Celestrian race, after a disaster in their home scatters magical fruits across the mortal realm. While carrying over traditional gameplay from the rest of the series with turn-based battles, the game is the first Dragon Quest entry to feature a customizable player character, and the first to include a multiplayer mode, with the option of trading treasure maps and loaning player characters through Nintendo Wi-Fi. Online functions ended in 2014 when it ceased operations.

<i>Dragon Warrior Monsters 2</i> Role-playing video game

Dragon Warrior Monsters 2, known in Japan as Dragon Quest Monsters 2, is a role-playing video game published by Enix for the Game Boy Color. It is the second Dragon Warrior Monsters game for the Game Boy Color and features two different versions of the same game, Cobi's Journey and Tara's Adventure. Both games were remade in 2002 for the PlayStation in a compilation game called Dragon Quest Monsters 1+2 and released only in Japan. The Nintendo 3DS version combined both games into one and was released only in Japan in 2014 with the title Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key. The 3DS version was later brought to iOS, Android on August 6, 2020, in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rieko Kodama</span> Japanese video game artist and producer (1963–2022)

Rieko Kodama, also known as Phoenix Rie, was a Japanese video game artist, director, and producer employed by Sega from 1984 until her death. She is primarily known for her work on role-playing video games including the original Phantasy Star series, the 7th Dragon series, and Skies of Arcadia (2000). She is often recognized as one of the first successful women in the video game industry.

<i>Dragon Quest X</i> 2012 video game

Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online, also known as Dragon Quest X Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. It is the tenth mainline entry in the Dragon Quest series. It was originally released for the Wii in 2012, and was later ported to the Wii U, Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and Nintendo 3DS, all of which support cross-platform play. Other than a discontinued Windows version in China, the game was not released outside of Japan. A single-player remake, titled Dragon Quest X Offline, was released in 2022 in Japan. It is also set to release in other Asian regions in 2024.

<i>Dragons Dogma</i> 2012 video game

Dragon's Dogma is a 2012 action role-playing hack and slash video game by Capcom. First released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, an enhanced version subtitled Dark Arisen was later released for the same consoles in 2013, with ports releasing for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in the ensuing years. Set in Gransys, a high fantasy world inspired by Sicily, the player takes on the role of a human protagonist dubbed the Arisen on a quest to defeat the dragon Grigori, a being said to herald the world's end, while uncovering a deeper conspiracy along the way.

<i>Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Trees Woe and the Blight Below</i> 2015 video game

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is a hack and slash game developed by Omega Force and published by Square Enix. It was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan in February 2015, and in North America, Australia and Europe only for PlayStation 4 in October 2015. It was later released for Microsoft Windows in December 2015. The game received generally positive reviews, with a sequel Dragon Quest Heroes II being released in Japan during May 2016. Dragon Quest Heroes would later be released with the sequel in a compilation for Nintendo Switch in Japan.

<i>Theatrhythm Dragon Quest</i> 2015 video game

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest is a rhythm game developed by indieszero and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released in Japan on March 26, 2015, and was the first game of its type in the Dragon Quest series and the third Theatrhythm game after Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.

<i>Dragon Quest XI</i> 2017 video game

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a role-playing video game by Square Enix. The eleventh entry in the long-running Dragon Quest video game series, it was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 in July 2017 and worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in September 2018. An enhanced version, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, was released for Nintendo Switch by Nintendo in September 2019; for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2020; and for Stadia in March 2021.

<i>Dragon Quest Heroes II</i> 2016 video game

Dragon Quest Heroes II is a hack-and-slash game developed by Omega Force and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. It was released in Japan in May 2016, and worldwide in April 2017. The game is a sequel to Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below.

<i>Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3</i> 2016 video game

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Tose and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (2010), and is the sixth game in the Dragon Quest Monsters series.

<i>Dragon Quest Builders 2</i> 2018 video game

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an action role-playing sandbox game developed by Square Enix and Omega Force, with Square Enix publishing it. It is the sequel to Dragon Quest Builders, and was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2018 and worldwide in July 2019, for Windows in December 2019, and for the Xbox One in May 2021. The game shipped over a million copies by August 2019 and received generally favorable reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malroth</span> Dragon Quest character

Malroth, known in Japan as Sidoh (シドー), is a character in the video game Dragon Quest II. He is its final boss, though he is rarely mentioned and never seen until he is fought at the end of the game. His boss battle was notable for its difficulty, particularly due to his use of the spell Fullheal, which recovered his health points in full. His design was created by Akira Toriyama. He also appears as a main character in the game Dragon Quest Builders 2 as a young man with no memories, assisting the protagonist in surviving and rebuilding a world, while grappling with strange voices and his inability to create things. His appearance in Dragon Quest Builders 2 earned positive reception, praised for enhancing the game and creating heartfelt moments in the game.

References

  1. ↑ Nintendo published the Switch version outside of Japan.
  2. ↑ Known in Japan as Dragon Quest Builders: Revive Alefgard! (Japanese: ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ アレフガルドを復活せよ, Hepburn: Doragon Kuesuto Birudāzu Arefugarudo o Fukkatsu Seyo)
  1. ↑ Dinsdale, Ryan (January 30, 2024). "'Dragon Quest Builders' arrives on Switch in February" . Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  2. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (July 22, 2015). "First Dragon Quest Builders screenshots show off Square Enix's Minecraft-like RPG". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ Shinchitsujo, Tairiku (July 29, 2015). 「ドラゴンクエスト新作発表会」詳報。「ドラゴンクエストXI 過ぎ去りし時を求めて」をはじめとする新作の数々を堀井雄二氏が解説. 4gamer.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Dragon Quest Builders Is Set In The First Dragon Quest Game With Blocks". July 9, 2015. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 MCV Staff (May 1, 2016). "Interview: When Dragon Quest met Minecraft". MCV/Develop. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  6. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (September 7, 2016). "How the Dragon Quest Builders Team is Crafting a New Kind Of RPG". US Gamer. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ Sugihara, Takahiro (July 29, 2015). "30周年のアニバーサリーイヤーに向け、期待が高まる作品ばかり！". Famitsu (in Japanese). GzBrain. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Noriyoshi Fujimoto On 'Dragon Quest Builders' And How It Came About". Forbes . June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dragon Quest Builders Directed By Etrian Odyssey Creator". Siliconera. Curse. July 21, 2015. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  10. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (June 15, 2016). "Square Enix Testing the Waters for Dragon Quest 11 Localization". GameSpot . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ "『ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ アレフガルドを復活せよ』今冬発売決定！ ブロックで世界を創る"ブロックメイクRPG"". Famitsu (in Japanese). GzBrain. July 8, 2015. Archived from the original on May 19, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  12. ↑ "ドラクエ版マイクラ？『ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ』PS3/PS4/PSVitaで発売決定". Weekly ASCII (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. July 8, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  13. ↑ "アレフガルドをブロックで作るRPG「ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ」 PS向けに今冬発売". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). July 8, 2015. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Dragon Quest Builders: quando il mattone è l'investimento più sicuro". IGN . September 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  15. ↑ Seto, Dan (May 27, 2016). "Dragon Quest Builders Confirmed for North America on PS4, PS Vita". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment America. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ Krupa, Daniel (September 15, 2015). "TGS 2015: Dragon Quest Builders Coming in January for Japan". IGN . Ziff Davis . Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ "ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ アレフガルドを復活せよ". Square-Enix (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  18. ↑ Whitehead, Thomas (December 18, 2017). "Dragon Quest Builders Digs Into the Switch on 9th February". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Dragon Quest Builders for Switch launches March 1 in Japan, demo launches February 1". Gematsu. December 16, 2017. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Dragon Quest Builders for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". www.nintendo.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Dragon Quest Builders for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . Red Ventures. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Dragon Quest Builders for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Red Ventures. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  23. 1 2 "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1416 - Gematsu". January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  24. 1 2 Concepcion, Miguel (November 16, 2016). "Dragon Quest Builders Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  25. 1 2 Smith, Rob (October 7, 2016). "Dragon Quest Builders Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  26. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail (May 31, 2022). "'Dragon Quest Builders' Mobile Review – Great on iPhone, Not as good on iPad". TouchArcade . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Jason Schreier's Top 10 Games Of 2016". Kotaku . December 24, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  28. ↑ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Dragon Quest Builders". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences . Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  29. ↑ Sato (May 30, 2016). "Dragon Quest Builders Surpasses 700,000 Units In Total Sales". Siliconera. Curse. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  30. ↑ "PS4/PS3/PS Vita「ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ アレフガルドを復活せよ」が世界販売本数110万本を達成！一部特典アイテムが無料配信". Gamer (in Japanese). ixll. December 1, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  31. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (August 6, 2017). "Dragon Quest Builders 2 coming to PS4, Nintendo Switch". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on November 25, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  32. ↑ Romano, Sal (October 30, 2018). "Dragon Quest Builders 2 coming west in 2019". Gematsu. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  33. ↑ Lane, Gavin (February 14, 2019). "Battle And Build When Dragon Quest Builders 2 Launches On Switch This July". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  34. ↑ Wong, Alistair (August 29, 2018). "Dragon Quest Builders 2 Is Set To Come Out On December 20, 2018 In Japan". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.