Saturday, September 24, 2011

Some Dragon Quest-ness and the 75th Birthday of a Legend

So Square Enix is celebrating 25 years of Dragon Quest (like many other classic NES franchises).  While the Dragon Quest games have been successful in the U.S. (initially under the name Dragon Warrior), it's the Japanese gamers that made the franchise a phenomenon and kept it alive for so long.  Of course, Square Enix rewarded them with the Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary Collection for the Wii, which features the Famicom and Super Famicom emulations of the first three games (known as the Loto Trilogy) along with a bunch of extras.  Needless to say, it's not coming out Stateside.  C'mon, guys!  First, we are denied Xenoblade and The Last Story (even though they were released in Europe) now this?  Seriously, Nintendo of America, it's like you don't want people to buy the Wii.  What the hell is wrong with you?!

For those of us who do not live in Japan, all we can do is salivate at these videos.  This first one is the Japanese trailer for the collection, featuring all the great extras that are included.  So friggin' jealous.



Next is the anime intro to the game, which was done by the same animation studio who did the intro for Dragon Quest IX, Kamikaze Douga.  The intro summarizes the legends of the great hero, Loto, and his descendants that are the focus of these first three games.  Enjoy.



While there's probably no chance in hell we'll get the anniversary collection, we do get some Dragon Quest games coming our way.  For those who enjoy the pet monster offshoot of the franchise, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 came out recently.  Of course, Japan also got an expanded version of the game, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional, which came out last March, but the American release is of the original game.  Whatever.



Then, there's Dragon Quest X, which will be the first time, since Dragon Warrior IV, that a Dragon Quest game came to a Nintendo home console in the U.S. (Dragon Quest V and VI came out for the Super Famicom in Japan).  Here's the trailer from this year's Tokyo Game Show.



Yeah, I can't wait to play it, either.  It's supposed to be available for the Wii and WiiU (whether or not it makes a difference which system you play it on is unknown to me).

Okay, one more video.  Today would have marked Jim Henson's 75 birthday.  Though he died 21 years ago, his vision and legacy still live on.  Here's one of my favorite Muppet moments.  Happy birthday, Jim.

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