Preview: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Obvious title is obvious, but we have our hands on Dragon Quest IX which is out next month

Nintendo Australia invited us over to their Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (aka Dragon Quest IX for short) media event in Sydney, one month ahead of its release date. This title is popular in Japan, already attracting a fan base of more than 4.2 million people.

We were briefed on the history of Dragon Quest and shown a promotional video reel, featuring cutscenes and battles from IX. We were then shown one of the gameplay modes that enhance the experience; wireless multiplayer.

It is possible to link up to four DSs with Dragon Quest IX and cooperate amongst yourselves. You can also run on your own and venture by yourself if you want to, grinding those levels that the others choose not to do.

Another new feature is the ability to customise your party members. This allows customisation from choosing different faces, hair, and even eyes. As you progress in the game, characters are able to be customised from more than 1000 items and pieces of equipment.

Lastly, there is the interactive Tag Mode that allows players to keep the game on even while the DS is in standby mode. If two players come within range of each other, Tag Mode allows them to automatically exchange character information, customised greetings and treasure maps. What is unique about these treasure maps is that the content from these maps is exclusive to Tag Mode, which means that you can’t find them if you’re playing by yourself.

Soon after the briefing was finished, we went hands-on with the game. We played from a loaded save game, which had a couple of hours logged into it. We were placed in the heat of a battle, showing off the cooperative multiplayer. The sync between the DSs was perfect, from the battle transition right through to the end of the battle.

Dragon Quest IX proves that this isn’t your typical DS RPG, with the wireless multiplayer feature that allows you to band up with up to three different party members, and an interactive Tag Mode which provides new, user-generated content, extending longevity and replay value.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies comes out in Australia on August 19th. We will have a review up before then!