Square Enix Is Determined to Screw Up Dragon Quest as Much as It Has Final Fantasy

Dragon Quest VIII was a great, great game. Utilizing the peak of the PS2’s power, it was old-school RPG charm made as gorgeous as technology allowed, and was a ton of fun. Dragon Quest IX was another classic-style RPG, made beautiful… but for the Nintendo DS. Handheld games aren’t my cup of tea, but lots of people love their DS, especially in Japan, and Dragon Quest is significantly more beloved in Japan than it is here, so it makes perfect sense. All fine and good.

Now Square Enix has revealed some details about the highly anticipated Dragon Quest X, and I think we can all stop highly anticipating it. Mostly because it’s an MMORPG… on the Wii. Ignoring whether Dragon Quest’s very simple gameplay is even suited to an MMORPG — and ignoring the debacle that has been Square’s last MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV — really? The Wii? You’re going to put an MMORPG of the console of friend codes and shit? Maybe that will fly in Japan — based purely on the strength of DQ‘s popularity, and certainly not the Wii’s network capabilities — but not in America.

Especially since Square Enix is GOING TO CHARGE A MONTHLY FEE TO PLAY THE GAME. ON THE WII. Oh, AND YOU CAN ONLY PLAY SINGLE-PLAYER FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE YOU HAVE TO PLAY ONLINE. AND PAY. BECAUSE THERE IS NO SINGLE-PLAYER MODE.

This is the only solution I can think of for what Square Enix is doing: Back in the ’80s, Square Enix killed someone’s dad. That kid grew up, heart full of revenge, changed his name, and got hired by Square Enix. Now a high-ranking corporate employee of the company, he is making the worst, stupidest, most transparently evil decisions possible regarding its hit game franchises in order to destroy the company from within. And he’s doing a damned fine job of it, too. (Via Kotaku)