Dragon Quest 9 holds a special, nostalgic place in the heart of many DS owners, on which the title launched exclusively back in 2009. What stunned me when I first played the game soon after its release was just how expansive it was for a handheld experience. From the main story to the side quests and post-game content, to the plethora of items, armour and weapons to find and craft and an extensive class system; endless hours of gameplay were waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. Even stripped back to just the story, Dragon Quest 9, despite its somewhat predictable in hindsight JRPG narrative, would still be one of my fondest gaming memories, thanks to just how charming and endearing the story and its characters are. As a result, I became invested in the story to an extent matched by very few games since. Now, this could partly be nostalgia speaking, and to truly test whether I feel the same over a decade later I need an excuse to replay the game. Yes, I could reboot the game on my DS right now, but the poor thing’s almost falling apart I used it so much and, besides, I don’t want to risk losing my current playthrough with my level 99 troops and hard-earned weapons and armour. And with so many amazing modern titles that I’ve picked up but am still waiting to find the time to play it’s hard to justify going back to the DS. Instead, I’m waiting for Square Enix to give me the excuse to dive back into the Dragon Quest 9 universe all over again through a remake/remaster of the great game, for which I think the Switch would be a perfect candidate.

In a livestream celebrating the 10^th anniversary of Dragon Quest 9, the developers discussed the feasibility of a remake and whether mobile devices or the Switch would be the most suitable platform. I think many would agree that, although a straight mobile port would be easier to develop, a full remake for Switch would be what we’d be wanting to spend our money on. The game’s initial emphasis on handheld, local multiplayer play would fit perfectly with the Switch’s design, and the potential to throw online multiplayer into the mix as well would add another dimension to the game that couldn’t quite be realised due to hardware limitations at the time. I’d love a full remake to modernise the game to the style of Dragon Quest 11 but at the same time, the top-down 3D style we saw on the DS would still, with the addition of upgraded HD visuals and textures, look and play great on the Switch. In other words, whilst a full remake would be an absolute dream, I’d be absolutely content with just a simple HD remaster – in essence, the same game and gameplay just with everything a bit less blurry than it was on the DS a decade ago.

So how likely is a Dragon Quest 9 remake? I’d say it’s likely just a matter of time. From the remasters of Dragon Quest 7&8 from the PS2 to 3DS and an HD remaster of 3 coming soon we know that Square Enix isn’t shy of remaking their older titles for newer consoles, those made by Nintendo in particular. I’d argue that the game itself, with its customisability and multiplayer functionality, was ahead of its time upon release so wouldn’t feel as outdated as some ports we’ve seen recently as well. With that in mind then what sort of timeframe could we expect? Currently, it’s no secret that Square Enix is fully focused on the next main series title, Dragon Quest 12 which we expect to launch on consoles and PC in 2023 or 2024. In the shorter term, Dragon Quest 3 will be coming to Switch, dubbed the ’Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake’, using the same engine and gameplay style as more recent Square Enix release, ‘Octopath Traveler’. We don’t know when or which consoles this remake will be coming to, but we’d expect a 2022 release, considering the game was announced back in May 2021.