Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is a 2009 role-playing video game created by Level-5 and Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. Square Enix released the game in Japan in July 2009, and Nintendo released it in other countries the next year. It is the ninth main game in the Dragon Quest series. The story follows the main character, who is part of the angelic Celestrian race, after a disaster sends magical fruits to the mortal world. The game uses traditional turn-based battles from earlier games in the series. It is the first Dragon Quest game to let players create their own character and the first to include multiplayer features, such as trading treasure maps and sharing characters through Nintendo Wi-Fi. Online features stopped working in 2014 when the service ended.
Development began in 2005, with Akihiro Hino of Level-5 serving as co-director and helping guide the game’s creation for the DS. Yuji Horii, the series creator, designed the game and story. Artist Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama, who worked on earlier games, also returned. An early version of the game used action-based combat, but feedback from fans and testing led to a return to turn-based gameplay. Because the game focused on multiplayer, its story and gameplay were designed to support these features. Some ideas came from other games, such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Diablo.
The game was announced in 2006, with a planned release the next year. It was delayed for two years, with the final delay allowing time to fix problems. These delays caused Square Enix to lower its profit predictions. Localization was done by PlusAlpha and Shloc, who had previously worked on Dragon Quest VIII. After its release in Japan, the game sold well. By 2011, over five million copies had been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling game in the series until Dragon Quest XI (2017) was released on multiple platforms. Reviews in Japan and the West were mostly positive, with praise for its gameplay and graphics. Some critics believed the traditional style limited other parts of the game. The game’s anonymous communication feature inspired the Nintendo 3DS’s SpotPass and StreetPass features.
Gameplay
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is a role-playing video game set in a fantasy world. The player controls a character from the Celestrian people who is trapped in the mortal world. The game uses both screens of the Nintendo DS. The top screen shows the map, the player's location, and the status of the party, while the bottom screen displays the immediate environment and the main menu. The game's world is shown from a top-down 3D perspective, with both the environment and characters created using 3D graphics. In addition to the main story quests, players can complete optional side quests given by non-player characters (NPCs) found throughout the world. These quests may be separate or part of a series. Players can complete multiple quests at once, and the tasks range from simple errands to defeating specific monsters. Players can use an alchemy pot to create equipment, items, and weapons by gathering ingredients through foraging, finding them in treasure chests, or receiving them as rewards from defeated enemies. Players can only save their progress at a church in town.
Like other Dragon Quest games, Dragon Quest IX uses a traditional turn-based battle system. Enemies appear as moving images on the screen, and battles occur in a combat arena that matches the location being explored. If the party's level is high enough, enemies may chase or flee. Players must create the other three party members, with the group limited to four members total, and eight additional members can be kept in reserve. All party members can be controlled individually or set to follow preset commands in the battle menu. During battles, players can attack, defend, use items, use special skills called "Abilities," cast magic using a resource called MP, perform a special move called a "Coup de Grâce," or try to escape. Repeating normal attacks increases damage until interrupted by an enemy or a non-attack skill.
A key part of building the party is choosing character classes called Vocations. The player starts as a Minstrel, with access to defensive, offensive, and supportive skills. Later, the player can switch to other Vocations, such as Warrior, Thief, or Priest. Vocations are permanently assigned to other characters, but the main character can change their Vocation at a specific location later in the story. Each Vocation gives access to unique skills. Changing Vocations resets a character's experience level to one and removes learned spells, but skill points and unspent abilities are kept. Returning to a previous Vocation restores the character's level and spells. After battles, the party earns experience points to increase levels, skill points to improve abilities, and gold to buy items in towns. If the party loses a battle, they are sent back to their last saved location and lose half their gold.
The game includes multiplayer features. Up to three players can join locally, with the host managing the session. The party can travel together or split into smaller groups. Guest players cannot advance the story but can keep items, experience, and gold they earn. Guests are not limited by level, allowing players of different levels to join quests. After completing a story quest early in the game, players can use a feature called "Tag Mode" to interact with other systems online. When the DS is in sleep mode, it can connect with nearby systems running the game, allowing up to three characters to be imported with gifts like items, equipment, or treasure maps leading to caves or dungeons. The online features were not limited by region, allowing players in Japan, North America, and Europe to trade. Most text remained in its original language, but map names were automatically translated to match the system's language. Online features ended in 2014 when the Nintendo Wi-Fi service was discontinued.
Synopsis
In the game Dragon Quest IX, a heavenly race called Celestrians protect the Protectorate, the world of humans. Their job is to collect spiritual energy from humans, called benevolessence, and give it to the World Tree Yggdrasil, which is located in the Celestrians' Observatory. When Yggdrasil receives enough benevolessence, it produces a fruit named Fyggs. This fruit creates a magical train called the Starflight Express, which allows Celestrians to travel to the Realm of the Almighty. The main character is a Celestrian assigned to a human village called Angel Falls, where they work under Aquila to gather the final piece of benevolessence needed to grow the Fyggs. When the protagonist boards the Starflight Express, a harmful force attacks, causing the Fyggs, the protagonist, and the train to fall into the Protectorate. The protagonist wakes up as a human but can still see Celestrians and the spirits of the dead. Their mission is to help Angel Falls find the broken Starflight Express and its fairy engineer, Stella. Stella agrees to help the protagonist return to the Observatory if they prove they are a Celestrian by collecting benevolessence. After proving their identity, the protagonist receives a vision that guides them to explore the Protectorate and recover the scattered Fyggs.
The protagonist learns that Fyggs have the power to grant wishes without limits, but many humans who use or eat them become mad. They also face the Gittish Empire, a group believed to have been destroyed three hundred years ago. Aquila, who initially helps the Gittish Empire, is later found to be a double agent who returns the Fyggs to the Observatory after taking them from the protagonist. When the Starflight Express is restored, the protagonist travels to the Realm of the Almighty and discovers that Yggdrasil is the form of the goddess Celestria. Celestria protected the Protectorate from her father, the Almighty Zenus, and the Observatory and Celestrians were created to watch over and judge the Protectorate.
During a final battle with the Gittish Empire’s leader, King Godwyn, Aquila sacrifices himself to destroy Godwyn, asking the protagonist to save the captured Celestrian Corvus. After Corvus is freed, he attacks the protagonist, claiming he wants to destroy the Protectorate. The protagonist and Stella learn that Corvus once loved a human named Serena but now believes she betrayed him. Serena’s father had led the original Gittish Empire to Corvus, but instead of leaving Serena’s town alone, the empire killed Serena and her father and captured Corvus. This event caused Corvus to hate humans and revive the Gittish Empire as monstrous creatures to attack Yggdrasil. The protagonist pursues Corvus to the corrupted Realm of the Almighty and faces him as a mortal after eating a Fygg, as Celestrians cannot defy their superiors.
After defeating Corvus, Serena’s spirit reveals the truth: she had hidden Corvus in a cave to protect him after he was injured defending her town from the Gittish Empire. She gave him a potion to heal his injuries, but it instead trapped him. Unaware of this, her father had led the Gittish Empire to the cave, resulting in Serena’s death and Corvus’s capture. Corvus’s hatred of humans and Serena’s sorrowful spirit wandering the world are resolved when they both pass on, restoring the Realm of the Almighty to normal. The protagonist learns that as a human, they are now trapped in the Protectorate and can no longer see Celestrians or travel with Stella. In the final chapter, the protagonist can find another Fygg and use it to regain the ability to see Celestrians and travel with Stella on the Starflight Express again.
Development
Dragon Quest IX was created by Square Enix and Level-5, the company that made Dragon Quest VIII in 2004. As with earlier games in the series, Armor Project, a studio started by Yuji Horii, the series creator, managed the development. Horii designed the game and wrote its story. Masahiro Kataoka planned the events, and Atsushi Narita led the team that wrote the scenario script. Akihiro Hino from Level-5 helped direct the game. Jin Fujisawa from Square Enix directed the game for the first time, after working on the series’ story since the late 1990s. Ryutaro Ichimura was the game’s producer.
After finishing Dragon Quest VIII, the team began planning a new mainline game. Horii and the team decided which platform the next game should use, with Horii wanting to reach many players. Akihiro Hino suggested the Nintendo DS early on, inspired by its success. Level-5 was already making games for the DS, like Professor Layton and the Curious Village. After some hesitation, Horii agreed to use the DS. Development started in 2005, and Horii kept the project secret. The game was called "Xenlon" during development, named by Ryutaro Ichimura after a conversation at a store called Xenlon Tokyo.
Horii said the DS was a good choice because it is portable and has multiplayer features. The Wi-Fi function on the DS helped him decide. He briefly considered making a smaller game first, but chose to make a mainline entry for the DS. He expected development to be quick, but it took longer than he thought. A challenge was working with the DS’s hardware, which had less power than previous consoles.
The game’s story focused on "growth," shown through the main character’s journey. Horii also said "independence" was a theme for the main character and others. The team wanted players to feel like the main character in the story, so there was no traditional group of characters with their own stories. Stella, a character who helps tell the story, was added to create interaction. Stella was meant to be beautiful but tricky, unlike the wise but ugly King Trode from Dragon Quest VIII. Horii said the angel-like Celestrials in the story were a fun addition to make the world more interesting.
Dragon Quest IX was the first game in the series to include multiplayer and a customizable main character. The game was designed to be played for a long time and to encourage players to keep it instead of selling it. Horii wanted players to create their own stories after finishing the main quest. The team made enemies and bosses stronger to encourage teamwork and sharing tips online. Multiplayer was hard to develop because the team wanted it to be part of the main story, not a separate mode. Tag Mode was planned early, but map sharing was added later. The game’s large save data meant only one save slot was available, which worried the team.
Early versions of the game used an action-based combat system for multiplayer. This idea came from Akihiro Hino. However, fans criticized the system, and Horii found that turn-based battles worked better for multiplayer. Action combat became too repetitive, so the team switched back to turn-based battles. Monster encounters used sprites from Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, giving players more control over battles. The quest system was designed for short play sessions. Ryutaro Ichimura said the system was inspired by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Diablo helped keep players engaged.
Akira Toriyama, who worked on the series since the first game, returned as the lead artist, creating designs with Eiichirō Nakatsu. Toriyama was surprised by the choice of the DS but enjoyed working on the game. Players could customize their characters’ looks and armor to stand out in multiplayer. The game used 3D graphics, a change from earlier 2D designs. Level-5, which had experience with 3D graphics, helped with this change. Full-motion cutscenes were made by Kamikaze Douga.
Koichi Sugiyama composed the music for the game, as he did for earlier titles. Horii gave Sugiyama a list of scenes with themes he wanted. For Dragon Quest IX, Sugiyama added music with an "angelic" feel to match the story. Sugiyama used electronic instruments to create the score, which was converted into MIDI format for the game. He worked on the DS sound environment before, so he was ready for the project. Battle themes were tested and revised until they met Horii’s approval. The main theme, the Overture, was rewritten many times. Sugiyama made sure the music matched on-screen events, like a harp playing when light appeared.
Sugiyama’s first theme was meant for exploration, but Horii thought it fit a town scene better. Sugiyama tested it and agreed. He liked somber songs, such as "Guide Them to Their Fate" and "Heaven’s Prayer." The latter had three choruses to match the time players spent in the Celestial realm. "Heaven’s Prayer" shared its melody with the Overture, which Sugiyama called an important song. He also helped fix problems in the game, in addition to composing the music.
Release
In August 2006, Sugiyama confirmed during a post-concert interview that a new mainline Dragon Quest game was in development. The game’s name and platform were announced in November 2006. It was noted that the game would return to Nintendo consoles after several years on PlayStation. The game’s subtitle in some regions was translated as Defenders of the Starry Sky. Ichimura aimed to expand the series’ audience and increase its popularity by creating a children-focused spin-off game, Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road. However, plans to link this game with Dragon Quest IX were canceled. A marketing campaign was also launched to attract both children and women to the series. Initially planned for release in 2007, the game was delayed until 2008 to allow developers more time to improve the product. It was delayed again in October 2008, with no explanation given.
The game was scheduled for release in March 2009, but serious bugs discovered during testing made it harder to fix, especially because of multiplayer features. This caused Square Enix to delay the release again until July 11, 2009. Because the delay pushed the game into the next fiscal year, Square Enix reduced its profit projections for 2008–2009. Then-CEO Yoichi Wada publicly apologized, saying the earlier release date was due to his "arrogance" and lack of understanding about bug testing. Before release, Square Enix set up promotional displays in Japanese stores and held a special event with the Shibuya branch of Tsutaya. On the release day, long lines formed outside game stores early in the morning. Five guidebooks were published alternately by Shueisha and Square Enix between the game’s release and July 2010. A gag manga anthology was released by Square Enix on December 22, 2009.
In August 2009, Square Enix said it was considering a release outside Japan and evaluating regions for distribution. Later, Horii confirmed the game was designed with a Western release in mind, requiring few changes between regions. A Western release was confirmed in February 2010. The English subtitle and translations for other European languages were revealed through trademarks registered in December 2009. Localization was handled by PlusAlpha Translations and Schloc, who had previously worked on earlier Dragon Quest games. Will Blatchley noted that without voice acting, translators used fewer accents than before but kept established ones, such as Cockney. The glossary for Dragon Quest IX was the largest the team had handled, with names based on puns and group themes. Translating Tag Mode messages within the DS’s space limits was a major challenge. Horii visited the Nintendo World Store in North America during a pre-launch event. In Western regions, the game was published by Nintendo in 2010. It released on July 11 in North America, July 23 in Europe, and August 19 in Australia.
Reception
Dragon Quest IX received mostly positive reviews from Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. It earned a score of 87 out of 100 based on 67 reviews, making it the highest-rated Nintendo DS game in 2010. The game received perfect scores from 1Up.com and the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. This was the first Dragon Quest game and the tenth game in the series to receive a perfect score from Famitsu. At the 2010 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers awards, Dragon Quest IX was nominated in the "Original Light Mix Score, Franchise" and "Game Sequel RPG" categories. At the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now called the D.I.C.E. Awards), it was nominated for "Portable Game of the Year" and "Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year."
Famitsu reviewers delayed their review to fully test the multiplayer features. They praised the game’s mechanics, visuals, and music, calling it "an RPG that people from any generation can enjoy." Jeremy Parish of 1Up.com said Dragon Quest IX was one of the best portable RPGs ever made, though he had some concerns about the story and the lack of true online multiplayer. Simon Parkin of Eurogamer called the game a well-made product of the companies and individuals involved, describing it as a simple and clear game compared to other RPGs. Phil Kollar of Game Informer praised the exploration and combat but said the multiplayer did not meet expectations due to the lack of online play.
Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot noted that players had to repeat tasks (called "grinding") to progress, and she disliked the menu system, though she enjoyed the story, gameplay, and side content. GameTrailers said the game’s core gameplay was not very different from older games, but the multiplayer features made it enjoyable. Ryan Clements of IGN liked the exploration and multiplayer but said the game felt traditional. Daniel Staines of Australian IGN said the game did not include features to reduce the need for grinding and noted that the traditional style hurt its strengths, along with a lack of players for multiplayer. Simon Bramble of Official Nintendo Magazine called Dragon Quest IX "one of the grandest adventures you'll ever play," even though the visuals looked simple.
Reviewers praised the battle and class systems for being well-designed and customizable. However, some said the battle system was too traditional or hard to use because of its menu-based interface. The story was praised for its pacing and length, but some said the focus on multiplayer hurt the narrative. Kollar and Parkin noted that the story’s themes and visuals matched the Christian symbolism used in earlier games. The 3D graphics were compared positively to Dragon Quest VIII and were considered impressive for the DS hardware. The music received positive feedback, though some reviewers were disappointed by its use of synthesized sounds and the limited number of tracks. The multiplayer system was seen as a strong addition, even though it affected the story, with many calling it innovative and engaging.
During its first two days in Japan, Dragon Quest IX sold 2.32 million copies and reached the top of Media Create’s gaming charts. Its release also increased sales of the Nintendo DS compared to other consoles. By November 2009, the game had sold 4 million copies in Japan, with about 2 million current fans, 1.4 million older fans, and 600,000 new players. Sales of Dragon Quest IX in Japan, along with worldwide sales of games like Final Fantasy XIII, helped Square Enix achieve record profits for the fiscal year ending March 2010.
In North America, Dragon Quest IX was the eighth best-selling game in July 2010, with 132,000 copies sold. In the United Kingdom, it was the top-selling new release in its first week and stayed in the top ten best-selling games the following month. During Nintendo’s fiscal year ending in 2010, the game sold over 1 million copies in the United States and Europe, making it the eighth best-selling DS game for that period. By the end of 2010, the game had sold 5.3 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling entry in the series until the release of Dragon Quest XI in 2017.
Dragon Quest IX became very popular in Japan because of its online features, with players gathering to trade treasure maps for rare items. Articles on GamesIndustry.biz and USGamer highlighted its innovative multiplayer and online design. Nintendo producer Hideki Konno mentioned that the game’s Tag Mode inspired features like SpotPass and StreetPass on the Nintendo 3DS. In 2018 and 2019, staff members discussed the possibility of a remake for other platforms but noted that the multiplayer system was a challenge. They hoped a new version of Tag Mode could be used in a future port or remake.