Dragon Quest XI’s Western Release Uses a New Engine
Dragon Quest XI’s recently announced western release is more akin to a a remaster than an update, according to producer Hokuto Okamoto. With the confusion surrounding the inclusion of English voice-overs, Okamoto has offered some clarification.
Okamoto says that the English game uses a different engine than the original, which is why he considers the game “closer to a remaster than an update.” Apparently, integrating the new changes into the Japanese version would require too much time and is not realistic from a financial point of view.
The Steam version is not planned for Japan release, and the audio will be English-only. However, the language of the text will change automatically on the PlayStation 4 depending on the console’s language settings. If language is not included in the system’s localization, English is the default selection. Only English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish will be available for subtitles and menus—Japanese text won’t be included.
Yuji Horii, the series’ creator, talked about the Dragon Quest world on new-generation hardware.
“For Dragon Quest, what’s really important at the core is that you become the main character in the story and you experience that story first hand. As well as that real feeling that as you gain more experience you are becoming stronger as a character”
“The evolution of the hardware is just amazing and the fact we’ve come to the stage where we can do open world games like that now is just fantastic. So when I was working on the original Dragon Quest games, we had such a small and limited area for the whole exploration of the world. So back then you had to fill in the gaps in the game with your imagination. Now though, I can really put my vision straight into the game.”
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will launch on PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam on September 4.