Dragon Quest IX no longer has internet multiplayer

In yet another disappointment to fans, it has been announced recently that Dragon Quest IX will not have internet multiplayer as originally advertised. This comes after the clarification of the battle system that revealed it was the age-old Dragon Quest system with few changes.

The beanbag chair that stares back at you.

The game will still have wireless local multiplayer, for what it’s worth. This is particularly disappointing to me. Since I’m graduating from college soon, DSes will no longer be a common sight to me, and chances of finding people to play with might be a bit slim. Internet multiplayer would be much nicer, particularly if I could play with friends in other places. Even if I know Jay would probably just grief me every chance he gets.

Hopefully, though, this is the last negative announcement as regards Dragon Quest IX. Even if it doesn’t have internet multiplayer, the series is known for its long and involved single-player experiences. The DS still doesn’t have an original standard RPG with the depth of console games, and I’m thinking DQ9 will do that. Of course, Square-Enix has not always been incredibly reliable as regards fun games, but I think that Dragon Quest VIII was one of the greatest RPGs on the PS2. I think at this point the only big mistake they could make is going for detailed graphics on a system that can’t handle them. Localization will likely follow the footsteps of DQ8, so that will be once again excellent. The battle system will once again be Old Reliable, so I’m sure we don’t have to worry too much about that. Music is still by Koichi Sugiyama. In fact, the entire team for DQ8 (Level 5) is back on board this game, so I’m sure it will still be great.

Just not as great as it was going to be.
[via GamesAreFun]