The director of Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate has revealed that the game will be a tribute to Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who was a longtime contributor to the series and worked on the game before his passing.
May 27 is Dragon Quest Day, and like many longtime video game franchises, the series celebrates its anniversary with a slew of special announcements, including the platforms for the upcoming Dragon Quest III HD-2D.
Fans have been wondering how Toriyama’s passing has affected Dragon Quest 12, as it’s unclear how far along the game is in development. Franchise creator Yuji Horii addressed the topic in a post onTwitter/X, saying (via machine translation) that the game will be a tribute to Toriyama’s posthumous work.
皆さん、たくさんのおめでとうを本当に、ありがとうございます。心配をかけているドラクエ12ですが、実はさっきまで、その打ち合わせをしていました。まだ詳しくは言えませんが、亡くなったお二人の遺作に相応しいものをと思っています。頑張るぞお！https://t.co/QuVk0PCvNs
As of the time of writing, all that has been revealed of Dragon Quest 12’s visuals is its logo. We have yet to see any of its characters or game world. While Horii didn’t offer a new look at the game during the Dragon Quest Day celebrations, he at least confirmed that Toriyama’s work will appear.
Dragon Quest 12 will be the last mainline entry to feature Toriyama’s distinctive art style. While many people can copy Toriyama’s work to an amazing degree (likeToyutaro, the artist of the Dragon Ball Super manga), it’s unclear if future games will emulate his style or take a new approach.
The Dragon Quest series will continue without Toriyama, but the twelfth entry marks a turning point. Horii promised that thegame would be a tribute to Toriyama’s work, and its release will be a bittersweet moment for the fans, as Dragon Quest’s aesthetics will never quite be the same again.
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Scott Baird is a Games Writer on Dexerto’s UK team, specializing in Pokemon, Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, and Magic The Gathering, and Nintendo games. He also has bylines at Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, Screen Rant, The Gamer, and TopTenz.
