As part of the Dragon Quest Summer Festival 2017, Square Enix has announced that it’s releasing the first three Dragon Quest titles on PS4 and Nintendo 3DS in Japan. Dragon Quest I and II will launch on August 10, while the third game will arrive later in the month. Even though the event was obviously focused on the Japanese audience, the fact that these versions are based on the mobile ports available worldwide could indicate that it would be much easier for the company to release them in other regions.
Originally known as Dragon Warrior in North America, the games were developed for the NES and share a common setting and timeline, forming what is known among fans as the Erdrick or Loto Trilogy, among other names. In the first game, players take control of a warrior descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick, who is sent on a quest to kill the Dragonlord, a creature that is destroying the land of Alefgard.
The first game is actually available right now for free to all Japanese players of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age who finish the game in either its PS4 or 3DS version. Perhaps Square Enix will keep this feature in Western countries when the game launches there in 2018, and just like in Japan, it will release the original trilogy around that time as well.
At the event, Square Enix also announced Dragon Quest Builders 2 for PS4 and Nintendo Switch, and that Dragon Quest XI has already passed 3 million copies shipped and sold digitally.
