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{{Nihongo|'''''Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies'''''|ドラゴンクエストIX 星空の守り人|Doragon Kuesuto Nain Hoshizora no Mamoribito}} is a [[video game]] for the [[Nintendo DS]] released on July 11, 2009 in [[Japan]]. It is the ninth installment in the acclaimed ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series by [[Yūji Horii]], developed by [[Level-5]] and published by [[Square Enix]] in Japan and Nintendo in North America and Europe.<ref name="np254">{{cite journal|journal=Nintendo Power |publisher=Future US |year=2010 |month=May |volume=254 |page=13}}</ref> The game was primarily designed around [[multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] and to be able to sell well overseas, particularly the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. The basic plot involves an ex-[[angel]] who has fallen to earth becoming a human.
{{Nihongo|'''''Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies'''''|ドラゴンクエストIX 星空の守り人|Doragon Kuesuto Nain Hoshizora no Mamoribito}} is a [[video game]] for the [[Nintendo DS]] released on July 11, 2009 in [[Japan]]. It is the ninth installment in the acclaimed ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series created by [[Yūji Horii]], and is developed by [[Level-5]] and published by [[Square Enix]] in Japan and Nintendo in North America and Europe.<ref name="np254">{{cite journal|journal=Nintendo Power |publisher=Future US |year=2010 |month=May |volume=254 |page=13}}</ref> The game was primarily designed around [[multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] gameplay and to be able to sell well overseas, particularly the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. The basic plot involves an ex-[[angel]] who has fallen to earth becoming a human.


''Dragon Quest IX'' marks several firsts for the main series: it is the first to be initially launched for a handheld system; first to have very few [[random encounter]]s, instead the player can see the enemies on the map, (except when sailing); and the first to be designed primarily with the intent of being a multiplayer video game. The game is also the first numbered release in Europe. In addition, it is the first ''Dragon Quest'' title to use a graphical menu system in the Japanese-language version.<ref group=n>''[[Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King]]''{{'}}s English translation is the first time a graphical menu system is used. The Japanese version retains the traditional text-based menu system.</ref> ''Dragon Quest IX'' was designed to be more difficult than any previous game in the series, including spinoff titles.
''Dragon Quest IX'' marks several firsts for the main series: it is the first to be initially launched for a handheld system; first to have almost no [[random encounter]]s by allowing players to see enemies on the map (except when sailing); and the first to be designed primarily with the intent of being a multiplayer video game. The game is also the first numbered release in Europe. In addition, it is the first ''Dragon Quest'' title to use a graphical menu system in the Japanese-language version.<ref group=n>''[[Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King]]''{{'}}s English translation is the first time a graphical menu system is used. The Japanese version retains the traditional text-based menu system.</ref> ''Dragon Quest IX'' was designed to be more difficult than any previous game in the series, including spinoff titles.


The sales of ''Dragon Quest IX'' set new records in Japan; these sales helped boost [[Nintendo]]'s earnings and have impacted future plannings by the company. ''Dragon Quest IX'' set a ''[[Guiness World Record]]'' with its Chance Encounter mode surpassing 100 million people communicating anonymously as reported on May 20, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DORAKUE9, GINESU nintei 'surechigaitsuushin' ichiokunin kosu|url=http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0520/TKY201005200471.html|accessdate=2010=05=20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5543277/dragon-quest-ix-enters-the-guinness-book-of-world-records|title=Dragon Quest IX Enters The Guinness Book of World Records|author=Ashcraft, Brian|publisher=Kotaku|date=2010-05-20|accessdate=2010-07-14}}</ref>
The sales of ''Dragon Quest IX'' set new records in Japan; these sales helped boost [[Nintendo]]'s earnings and have impacted future plannings by the company. ''Dragon Quest IX'' set a ''[[Guiness World Record]]'' with its Chance Encounter mode surpassing 100 million people communicating anonymously as reported on May 20, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DORAKUE9, GINESU nintei 'surechigaitsuushin' ichiokunin kosu|url=http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0520/TKY201005200471.html|accessdate=2010=05=20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5543277/dragon-quest-ix-enters-the-guinness-book-of-world-records|title=Dragon Quest IX Enters The Guinness Book of World Records|author=Ashcraft, Brian|publisher=Kotaku|date=2010-05-20|accessdate=2010-07-14}}</ref>

Revision as of 21:31, 7 September 2010

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
DragonQuestIXBoxArtJP.png
North American boxart
Developer(s)Level-5
Square Enix
Designer(s)Yūji Horii
Akihiro Hino
Artist(s)Akira Toriyama
Composer(s)Koichi Sugiyama
SeriesDragon Quest
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Genre(s)Role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (ドラゴンクエストIX 星空の守り人, Doragon Kuesuto Nain Hoshizora no Mamoribito) is a video game for the Nintendo DS released on July 11, 2009 in Japan. It is the ninth installment in the acclaimed Dragon Quest series created by Yūji Horii, and is developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix in Japan and Nintendo in North America and Europe.[1] The game was primarily designed around multiplayer gameplay and to be able to sell well overseas, particularly the United States and Europe. The basic plot involves an ex-angel who has fallen to earth becoming a human.

Dragon Quest IX marks several firsts for the main series: it is the first to be initially launched for a handheld system; first to have almost no random encounters by allowing players to see enemies on the map (except when sailing); and the first to be designed primarily with the intent of being a multiplayer video game. The game is also the first numbered release in Europe. In addition, it is the first Dragon Quest title to use a graphical menu system in the Japanese-language version.[n 1] Dragon Quest IX was designed to be more difficult than any previous game in the series, including spinoff titles.

The sales of Dragon Quest IX set new records in Japan; these sales helped boost Nintendo's earnings and have impacted future plannings by the company. Dragon Quest IX set a Guiness World Record with its Chance Encounter mode surpassing 100 million people communicating anonymously as reported on May 20, 2010.[2][3]

Gameplay

Dragon Quest IX continues the Dragon Quest tradition of turn-based combat and is considered harder than its predecessors.[4][5] The game allows players to have a cooperative wireless multi-player experience with up to four players; it does not, however, feature multi-player capabilities via Nintendo Wi-Fi.[6] The game includes only one save slot, whereas most have at least three.[4][7]

In part due to Dragon Quest IX's design as a multiplayer game, party members consist entirely of characters created and chosen by the player. Unlike previous games, the player has more control over their characters' appearance. While Dragon Warrior III and IV allowed players to choose between playing a hero or a heroine, Dragon Quest IX offers more customization by allowing players to define characteristics such as hair style and skin tone.[8] Each character can be customized, both during creation and throughout the game. Changeable features during creation include gender, hair style and color, eye shape and color, body type, skin tone, and, for characters other than the main protagonist, vocation (the game's term for character class). Customizing a character continues into the main game with weapons and armor, now visible during battles and while exploring the world map and towns. Weapons and armor slots include one weapon, a shield, a helmet, body armor, leg armor, gloves, boots, and accessories (rings or amulets, for example).

Each playable character has a vocation that determines his or her stat increases per level, usable weapons and armor, and spells. Six vocations, warrior, mage, priest, martial artist, thief and minstrel, are available early in the game, and are already unlocked by the time new party members can be recruited. An additional six classes (armamentalist, ranger, gladiator, sage, paladin, and luminary) can be unlocked through successful completion of quests. The protagonist starts as a minstrel, and when additional party members first become available, they can be created with any unlocked vocation. The ability to change a character's active vocation can be unlocked through gameplay. Characters have separate levels and experience totals for each vocation, and a character's stats and spells are based on his or her active vocation. The game also includes a skill system similar to the one in Dragon Quest VIII, each vocation has five skills: one skill exclusive to the vocation, three weapon skills shared with one or more other vocations, and either Shield or Fisticuffs. As characters gain levels, they obtain skill points, which can be spent to increase any of the current vocation's skills, whenever the points invested in a skill reach a certain threshold, a new ability (active command) or trait (passive bonus) is gained, with the 10th and final ability or trait gained at 100 points. In the case of weapon skills, the 100 point trait allows a character to use the relevant weapon with any vocation, while the 100 point shield trait allows any vocation to use shields. Abilities and trait which have been gained through the skill system are carried over to other vocations, as are unspent skill points.

Battle

Battle is conducted from a combination of first and third-person perspectives. The character plans his or her attack from a first person perspective, selecting which opponents to target (including the ability to target specific monsters in a single group) and then switches to a moving third-person view to watch the main character's party and the monsters battle for the round. Combat includes a combo system available both to players and monsters. When two or more identical attacks are performed consecutively on the same opponent the attack damage increases by a multiplier. A two-hit combo receives a 1.2x multiplier, a three-hit combo a 1.5x multiplier, and a four-hit combo a 2.0x multiplier. Experience points earned from battle are divided amongst all party members based on level, higher level characters receive a greater share of the experience points than lower level characters.

Features

Dragon Quest IX gives the player optional quests to complete during and after the main game. Quests serve as side-stories helping non-player characters around the game's world. Multiple quests can be performed simultaneously; some are interlocking, others unlock stages in fellow quests.[9] Early quests include gathering magical spring water, slaying monsters and stealing for a fellow thief. Unlike previous Dragon Quest installments, Dragon Quest IX contains many open ended mini-quests. Upon completion of the quests, a "Quest List log," serving as an in-game achievement list.[10]

In addition, the game features infinitely generating treasure maps where the player can earn treasure and fight monsters not found in the main game.[11] New weapons, armor, and other items can be created through alchemy. Using an alchemy pot one can mix items with alchemy materials found in treasure chests, the world map, and dropped by monsters. Recipes can be found hidden in bookcases through the world and the player can experiment with new recipes of their own.

Plot

Dragon Quest IX begins in the Observatory, the floating kingdom of the Celestrians, including the main protagonist, reside. The main character begins as the guardian who has just undertaken protection of Angel Falls, a human village. The Celestrians have been trying for some time to move into the God's Land. However, before they can leave, they require a fruit called the fygg. The fruit is very rare and Yggdrasil the "World Tree" it grows on must be empowered with benevolessence, which are obtained by helping people in the mortal world,[10] known as the Protectorate.

By helping and protecting his town and earning their thanks, the main character obtains enough benevolessence for the World Tree to produce the fyggs. Just as the Starflight Express that will take the angels to the kingdom of God arrives, the Protectorate is attacked from below by a mysterious and powerful force. The force scatters the assembled angels and knocks the fyggs, the Starflight Express, and the main character down to the Protectorate.

The main character awakens without wings or a halo and finds he has been rescued from the base of the waterfall in Angel Falls. As he comes to he learns a little about his fall and the great earthquake that happened at the same time. Having lost most of his Celestrian's powers, but not his memory or the ability to see deceased and magical spirits, he travels about trying to find a way back to the Observatory. During an adventure to reconnect his village to the nearby castle after landslides caused by the great earthquake, the main character finds the broken down celestial train and its faerie driver, Stella. Stella promises to help the main character return to the kingdom of angels if he can prove he is one.

By helping humans, the main character gathers benevolessence though he can no longer see them. His ability to aid and protect the humans convinces Stella who, restoring power to the Starflight Express with the benevolessence, helps the main character return to the Observatory. Upon his return, the main character discovers that the fyggs have also fallen to the human world and that many Celestrian have been dispatched to find them, though no one has yet returned. His prayers to become a Celestrian again are unanswered but a vision is presented to the main character as he stands before the World Tree. Taking the vision as a sign, the main character is charged with returning to the human world to help collect the Fyggs.

As the main character travels the Protectorate in search of the fyggs he finds that the fruit have the ability to grant those who eat it any wish. Unfortunately, the wishes are not always fulfilled in the way they were expected and those who eat the fruit succumb to strange and demented ways. It is the hero's mission to travel from land to land, finding and battling those possessed by the Goddess Fruit's power. As he defeats their twisted forms, the main character sets the possessed free and regains the fyggs one by one. Eventually, the hero learns that a Celestrian named Corvus, who resembles a fallen angel, is responsible for the attack on Yggdrasil and the Starflight Express, and defeats him by eating a Fygg and turning into a mortal, because Celestrians can not act against superiors.

Development

We make the game [Dragon Quest IX] to be quite hard. It's harder than any of the previous titles, and the enemies are also powerful... We strengthened the bosses, stuff like that.

— Yuji Horii, according to Brian Ashcraft[4]

Dragon Quest IX was primarily designed around the idea of attracting a wider overseas market by "giving the game a more action-oriented premise than previous games in the series.[12] Shinji Hatano, General Manager for Nintendo's Marketing Division, believes that Dragon Quest IX, which he says is a quality title, not only could, but should, sell more copies in the United States and Europe.[13] In addition to the overseas market, the entire game is designed around the multi-player aspect. Minor aspects like party talk, which was in previous titles, and only a few pre-defined non-player characters and more significant things like the quest system which can often be taken multiple times and are presumably designed around getting friends to help with specific missions. Other changes, like the lack of random battles also are structured toward this goal, but on a more tangential level.[8]

In mid-2006, Dragon Quest series composer Koichi Sugiyama confirmed that Dragon Quest IX was in development. He said, "I'm not sure when Dragon Quest IX will be released, but it seems that progress is continually being made. I'm personally excited."[14] On December 12, 2006, during a press conference celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Dragon Quest franchise, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest IX would be released exclusively for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console,[citation needed] making it the first main Dragon Quest title to debut on a handheld.

The Japanese release of Dragon Quest IX was subsequently delayed from 2007 to 2008. The company cited the need for more time to make a better game as reason for the delay.[15] At the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, a new trailer was shown at the Square Enix booth which showed a glimpse of the changes made to the gameplay and graphics. At the end of the video, a confirmation of the release date (set for March 2009) was unveiled. Square Enix released another new trailer for the game, showing various aspects of the storyline, boss battles, along with cutscenes; the end of the trailer showed a then-correct release date for March 28, 2009, along with a price point of ¥5,980, which still stands.[16]

On February 12, 2009, after having delayed the release of its quarterly financial by a week, Square Enix announced the game would be delayed once again to a Japanese release on July 11 of the same year. The game's release delay worried Final Fantasy fans, who were told by Square Enix president Yoichi Wada that Dragon Quest IX's delay may affect Final Fantasy XIII's release, stating that he "[could] not say there [would not] be an effect."[17]

Dragon Quest IX was designed to be the hardest Dragon Quest game yet. The rationale is that the developers said, "people can always find out information on the internet — like that's part of the game experience." In addition, the game has only one save slot.[4] Ryutaro Ichimura, producer of Dragon Quest IX, clarified the reason explaining that there is not enough space on the system given the amount of freedom the game allows. Instead, the extra slot is used for a backup in case of battery failure.[7]

Also included in the game was the chance to re-experience boss battles from previous Dragon Quest titles such as fighting Baramos from Dragon Warrior III and Dhoulmagus from Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.[18]

Release

Months after its Japanese release, Square Enix trademarked the name Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, as well as corresponding titles for the four other main languages of Western Europe (French, German, Italian and Spanish), confirming that the title will be released there.[19] It also registered the English trademark in the United States confirming its North American release around the same time.

Nintendo expected a boost in its DSi sales with the simultaneously timed launch of the red DSi in Japan,[20] and reports show an increase of 152% in Nintendo DS sales during the first weeks of Dragon Quest IX.[21] Square-Enix expected not to fare as well despite the record sales. After a last minute delay in the release date from March 28, 2009 to July 11, 2009 Square-Enix dropped its expected yearly earnings by 17 percent and profits by 62.5 percent. The company hoped to bolster the worldwide appeal of the series with the redesign of the game.[12]

According to Square Enix, 4.29 million copies of the game were sold in Japan as of March 2010.[22] Square-Enix aims to have 5 million copies of the game shipped, though the company didn't specify if the target was for Japan only or worldwide.

Square Enix announced on May 19, 2010 that Dragon Quest IX would be released in North America on July 11, 2010; exactly one year after the Japanese release. The European version followed on July 23, 2010.

Japan

Dragon Quest IX shipped with over 2 million pre-order sales.[20][23] While the official release date for Dragon Quest IX in Japan was July 11, 2009,[17] some retailers had already shipped orders; one such dealer asked its customers to not play the game until the official release date.[24] In spite the large number of pre-orders and additional release shipments by Square Enix, lines still formed for the release.[20][23] Within a two-day period, the title had sold 2,318,932 copies out of an estimated three million copies that had been shipped. Some analysts say that three million may be too conservative and expect five million copies sold in Japan alone with large overseas sales expectations that could break previous Dragon Quest sales records.[20][21][25] The sale was the largest post-2000 debut week sale which broken the record previously held by the former title, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King and with over 4 million copies shipped Dragon Quest IX is as of September 25, 2009 on track for becoming the most popular and best-selling Nintendo DS game ever.[20][26][27] Shortly before the official release a malware ROM claiming to be the Dragon Quest IX ROM was released on 2chan. Instead of the actual game, it was a hentai slideshow that bricks the Nintendo DS.[28]

The saturation of Dragon Quest IX in Japan has, as of October 30, 2009, increased the number of Passing-By Connections because the number of people carrying a DS on them outside home increased. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, General Manager for Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, this development has lead Nintendo to figure out more ways of creating something unique for this.[29]

North America

The North American release of Dragon Quest IX was heavily promoted by Nintendo - the company ran commercials featuring Seth Green in theaters and on television,[30] featured Dragon Quest IX for two weeks on Nintendo Week, and sponsored special Dragon Quest IX events at select GameStop, Best Buy, and Simon Mall locations from July 31, 2010 through August 2010 where players could obtain exclusive downloadable treasure maps.[31] Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was also the subject of two segments of Iwata Asks, where Satoru Iwata interviewed Yuji Horii and Ryutaro Ichimura concerning the North American release of Dragon Quest IX.[32]

The August 2010 issue of Nintendo Power also featured Dragon Quest IX on the cover.[33]

Excluding pre-orders, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies has been the top selling DS game in the first two weeks since its release, according to Gamasutra and Amazon.com.[34] It was the eighth best-selling game of July 2010 in the NPD charts, with 132,000 units.[35]

Reception

On January 1, 2009, Dragon Quest IX was the most anticipated game in Japan according to a monthly poll conducted by Famitsu magazine. It displaced Final Fantasy XIII from the top spot after 15 months.[41]

At the game's launch a series of highly negative user reviews were posted on Amazon Japan, particularly regarding Stella the gyaru-ish fairy.[42] Kotaku Night Editor Brian Ashcraft stated that "this could very well [have] be[en] an organized effort...to slam DQIX".[43]

Days after the game's release, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave the game a score of 40/40, making Dragon Quest IX the tenth game to achieve a perfect score.[39] The game was also voted as the best game of 2009 in Dengeki online's reader poll.[44] Jeremy Parish, editor for 1UP, gave the game an overall positive preview. He noted the game's design toward the local multi-player aspect, though had yet to try it. Instead his preview focused on the single-player gameplay. While he enjoyed it and felt it still stayed true to the heart of a Dragon Quest game, he noted that hardcore fans may still not like the amount and type of changes, though he did not give specifics. Parish also noted that while the graphics quality was not up to the same level as the previous title it still was quality work.[8]

Additionally, the game was received well at E3 2010 amongst the media. It was given a nomination for Best DS Game of the Show by GameTrailers.[45]

Notes and references

  1. ^ Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King's English translation is the first time a graphical menu system is used. The Japanese version retains the traditional text-based menu system.
  1. ^ Nintendo Power. 254. Future US: 13. 2010. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "DORAKUE9, GINESU nintei 'surechigaitsuushin' ichiokunin kosu". Retrieved 2010=05=20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2010-05-20). "Dragon Quest IX Enters The Guinness Book of World Records". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  4. ^ a b c d Ashcraft, Brian (2009-07-06). "Dragon Quest IX Is Gonna Be Hard, Yo". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009=07=10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ "Scan featuring the turn-based system". Jeux-France.com. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  6. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2006-12-12). "Dragon Quest 9 Set for DS". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  7. ^ a b Ashcraft, Brian (2009-07-08). "Dragon Quest IX's One Save Data Slot Explained!". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009=07=10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Parish, Jeremy (2009-07-14). "Dragon Quest IX: Protectors of the Starry Sky (Nintendo DS)". 1up. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  9. ^ "スクエニ、DS「ドラゴンクエストIX」新情報「クエスト」や超重要キャラクタなどを公開". Game.Watch.Impress.co.jp (in Japanese). 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  10. ^ a b Spencer (2009-01-05). "What Is The Story In Dragon Quest IX About Anyway?". Siliconera.com. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  11. ^ Shaw, Patrick (2010-06-10). "E3 2010: Nintendo Highlights". GamePro. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  12. ^ a b Mangiro, Tom (2009-07-13). "Dragon Quest IX opens to 2.3M in Japan - Report". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  13. ^ "Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi-annual Financial Results Briefing Q&A". Investor Relations Information. Nintendo. 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-11-09. For the U.S. and European sales, we would like to fully cooperate with them. Nintendo would like to play a key role in expanding the Dragon Quest title in these markets because our preposition is that such quality title could and should sell more in the overseas markets.
  14. ^ "ファンの声を反映したプログラムで、今年もドラゴンクエストコンサートが盛大に幕開け [[:Template:Ja icon]]". Famitsū. 2006-08-11. Retrieved 2006-09-19. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  15. ^ "Dragon Quest Delayed". IGN. 2007-08-27. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  16. ^ "Dragon Quest IX new video". Gamekyo. 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  17. ^ a b Ashcraft, Brian (2009-02-12). "Square Enix: "Dragon Quest IX Delay May Affect Final Fantasy XIII"". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  18. ^ Lummis, Michael; Owen, Michael. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Brady Games Signature Series Guide). Brady Games. ISBN 0-7440-1238-4.
  19. ^ Goergen, Andy (2009-12-03). "Localized Subtitle For Dragon Quest IX Announced". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  20. ^ a b c d e Tanaka, John (2009-07-13). "Dragon Quest IX: Two Million Served:Mega numbers for Square Enix's RPG epic." IGN. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  21. ^ a b Dragon Quest IX Hits Japan. Nintendo Power, 246, page 12. Future US.
  22. ^ "Results Briefing Session The Fiscal Year Ending 31 March 2010" (PDF). Square Enix. 2010-05-18. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  23. ^ a b Ashcraft, Brian (2009-07-10). "Look! People Lining Up For DQIX". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  24. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2009-07-09). "Broken Street Date Or Not, Don't Play DQIX Just Yet!". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  25. ^ Tanaka, John (2009-07-14). "Dragon Quest IX Ships Three Million: Series crosses fifty million mark". ign. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  26. ^ "Japan Hot Stocks-Square Enix, Nishimatsuya, Nippon Elec Glass". Forbes. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  27. ^ Hunter, Michael (2009-09-25). "Notable Japanese Game Developers: Level-5". Gameguru. Retrieved 2009-10-07O. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  28. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2009-07-09). "Hey Pirates, Beware of Fake Dragon Quest IX Hentai Boobies!". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  29. ^ "Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi-annual Financial Results Briefing Q&A". Investor Relations Information. Nintendo. 2009. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2009. Actually because Dragon Quest IX made Passing-By Connection much more popular, there has been an increase in people carrying around their DS, and we are trying to develop something unique around that factor.
  30. ^ "The Official Seth Green Website". SethGreenOnline.com. 2010. p. 1. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  31. ^ "Real-World Dragon Quest IX Meet-Ups Begin". Wired.com. 2010. p. 1. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  32. ^ "This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Iwata Asks - Dragon Quest IX". Game News. 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  33. ^ "Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #257 (August 2010)". Cream Media Inc. 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  34. ^ "Gamasutra - News - Sailing the World: Dragon Quest IX Tops DS Sales in U.S. and UK". Gamasutra. 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  35. ^ Graft, Kris (2010-08-13). "Nintendo Titles Again Reign Over NPD Top 20 In July". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  36. ^ "Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies". GameRankings. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  37. ^ "Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies". Metacritic. Retrieved July 16, 2010. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 30 (help)
  38. ^ Game Informer, 208, GameStop Corporation, August 2010, p.113
  39. ^ a b "Famitsu July 14 (DQ9 review)". NeoGAF. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  40. ^ "Official Nintendo Magazine (DQIX Review)". 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  41. ^ Wales, David (2009-01-01). "Final Fantasy XIII no longer most anticipated title in Japan". PS3.PSU.com. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  42. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2009-06-30). "Why Is There A Tanned Fairy In Dragon Quest IX?". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  43. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2009-07-13). "These Amazon Japan Customers Do Not Like DQIX". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  44. ^ "【アンケート結果発表】2009年一番おもしろかったゲームランキングを発表!". ASCII Media Works. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  45. ^ "Best DS Game E3 2010". GameTrailers. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-06-29.