Well, there was in fact an announcement (as you've no doubt heard), and it was a doozy -- I don't think it was quite what anyone was expecting. I did actually think they'd be announcing Dragon Quest IX (my backup guess was a Dragon Quest VI remake), simply because it was too big for the announcement to not be something major. Square Enix took out an ad in a newspaper to advertise that there'd be a live event. It had to be big.

Of course, I was expecting the announcement to come for a different system. I had either the PS2 or the Wii pegged as the likeliest candidates... not the DS. Oops.

Dragon QUest Swords, bland, really? I've got to say, I'm pretty excited for it personally. For one thing, it's rare for any DQ title to disappoint me, whether it's one of the main series installments or a spinoff. But the thing that's really had me hyped about DQS, and what made the game one of the top reasons why I bought a Wii console, was the fact that it's the first Dragon Quest spinoff ever where the entire main series creative team is actively involved in the development -- with Akira Toriyama doing superb character and monster designs (I'd say they're my favorite character designs from Toriyama since Chrono Trigger), maestro Koichi Sugiyama doing music composition, and series creator Yuji Horii doing the game design and story. Now they're revealing more and more stuff that's getting me excited, like that there'll be a party of heroes to accompany you in battle and full voice acting for the story. I think it'll be quite fun.

Interesting question. I suppose my prime two candidates would be Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I went into both games with unusually high expectations, given the quality of each game's predecessor. What I got wasn't exactly what I had hoped for. Neither were *bad* games, really -- both had some interesting gameplay ideas that were sometimes pulled off well, sometimes botched a bit in the execution. But at the same time, they carried the stigma of being sequels to games that were, frankly, hard to live up to. I have to think that if they had just been named differently, they would have been received far more encouragingly by myself and other gamers who were met with similar disappointments as my own. Of course, then you run the risk of seeing the games just get flat out ignored by the RPGing populace.

Then there's Phantasy Star III. It was a pretty big let down after the high point of Phantasy Star II, and initially I had a pretty viscerally negative reaction to it accordingly. But I eventually got over that one and accepted it as a pretty good game in its own right.

Dragon Quarter is actually my favorite game in the Breath of Fire series, and honestly, I think it just completely spanks the others in terms of overall quality. Sure, the graphics weren't great, but the earlier games weren't the most graphically intense, either, and I think Capcom fairly compensated with the game's fantastic art style. And sure, there were only tenuous connections to prior games, beyond the trademark inclusion of Nina and the draconic Ryu. But the battle system... well, I can understand long-time series fans being upset with the transition from traditional RPG battling to a primarily Strategy RPG approach, but aside from that, it was a great system they put in place. It emphasized strategy, resource conservation, and a true struggle for survival against overwhelming odds. The game did a lot of innovative, groundbreaking stuff that, though often jarring for the first time one plays it, really made for one of the best RPGs last gen. I suggest giving it a second try if you can, while keeping in mind that it's meant to be a different experience. You might enjoy it more.

I've not heard any rumblings about a sixth installment (the series has long been on a pretty steep sales decline, and Dragon Quarter was an egregious underperformer), and looking over all the stuff Capcom has either announced or hinted at for the PS3, nothing Breath of Fire-ish stands out. I think we can basically stick a coffin in this one, though hope springs eternal. Keep checking back with RPGamer -- we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we hear anything.

I'm a pretty big fan, too, and I'd rank Suikoden II as both amongst the best RPGs and one of my own personal favorites. And I'd have to generally mimic the consensus you've heard -- IV is a big letdown for the series, and quite easily its worst installment, while V is a nice return to form that, while not the best in the series, still makes a very respectable showing for itself. Suikoden III is a little bit off the beaten path, and probably the most unique amongst all five games, but it offers a very complex, rewarding story and a nice area addition to the larger Suiko world. I'd be willing to recommend both III and V, especially if you're a series fan.

Haven't heard anything good, I'm afraid, and it's been so long since it came out in Japan that I think a North American localization is all but guaranteed to not happen. I mean, it came out before Suikoden V, which Konami then got out in the US a mere month later. Considering that Suikoden I & II are both already translated, there's no way it could take this long if they planned to release the game here. It sold poorly in Japan, and the Suikoden fanbase is even smaller in the US, so I guess they just decided to cut their losses.

I suppose I still get a good kick out of playing good games, too. You know, the "solid but not spectacular" games (to borrow a phrase from Peter Moore) -- good, but not great. Sure, I tend to lose interest in them more quickly than the truly great games, but there's still some value in experiencing them. They can still have interesting stories despite weak gameplay, or do some unique and innovative things from a gameplay perspective despite failing in some other area. It's the same as with movies and books, you know? Not everything I watch or read is an instant classic, a real masterpiece, but they can still have entertainment value. And the nice thing is that playing these good games helps keep me grounded as a gamer and helps me maintain a stronger perspective as a critic -- it helps stave off the creep of gamers' cynicism while better preparing me for the truly great experiences. After a few merely good games, you're in a much better position to savor the rare, exquisite gem that comes around.

I like the idea of portability myself, since a lot of the game playing time I get is when I'm away from home. As to the weaker specs of the system versus, say, the PS2 or one of the next-gen consoles... well, I like the way Mr. Horii put it. He said that he recognizes he's working on weaker hardware, but that he relishes the idea of the challenge that brings and he feels more than confident enough to provide a great Dragon Quest experience on it. I'm definitely optimistic. And on the other hand, you really have to keep in mind, this series has never been about pushing graphical boundaries. DQI through IV were all pretty primitive, even by NES standards, and DQV was way below what the system was capable of. Granted, DQVI was pretty beautiful as SNES games go, but right after that came DQVII which, despite being a great game, was practically SNES-level when it arrived at the tail end of the PSX's life. Final Fantasy has become pretty big on realistic graphics and flashy cinematics, but Dragon Quest has almost always been about that more simplistic experience of a game without all the trimmings.

The move away from turn-based combat seems to be the thing that's causing the biggest fear amongst folks... and as a long-time series fan, I have to confess to a little bit of trepidation myself. Dragon Quest has always been the paragon of traditionalism: it never evolved, it never shook things up, it just kept doing what it was doing while being immune to the changes RPGs were undergoing all around it. But in celebrating the series' 20th anniversary, it seems like Horii has decided that the time has finally come to rock the boat a little bit.

It's a little bit frightening, the prospect of facing change in the one series you always rely upon to be the same-old, same-old. I like traditionalism (despite also loving innovation). And I like turn-based battling as well. But after I got over the initial shock ("What? Dragon Quest... CHANGE?!"), I'm mostly okay with this. No, I really, really don't think I want this to be a permanent shift in the series. But the bottom line is that the series is still in the hands of Yuji Horii, the man who created the series and who did the game design on all eight previous Dragon Quests. And as I mulled that over, I realized, hey, this guy's earned some confidence from me. He hasn't let me down yet; he's made nothing but masterpieces. He knows what he's doing. He won't kill Dragon Quest, even if he is, for the first time, changing it a bit.

I agree. Dragon Quest has really never been an envelope-pusher in the graphics department, so this really doesn't bother me. And despite that, from all the screens and videos they've shown of Dragon Quest IX, I still think it looks absolutely beautiful. Sure, it may not top VIII, but it still looks better than the seven other games in the series.

The move to a portable really doesn't bother me. It's not the first time a major RPG franchise has departed home consoles for the portable arena -- I think the move worked out extremely well for Fire Emblem and Earthbound/Mother, personally. Both were console RPGs on the SNES that shifted their main series installments to a handheld. Plus you've got Link's Awakening on the original Game Boy, and that title is quite well regarded. For non-RPGs, there's always Metroid II and Kid Icarus II.

The main difference between all of these games and Dragon Quest IX? DQIX is the first third party RPG series to do it; all the others have been Nintendo properties. Frankly, I don't see anything bad about this at all. If it helps force third parties to start treating handheld RPG development as seriously as Nintendo has been -- as a big-budget, serious affair where quality, original titles are more the norm than cheap kiddie shovelware and rehashed ports -- that can only be a good thing for us as gamers.

These are valid concerns. And believe me, I'm a big fan of traditional RPGs, too, so I get where you're coming from and even have some similar fears here. All I can do to reassure you is say the same thing I said to Chris. I've come to trust in Horii as a game developer, and I have a lot of confidence in him to make an amazing product. Dragon Quest is his baby, and I don't think he'll mess it up.

As far as depth goes, one thing I've heard is that DQIX will mark the return of the old class system. For gameplay, this is a great move is another one of those salves that's helping to ease some of my worries. It tells me that DQIX isn't abandoning series traditions and it isn't going for a shallow, hollow experience but rather something with just as much (considerable) depth and old-school complexity as prior DQs.

Fair point. While I think Dragon Quest IX is going to be an absolutely fantastic game, I share your sentiments in not wanting to really see a huge shift (more than what we've already witnessed over the course of the last console generation) away from turn-based RPGing and more towards action RPGs. I don't think that will happen, though. I'm not really sure where Dragon Quest will end up -- number 10 might return to pure turn-based style, or maybe it'll welcome in another evolution, perhaps to active-time or something else entirely. But even with this, the last great staunch defender of traditionalism finally embracing a bit of a change, I think turn-based RPGs will always be around. At the very least, we've still got Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey to look forward to. We just got Final Fantasy III, and no fan of turn-based combat should be willing to pass on Atlus' upcoming Etrian Odyssey.

And after that, who knows? Suikoden VI, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Skies of Arcadia II, Dragon Quest X, the next SaGa game? New old school Final Fantasies ala the FFIII remake? The industry will always keep changing and adapting but I don't think the things we like will ever be completely abandoned, even if they're lessened.