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With the recent reveal of Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3, we are once again teased with another Dragon Quest game for the Nintendo 3DS which might never see the light of day in English speaking lands. The DS before it received many fantastic Dragon Quest titles, but North America has yet to receive a single 3DS entry in the series over here and the system is region-locked, making importing a pain as you need to import a Japanese 3DS and the game. The #DragonQuestForTheWest hashtag got some traction with the announcement of Dragon Quest Heroes coming to PlayStation 4, but that game, however fun it may be, is as far away from traditional Dragon Quest as possible. For now, here's a look at the 3DS graveyard of DQ titles that we're missing out on.
Dragon Quest VII (Japan: 2/7/2013)
Dragon Quest VII is easily the biggest request for fans of the series. Released over two years ago in Japan, this remake of the 2000/2001 PlayStation title is important because of how rough the original was. This 3DS version fixes the pacing and brings a fresh new look at one of the more devisive, and long, Dragon Quest titles out there. For better or worse, I really would like a chance to play this version. Despite translation mishaps at Japan Expo, I still have serious doubts about it ever officially coming to North America.
Dragon Quest VIII (Japan: 8/27/2015)
While still not out in Japan, Dragon Quest VIII on 3DS seems to be the most likely game to actually make it to North America. It's already been released once on PS2 and again on mobile, so there is at least a translation of the main game content available. The new characters and story content will require some work, but it shouldn't be as much as most of the other games we're still waiting on. I'll at least patiently wait until after the Japanese release before I give up hope on this one.
Dragon Quest X Online (Japan: 9/4/2014)
I hestiated to even list this one, but in the interest of being thorough I opted to leave it in. When I think about Dragon Quest X Online I tend to recall the Wii and Wii U versions first, but despite that this is another game trapped in Japan and likely never to leave. The reasons behind this title never making the jump are more understandable than the others as this game is an MMO, as the title suggests. Due to the vast amount of resources needed to make this happen in North America likely being very costly, I'm not even going to consider Dragon Quest X ever coming over. If you want to play this, you'd best look into importing some Japanese hardware and learning the language.
 
Dragon Quest Monsters 2 (Japan: 2/6/2014) &
Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D (Japan: 5/31/2012)
While two separete games, the chances of Dragon Quest Monsters 2 and Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D coming to North America are about equal. I was a big fan of Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 on DS, but I have to imagine it didn't sell very well as it was one of the nails in the coffin before the dark ages of Dragon Quest began. These are fun little games with less of a focus on plot and more of a focus on catching and training cool monsters, so there is clearly a market for that sort of thing in North America. The fact that both of these titles are remakes likely doesn't help, as newer titles would probably have a stronger chance of making a real impact. That said, these could be at least a little easier to localize.
Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 (Japan: 11/2/2011)
The third Slime MoriMori game should have been a lock for localization, but alas we've been without this one for the longest. I know that Rocket Slime didn't fly off the shelves in North America, but it was a fantastically fun little game that was great for fans and non-fans alike. With this being a simpler title, I had great hope that Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 (I nicknamed it Pirate Slime) would make it over, but four years later I'm still waiting. I just want to engage in pirate ship battles where I control a slime who tosses objects into cannons to fire them at enemy ships. Is that too much to ask?
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (Japan: 3/26/2015)
While Theatrhythm Dragon Quest seems like the easiest of this bunch to localize, it also seems just as unlikely. While Theatrhythm Final Fantasy was a no-brainer, the music of the Dragon Quest series is nowhere near as well known in North America as in Japan. That said, why not take a shot on at least a digital-only release and throw fans a tiny bone?
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 (Japan: TBD)
Much like the other two Dragon Quest Monsters titles above, I'm not going to hold my breath for this upcoming title. Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 might have a slightly better chance making it over considering North America did receive Joker and Joker 2, but unless the whole DQ mindset changes I'm not getting too hopeful here either.
The Nintendo 3DS is simply a graveyard for Dragon Quest titles. Regardless of how well they might do in Japan, the series just hasn't been deemed worthy enough for these portable releases to make it over. Fans should be somewhat hopeful about getting Dragon Quest Heroes on PS4, as that could help spark some interest. It just seems like an odd title to hang the North American future of the series on, as it's closer to Dynasty Warriors than Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest Builders is yet another spinoff for PS4, PS3, and Vita, so perhaps that can make it over as well. Right now, the Sony side of things seems more hopeful for the future of Dragon Quest in English than Nintendo. This is sad, because there were many years of great DS games, and as you've seen, tons of 3DS games that could have been brought over. For now, my fingers are crossed for a resurrection of these 3DS titles or a move to a more English release friendly platform.
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