With 1.5 million preorders waiting in the wings, Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Malta's Magical Keys -- Lucca's Journey, one of two chapters of the game, was released today in Japan. As with many new releases of games from big-name series, Lucca's Journey saw lengthy lineups forming outside stores as fans of the games clamored to be the first to get their hands on the anticipated title. Featuring over 300 new monsters and the ability to trade monsters and dungeons between the two chapters of the game, Dragon Quest Monsters 2 is certainly worthy of its hype.

Originally scheduled for release on March 20th, Dragon Quest Monsters 2 has experienced a number of release date changes, of which this one is evidently the latest. The second chapter of the game, Ill's Adventure, is slated for an April 20th release date. No North American release has been announced as yet.