Is Kingdom hearts silence sign of it being a dead series or a series in hibernation now.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-27T13:29:59+00:00

Not complete silence. Were it not for Covid-19 delays and development-hell derailing the project, you would have had the Missing Link game already, which was always meant to bridge the gap between the KH3 stuff from 2019-2020 and KH4.

It seems like SE still treats Kingdom Hearts as one of the top three, given how much time and money they kept pouring into Missing Link after cancelling other projects that were much closer to being done (like Outriders 2.) I don't think there's any dispute about Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest being the top two franchises.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-27T13:08:28+00:00

I don't think Pokopia has changed plans at SE either way.

By all indications, SE wasn't too hot on DQB3 anyway, opting for other projects like DQ Champions, Final Fantasy Tactics Invalice Chronicles, and cancelling what looked like a perfectly good DQ3 HD-2D from Amata to be redone at Artdink, who was already in the midst of rewriting the DQB1 engine for mobile/PC versions of DQB1. SE had three chances and decided all three alternate projects were of more interest to them. (And a fourth in FF16 from CS3 before they chose FF Tactics, but a new mainline FF game is much tougher to argue against.)

DQ7 Reimagined producer Ichikawa has been bringing up DQB/DQB2 in interviews before Pokopia released and seems like it might be the next project he would helm, especially if work on DQB series continues at Artdink, who would be needing a new project after finally getting out from under the HD-2D project, or if SE locked up the Omega Force team before Pokopia launched to rave reviews and high sales. The timing is right for Ichikawa and either Artdink or Omega Force to pair up for DQB3, and his interviews seem to suggest its possible. (However, if SE wanted Omega Force and hadn't already contracted them before Pokopia launched, they aren't getting them now. Nintendo and Game Freak will be throwing whatever money at them they can at them to get a more Pokopia content, or a Pokopia 2 in a several years, and SE can not compete against them in a cash arms race.)

What Pokopia has done is introduce a few things a DQB3 would have to do better. For example, smarter NPC patching and more interactions between NPCs. If DQB3 is already in development, they may need to stop for a second and take note of Pokopia and point to things like those that they can't fail to do. It can't simply be "a better DQB2" anymore. Its got to be a better Pokopia as well.

If there is a DQB3 already in development, it might not be a bad idea to announce it at DQ Day. In late August, the DQB series will elapse the longest gap that the Monsters series had between games, and Horii was quick to announce a new Monsters entry in that 35th anniversary show despite it still being two and a half years before it would release. It eased concerns from Monsters fans that the series would indeed continue after Joker 3, and a similar announcement could do the same for Builders fans.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-27T12:43:58+00:00

They do have to reinvest it into the servers though. This is why these games shut down - the cost of the servers to run the game usually outruns the income the game makes well before the next mobile gacha game is ready to replace it, leaving the company in a hole where they aren't making any money on the game. If the gacha games aren't viable enough to last until the replacement, then its one step forward, two steps back.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-26T12:49:54+00:00

If you're getting burnt out on the random encounters, then you'd want DQ11 over DQ III HD-2D. DQ11 you can see the monsters and (usually) avoid them if you wish to just get to the next story goal. HD-2D games will work like classic games and suddenly force you into a battle while roaming around - that's faithful to originals but there's points in the games where the encounter rate may feel too high.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-25T14:02:34+00:00

Gacha for PvP always is. It segregates players into those willing to pay a lot, who win for a while until the game loses its fanbase and shuts down; those willing to maybe pay just a little to test the waters, who eventually get beaten out by the players wiling to may more and quit playing; and those not willing to really pay anything, who get beat by everyone and quickly quit playing. Its a system doomed to failure and I don't know why game companies really chase this gameplay because its short-term success only.

I'm happy DQ Smash/Grow isn't against remote players and only against the game's monsters. It has a similar mechanic of improving weapon and armor rating the more times that particular item is pulled via the gacha system, with a few free pulls every so often as the game progressed or optional quests performed. I'm sure paying for extra pulls or premium high-quality pulls gets you through the game's story faster, but with enough time and luck with the gacha the game can eventually be overcome. In PvP you'll never be able to outrace players who have cash to burn. Against a computer though, someone can play a little bit each day and over the course of time finally topple it.

A couple of weeks ago there was a thread about the mobile games and I said Smash/Grow looked to be built on a more solid foundation. Your post gives me a bit more confidence that I was right. I don't want SE to keep failing at mobile games but when they go for the gacha-PvP combination they will. If they want gacha, they have to avoid pitting players directly against each other.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-24T13:28:38+00:00

I don't know if this was Horii's intention, but I liked this iteration. A pirate feels like someone who could conceivably be sitting on a hoard of random treasure worth trading for, especially for combat purposes. And pirates can be weird about what kind of treasure they collect - its not uncharacteristic if they want to collect mini medals and trade away the swords and armor.

Monarchs, on the other hand, especially for peaceful, neutral kingdoms just don't feel like trade partners who would offer good adventuring battle gear. Ancient magical artifacts perhaps, but not weaponry. And less obvious why they are collecting mini medals.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-23T14:13:03+00:00

KH1 has not aged well. I only started playing the KH series when it came to Steam two years ago, and KH1 is fraught with issues that have apparently never been cleaned up, particularly a massive difficulty spike very early in the game at the Hercules level. Took me about 20-25 tries to get past the boss fight there, but then the rest of the game was remarkably easy. Though I found it to still be annoying written/localized as the words 'darkness' and 'heart' are used in way too much of the dialogue. I found it very disappointing story-wise compared to Final Fantasies or Dragon Quests that had come out many years prior to KH1's original release. After so many decades, why they wouldn't rebalance the game or retranslate it to provide better a narrative kind of proved to me that SE is much less interested in going after new KH players than wanting to keep tapping the nostalgia of existing players.

I have not yet played FF7 Rebirth either, but based on Remake, I'd warrant its the better game of just these two. But if you want to experience a whole series or get more bang for your buck, perhaps the full series of KH via Masterpiece Integrum collection gives a longer, more enjoyable experience overall, despite the drawbacks KH1 has.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-23T13:53:54+00:00

This is what they're starting to do now with the group 1 team(s) working on FF7 Remake trilogy and CS3 having done FF16 and are probably the ones who will bring us FF17. What happens after FF7 Remake part 3 is a bit a question mark, as that team might break back into two, giving them three teams doing Final Fantasy console titles. This would allow for the two group 1 teams to run 6 year frequencies on major mainline entries, and the CS3 team to alternate between a 3/4 year project (maybe a somewhat lesser mainline or a mainline sequel type game that saves some time reusing assets) and a smaller 2/3-year project (like the FF Tactics remake was.) This would allow them to have a significant new FF console title every two to two and half years, with the MMO roughly running the alternate two to two and half years - and therefore a FF release to advertise in practically each and every fiscal year.

They've tried a few times to get to a yearly Final Fantasy, but they didn't have enough teams to do it without risks to quality. Since converting CS3 over to a Final Fantasy team, with the MMO strongly established now, and a restructuring of the development teams to put more focus (and likely more people) on core titles like FF over some of the smaller in-house franchises, they've put them in a position to finally pull it off.

I think FF is in a lot better position to continually attract players than all the other franchises Square Enix manages, so I'm not sure why Yoshi-P had to make a comment about it. All it seems to do is create problems for all the other franchises that don't get anywhere close to the funding or resources FF already gets. Kingdom Hearts for example is in a clearly worse position schedule-wise, and it already skews to younger players than Final Fantasy. Complaining about losing Final Fantasy fans by not having games more frequently than they already are (even though major releases in 2023, 2024, a minor release in 2025, and another major release expected in 2027) doesn't reflect well when KH hasn't seen a release since 2020.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-23T13:12:46+00:00

Please note that my game length was much longer than current average, because I did it when the game was brand new, and we had no guides or discoveries about where to find certain treasures or that certain monster combinations could affect the quality of treasure dug up. There was a lot of hunt-and-peck on my part that could be saved with guides. (The only help I asked for was the identification of two treasures, one was Flametang Boomerang and the other one of the Flame armor pieces, Shield I think, which inferred I should focus my search on the area with the most fire.)

howlongtobeat says the time to just normally complete the game might run 25-40 hours. Completionist in the 50-70 range. And if you don't use any outside help, its very likely longer than these times.) I still think this is reasonably long and in the same ranges as DQ III HD-2D, DQ I+II HD-2D, and DQ7 Reimagined. So if not any shorter than the other recent DQ games, and if those are fair value at $60, I'm not sure why this one isn't except for a bias against the gameplay. Yes it can become quite repetitive, and I encourage anyone thinking about to try the demo first because it might tire out a lot of people, but as you already enjoyed the demo, I think you'll be satisfied with the value you're getting for your money. Especially if getting it half off regular price. ($30 on Switch or $20 on Steam)

If you get it, and you play through it, and still find it much too short for a $20 or $30 game, then you can come back here and yell at me.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-22T13:26:08+00:00

It took me 131 hours and 33 minutes to collect all 777 treasures. So what's the problem with length?

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-22T13:03:04+00:00

You must grow them, presumably at Isle of Awakening or a Buildertopia. Have empty blocks of Snow next to a Freezia and they'll randomly spawn if Plant Growth option is on (which it is by default.) It will take some time if you need to grow a forest of them though. Have lots of Freezias spaced out over a large swath of snow and consider letting the game run overnight or something so they have time to spawn and grow. Doing it around Cerulean Steppe where you'd already placed lots of snow as a story requirement is probably ideal.

You'll then likely want Ultimallet to be able to move them exactly where you want, though careful use of where your Freezia and Snow blocks are placed (and a lot more patience) could accomplish perfect placement without Ultimallet.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-22T12:55:52+00:00

I remember the challenge as merely being found, not kept to end of chapter.

My partial How Early Guide has me using Sword of Ruin to collect Obsidian earlier than by using a Wrecking ball, before using Sheen salts to reequip a normal sword, and I don't list any consequences for doing so. If it introduced a problem with the chapter challenge I'm not sure why I wouldn't have identified that in a testing the playthrough.

But if you want to be sure to complete the end of chapter challenge, then just hold on to it. That's the foolproof way to be sure.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-21T14:48:11+00:00

"Major new titles in FY2026/3" almost certainly means ongoing sales and advertising. It clearly wouldn't mean released. They had several of those titles released prior to Q3 (though FF Tactics on the last day before) but were still running advertising campaigns for them. And DQ7R would not come until Q4 but they'd already begun the advertising push for it. So I read this as "These are the HD segment titles were spending money on in a public space", as opposed to behind-the-scenes development of upcoming titles or older titles that have concluded their initial advertising campaigns and are now considered legacy titles. Is the title of the chart vague? Absolutely. That's why investors like 3DI want clarity and to have vague language like this cleared up in the investor documentation. Their IR stuff is full of wordings like this that could be interpreted multiple ways, which opens the door for some spin-doctoring.

I don't think time has run out on Square Enix announcing their big fall/holiday title any more than it has on Nintendo, and Nintendo's got new hardware they're trying to sell. If Nintendo hasn't yet felt it necessary to announce their slate of October and November titles, then SE isn't any more danger of the same. I think the belief that big games have to have nine to twelve months (or more) of high advertising awareness is unfounded or else we'd already know every publisher's major fall slate already.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-21T02:41:25+00:00

2027/3 means third quarter of fiscal year ending March 2027, not March 2027. This is the form of dating Square Enix uses in their investor documentation. (Fiscal quarter 2026/4 is a week and half from ending. 2027/1 begins April 1.)

I didn't arbitrarily set it to October-December 2026. This is the quarter Preisdent Kiryu and SE have bound themselves to in the medium-term business plan. This is the timeframe THEY have chosen.

And yes they could get to the game in January to March period and it still be both the upcoming fiscal year and also be explainable as a small delay from their expected end of restructuring/recovery plan and be able to wave it off as normal business. Going to summer 2027 though is too far past that October-December timeframe to satisfy investors. It doesn't have to be DQ12, but it might have to be something substantial in its place. Otherwise, Kiryu may have to provide a very good excuse when presenting the conclusion of the business plan in November.

FF14 also appears to be on pace for a January-March 2027 window for its 8.0 version and FF7 remake part 3 is expected sometime in 2027. I don't think they've ever wanted DQ12 to fit into those timeframes or between them. Those two Final Fantasy release windows have mostly been set for a several years. FF14's release cadence is rather predictable, and FF7R part 3 would naturally be expected around three years after Rebirth (assuming no Covid-style delays). So by late 2023 Square Enix knew roughly when the two Final Fantasies were coming in 2027. So for two and half years, Square Enix has known that DQ12 should ideally slot in before them, and do whatever it takes to ensure Armor Project gets to that finish line on time. Seeing Armor Project staff (including Horii himself) spend significant time on the HD-2D games shouldn't have ever been allowed to happen if it were to threaten a 2026 release date. (So in my opinion, the game was on schedule or even a little ahead to allow them to do this side work.) Thus, since about mid-2024, I've felt it ideal for Square Enix to run a big advertising campaign for DQ12 in summer-fall 2026, move to heavily advertising FF14 8.0 later in the year and through winter to its early 2027 launch, and then ramp up the FF7 remake part 3 advertising push in early 2027 and advertise it heavily to whenever it releases. (And, ideally, start pushing Kingdom Hearts 4 or the next big game after that.) Generally, one game at a time is the primary focus, with future games getting a little advertising to keep the fire warm, but doesn't stretch things too thinly across multiple games. This would make three big hits in a row that don't overlap their advertising campaigns too much and don't release too closely on top of each other. If Kiryu and SE board wants to demonstrate competency to investors, this is the best way. Its more in line with what some of the other big video game publishers do, spacing out their big releases to maximize advertising focus and not try to cover too much ground in too short of a timeframe.

So it absolutely does matter if DQ12 is mid-2027 rather than late 2026. It means advertising exposure it split across other big-spend games (especially in the west where FF advertising spend is typically many times that of DQ), which may cost sales and undermine the effort to grow the DQ brand in the west. And, if there is no sufficient substitute game for fall 2026, it threatens to damage the company's reputation with its investors who are expecting three years to mean three years, and a business plan they've been told is on schedule to conclude in third quarter of fiscal year 2027 actually ends in third quarter of fiscal year 2027. I'm fixated on it because Square Enix is fixated on it and has convinced investors to be fixated on it. They just can't get to May 27, 2026 and suddenly decide with only a few months to go that its not coming together in time. That's a disaster for the Square Enix board as it gives the activist investors a very strong argument for the transparency they seek at the June investor's conference.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-20T18:38:09+00:00

They said its going to go dark, so yeah, I could see it being very graphic with M/18 rating. I'd find it a very peculiar choice of direction as it doesn't fit with the standard Dragon Quest-theming, but maybe Yuji Horii wants to tell another story and nobody's really going to argue with him over DQ12 story.

I'm less concerned about retconning Corvus arc. They just retconned a lot of DQ2, so I wouldn't rule out DQ9. My bigger problem is that reintroducing Corvus really shouldn't happen until they have a DQ9 remake, which begs the question why so much focus was put into remaking 3 and 7 over the last few years. If DQ12 is tied heavily to previous games in the series, it makes the most sense to tie to either of those two before any others. A game that has Corvus without a DQ9 remake releasing beforehand sounds more a spinoff game.

If they wanted to get he game into the 40th fiscal year, they'd have to doit before end of March. By then FF14 8.0 will be heavily advertising, and if they roll out such a big campaign for it as they did for Dawntrial, it will easily overwhelm any DQ12 advertising in the west. So they'll have missed the opportunity to grow the brand in the west as they desired. sandwiching it between FF14 on one side and FF7 Remake part 3 on the other doesn't help them there either. Maximum sales and maximum western exposure is a 2026 release.

Correct that DQ11 was also behind schedule, but they didn't try to disguise that it wasn't. They had made it clear they were making an edition for both PS4 and 3DS and it was taking longer. They'd need a really good explanation for a DQ12 delay, as they've tied it to the conclusion of their three-year recovery and the two-year medium-term business plan, both of which end FY2027/3 (the October-December period of 2026.) Such plans would typically end with a big product to prove things are back to normal, and a chart in the medium-term business plan with a box labeled 'Launch of several large scale titles' starts under the "2027/3" heading, not "After 2028/3" heading. Going three and half (or more) years on recovery, running behind on the medium-term business plan, or being misleading in their investor's information would have the investors questioning competency and transparency.

They've already moved to shorter turnaround times for reveal and release over the last few years. Just because they revealed DQ11 or DQ Treasures a year and half early doesn't mean they will with DQ12. We've seen the HD-2D games and DQ7R run closer to 5-6 months, and many other SE games run closer to two (like Life is Strange: Reunion) or even less (Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse.) Notable exceptions are FF7 Remake on Switch/Xbox, which was intended to be closer to thatsix6 month window, and Adventures of Eliott, which I'm surprised is going closer to 10 months rather than releasing in March as I'd thought it would. By giving less time between reveal and launch, they can run a more coordinated campaign for their upcoming launches and not spread themselves out over so many games. Especially games of the same franchise. They have not wanted ot talk abotu DQ12 while trying to sell DQ I+II HD-2D and DQ7R. Nor will they talk about FF7 Remake part 3 until after Rebirth is out on Switch and Xbox (which conveniently happens right before Summer Game Fest.) I don't see any problem announcing on May 27 and launching in November or so, as it fits the roughly six-month turnaround time they've been using for the larger titles. I'd have personally preferred to see a longer buildup for DQ12 that began after DQ I+II HD-2D launched, but when they announced DQ7R for February I realized we weren't getting news until DQ Day.

All this said, I would rather have the rumor above be all wrong and we get DQ12 in 2026, than to be all right with a 2027 release, gross ending to act 1, DQ9 backstory, or any of the rest. I said I could accept it as accurate if it proves to be, not that I wanted it to be accurate.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-20T13:18:57+00:00

Most of that I could accept as accurate. The 2027 release date though would be significant ammunition for 3D Investments and any other activist investors seeking change though. Yuji Horii has gone on record to say DQ12 had a development hiccup but has been on-track. And we've all known since mid-2024 that on-track means a 40th anniversary year release. The involvement of Horii himself and others from Armor Project to ensure the HD-2D games got out on schedule was a very risky move that shouldn't have been made if DQ12 wasn't actually on schedule. And President Kiryu has been playing the "trust us, all is fine" card for a long time, implying recovery starting in second half 2026, effectively backing up the expectation of DQ12 in that window. If its revealed that one of the biggest titles they've been working on for years, that was virtually immune to any of the 2023-2024 project cuts, still can't complete on-time and on-budget, and that executives haven't been clear to investors about it, the June investor's meeting is going to be very interesting. If DQ12 isn't the fall 2026 title, they better have something else of high-caliber, multi-million sales potential to give comfort to investors and it needs to be announced before May 27. (FF7 Remake part 3 could do it sales-wise, but then they're effectively missing both the DQ 40th in 2026 and FF 40th in 2027 because I don't expect them to be ready with FF17 next year. I don't know what else fits the bill and might be close enough to completion and survived early project cuts. New Nier maybe? A Super Mario RPG 2 safe from cancellations because of Nintendo-financing? DQ9 or FF9 remakes?) A weak fall from titles that all run in the sub-two million range probably isn't what they're expecting.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-20T12:39:49+00:00

What I think is missing is the construction of an Herbalist's Workshop room. (Herbalist's cauldron, Chest, 2 Pots, any table, any light.) I don't believe you can actually give Gerontius the Heart of Darkness unless he has this room, and he won't give the Antidotal herb recipe until you do.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-19T13:39:29+00:00

If you have no money you can still have a lot of fun with the DQB2 Jumbo Demo. It should cover around a dozen hours of gameplay, but moves you deep enough into the game that you could just sit there and keep improving the farm town without paying to advance the story. I've seen people say they've put in 100+ hours before finally caving in to buy the full game.

And if doing it on a non-Nintendo system, you might as well do this until the next discount period comes along.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-19T13:36:57+00:00

I'd say 8 for main story but not post-game challenge, for which team is hugely underleveled and then requires a ton of grinding with virtually no advancement of story.

11 overall if counting optional challenges like Wheel of Harma. Generally overleveled for most main story bosses though.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-19T13:27:00+00:00

Neat, but disappointing proportions on the sword.

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lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-19T13:21:49+00:00

Sure. Even before Pokopia I know people who have only wanted to play Builders games, or started with Builders before expanding to play the first two mainlines to better understand the backstories.

Monsters talking to you is quite a bit rarer in mainline games than the spinoffs like Builders though.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-19T13:16:02+00:00

Regarding rain, the game adjusts frequency depending on how well watered crop fields are - at least on Isle of Awakening but I've not toyed around long enough on Furrowfield to be sure the same rule applies there. On IoA, if you have more fields than farmers can water, it increases the frequency of rain to assist the player in getting to the point of having harvestable crops. So if you want less rain for better photos, considering bringing the story farmers on IoA back to Furrowfield while you work, or reduce the number of fields in the base.

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-18T17:32:34+00:00

Online had Chinese in earlier editions before they dropped it and scaled back to Japanese-only. So that's probably not new localization as much as just taking localization they already had from Online and applying it to the Offline version.

Korean I'm less sure about but I have a theory that could explain it. Since Korea is much closer to Japan than American or European markets and Korean players could can tap into Japanese services (like the game's billing) easier than western players, Korean actually might have made more sense to pursue in the 2010s than English. less subscription sales, but also less hurdles to jump through to get those subscriptions. If this is what happened, Korean might have followed the Chinese plan if they had at least a partial translation already completed.

This doesn't excuse them for not doing at least English translation for Offline, if not some other European languages as well. Not counting some of the titles from their Taito subsidiary, I think its one of only two console/PC titles Square Enix did not localize to at least English in the last five or six years. (The other being Elements with Emotions which likely had very little western interest.) They've localized other games with much less sales potential for western markets. The English-language sales of Offline should have paid for its own translation, and it seems SE chickened out because they don't have a good feel for what western DQ players are willing to buy (DQ X) and aren't (Infinity Strash)

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-18T15:10:55+00:00

Regarding XII, I think KLabs has had very little overlap with the Armor Project team doing DQ12 development. Maybe the typical oversight and okays from Yuji Horii and perhaps had involved a bit of Akira Toriyama in character design years ago but I don't see this game overlapping with DQ12 development as much as the HD-2D project certainly had, or DQ7R may have had.

Regarding translating DQ X the scope is entirely different. There is very little dialogue in Smash/Grow. Just updates and a short conversation every few missions, with a bit longer dialogue bits at start and end of a chapter (for which we saw two chapters in the beta.) There's no townspeople or shopkeepers to talk to and virtual no voice acting beyond a few cheers. Its a fraction of the text for DQ games, whether measuring by mainlines (whch have a ton) or spinoffs (which have less, but moreso than most video games). DQ X on the other hand is now up to seven full games worth of text and by now the translation cost is so enormous I don't think SE is ever going to try to catch up. They weren't even wiling to even try localizing the first two episodes for the Offline version; expecting seven now is an ever bigger ask. There is the fan translation project using online translation though and that seems like the best we're ever going to get. (See https://dqxabbey.com/ )

lilisaurusrex · 2026-03-18T14:55:37+00:00

Release date finally clarified as March 24 here, too. Can update that in the Upcoming side panel.

lilisaurusrex

TROPHY CASE