Will “Dragon Quest XII” Be Completed After Losing Two Legends…? The “Heartfelt Reason” Why Fans Continue to Wait

Ironically, the “Announcement from Dragon Quest” served to highlight the seemingly endless turmoil that has come to define Japanese gaming history. Meanwhile, the decline in Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.’s stock price shows no signs of stopping, and it continues to languish even as we enter June—

On May 27—marking the 40th anniversary of the release of the first *Dragon Quest* game on May 27, 1986 (known as “Dragon Quest Day”)—a video titled “An Announcement from Dragon Quest” was posted on the official Square Enix YouTube channel.

However, what was presented after five years of silence was neither the completion of the game nor an announcement of its release date. Instead, the company revealed a revamp of its development structure, a redesign of the title logo, a change to the subtitle from “The Flame of Chosen Destiny” to “Beyond Dreams,” and the unexpected fact that development was essentially being restarted from scratch.

The Compelling Reasons Behind the Outpouring of Criticism

Let’s turn the clock back five years.

On May 27, 2021, during a special program commemorating the series’ 35th anniversary, the production of the latest installment, *Dragon Quest XII: The Flame of Chosen Destiny*, was announced with great fanfare. Accompanied by a title logo featuring a red flame blazing in the darkness, game designer Yuji Horii (72) stated:“It will be a dark Dragon Quest aimed at adults,” “Your lifestyle will change based on your choices, and the game itself will evolve,” and “We’re completely revamping the command-based battle system”—an ambitious concept that overturned the series’ traditional classic fantasy formula.

Fans around the world rejoiced and dreamed of a grand adventure on the latest gaming hardware. However, this was followed by a long period of silence.With only the logo revealed—and the supported hardware, gameplay footage, and release date all shrouded in mystery—years passed without a word. Online, unsettling rumors continued to circulate, such as “development is completely stalled” and “the project has fallen apart time and again.”

During that interminably long wait, tragedy struck the fanbase: Koichi Sugiyama (d. 2021, aged 90), who composed the music, and Akira Toriyama (d. 2024,aged 68), the two great creators who had long been the pillars of the series, passed away—a tragedy for fans.

With anxiety and impatience already at their peak, fans were met with this announcement—and the lack of concrete details led to a flood of disappointment and criticism.

Furthermore, the impact of the resulting stock price decline was staggering. On May 28, the day after the announcement, the stock price of “Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.” plummeted 5.2% from the previous day’s close to 2,565 yen, and continued to slide steadily without showing any signs of stabilizing.The closing price on June 23 was 2,392 yen 50 sen, marking a decline of 11.5% (312 yen) from the 2,704 yen 50 sen recorded on the day before the announcement—a drop that occurred in just over a month.The reason the market delivered such a harsh verdict is that the new information about the latest installment, *Dragon Quest XII*, announced on the symbolic 40th anniversary of the nationally beloved *Dragon Quest* series, fell far short of expectations.

“To put it another way, this effectively means resetting everything they’ve been working on for the past five years and rebuilding from almost scratch. While the appointment of hit-maker Yosuke Saito (55) as the new producer is a positive development, the scale of this reboot is simply too massive.For the market, the uncertainty of ‘having to wait yet another several years’ was viewed as a major risk to the company’s earnings outlook,” said a gaming industry insider.

While questions remain about this 180-degree shift in direction…

The uncertainty surrounding Square Enix—specifically, the lack of a clear release date—has cemented investors’ distrust. On the other hand, the reactions from fans swirling across the internet and social media reveal an extremely complex spectrum of sentiment that cannot be dismissed as mere disappointment or market indifference. Furthermore, the industry insider continues:

“What caused a major stir was the fact that Yosuke Saito—a hit-maker known for the company’s popular ‘NieR’ series—was appointed as the new producer, succeeding former Executive Producer Yu Miyake.Although Mr. Miyake had served as the overall head of the ‘Dragon Quest’ series for many years, some media reports in the spring of ’24 stated that he had been transferred to another department as a measure to address development delays.

His sudden departure caused fans to fear that development had stalled, leading to rumors at the time that “Dragon Quest XII development has been canceled!” For this reason, Mr. Saito’s appointment has sparked reactions online such as “So there really were all sorts of behind-the-scenes conflicts after all,” reflecting a sense of understanding and relief regarding the long silence that had preceded it.Regarding the 180-degree shift from the originally planned dark theme to the “bright and exciting world” described by Mr. Horii, there is a sense of surprise—with many noting that “it’s a complete reboot”—but also a growing willingness to accept this new direction.”

At the same time, fans are letting out deep sighs of resignation. Social media is rife with a sense of exhaustion from waiting for a dream whose arrival is uncertain, with comments like, “If they’re restarting from scratch, how many more years until release?” and “Won’t the PS5’s lifecycle be over by then?”

“Above all, what weighs heavily on fans’ hearts is the presence of two legends—Mr. Sugiyama and Mr. Toriyama—who have passed away over the past five years. We hope the new management will somehow bring to fruition the final legacy they were involved in during their lifetimes.The timeline is filled with gratitude that their names remain in the credits, along with earnest prayers that the project won’t end up half-baked despite the prolonged development.” (Ibid.)

After much uncertainty, *Dragon Quest XII* changed its subtitle to *Beyond the Dream*. As fans waver between attachment and resignation, will this “dream” actually reach players’ hands safely?