Dragon Questrecently celebrated its 35th anniversary by revealing a number of new games including the latest mainline entry,Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate.After it promised to take the franchise in a darker direction, fans are excited to see whereDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fatewill go with its narrative and world design.
The officialDragon QuestTwitter also recently revealed that the newest game will be running on Unreal Engine 5, the latest game engine from Epic Games. Though not much ofDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fatehas been revealed yet, the use of Unreal Engine 5 implies that it’ll almost certainly arrive on new-gen consoles with upgraded visuals to match the franchise’s new direction.
RELATED:Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is Using Unreal Engine 5
Dragon Quest Shifting to Unreal Engine 5
The recent confirmation thatDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fatewill be powered by Unreal Engine 5indicates a new visual direction given thatDragon Quest 11was developed in Unreal Engine 4. Currently, Unreal Engine 5 is still in early access as the official release won’t be until early 2022 but it will have support for new-gen consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X. While the release platforms are unspecified, Unreal Engine 5 does support the Nintendo Switch despite the console not currently having any Unreal Engine 5 games.
Unreal Engine 5 likely marks a big shift in the potential for world and environmental design in theDragon Questseries.Despite the lack of information revealed aboutDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fateso far, series creator Yuji Horii notes that it will be depart from some of the traditional elements ofDragon Quest.For example, the combat system is being revamped asDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fatewill not feature turn-based battles.
Yuji Horii also stated that the game will nonetheless feel familiar for series veterans and players who aren’t used to action games. Given thatDragon Quest 11experimented with open-world design during its development, it might be interesting to see ifDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fategoes in a similar direction or at the very least, uses Unreal Engine 5 to place a heavier emphasis on exploration.The mechanics ofDragon Questgameshave always been interesting but it could greatly benefit from the upgraded visuals that Unreal Engine 5 brings.
Dragon Quest’s Artistic Style
Another interesting aspect of using Unreal Engine 5 is thatDragon Questgames have a distinct artistic stylethanks to character designer Akira Toriyama. The texture quality in previousDragon Questgames are purposely rendered in a way to enhance the traditional anime-styled design. Unlike franchises such asFinal Fantasythat aim for elements of realism,Dragon Questuses bolder lighting and gradient shading to portray the classic cel-shaded look.
With an entirely new engine and a darker direction though, it’s possible thatDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fatemight opt to reflect that tone changethrough a more realistic world design. While the cel-shaded look enhances Akira Toriyama’s character designs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a bigger emphasis on photorealism as the game takes advantage of Unreal Engine 5’s capabilities. Though details surroundingDragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fateare scarce, the confirmation that the game will be powered by Unreal Engine 5 gives a glimpse into the potential direction that Square Enix might take the series.
Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fateis in development for unspecified platforms.
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