Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Dragon Quest is a phenomenon in Japan that surpasses even Final Fantasy in popularity, and the ninth entry, Sentinels of the Starry Skies, was released directly and exclusively for the Nintendo DS. With this Square Enix made a bold move: it entrusted the biggest Japanese RPG brand to a handheld console and bet on what the DS did best, namely the wireless connection of players. The game came out in 2009 (in the West 2010) and became one of the best-selling titles in the series.

Compared to older entries, the ninth brought a fundamental change: for the first time the player creates their own hero and party members, choosing their vocation, appearance, and equipment. The story follows a celestial guardian who, after falling to earth, loses his divine essence and must recollect the lost fragments. The turn-based battles stayed true to the series' tradition, with the characteristic monster design from the workshop of Akira Toriyama, whose slimes are among the most recognizable icons of the gaming world.

The greatest charm, however, lay in the multiplayer. Up to four players could join a single party at any time and traverse dungeons together, which made Dragon Quest IX a genuine social event in Japan. Tied to this was the StreetPass system, where consoles exchanged data merely by players carrying them around in their pockets. Lines formed outside shops, people gathered over rare treasure maps, and the game lived far beyond the bounds of its own story.

There is an enormous amount of content in it. After finishing the main line, players are met by an extensive endgame with generated dungeons, collecting missions, and tougher bosses, so dozens of hours easily stretch into hundreds. The vocation system with the possibility of reassignment gives room for experimentation and for building your own ideal party.

Dragon Quest IX became a commercial hit and ranks among the most successful games of the entire DS console. It showed that a big traditional brand can be both modern and sociable without losing its soul. For fans of turn-based RPGs and for those seeking a game for long shared evenings, it is one of the defining titles of handheld gaming.

Why play: An extraordinarily extensive turn-based RPG with your own party creation and cooperation for up to four players. One of the best-selling and most-played titles of the entire DS library.