Dragon Quest recently 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 where Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate will go with its narrative and world design.
The official Dragon Quest Twitter also recently revealed that the newest game will be running on Unreal Engine 5, the latest game engine from Epic Games. Though not much of Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate has 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.
Dragon Quest Shifting to Unreal Engine 5
The recent confirmation that Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate will be powered by Unreal Engine 5 indicates a new visual direction given that Dragon Quest 11 was 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 the Dragon Quest series. Despite the lack of information revealed about Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate so far, series creator Yuji Horii notes that it will be depart from some of the traditional elements of Dragon Quest. For example, the combat system is being revamped as Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate will 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 that Dragon Quest 11 experimented with open-world design during its development, it might be interesting to see if Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate goes in a similar direction or at the very least, uses Unreal Engine 5 to place a heavier emphasis on exploration. The mechanics of Dragon Quest games have 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 that Dragon Quest games have a distinct artistic style thanks to character designer Akira Toriyama. The texture quality in previous Dragon Quest games are purposely rendered in a way to enhance the traditional anime-styled design. Unlike franchises such as Final Fantasy that aim for elements of realism, Dragon Quest uses 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 that Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate might opt to reflect that tone change through 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 surrounding Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate are 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 Fate is in development for unspecified platforms.