Dragon Quest Heroes

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (ドラゴンクエストヒーローズ　闇竜と世界樹の城, Doragon Kuesuto Hīrōzu Yami Ryū to Sekaiju no Shiro) is the first Japanese Dragon Quest title to be named Heroes, the first Dragon Quest to be localized in Taiwan, and the fifth third party Omega Force collaboration. It was first revealed to the public at the end of SCEJA Press Conference 2014. Early news announcements for the game were made in Weekly Shonen Jump magazines.

Direction and production is handled by Square-Enix, and gameplay is being done by Omega Force. Yuji Horii is the general director, Akira Toriyama is the character designer, and Koichi Sugiyama is music composer. The Square-Enix producer is Ryota Aomi. Tomohiko Sho is the Koei-Tecmo director and Kenichi Ogasawara is the Koei-Tecmo producer.

The particular Omega Force members assigned to this project have worked on Warriors games and Toukiden; Horii added that they are Dragon Quest fans who offered several creative suggestions to the Dragon Quest creators. According to Horii, the concept began when Square-Enix executives wanted an action adaptation of the Enix series for its return to the PS consoles; it is a game to tide fans over for the wait for Dragon Quest XI. Kou Shibusawa remarked that it is a dream title for both publishers. The general goal for this title was to make an easy game that anyone can enjoy without having to read the manual.

Buy the game new to receive Dragon Quest protagonist costumes for Act and Mar. Various weapon serial codes are available if the game is purchased from a particular Japanese store. The PS4 Metal Slime edition (December 11, 2014) includes an original downloadable theme based on this game and a Dragon Quest III protagonist costume code for the main protagonists. Purchase the PS4 version of this title with the PS4 port of Final Fantasy Reishiki HD for a chance to receive a limited time PS4 cover and theme.

Plot
The setting is the peaceful country Elsaize. People and monsters lived in harmony until the monsters mysteriously went berserk. Humanity is surrounded by the monster armies and use anything they can to survive. The nefarious Helmut schemes to plunge the world into darkness.

Gameplay
For the main narrative, players can choose either Act (male) or Mar (female) to be their main protagonist. The world map includes kingdoms besides Elsaize, and the scenario is split to accommodate each kingdom's perspective of the story. Hover the pointer over each location to access its available battles.

The airship Batoshie acts as the player's base in between combat. It has the following facilities for the main party:
 * Blacksmith: run by regular Dragon Quest blacksmith; standard place to purchase and enhance weapons.
 * Armor Orb Shop: boost equipment attributes using Armor Orbs.
 * Luida's Bar: place for personal events and to switch characters in main party. Four members is the maximum capacity for each party. Defeated monsters can join the party after the team has collected their coin; one monster of each type can be summoned and they can only be allies within the same area they were defeated.
 * Alchemy Pot: Dragon Quest standard; grants ability to fuse items and weapons for a new creation. Accessories can be gained from it. Known recipes will be saved for later use.

Battle controls and gameflow resembles most Warriors titles with normal attacks dubbed "Attack 1" and charge attacks are named "Attack 2". Jumping and dodging (R2) are two separate commands. Similar to the One Piece titles, button combos for movesets are unique to each character. Health is measured by visual number counters and experience levels up characters in real time. Leveling up unlocks skills which characters can learn if they have enough levels and skill points; each character is unique.

The player is limited to controlling one character at a time, but they can switch between characters at whim (L2). If a character runs out of health, another party member can raise them if they are adjacent to one another. Restorative items can be used instantly in combat by using the directional pad (select: ← or →; use: ↑). R3 can lock-on to targets.

Characters can use multiple special abilities/magic (R1 + or  or undefined or ) which are callbacks to Dragon Quest moves. They deplete Mana Points (MP) to use and cannot be performed unless the player has the proper amount of MP. MP naturally regenerates over time. Additional techniques can be learned by leveling up and using skill points. Players can swap the two R triggers if they are having trouble using their respective commands.

A character builds "Tension" while dealing or suffering damage or picking up a battlefield item for it. Once it peaks into "Super High Tension", the character begins to glow a pinkish hue. Characters temporarily become invincible, gain the ability to double jump, and have altered actions. Press while they are in this state to end their hyper state and perform their Finishing Blow.

Dragon Quest monsters and humans serve as enemies. Giant monsters have unique attributes, stage gimmicks, and weak points to separate them from the mobs. Characters are fully voiced in battle and cutscenes.

Downloadable content so far includes battles with previous Dragon Quest villains and character centric sub stories for the returning Dragon Quest characters.

Characters
Absent Dragon Quest protagonists will cameo as alternate costumes for the playable cast.

Main Party

 * Act
 * Mar
 * Dirk
 * Giulietta
 * Homiron
 * Alena
 * Kiryl
 * Maya
 * Bianca
 * Nera
 * Terry
 * Jessica
 * Yangus
 * Psaro - DLC

Bosses

 * Dragon
 * Golem
 * King Leo
 * Helmut
 * Kandar - DLC
 * Mortamor - DLC
 * Bjørn the Behemoose - DLC
 * Zoma - DLC
 * Nokturnus - DLC

Related Media
The producer is scheduled to present details and demonstrate gameplay for Sony PlayStation's Yuohsen presentations (September 18, 12:00~12:30 JST and September 20, 16:00~16:30 JST) and Square-Enix's Square-Enix Stage Live (September 18, 13:15~13:45 JST) at Tokyo Game Show 2014. Dengeki Online held a follow up interview with Aomi.

The latest information for the game is scheduled to be broadcast on Niconico Live October 10, 21:00 (JST) and October 28, 16:00 (JST). Shoko Nakagawa (Alena) wore a costume of her character and will continuing wearing the same outfit while co-hosting Ametaaaalk's ongoing Dragon Quest Geinin segments.

A play test booth and a fully voiced promotional video will be shown at Jump Festa 2015. Horii, Aomi, Ogasawara, and Eir Aoi presented the game on stage December 21.

Three consumers who consecutively purchase Volumes 580~583 of Dengeki PlayStation can follow the steps for their present campaign and have a chance to win the Metal Slime edition. To celebrate the game's sales date, PlayStation Japan is hosting a marketing gimmick at Shinjiku. Participants are encouraged to press down on the special puffy 100,000 slime mural. Staff members will count the results and report them online on the campaign site. If all the slime are defeated, a special reward is promised for players.

Lawson hosted a lottery campaign typical with the latest Dragon Quest titles for this game January 2015. Character memopads can be received at Lawson stores in February. Buying either the game or any item for the lottery will play the Dragon Quest level up sound effect at the store register. Dragon Quest Heroes Alena and Terry figurines are two of the known prizes. A Homiron push doll is available for purchase.

Rakuten Books is hosting a giveaway for its userbase. Rakuten users can bet on a specific slime and purchase the game from them for a chance to receive 10 Super Coins.

Square-Enix is hosting a movie and screenshot contest for players. Submissions must fit a selected theme to be considered and are being judged by Aomi, Ogsawara, and V Jump's Saito V. Winners receive autographed merchandise. Three winners can receive an additional Homiron Slime memorial figurine.

Trivia

 * Luida's Bar is a recurring Dragon Quest location and an actual Square-Enix sponsored bar in Tokyo.