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| Brett Wooley |
The anticipation just keeps building.
12.30.15 - 3:56 PM
Let's get back up to speed on the latest from Dragon Quest Builders. So far we know of three playable lands that offer different creatures, environments, and experiences that will be accessible by the "Travel Gate". Travel between these areas are encouraged, as new recipes and blueprints warrant the need for materials from them:
- Merkid: The beginning of the game, surrounded by grasslands, mountains, deserts, and caves. Monsters vary by the region, as will the materials they drop upon defeat. The differences in this area may serve as the tutorial for the game, given its' variety and focus on village building/defending.
- Rimuldar: Once Merkid is restored, you visit a new location under assault by disease. Your objectives here are to build a hospital for a healing nun, search for a doctor, and rescue afflicted humans that require treatment. There's also a training dojo led by monsters, which is unclear as to whether this is for the player to join or fight within.
- Maira or Myra (featured in a recent publication of Weekly Jump): A desolate land of rock and lava ruled by the mighty Amelda. Players will use rail cars or other vehicles to quickly move around the location, and even smash into monsters that get in the way. Sometimes players will have to lay the tracks down, for the rail car, to access different areas, as being on foot will decrease HP there. Myra houses a mysterious stronghold in the lava zone, stronger enemies, opportunities to craft weapons (like cannons), and a hot spring that gives you access to special food recipes. As you work to restore Myra, you will even help lead Amelda's men into battle.
After completing the objectives in Merkid, an "unknown island" becomes accessible. The island is considered a "free play" area, where the player can build their own structures, fight against monsters you discover in story mode to collect their materials, and even fight in a battle area with special tickets that could award you with blueprints or recipes. The structures that players build can be shared on the Playstation Network.
Through recent streams posted on the Square Enix Japan YouTube channel, more of the gameplay elements of Dragon Quest Builders are becoming clear:
- Weapons and armor have cosmetic effects on the player and a finite durability. The type of equipment you use is also important, as some are more effective to use than others when harvesting. Attacks can even be charged to use in combat, or to harvest more materials in a swing.
- The flora on the field can be harvested to make poultices and food, which is important to have when venturing out to fight and explore. This won't be a surprise to Minecraft players, but fans of open-world WRPG's and MMORPG's will enjoy this type of crafting.
- Walls built out of a weaker material, can be reinforced with a stronger materials in larger sections. Players can overlay more than a dozen blocks at a time, instead of meticulously changing each one.
- Monsters can randomly raid the inside of a town and start attacking the people in it. Fortifying these locations will be important, as monsters can break through or jump over the walls. Luckily, some of the townspeople are equipped to fight the monsters off. Boss battles look to be serious business, as they can wipe out large sections of the town with their attacks.
Dragon Quest Builders will be released in Japan on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita on January 28th, 2016. Check out our article about some of the pre-order bonuses you can get, as well as our updated media gallery.
