Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below | |
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Developer(s) | Omega Force |
Publisher(s) | Square Enix |
Director(s) | Tomohiko Sho |
Producer(s) | Ryota Aomi Kenichi Ogasawara |
Designer(s) | Michio Yamada |
Programmer(s) | Yu Ito |
Artist(s) | Akira Toriyama Kentaro Yamamoto Eiichiro Nakastu |
Writer(s) | Atsushi Narita |
Composer(s) | Koichi Sugiyama |
Series | Dragon Quest |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch |
Release | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
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Genre(s) | Action role-playing, hack and slash |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Middle Earth Otservlist. Your daily source of best open tibia servers! Quests located on the island Rookgaard (as opposed to the Mainland (Category:Mainland Quests)).
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below[1][a] is a hack-and-slash game developed by Omega Force and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released in Japan and Asia in February 2015,[2][3] and in North America, Australia and Europe only for PlayStation 4 in October 2015.[4][5] It was later released via Steam for Microsoft Windows in December 2015 for North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. The game received generally positive reviews, with a sequel Dragon Quest Heroes II being released in Japan during May 2016.[6]Dragon Quest Heroes would later be released with the sequel in a compilation for Nintendo Switch in Japan.
Gameplay[edit]
Dragon Quest Heroes mixes the hack-and-slash combat of Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series of video games with the characters, monsters, universe, and lore from Square Enix's Dragon Quest series. The game is much more heavy on RPG elements than most of Omega Force's other titles. The game has a roster of 13 characters that the player can choose from, each having unique weapons and abilities, some of these characters are fan favourite Dragon Quest characters but many other characters show up as NPCs.
Plot[edit]
The game is set in the Kingdom of Arba, where mankind and monsters live peacefully. One day, monsters began to attack mankind suddenly leading the captains of the Royal Guard, Luceus and Aurora, to recover the hearts of monsters.[7] The nefarious Velasco schemes to plunge the world into darkness by taking control of all the monsters in order to release the darkness dragon Shadroth: Lord of the Night.
Story[edit]
When a dark shockwave sweeps through the city of Arba, the monsters that once lived alongside the people in peace are driven into a frenzied rage. As either the hero Luceus or the heroine Aurora, the player joins forces with a cast of fan favorites from previous DRAGON QUEST titles, such as Alena, Bianca and Yangus, to bring the rampaging hordes of monsters to their senses and restore order to the kingdom.[8]
Development[edit]
Dragon Quest Heroes was developed by Omega Force, who are better known for their hack and slashDynasty Warriors franchise,[9] and published by Square Enix.
At a Sony Computer Entertainment Japan press conference on September 1, 2014, the game was announced by Yuji Horii.[2] As a promotion, a special edition PlayStation 4, featuring the metal slime from Dragon Quest, was released on December 11, 2014, selling 38,000 units in its first week.[10]
Reception[edit]
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Famitsu awarded Dragon Quest Heroes a 35/40.[13] More than 594,000 copies were sold in its first week, 325,000 on PS3 and 269,000 on PS4. Dragon Quest Heroes is currently the second best selling PS4 game in Japan, and the first not including hardware bundles.[14] In July 2015, Square Enix announced that they will release more Dragon Quest video games in the West if the company is satisfied with the sales of Heroes.[15] On July 28, 2015, Square Enix announced that the title had sold more than one million units.[16]
In the west, Dragon Quest Heroes received a mostly positive reception, with an average Metacritic score of 77 out of 100 (75 reviews) for the PS4 version, and 73 out of 100 (9 reviews) for the PC version.[11][12]
IGN awarded it a score of 6.2 out of 10, saying 'The joy of fighting defenseless creatures in Dragon Quest Heroes only lasts a short while.'[17]GameSpot awarded it a score of 8.0 out of 10, saying 'affords every lover of the franchise the rare opportunity to cause genocidal destruction with the kind of efficiency you cannot find in a turn-based RPG.'[18]
Sequel[edit]
As the game received positive reception, Square Enix announced that they would be developing a sequel for the game, titled Dragon Quest Heroes II.[19] ,[20] It was released for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita in Japan on May 27, 2016, and for the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe in April 2017.[16][21][22][23]
Dragon Quest Heroes I·II, a compilation featuring this game and the sequel, was released as a Japanese launch title for the Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017.[24]
Notes[edit]
- ^Known in Japanese as ドラゴンクエストヒーローズ 闇竜と世界樹の城 (Doragon Kuesto Hīrōzu Yamiryuu to Sekaiju no Shirolit. 'Dragon Quest Heroes: The Dark Dragon and the World Tree Castle').
References[edit]
- ^Robert Ramsey (2015-04-17). 'Bad News for Us Writers as Dragon Quest Heroes Gets a Massive Western Subtitle – Push Square'. Push Square. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
- ^ abMichael McWhertor (2014-09-01). 'Dragon Quest Heroes brings the series back to PlayStation in Dynasty Warriors style'. Polygon. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
- ^'Dragon Quest Heroes™: Yamiryuu to Sekaiju no Shiro'. PlayStation.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^Dan Seto (2015-02-25). 'Dragon Quest Heroes Coming to PS4 in 2015'. Sony Playstation Blog. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
- ^Karmali, Luke. 'Dragon Quest Heroes Release Date and Collector's Edition Revealed'. IGN. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ^Romano, Sal. 'Dragon Quest Heroes II debut trailer, gameplay, new details'. Gematsu. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^'[TGS 2014]100万体のモンスター軍が迫る! 「ドラゴンクエストヒーローズ 闇竜と世界樹の城」デモンストレーションステージをレポート'. 4gamer.com. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
- ^'Dragon Quest Heroes'. Dragon Quest Heroes. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
- ^Colin Moriarty (2014-09-01). 'Dragon Quest Heroes revealed for PlayStation 4'. IGN. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
- ^Ishaan (2014-12-23). 'The Dragon Quest Metal Slime Edition PS4 Sold 38,000 Units In Japan'. Siliconera. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
- ^ ab'Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below for PlayStation 4 Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ^ ab'Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ^ドラゴンクエストヒーローズ 闇竜と世界樹の城. 'ファミ通クロスレビュー: プラチナ殿堂 (35点)'
- ^「ドラゴンクエストヒーローズ 闇竜と世界樹の城」が合計59万4000本のヒットとなった「ゲームソフト週間販売ランキング+」. Aetas, Inc.
- ^Kollar, Philip (July 6, 2015). 'More Dragon Quest games could come to North America if Dragon Quest Heroes sells'. Polygon. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
- ^ abRomano, Sal (July 28, 2015). 'Dragon Quest Heroes II Slated Spring 2016 in Japan'. Gematsu. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^Mc Shea, Tom (October 14, 2015). 'Dragon Quest Heroes Review'. IGN. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^Concepcion, Miguel (October 7, 2015). 'Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^'新たなる冒険の幕開け!『ドラゴンクエストヒーローズⅡ』制作決定のお知らせ'. Square Enix. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^'Official Website'.
- ^Ashcraft, Brian. 'Square Enix Just Disappointed The Hell Out Of Dragon Quest Fans'. Kotaku. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^McWhertor, Michael (April 1, 2015). 'Dragon Quest Heroes 2 coming to PS3, PS4 and PS Vita'. Polygon. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^Romano, Sal. 'Dragon Quest Heroes II for PS4 coming to North America on April 25, Europe on April 28'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^Van Duide, Erren. 'Dragon Quest Heroes I and II coming to Nintendo Switch'. RPG Site. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dragon_Quest_Heroes:_The_World_Tree%27s_Woe_and_the_Blight_Below&oldid=906761181'
'Soria Moria' by Theodor Kittelsen: a hero glimpses the end of his quest.
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A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nation[1] and ethnic culture. In literature, the object of a quest requires great exertion on the part of the hero, who must overcome many obstacles, typically including much travel. The aspect of travel allows the storyteller to showcase exotic locations and cultures (an objective of the narrative, not of the character).[2] The object of a quest may also have supernatural properties, often leading the protagonist into other worlds and dimensions. The moral of a quest tale often centers on the changed character of the hero.
Quest objects[edit]
A Knight at the Crossroads by Viktor Vasnetsov
The hero normally aims to obtain something or someone by the quest, and with this object to return home.[3] The object can be something new, that fulfills a lack in his life, or something that was stolen away from him or someone with authority to dispatch him.[4]
Sometimes the hero has no desire to return; Sir Galahad's quest for the Holy Grail is to find it, not return with it. A return may, indeed, be impossible: Aeneas quests for a homeland, having lost Troy at the beginning of Virgil's Aeneid, and he does not return to Troy to re-found it but settles in Italy (to become an ancestor of the Romans).
If the hero does return after the culmination of the quest, he may face false heroes who attempt to pass themselves off as him,[5] or his initial response may be a rejection of that return, as Joseph Campbell describes in his critical analysis of quest literature, The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
If someone dispatches the hero on a quest, the overt reason may be false, with the dispatcher actually sending him on the difficult quest in hopes of his death in the attempt, or in order to remove him from the scene for a time, just as if the claim were sincere, except that the tale usually ends with the dispatcher being unmasked and punished.[6] Stories with such false quest-objects include the legends of Jason and Perseus, the fairy tales The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird, Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What, and the story of Beren and Lúthien in J. R. R. Tolkien's Silmarillion.
The quest object may, indeed, function only as a convenient reason for the hero's journey. Such objects are termed MacGuffins. When a hero is on a quest for several objects that are only a convenient reason for his journey, they are termed plot coupons.
Literary analysis[edit]
The quest, in the form of the Hero's Journey, plays a central role in the Monomyth described by Joseph Campbell; the hero sets forth from the world of common day into a land of adventures, tests, and magical rewards. Most times in a quest, the knight in shining armor wins the heart of a beautiful maiden/ princess.
Historical examples[edit]
An early quest story tells the tale of Gilgamesh, who seeks a secret to eternal life after the death of Enkidu, including the search for an emerald.
Another ancient quest tale, Homer's Odyssey, tells of Odysseus, whom the gods have cursed to wander and suffer for many years before Athena persuades the Olympians to allow him to return home. Recovering the Golden Fleece is the object of the travels of Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica. Psyche, having lost Cupid, hunted through the world for him, and was set tasks by Venus, including a descent into the underworld.
Many fairy tales depict the hero or heroine setting out on a quest, such as:
- East of the Sun and West of the Moon where the heroine seeks her husband
- The Seven Ravens where the heroine seeks her transformed brothers
- The Golden Bird where the prince sets out to find the golden bird for his father
Other characters may set out with no more definite aim than to 'seek their fortune', or even be cast out instead of voluntarily leaving, but learn of something that could aid them along the way and so have their journey transformed from aimless wandering into a quest.[7] Other characters can also set forth on quests — the hero's older brothers commonly do — but the hero is distinguished by his success.
'Vision of the Holy Grail' (1890) by William Morris
Many medieval romances sent knights out on quests. The term 'Knight-errant' sprang from this, as errant meant 'roving' or 'wandering'. Sir Thomas Malory included many in Le Morte d'Arthur. The most famous—perhaps in all of western literature—centers on the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. This story cycle recounts multiple quests, in multiple variants, telling stories both of the heroes who succeed, like Percival (in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival) or Sir Galahad (in the Queste del Saint Graal), and also the heroes who fail, like Sir Lancelot. This often sent them into a bewildering forest. Despite many references to its pathlessness, the forest repeatedly confronts knights with forks and crossroads, of a labyrinthine complexity.[8] The significance of their encounters is often explained to the knights—particularly those searching for the Holy Grail—by hermits acting as wise old men -- or women.[9] Still, despite their perils and chances of error, such forests, being the location where the knight can obtain the end of his quest, are places where the knights may become worthy; one romance has a maiden urging Sir Lancelot on his quest for the Holy Grail, 'which quickens with life and greenness like the forest.'[10]
So consistently did knights quest that Miguel de Cervantes set his Don Quixote on mock quests in a parody of chivalric tales. Nevertheless, while Don Quixote was a fool, he was and remains a hero of chivalry.
Modern literature[edit]
Quests continued in modern literature. Analysis can interpret many (perhaps most) stories as a quest in which the main character is seeking something that he desires,[11] but the literal structure of a journey seeking something is, itself, still common. Quests often appear in fantasy literature,[12] as in Rasselas by Samuel Johnson, or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion go on a quest for the way back to Kansas, brains, a heart, and courage respectively.[13] Quests, also, play a major role in Rick Riordan's fantasy books, among them Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and The Kane Chronicles.
A familiar modern literary quest is Frodo Baggins's quest to destroy the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings.[14] The One Ring, its baleful power, the difficult method which is the only way to destroy it, and the spiritual and psychological torture it wreaks on its Bearer; J. R. R. Tolkien uses all these elements to tell a meaningful tale of friendship and the inner struggle with temptation, against a background of epic and supernatural warfare.
The Catcher in the Rye is often thought of as a quest plot, detailing Holden's search not for a tangible object but for a sense of purpose or reason.
Some writers, however, may devise arbitrary quests for items without any importance beyond being the object of the quest. These items are known as MacGuffins, which is sometimes merely used to compare quests and is not always a derogatory term. Writers may also motivate characters to pursue these objects by meanings of a prophecy that decrees it, rather than have them discover that it could assist them, for reasons that are given.
See also[edit]
- Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale
References[edit]
- ^Josepha Sherman, Once upon a Galaxy p 142 ISBN0-87483-387-6
- ^Michael O. Riley, Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, p 178-9, ISBN0-7006-0832-X
- ^W. H. Auden, 'The Quest Hero', Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism, p35 ISBN0-618-42253-6
- ^Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p 36, ISBN0-292-78376-0
- ^Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p60, ISBN0-292-78376-0
- ^Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p77 ISBN0-292-78376-0
- ^Maria Tatar, The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales, p63, ISBN0-691-06722-8
- ^Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages, p 177, ISBN0-8014-8000-0
- ^Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages, p 179-81, ISBN0-8014-8000-0
- ^Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages, p 181, ISBN0-8014-8000-0
- ^Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, p 196-7 ISBN0-06-039168-5
- ^John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, 'Quest ', p 796 ISBN0-312-19869-8
- ^L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p 126-7, ISBN0-517-50086-8
- ^W. H. Auden, 'The Quest Hero', Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism, p45 ISBN0-618-42253-6
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