Mockup. Image sources: Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix

On Tuesday, June 23rd, Square Enix held a shareholders meeting, in which some fairly interesting tidbits of behind-the-scenes information came to light. Specifically, many of the questions answered pertained to Final Fantasy, as well as Dragon Quest, another longstanding pillar of the Japanese role-playing game industry. This article will discuss the potential ramifications of one such question, as it could very well relate to the future of Magic: The Gathering and its Universes Beyond initiative.

The Context

The above YouTube video was put together by user Dukey03. In it, Dukey mentions that the eighth question posed (at timestamp 11 minutes, 52 seconds in his video) is about Square Enix's continued collaboration with tabletop gaming companies. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to note that this is in the wake of Wizards of the Coast's massive collab with Square Enix on Final Fantasy, which yielded Magic's greatest ever single-release profits.

However, the question was posed regarding Dragon Quest, a franchise that has, historically, not gotten quite as much love in the Western hemisphere as it has in the Eastern one. To paraphrase, Square Enix replied that while they can't speak to card games specifically, they are discussing this internally.

Extrapolation

What I am taking away from this meeting and this question would speak volumes if it were more than mere speculation. Dragon Quest XII is on the horizon (coming out late next year in the current timeframes). We also do not know exactly what Universes Beyond sets we are getting out of 2027. Sure, we can expect a Marvel set (such as X-Men), but beyond that, there's no telling. The verdict's still out, folks!

Having said that, I believe that it is in Square Enix's greatest interest to collaborate with Wizards of the Coast to bring the Dragon Quest franchise to Magic. Likewise, it's within Magic's better interests to collaborate, in kind. For those keeping score at home, here are some of the important franchise contexts you will want to know.

Dragon Quest, a Tale (Almost) as Old as Console Gaming

More than 18 months before Squaresoft came out with the first-ever Final Fantasy game, a small game developer called Enix came out with Dragon Quest. This game franchise, largely noted by historians as the first JRPG, was localized in the West as Dragon Warrior. This was due to copyright issues with Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (also known as TSR), the company that created Dungeons & Dragons. This was an issue surrounding trademark infringement. The Dragon Warrior moniker would stick around until about 2003. This would shift after Enix localized Dragon Quest VII in English as Dragon Warrior VII. Meanwhile, TSR folded and Wizards of the Coast acquired it alongside D&D back in 1997. Furthermore, Squaresoft and Enix merged to create Square Enix in 2003.

With that important information out of the way, I feel it's important to talk about why Dragon Quest matters so much to Wizards of the Coast, to Square Enix, and in general.

Dragon Quest is an even bigger hit in Japan than Final Fantasy. When I say that, I do so with no hyperbole whatsoever. No joke or lie, DQ is one of the most important things to come out of video gaming. Most Western audiences will note that Final Fantasy was marketed way better to their geographical demographics. However, nobody can deny the impact that Dragon Quest had on the industry. It's more than plausible that the JRPG genre may not even have the foothold it has without it.

In that sense, among others, it stands to reason that Square Enix would want it to reach an even larger audience. And that's where Wizards comes in.

But What is Dragon Quest?

Much like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest is a series of (mostly)disconnected stories, but with some of the most compelling plotlines in the JRPG genre. In DQI, arguably the most iconic of these stories (and with good reason: you can't beat the classics!), you play as a lone Hero fighting to save a princess from the Dragon Lord, a character whose title is more than that alone. Spoiler alert for a 40-year-old franchise debut: The Dragon Lord turns into a dragon when you defeat him, and you have to kill him when he's in that form to save the princess.

This twist revolutionized role-playing video games, but the plot was pretty par for the course where RPGs were concerned. Nevertheless, future titles came up with new plotlines. However, they all came down to a single, solitary theme: hope. Your Hero is the only one who can truly defeat the darkness and save the kingdom they're fighting for. This is true even with your allies gained along the way, but they definitely add personality to the party.

Some of the biggest and best things about the franchise are the exploratory nature of each overarching adventure and the multitude of monsters you encounter and kill along the way. Most video gamers in the West know what a Pikachu is. Many even know what a Chocobo looks like. Fewer know what a Slime is, or even what game series it's from. Frankly, that hurts my heart to know, and hopefully, one day that will change.

What's in it for Magic?

Long answer made short: More cards. That's the nature of the beast these days, and there's no skirting around that.

The long answer in its purest form: We would get a set very similar to Final Fantasy, but with innovations that distinguish Dragon Quest from that set. We'd probably get fare from each of the twelve mainline games (perhaps only the first eleven, if DQXII isn't quite out yet). I'd expect we would get more double-faced cards, denoting transformations among monsters and non-monster characters alike, where applicable. I could also see monsters getting a prominent role in the set, above even named protagonists.

Like some of the Final Fantasy games, a few DQ games will get a bit less attention than others. For instance, DQX released as an MMO in Japan, but hasn't released in English yet. That probably puts it at the bottom of that list.

For Commander, I could see a few of the games getting additional love in the form of preconstructed decks. The ones that come to mind are: DQIII, DQVIII, DQXI, and perhaps also DQVII, based on how current certain releases and rereleases are. Note that this is largely my opinion, and I could be completely off the mark by saying so, but Dragon Quest VIII was a masterpiece. So, if all of this comes to fruition, not giving it its own Commander precon would be sacrilege.

Conclusion

My own thoughts aside, this feels like something that Wizards of the Coast and Square Enix could do if they play their cards right. If it happens, they could honestly make lightning strike twice.

But enough speculation from me, dear readers; I want to hear from you. Have you played a Dragon Quest game before? Which one(s), and did you enjoy the experience? What's your favorite game, and what's your favorite monster in the series? Sound off in the comments below!