Summary
- Dragon Quest creator and gaming icon Yuji Horii quashes the idea of retirement during a recent interview with gaming publication Famitsu.
- Yuji Horii confirmed that he does not intend to retire anytime soon and states that he will “always be a game developer.”
- Horii is currently working on the upcoming Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate, with the recent Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake releasing to roaring success.
Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii shares his thoughts on the possibility of the iconic game developer retiring, suggesting that his departure from the gaming industry is still far off. The long-running RPG franchise has been a staple of JRPGs since the genre’s early days, with the first game debuting nearly 40 years ago in 1986 for the NES. The franchise has welcomed eleven main-series Dragon Quest titles alongside a plethora of spinoffs, delving into Pokemon-inspired gameplay with Dragon Quest Monsters and survival sandbox gameplay with Dragon Quest Builders. Now, Yuji Horii is speaking out about his potential retirement.
Since his beginnings with Enix in the early 1980s, Yuji Horii has grown into one of the most recognizable figureheads in the RPG genre. Horii has served in a game design and directorial position for every main-series Dragon Quest game, as well as the franchise’s many spinoffs. Horii also recently celebrated his 70th birthday at the start of 2024, spending more than four decades of his life as a game designer working with Enix and later Square Enix. A recent interview now suggests that Yuji Horii is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Related
Dragon Quest 3 Remake Reveals Updated Sales Numbers
The Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake developer reveals updated sales numbers for the recent role-playing game, showcasing its huge success.
Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Addresses Retirement Speculation
As reported by MyNintendoNews, a recent interview with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu suggests that Yuji Horii is far from done as a game developer. During the interview, Horii brushed off the idea of retiring, suggesting that he’ll “always be a game developer” and that he intends to continue creating for as long as he can. The interview featured two of the JRPG genre’s most iconic creators, with Horii appearing alongside Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Horii’s development studio, Armor Project, holds an exclusivity contract with Square Enix.
With Yuji Horii planning to stick around for a while, the iconic creator has already given fans reason to be excited for his next project. Square-Enix first announced Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate in early 2021, with Horii teasing several changes coming to the next main-series game. Dragon Quest 12 is expected to overhaul the franchise’s traditional turn-based combat, alongside a “darker tone” for the game’s story. A release window for Dragon Quest 12 has yet to be confirmed, with the game confirmed to have been hit with further delays earlier this year.
Despite the struggles with Dragon Quest 12, the franchise’s most recent remake has seen stellar success following its launch. Square Enix’s Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake debuted to critical and fan acclaim last month, with the classic Dragon Quest remake selling nearly 1 million physical copies in just its first week in Japan. The success bodes well for the upcoming HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest 1 and Dragon Quest 2, expected to launch next year. The sustained success of Dragon Quest continues to cement Yuji Horii’s status as a JRPG icon.
Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest is a fantasy roleplaying game series created by authors Yuji Horii, Akira Toriyama, and Koichi Sugiyama and published by Square Enix. Each game typically consists of a nameless central character know as the Hero fighting evil with their party members. They encounter monsters such as the famous Slime mascot. There are currently 11 games in the main franchise.