Mobile RPG Dragon Quest of the Stars heading West in 2020

The Android beta test begins October 30

I’m eagerly awaiting Dragon Quest Walk, the next mobile game that’ll pump me up to stroll around town, but today’s Dragon Quest news concerns a different title, one that first made waves in 2015. Dragon Quest of the Stars is venturing outside of Japan for a release on iOS and Android in “early 2020.”

This promotional trailer brings me back to the live-action video game commercials of the ’90s.

Dragon Quest of the Stars retains Akira Toriyama’s treasured character design work, turn-based battling (with a “Skill Gauge” system), and familiar quests, but it also leans into multiplayer.

The game’s closed beta – which runs from October 30 to November 28 on Android – will let players dig into the main story and this multiplayer mode. Also of note: in-app purchases will be disabled.

I’m not a Gacha Guy, and I don’t think I ever will be, but I am way into the idea of communicating with stickers. (I’m the person in your Monster Hunter group who commends every little good deed with a thumbs-up right on cue.) Dragon Quest of the Stars has adorable doodles by the illustrator Kanahei.

With the first three games and Dragon Quest XI on Switch, it’s a particularly good time to be a fan.