To fans of the Dragon Quest series, Ryutaro Ichimura is a name that is likely familiar. He was with Square Enix since 2000, meaning his first contribution as producer on the series was the acclaimed Dragon Quest VIII and continuing with series, before leaving and forming his own company in 2023.
Speaking recently to ReHacQ, Ishimura explained his main reason for leaving as being Square Enix’s lack of ambition and willingness to innovate. He said, “to put it bluntly, [Square Enix] was copying others. […] In DQ 2, you had a three-person party, in DQ 3 you could change jobs, in DQ 4, party members could fight using AI.
“Each entry pushed the series forward, both through the evolution of game mechanics and by leveraging the latest hardware of the time.”
He then cited games like Dragon Quest Builders or Dragon Quest Walk as being simply willing to copy other successful games like Minecraft and Pokemon Go respectively.
Dragon Quest’s Legacy
Though the series is still ongoing in various forms, it often goes overlooked in the JRPG world when compared to series like Final Fantasy or Persona, despite the fact that Dragon Quest was one of the original, and most influential of these series.
The first entry was released in 1986 for the NES, laying the groundwork for how many turn-based role-playing game series would establish themselves in the coming years.
The most recent mainline entry was in 2017, but a remake of Dragon Quest 3 was released in 2024.
Square Enix Games
It’s easy to forget just how many games Square Enix releases, from the scores of remakes (big and small) to new entries in long-running series like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy.
It’s therefore difficult to apply Ishimura’s remarks to all of Square Enix’s output, as some titles like Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth have been very well received, but it seems more relevant to how he could express himself as a developer and producer.
Onto PinCool
Ryutaro Ishimura is now at a new company is called PinCool, a development studio under the company NetEase.
It has been stated in the past to be working on console games while also being available to work on other forms of entertainment. Their first game was recently announced as the multiplayer Pritto Prisoner, releasing for Switch, Switch 2 and PC.
