Hungry for more Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon Plus coverage? There may be only be scant news about these games for the meantime, but that doesn't mean that there's nothing new to chew on when it comes to these titles. Enjoy the scans that await you in the full article.

Square Enix has decided to pre-empt its countdown site by sending out a press release that confirms the development of Chrono Triggerfor the DS. Learn more about this remastered version of Chrono Trigger after the jump!

So, you've read the manga, loved the anime and got hooked on the games, but are you ready to see Son Goku and his friends take on the big screen? 20th Century Fox surely is.

According to Canadian news site Canada.com, 20th Century Fox has given the go-ahead to three major film productions, one of them being a live-action movie based on Akira Toriyama's brainchild.

The movie will reportedly have a budget of no less than US$ 100 million, and will begin production soon with no details as to when it's projected to be shown.

The Dragon Ball Z franchise is considered as one of the most popular literary franchises in the world, with deals encompassing print, TV, video games, clothing and toys. Let's hope that this project yields results that will give justice to the legendary series. We'd love to see how the actors will go Super Saiyan on us.

 

With Square Enix making the decision to school today's gaming generation on what gaming used to be by remaking not one, not two, but three Dragon Quest titles for the Nintendo DS - it's no mystery that gaming magazine Famitsu is all up in arms about it, as evident from the luxurious two-page treatment they've given the first of the three remakes, Dragon Quest IV. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure - bon apetit!

Looking at the scans, it seems that they've kept most of the game intact - that is, it's not a total remake in the sense of a complete overhaul just to make it "next-gen". Akira Toriyama's art, made famous by his work in the popular anime series Dragon Ball Z, is still present - making the game stand out in terms of visual impact and design, as well as cementing its identity as a Dragon Quest title.

The in-game screenshots tell us that the structures and scenery have all been given the 3D treatment, with the characters remaining delightfully 2D. We've seen this done with quite a few titles, with Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and even Pokemon Diamond/ Pearl - and suffice to say it works just as well here. It makes the game fresh and easy to look at, as well as giving the title that unique edge of being faithful to its root material, while evolving for the next generation. In other words, the sweet spot of remake happy.

Dragon Quest IV is definitely looking good. Updates as we get them in the meantime enjoy the scans!

What happens when a company announces the sequel to one of the best-selling games in Japan for release on this generation's best-selling game machine? Your stocks go up, WAY up.

Bloomberg notes how Square Enix's shares had their biggest gain in 21 months rising 6.4 percent to ¥3,060, attributing it to their recent press conference and announcement. The announcement, for those of you who don't know, was that the next game in Level 5's Dragon Quest series, Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito (Defenders of the Sky), would be heading to the Nintendo DS. Square Enix's announcement makes DQIX the first original numbered title of the series to be turned into a handheld-specific game, with no apparent mention of ports to the latest generation of home consoles.

Business-minded fellows are expecting the game to do very well as a result of the announcement. "Dragon Quest is a moneymaker and may be a big hit (on the DS)," said Takashi Ushio, head of Marusan Securities' investment department. With the increasing sales of the DS as a result of Nintendo's marketing of the handheld, coupled with the reputation of the game series and the notable names of Level 5's development team, which includes Yuji Horii, the game's scenario and game designer, Koichi Sugiyama, DQIX's composer, and Akira Toriyama, fabled character artist for the series and many other games and anime, you can be sure that all eyes will be on this game when it comes out.

Thanks to badam for the heads up!

Here are new captures for Square-Enix' Dragon Quest Monster Joker for the DS. As much as we want to think that this is exactly a different game, we can't deny that it reminds us of Pokemon and that the little boy looks like one of the characters from the Dragon Ball franchise. It shouldn't be a surprise though as the artist for the game is Akira Toriyama, the same man behind the well-known series. It also shares some similarities with Pokemon 'cause in this game you'll be training monsters and will be engaging them into a battle with another trainer's monsters.

Too bad, the game will only be released in the Japanese market and there's no word if Square-Enix will decide to release it on U.S. and European markets as well. A guy from GameStop has already tried the game but then the Japanese texts only gave him a hard time figuring it out. Anyway, check out these new screens which features more of the monsters:

  
 

Over at Gamasutra, the winners of the Quantum Leap Awards for role-playing games have finally been announced. They have gone on to ask game industry professionals to cast their votes as to which RPG, on any platform ever created, "has brought the genre forward in the biggest way". In that same sense, voters were posed with the question: "Which role playing game over the entire history of the genre do you think has made the biggest 'quantum leap', and why?"

Well, the votes have been cast, and the top five have been named. But since five is such a small number, one can't help but give out honorable mentions to other game titles which have helped the genre and the industry.

Want to find out who these honorable mentions are and which games are held in high esteem by RPG experts? Read on, and find out!

Read the full article after the Jump!

Man, those French people get around. They've managed to take a lot of nice videos for different games at TGS 2006, and while each one tends to be short, they certainly are nice teasers for the real thing.

One of these trailers is for Square Enix's Dragon Quest Monsters - Joker, one of their spin-off games of the series for the DS. While you may not like the comparison, Dragon Ball + Pokemon do happen to come to mind, but with the flair that made Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King such a popular game for the PS2. Of course, collecting and powering up monsters is actually fun once you can decimate your enemies with them, so the potential for sadistic experience gained through wholesale slaughter is always a crowd-pleaser.

This short clip from TGS doesn't show a whole lot of the gameplay itself, but from the giant screens, it certainly looks less like a DS game and more like a PS2 game (as absurd as that sounds).

Of course, that may just all be an optical illusion forced upon us by Akira Toriyama. In any case, watch the video, have fun with the pretty pictures, and start that petition for an American and European release for the game. Enjoy!

Download: [Dragon Quest Monsters - Joker TGS Video]

What a show stopper this TV spot for Square Enix's Dragon Quest Monsters:Joker is. It's like being a kid again. Watching a magic show, mouth agape in awe and amazement, but all the while trying to figure out how the trick was done.

The seamless transition of holographic images of gigantic monsters from one skyscraper facade to another, to the billboard that was playing the gameplay video, to the guy that was sitting on a bench actually playing the game, was a great way to represent the nature of an RPG game as well as the DS/DS Lite's portability.

Artist Akira Toriyama's (Chrono Trigger and Dragon Ball Z) images are as always a pleasure to look at. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is due out in Japan on December 28th 2006.

Download: [Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker TV Spot]

The release date and price for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker has been set. Square Enix announced today that the game would retail for 4800 Yen (~$40 US) on December 28th. Christmas isn't as big in Japan as it is in other parts of the world so that may be why Square Enix isn't too afraid of launching after the 25th.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker  is the newest Dragon Quest Monsters game in a franchise that is very similar to Pokemon. Basically, you'll be training monsters to fight for you instead of fighting yourself. The game features the wonderful artwork of Akira Toriyama, so better expect huge sales from this game. As for timing, it's coming out months after Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl's release so it should be fine. For more updates on this nifty game, just stay tuned here at QJ.