The Dragon Quest Monsters series, with the exception of the Joker titles, has traditionally featured younger versions of characters from the main RPG entries. For instance, Terry and Milly from Dragon Quest VI starred in the first Dragon Quest Monsters, and Prince Kiefer from Dragon Quest VII appeared in the GBA game, Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart. Dragon Quest Monsters 3, known as Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince in Japan, features a youthful version of Psaro, the antagonist from Dragon Quest IV. The newly announced Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World, however, will focus on two characters from Dragon Quest V.
This development marks a kind of full circle for the Monsters series itself. Dragon Quest V, released in 1992, introduced a mechanic for recruiting enemy monsters and making them allies. This concept was expanded upon and evolved into the spin-off series, which launched in Japan on September 25, 1998, also created and designed by Yuji Horii. The core gameplay revolves around monster raising and battles. The series has maintained a dedicated fanbase across various Nintendo handheld consoles and mobile devices, with Akira Toriyama’s character designs remaining a significant draw.
Bianca and Nera from Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride will lead the monster-collecting adventures in this new installment, which will be canonically known as Dragon Quest Monsters 4 in Japan. This means that only Caravan Heart and the Joker trilogy are not considered part of the main series. Furthermore, the exclusivity to Nintendo consoles is now a thing of the past, as Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World is slated for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) at an unannounced date.
