Dragon Quest series creator Yuri Horii recently discussed the topic of RPGs with Metaphor: ReFantazio director and producer Katsura Hashino, an excerpt posted by Denfaminicogamer. One challenge Horii says the Dragon Quest series is facing is how to represent protagonists now that graphics have become more realistic, allowing for more detailed and expressive designs instead of the mute ones of the past.
Dragon Quest games have traditionally featured silent protagonists, which series creator Yuji Horii refers to as “symbolic protagonists.” This design choice allows players to project themselves onto the character and experience the story through their own lens. In part, this decision was influenced by the technological limitations of earlier gaming eras.
However, with advancements in graphics technology, the silent protagonist trope faces new challenges. “As game graphics evolve and become more realistic, if you make a protagonist who just stands there, they’ll look like an idiot,” Horii humorously remarks.
Conversely, a protagonist with extensive dialogue and a defined personality can also create distance between the player and the character, hindering immersion. “That’s why the type of protagonist that appears in Dragon Quest is getting harder to portray as games become more realistic,” Horii notes. “That’s going to be a challenge in the future.”
Horii’s comments could easily apply to a number of major game series, including The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon, which both feature silent protagonists.
With Link in particular, Nintendo has sought to make the character expressive within the confines of visual aesthetics, without having to speak. That’s true of the details in Tears of the Kingdom as well as the minimalist approach for Wind Waker.
The upcoming HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest 3 will allow players to choose between a male or female protagonist (as per the original) and will now include voiced dialogue for some characters. However, this is all about modernising the original game’s pixelated graphics, so Horii’s comments could instead suggest that Dragon Quest 12 – the next new game in the series – could feature a voiced protagonist.
The previous game, Dragon Quest 11, included a voice-over option for the protagonist, but this only added moans rather than full dialogue.
