Dragon Quest Treasures was announced in May 2021, and since then fans have been on tenterhooks awaiting new details from the coming Nintendo Switch game. During a May Nintendo Direct we learned that the game would be coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch on December 9, 2022, and we got some story context in July, but now, in an extensive deep-dive via the Square-Enix news site, the publisher has outlined many core systems that will be underpinning Dragon Quest Treasures when it launches later in the year.
For those needing a bird-eye look at the game, Square-Enix describes it as “This new adventure puts you in control of siblings Erik and Mia, who find themselves pulled into the land of Draconia on the adventure of a lifetime. This strange new continent is home to countless pieces of precious loot… and if there’s one thing that this adventurous pair loves, it’s precious loot!”
In previous trailers and presentations, the company had given players a brief look at the contents of the game, but in this new post they dived deep into the many layers of the game that they hope will hook people and help them to fall in love with Dragon Quest Treasures this December. Firstly the post gave us a look at the world of Draconia, a floating continent that is itself made up of the still bodies of two deceased golden dragons, while there are several “floating” islands as well. Draconia is home to seven Dragonstones, which are the juiciest temptation to any and all of the world’s treasure hunters. Of course, they’re not going to simply pop up out of the ground for you, players will need to traverse the entire world of Draconia, and its numerous islands in order to find the Dragonstones… for reasons that Square-Enix are not yet disclosing.
It’s not all about the Dragonstones though, players have much more loot to uncover in the form of legendary items, weapons, armour, adventurer statues, and other key items as well, and each of these are classified as either “Treasures”, “Bric-a-Brac” or “Iconic” in their value, with iconic being the most valuable, and hardest to uncover of all. The hunt begins by simply choosing an island and beginning the expedition from there. Players can bring franchise staple monsters with them like Dracky, who have a sixth sense for treasure and will aid you in finding it. There’s a degree of predictability to the expeditions though with Erik and Mia’s mysterious accomplices, Purrsula and Porcus, providing some insight into the expected treasures that you might uncover on your journey. While most of the “Treasures” or “Bric-a-Brac” tiered items you’ll simply find on your standard journey, it’s the “Iconic” tiered gear that requires some extra work, and the assistance of the “Dragon Daggers” and the “Fortune Finder”, two tools that Erik and Mia acquire that help you to find the valuables you’re chasing. Upon completion of the trek back to your encampment to appraise and trade in what you’re found in exchange for precious money.
Square-Enix concludes the post by highlighting that there’s more to learn about “hostile monsters, rival gangs and more”, so presumably we can expect more posts or trailers in the future highlighting these components.
