Square Enix has been making a push to promote the Dragon Quest series outside of Japan, which has led to numerous ports of the older games to mobile phones, as well as some recent ports to the Nintendo Switch.
The Dragon Quest series has been closely associated with Nintendo throughout its run, which is why one of the best entries in the series is still trapped on the Nintendo DS. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies can only be played on the Nintendo DS or Nintendo 3DS and some of its features no longer work. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service is no longer operable as of 2014, so the online component of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies can no longer be accessed without hacking the game.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is one of the best entries in the series and it deserves a full remake. The developers have flirted with the idea of bringing the game to the Nintendo Switch, but there is still no confirmation of the remake entering production. The game really needs to be remade for modern systems and there are plenty of reasons why.
It's Still Only Available On The Nintendo DS
The first eight Dragon Quest games are available on multiple systems, including smartphones (but only in Japan for some of them). There are lots of different ways to play the older Dragon Quest games and the mobile ports are a solid way to do so, due to the turn-based nature of the games meshing well with touchscreen controls.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was only released on the Nintendo DS, which means that it can also be played in the DS mode of the Nintendo 3DS. The quality of the graphics in Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies were impressive for the time, but they have aged poorly and the game looks terrible when streamed. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies needs a port for newer systems that have improved visuals.
It Has The Best Customization Options In The Series
One of the most impressive aspects of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was the number of customization options in the game. The majority of the equipment in the game would alter the appearance of the character, allowing the player to create a team of awesome and quirky looking characters.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies uses a combination of a character class and skill point system. There are twelve different vocations available in Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (six of which need to be unlocked by completing quests) and each class has five different skills that they can put points into as they level up, allowing for a lot of different options on the battlefield.
It Has Some Of The Best Storylines In The Series
The basic formula of the Dragon Quest series involves a hero going on a journey to fight a powerful villain, but they need to visit different towns and solve the problems of the residents in order to be able to proceed to the next destination. It's these smaller stories within the overall narrative that make the Dragon Quest series so special and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies has some of the best ones.
The main character of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is an angel who is forced to take mortal form and must perform good deeds in order to be able to return to the heavens. The story of the redemption of the Wight Knight, Dr. Phlegming losing his wife and being visited by her spirit, and the truth behind Lleviathan's identity are some of the best in the Dragon Quest series and they deserve to reach a wider audience.
The Developers Are All For It
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and a livestream was held to celebrate the occasion, which included several members of the development team. There was speculation that the livestream was held to announce the release of a remake, but there were no official statements from any of the staff.
The possibility of a remake of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was discussed, however, and the consensus was that Level-5 would be the perfect studio to develop the game and that it would most likely be made for the Nintendo Switch. There has yet to be any official statement regarding a remake of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, but the fact that series creator Yuji Horii is on board is a great sign that the game will enter development at some point in the future.