Eyyy Dragon Quest XI is coming west.

What is Dragon Quest, you ask? It's a JRPG. Specifically, it's like the most-important JRPG in Japan, where they almost-always only launch a new Dragon Quest on Saturdays, ostensibly to prevent the drop in productivity and spike in school truancy that supposedly occurs when one drops. (There are urban myths that schools close when a Dragon Quest launches on a school day. Another, more popular one, is that there is a law requiring new Dragon Quest games to launch on Saturdays - both are simply myths, but the point remains: this shit's mad popular in the land of the rising Sun.)

Why am I writing about Dragon Quest XI coming to the west, when the series remains almost-unknown over here? When the only Dragon Quest game I played was Dragon Quest Builders on Vita (which is pretty good)?

Because Dragon Quest XI looks like this:

And that is... that is a good-lookin' JRPG. I'm in. Probably. Almost-definitely. Depends on what else is launching around it but there's a good chance, I'd say.

There's a YouTube vid with the game designer basically sitting there and saying it's going to be localized, so if you wanna' see it in action I'd recommend watching this:

(Thanks for making this easy to find, Endless!)

So yeah. Smexy. Dragon Quest XI will launch in the west in 2018. Its Japanese launch is... tomorrow! Whaddaya know - Saturday.

Here's the press release:

Dragon Quest XI coming to the West in 2018
Fans of great stories, captivating art and alluring music are certain to rejoice with today’s announcement from Square Enix that Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will be coming to the West next year.

The highly anticipated latest entry to the beloved Dragon Quest video game franchise follows the adventure of a hero who must solve the mystery of his fate with the aid of a charming cast of supporting characters. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will offer a world of adventure, exploration and instances of heroism— all brought to life by the character art of famed manga artist Akira Toriyama and the memorable music of composer Koichi Sugiyama.

In an accompanying video, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii introduces an overview of the game and offers an update on the game’s localization process.

Whazzat? You want more sexy screens? Ugh. Fine.