Square Enix has released the announcement trailer for Dragon Quest RPG: The Cursed Tree and the Chosen Isle, a new turn-based Dragon Quest game for iOS and Android developed by Wright Flyer Studios. The trailer premiered on YouTube earlier this morning at 4 AM MST, and the game is planned for a global simultaneous release in 2027, excluding some regions. Applications for a closed beta test opened at the same time. Check out the official post down below:
What The Announcement Trailer Shows
The 2-minute, 22-second trailer opens on the young hero in a blue cloak standing on a ruined plain before a beam of golden light strikes the ground in front of him. It then cuts to top-down exploration of fields, rivers and a stone tower, a raft ride through a dark canal and a seaside village with a well.
The battle menu shows Fight, Flee and Switch commands alongside Auto and Tactics buttons, and on-screen text reads "Lead your allies into turn-based battles" and "Fire up the fight with fast strike skills and pep powers." A later sequence flashes a "Follow-up chance!" prompt before an ally attacks, and another ends with the message "The hammerhoods are defeated!"
Town scenes introduce shopkeepers by name. A burly smith welcomes the hero to Sentil's forge, a green monster named Zeunie offers to "whip up a tasty treat" and an armored knight named Simao talks about equipment. The trailer also shows an Ally Info screen with a board of unlockable nodes for each party member, then closes on the line "The classic adventure, now in your hands."
Exploration, Battles And Base Building
The official site splits the game into 3 pillars. Exploration covers "open fields to dungeon depths," with the player choosing where the adventure goes next. Turn-Based Battles adds Fast Strike skills and pep powers to the familiar command system. Pep powers first appeared in Dragon Quest XI, where a pepped-up party member could trigger special team attacks. Character Growth has players bring materials home from each outing to build up their base and strengthen their allies.
The game is free to play with in-app purchases. Square Enix lists Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese and Korean as supported languages, and English news will come through the @DQRPG_EN account on X and an official Facebook page.
The Story Of Monbelusha
The official synopsis is set on Monbelusha, a floating isle high above the world. During its annual Ringing Feast, the fiend Zaahl corrupts Yggdrasil, the island's World Tree, into Grimvein, a cursed tree that spreads despair. As Monbelusha crumbles, a boy falls toward the world below, and the Goddess Belusha hands him a mysterious branch. He becomes the Warden of the World Tree and sets out to save the world, flying across the skies on the chosen isle of the title.
Yuji Horii Explains The RPG Name
Series creator Yuji Horii posted a message alongside the reveal. He wrote that Square Enix's smartphone games "have given us the chance to try out all kinds of new ideas," and that this one focuses "more than ever on capturing that unmistakable DRAGON QUEST feeling: exploring towns, meeting new allies, gearing up and steadily growing stronger."
"It's that same classic adventure, brought to your smartphone. That's why we put 'RPG' in the title," Horii wrote. He added that the game is free to play "so that longtime fans and first-time adventurers alike can enjoy it at their own pace for years to come." He signed the note "Life is a role-playing game" in Japanese, with a drawing of a Slime.
Horii is credited as general director. Character designs are credited to the late Akira Toriyama and music to the late Koichi Sugiyama, the same pair behind every mainline entry. Wright Flyer Studios, the GREE Holdings game studio behind Heaven Burns Red, handles development, with Square Enix on planning and production.
Closed Beta Test Details
- Applications: open now through November 23 at 7:59 AM MST
- Test period: December 8 to December 15, with start times to be posted on X and Facebook
- Spots: 25,000, chosen by lottery if applications exceed that number
- Results: sent by email on December 4
- Age: 18 and over
Beta progress will not carry over to the full release, and paid currency cannot be bought during the test. iPhone players will receive the test build through Apple's TestFlight app. Square Enix recommends iOS 15 or later on an iPhone 14 or newer with 6 GB of RAM, or Android 13 or later on a 64-bit device with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or better and 6 GB of RAM. The minimum is an iPhone 11 with 4 GB of RAM, or Android 9 with a Snapdragon 855 and 6 GB of RAM.
Square Enix's press release puts lifetime Dragon Quest shipments and downloads above 100 million units. Gamefragger's Where To Start With Dragon Quest: Every Mainline Game And The Best Way To Play In 2026 covers the mainline games that came before it.
Square Enix released the English announcement trailer:
Will you apply for the Dragon Quest RPG closed beta in December, or wait for the full 2027 launch?
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