Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies[a] is a role-playing video game co-developed by Level-5 and Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. Published by Square Enix in Japan in 2009, and by Nintendo overseas in 2010, it is the ninth mainline entry in the Dragon Quest series. The storyline follows the protagonist, a member of the angelic Celestrian race, after a disaster in their home scatters magical fruits across the mortal realm. While carrying over traditional gameplay from the rest of the series with turn-based battles, the game is the first Dragon Quest entry to feature a customizable player character, and the first to include a multiplayer mode, with the option of trading treasure maps and loaning player characters through Nintendo Wi-Fi. Online functions ended in 2014 when it ceased operations.
Development began in 2005, with Level-5's Akihiro Hino both acting as co-director and encouraging the game's development for the DS. Series creator Yuji Horii acted as game and story designer, with artist Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama also returning from previous entries. While an early prototype used an action-based combat system, negative fan feedback and internal testing prompted a return to the turn-based gameplay of earlier entries. Due to the focus on multiplayer, the narrative and game design had to be tailored to that. Some of the game design drew inspiration from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Diablo.
Announced in 2006 with a planned release the following year, the game was delayed by two years, with the final delay to allow bug fixes prompting Square Enix to cut its profit forecasts. Localization was handled by PlusAlpha and Schloc, who had previously localized Dragon Quest VIII. Upon release in Japan, the game posted strong sales, and with over five million copies sold worldwide by 2011 was the best-selling entry in the series until the multiplatform Dragon Quest XI (2017). Reviews in both Japan and the West were generally positive, with most of the praise being directed towards its gameplay design and graphics. Several critics felt that its traditional design restricted or undermined its other elements. Hugely popular in Japan, the game's anonymous communication mode would inspire the Nintendo 3DS's in-built SpotPass and StreetPass.
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