Dragon Quest IX is the big story this week, as it's finally about to make its North American debut this weekend. Squenix and Nintendo have set up a bit of an event in New York City to commemorate the launch; if you're near Manhattan tomorrow, 10 July, you can swing to the World of Nintendo store in midtown (which sadly, I never got to visit when I was living there - it looked awesome from the outside). Yuji Horii, creator of the DQ franchise, will be there, and apparently there will be some Dragon Quest-themed treats for eating too. And you can buy the game a day early! No word on whether you can drink Slimes, though.

My call, though, is that if you really wanted the game that badly you probably preordered it anyway.

In other game news, developer Obsidian says they want a crack at the Chrono Trigger franchise. Obsidian are best known for sequels to original games, one of which they're working on for Squenix already (Dungeon Siege 3). Would they ever get the keys to the castle that is Chrono Trigger? Yeah, pretty much no chance if you ask me. Perhaps they should just start on a sequel and see how far they get.

Finally, here's one that snuck in under my radar: Square Enix and GamePot are bringing a new action MMO to the States. The game, Fantasy Earth Zero, is a free-to-play MMO with a primary focus on large PvP battles. It's been out in Japan for over three years but launched in the US in May.

Source: Kotaku, SiliconEra, Square Enix North America