Square Enix analyzes failure of Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest
Square Enix’s highly anticipated addition to the Dragon Quest series, Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai was met with negative to average reviews from both critics and players. In their 2023 financial report to shareholders, Square Enix addressed the title’s poor reception, stating that they are moving towards a more market-oriented game development process where player feedback will be incorporated into games prior to their release.
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai released across all major platforms on September 28, 2023. The game is based on Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, a spin-off manga based on the popular RPG series Dragon Quest. The manga ran from 1989 to 1996 and spawned an anime series in the 1990s, which was remade in 2020. The game Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai was set to bring things full circle and put a fresh spin on the long-running franchise by incorporating the anime’s story and visuals as well as action-oriented combat.
However, the game received mixed to negative reviews upon release. Common complaints in both English and Japanese language reviews of the title included disappointment with the story’s visual novel-style presentation, bland and repetitive gameplay (with no option to freely explore towns and dungeons outside of quests), and slow button responsiveness. Critics and players alike pointed out that it felt like an expensive mobile casual game. The positives mainly focused on the anime visuals (Sources: ITmedia, Metacritic, Push Square). Its Metacritic score currently ranges between 48 for Nintendo Switch at the low end, with 71 for the Xbox Series X release at the high end.
In addition, Infinity Strash seems to have had a troubled development process. It was originally planned to release in 2021, but was postponed for a visual revamp after users complained about the game’s initial look.
In the Square Enix shareholders’ meeting held in November 2023, Takashi Kiryu, the President and Representative Director of Square Enix’s Board of Directors, addressed a question on Infinity Strash’s poor evaluation and how the quality of future releases will be improved. In his answer, Kiryu stated that Square Enix is aware of internal issues regarding the title. As for factors that impacted the game’s reception, he cited the gap between the anime’s 2020 broadcast and the game’s 2023 release, as well as differences between what customers wanted to see in the game and the game elements that the company focused on as selling points.
When it comes to game development, Square Enix is apparently shifting away from a product-oriented approach towards a market-oriented approach. Regarding this shift, Kiryu mentions that for smart device games, the company has already implemented a system for integrating user feedback from pre-release playtests into the development process. He added that for HD games, they are currently working on a system to incorporate player opinions at the initial stages of game development.
Square Enix has produced many hit games over the years and has a track record of successfully responding to bad critical reception. For example, the original launch of Final Fantasy XIV was a commercial and critical failure. However, Square Enix addressed the issues with the original version, improving and relaunching the game as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which garnered much praise and has become a successful MMO.
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is available on PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam).
