we recently got a brief look what the dragon quest xii team has been working on since 2021, including some gorgeous environments and one very sleepy-looking protagonist.

early this morning, square enix reintroduced dragon quest xii after several years of radio silence with the new subtitle beyond dreams. development on the game was apparently scrapped and restarted at some point in the last few years — you probably remember it being revealed under a different name, the flames of fate — so we still have quite a ways to go until launch.

“[beyond dreams] is the story of a young hero who’s beset by strange visions in their sleep,” dragon quest series creator and designer yuji horii said, which sounds like the understatement of the century if the limited gameplay footage is anything to go by. dragon quest xii‘s hero looks like he hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in years, maybe because of those “strange visions” horii mentioned.

the funny thing is that almost everyone in the dragon quest xii preview looks like they could use a snooze. a bandit-looking lady sports the same dark eyes as the protagonist, and an anthropomorphic lizard dude is introduced taking a nap in a beautiful, cliffside meadow. the footage also included a sneak peek at a fiery battle against a giant dragon, which i can only assume is angry because it was awakened from hibernation.

dragon quest xii: beyond dreams still doesn’t have a release date, but today’s square enix broadcast also teased dragon quest monsters: the withered world. the latest entry in the popular spin-off series apparently features bianca and nera from dragon quest v: hand of the heavenly bride as children and is “coming soon” for playstation 5, xbox series x/s, nintendo switch, nintendo switch 2, and pc.

let’s all celebrate by treating ourselves to a nap this afternoon. sweet dreams.