First Dragon Quest IX Story Quest Hits Friday

Even if you aren't too excited about the prospect of collecting new pieces of equipment, you may want to pay attention to Square Enix's weekly Dragon Quest IX quest downloads. Starting Friday, the company will make available the first "story quest."

What exactly are story quests? Square Enix won't give specifics, but the name suggests that this type of quest will contribute to the story in some way. You download these like you do normal quests, but they're marked on your quest list with a "story" logo beside them.

Friday (July 24) will see two quest downloads for the game, one a story quest and one a standard quest like the first quest that was offered last week. Both of these require that you've cleared the game (in case you've forgotten if you've done this or not, those who've cleared the game will find a star mark next to their save file).

The story quest, quest 123, is titled Rikka's Dream Treasure. You take this on at the main town of St. Schutein. After you clear the game, speak to Rikka in her inn, and she'll ask you to obtain a treasure map called "Yume," or "Dream." Treasure maps are given out randomly, so this could be a tough goal to achieve. Perhaps you can rely on your friends and the game's Surechigai wireless system?

The standard quest is Suteki na Birthday, or "Wonderful Birthday." This quest can be taken in San Marow once you've cleared the game. A traveler at the inn will ask for an item that can be obtinaed through the Dragon Quest Wi-Fi Shopping system. Get him his item, and you'll apparently get a rare defensive equipment in return.

Square Enix will be offering Dragon Quest IX quests every week for a full year. It now looks like they could be offering more than just a single quest in the weekly updates, so be sure and hold on to that cartridge even after you've cleared the main quest!