Dragon Quest Series Chief Producer Resigns from Square Enix
The chief producer of the Dragon Quest series, Ryutaro Ichimura, has announced that he has left Square Enix.
You can view his full message below, translated by our team’s Ryuji:
Hello, everyone. I, Ryutaro Ichimura, have resigned from Square Enix on March 31, 2023.
I have worked for Square Enix for 22 years, ever since it was just called “Enix.” I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone involved and for all of your support, allowing me to get this far.
When I was sorting through my belongings at the company, I found a copy of my résumé from when I joined the company. In my “motivation for applying for the job,” I wrote: “Because I love Dragon Quest.”
Born in the Chinese year of the dragon, and even joining the company in [that same Chinese year], I was assigned to the Dragon Quest section and became a producer of Dragon Quest… It really felt like I was destined for something. At the age of 25, I became a producer of Dragon Quest VIII, then Dragon Quest IX, and soon after, DQX and DQXI.
Not just Dragon Quest [mainline titles], but I also had the opportunity to work on many other projects, such as the Dai’s Great Adventure anime, the 30th Anniversary project of Dragon Quest, the Kenshin Dragon Quest [an all-in-one television game], the Dragon Quest of the Stars mobile game and even Chōsoku Henkei Gyrozetter [a media franchise by Square Enix].
Square Enix gave me great opportunities and challenged me a lot. I have nothing but gratitude for the opportunity to work closely with Yuji Horii, Akira Toriyama, and Koichi Sugiyama, whom I respect and admire very much. It was like working with 100 Metal King Slimes.
I will be 47 years old this year, and I have begun to count down the number of games I am able to make in my lifetime. Now that it takes 3 or 4 years to make one game, we all have to think carefully about each game we make so that we can pass on without any regrets.
After thinking about this and confronting myself with a clean slate, I decided that I wanted to leave the blessed environment [of Square Enix], put myself in a high-risk environment, and find out what would come out of it. I would like to be more free in my thinking and enjoy myself.
For me, this is the end of my Dragon Quest journey. And the beginning of a new one.
I will continue to create games, so please give me your support! I hope to see you all again somewhere through my work!
Until then, raise your heads high, and let’s keep up the good work!
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