While we still don’t know much about Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, the latest flagship RPG for Square Enix will shake up its battle mechanics.

Series creator and Yuji Horii teased the game’s new battle system, which is “revamped” but apparently has a fully functioning prototype now.

Furthermore, Horii said that the new battle system is so different that it will “definitely be interesting.” The new message was posted alongside new job listings for their team.

“We will revamp the command battle system,” Horii said. “It’s still a secret how it will be revamped, but we’ve already completed a prototype, and while working with the staff, I’m convinced that this will definitely be interesting.”

Here’s the full message from Horii:

Hello. My name is Yuji Horii.

The “Dragon Quest” series is finally celebrating its 35th anniversary. I would like to thank all the fans who have supported “Dragon Quest” for so long, and all the many staff members who have been involved in the project. Thank you very much.

We have officially announced our latest title, “Dragon Quest XII: The Chosen Fate of the Flame,” and this time, I would like to talk about the recruitment of new development staff for XII.

The previous title, “Dragon Quest XI: The Search for a Time Gone By” was the “culmination” of the series, a “tale of the heroes” that could be played on any hardware (PS4, 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC) and in 2D or 3D.

That in itself was a new challenge, but with “Dragon Quest XII” we are taking it even further. I’ve already said it, but I’ll say it again. First of all, the command battles of the past will be completely redesigned. How we will do it is still a secret, but we have already made a prototype, and while playing the game with the staff, we are convinced that it will be a lot of fun.

The story is finished and all we have to do now is to implement it, but it is a big game, so it will take some time to complete. But!　If you apply for the new development staff position, you will be the first to see the new Dragon Quest. Or rather, you will be able to create it with us!

Won’t you join us and take on the challenge of creating a new Dragon Quest?　We are waiting for your applications.

Life is role-playing.

Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate was announced back in May 2021 with a worldwide simultaneous release, however development platforms aren’t confirmed.