DRAGON QUEST’S “LUIDA’S BAR” IS GOING TO OPEN IN TOKYO
The most popular video RPG series in Japan, “Dragon Quest” has a bar in its game world called “LUIDA’S BAR”. SQUARE ENIX JAPAN,the production company of the “national RPG series” announced on the 8th that it was going to open “LUIDA’S BAR” in the “real” world on this 28th. The “real bar” is to open in Roppongi, one of the busiest areas with many exotic bars,restaurants, commercial high rises being popular especially with the young Japanese and foreign tourists and residents.
Like I wrote on a previous page here, “FF (Final Fantasy)” series and “DQ”( “Dragon Quest”, in North America some of the past versions were released with the title of “Dragon Warrior”) series are the most popular top two RPG series with the oldest history in Japan nationwide. http://www.dragonquest.jp/
DQ series has nine titles with some other spin-off titles as of today and first ones were of old video game machines, such as Nintendo Famicon (or NES, Nintendo Entertainment System),SuperFamicon, and PS 1 (Play Station) . Yet latter titles have been of newer machines, such as Ps2 and NINTENDO DS. The latest title, DQ9 that went on market on Jul.11th 2009 was the first version for DS, but some other older titles, such as DQ4 and DQ5 were remade as DS works, too. Actually DQ6,whose original version was released as a Superfamicon work is going to be remade as a DS one to go on market on this 28th, the very same day of the grand opening of the real LUIDA’S BAR. DQ4,5,and 6 are called “the Roof of Heaven” series,while the first 1,2,and 3 are called the “Legend of Alefgrad” or “Legend of Loto” series.
And the coming new title of DQ10 was announced to be going to be released as the first version for Wii , whose on-sale date has not been decided yet. DQ9 fully utilizes the functions of DS and for the first time in its series, it started the new service of “Surechigai Tsuushin”(/「すれ違い通信」、”Passing-by correspondence” service),which is the most prominent characteristic of the version. As DS is a tiny portable game machine having Internet correspondence function, you can use it outside and easily contact other players of the game and exchange your maps of dungeons and items in the game which you get like a “virtual barter”. Through this function , many players have made friends on the DS Internet service like some other MORPG of PC Internet system. This function is one of the causes of the rapid prevalence and getting popularity of this version in addition to its series’ great shiny history. The new version of DQ6 will have the passing-by correspondence service,which the original version didn’t have . Especially, with the new version of DS, “NINTENDO DSiLL” whose display is 190% larger than the existing versions having started on sale on Nov.21st 2009, we have become able to play these games with good visual recognition of the finer details of each depict of actions.This new machine may boost the popularity of DQ even more than before.
Anyway, with the help of such vigorous and supporting circumstances, the real LUIDA’SBAR is to open at the end of this month. this project is tied up with a karaoke box chain, Pasela and actually the bar is to be on the first floor of Pasela Roppongi.http://www.pasela.co.jp/shop/roppongi/index.html The location of the bar is, like I wrote, adequate and there are popular national tourists’ destinations of both business and entertainment , such as Roppongi Hills http://www.roppongihills.com/en/ and Tokyo Midtown http://www.tokyo-midtown.com/en/ .
Though the project may be temporary, the closing date of the bar has not been decided. The inner decorating, food, and drinks of the bar are to be something to describe the atmosphere of the game’s world. For example, the upper picture of the left is the door, and the lower one is a dessert to be planned to be served at the bar,which has the shape of the ” Fruit of the goddess” that is one important item in the game world. The bar also prepares “Passion Merazoma”(“Merazoma” is the name of one of the fire magic in the game) and “Hyado Cool”(“Hyado” is the name of one of the ice magic in the game), and it plans to add more items of food and drinks related to the game’s world to the menu.
This bar is to be the very first “real” bar or any other kind of real virtual shop relating DQ series or any other work of the production company. One of the causes of such great popularity of DQ series (ex. DQ9 has sold more than four million copies worldwide as of today) may be the funny yet humorous characters’ designs by Akira Toriyama who is well-known as the original cartoonist of “Dr.Slump” and “Dragon Ball” series , Especially “Dragon Ball” series are one of the most popular series of manga and anime works in the whole wide world today,which was filmed also as a live-action movie in Hollywood recently . Therefore, if Toriyama is also in charge of the inner decorating’s designs, that would strengthen the attractiveness of the new bar may be even more. And the attempt of this new style of service of the series will enhance their popularity even better.
As one huge fan of DQ series, I am personally interested in this new institution and do hope it will be so successful.
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Time 24/02/2010 at 21:03
[…] one of the most popular national RPG series– in Nintendo DS version was released.http://www.tenkai-japan.com/2010/01/11/dragon-quests-luidas-bar-is-going-to-open-in-tokyo/ As for other titles, such as DQ 3,4, and 5, there have been renewed versions in DS or in […]