Prerelease:Dragon Quest Builders 2
This page details prerelease information and/or media for Dragon Quest Builders 2.
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Dragon Quest Builders 2 seems to have gone through quite a few changes in development after it began previewing publicly; areas, items, and character designs differ slightly to significantly to the final release in several screenshots.
Note that some area differences may be simply due to the developers showing off certain mechanics, and are possibly not indicative of actual level design differences-remember, the game is a Minecraft-like!
April 2018
April 2
| To do: Retake screenshot from final game during the same time of day/weather conditions. |
| Pre-release | Final |
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The Hairy Hermit's mountaintop temple, one of the first areas in the game the player encounters. Compared to the final game, it is rather sparsely constructed, even accounting for its intentionally dilapidated state. The terrain of the mountain itself was also reworked for final.
April 16
| Pre-release | Final |
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Hargon's throne room uses blocks from the first game instead of the custom ones used in the final version. Particularly notable since he uses the Dragonlord's decor, despite having no connection to the character. These blocks are obtainable in the final game, but aren't featured prominently during the story.
Malroth seems to be using his model from Dragon Quest Heroes here, another game developed by Koei Tecmo. The final version is a modified version of this, giving him his classic Dragon Quest II green color scheme and necklace. Judging by artwork on the official site, Malroth's intended design was always going to be the one used in the final version and the model here is purely placeholder.
| Pre-release | Final |
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What appears to be a very early version of Furrowfield's town, featuring an entirely different layout and a dead tree not present in the final game. Judging by the mini medal shine in the distance, and assuming it is in the same relative orientation to the town as the final game, the Builder's Bell is on the opposite side of town compared to the final version.
April 22
Another shot of the Hairy Hermit's rather sparse temple, showing more differing landscape of the mountain under it.
Closeups of the tablets at the Hermit's temple, several of these do not appear in the final game at all. It also appears the Hairy Hermit may not actually exist at this point in development, considering he appears in what is likely the equivalent scene to this in the final version.
A closeup of an early version of the statues at mini medal puzzles.
August 2018
August 29
| Pre-release | Final |
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- What appears to be an early version of Pastor Al's cabin.
- Different Builder's gloves icon.
- Early UI seems to suggest only Malroth gained exp? (He has an icon on the side of the screen with an exp bar, in the final game the exp bar is under the player's HP and the game explicitly states the Builder and Malroth share exp and levels.) Would line up with the previous game where the Builder did not gain EXP through combat. Some dialogue in the final version of the game, where Malroth comments that the player character isn't getting stronger, may be a leftover allusion to this.
- Other screenshots seem to indicate Malroth also had a more persistently visible HP bar. His HP is visible in the final game only when he takes damage.
September 2018
September 3
A different, more advanced, crafting station than the final version is visible in the screenshot, (check which one, pretty sure its still in final) though it is mostly offscreen. The final version of the game places a worn down workbench here, fitting the abandoned island setting.
Additionally, Lulu's dialogue is different here:
You already made a room! ......You're amazing! You may be even more skilled than my father...
Here and other pre-release materials mention that Lulu's father is/was a master builder, however no mention of this is made in the final game; the only information on Lulu's family is that they were killed by monsters shortly before the events of the game.
September 12
| Pre-release | Final |
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The shallows behind the boat appear to extend further than in the final game. Ruins of a dock appearing near the boat in the final game are absent here.
September 18
| Pre-release | Final |
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500px |
An NPC that appears to be the one named Clayton in the English version of the final game seems to have had brown hair instead of blue. The other Furrowfield NPCs that appear in screenshots seem to be as they are as the final game.
October 2018
October 1
- Malroth and the Builder now seem to have the unified EXP bar like the final game.
October 15
| Pre-release | Final |
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The ruins of the bar has chests present not in the final game. The foundation blocks of the walls use a different bronze block than the final version; that kind of block is obtainable in the final game, but not during the portion of the story where the player repairs the building.
October 22
| Pre-release | Final |
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The layout of the Silver Bar is very different from the blueprint the player must follow final version. Like the first bar, it uses silver block variants that are not present in the blueprint in the final version.
- Mini medal signs are now as they appear in final.
Check: if the magnet puzzle is different
November 2018
November 12
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November 19
This just seems to be showing off photomode with a bunch of dev-built stuff. Hairy Hermit's temple is final here I guess.
November 26
Check: Do enemy Magi (red/green) appear here in the final game? I thought it was just Shamans (blue/purple).
December 2018
December 3
- You're never supposed to go with Malroth past the ocean whirlwinds to the tower. Though it is perfectly possible to visit this area out of intended sequence in the final game, the only thing preventing you from doing so is not knowing where the location is. Malroth's presence is likely to avoid spoiling that he leaves the party.
