Dragon Quest X will be in much the same boat. As one of the few franchises that's even more popular than Monster Hunter, Square Enix can confidently charge the Japanese for online multiplayer. The rest of the world? Not so much.

Honestly though, there's a lot of unanswered questions here. Dragon Quest X is clearly meant to build on the previous game, but it's hard to say how far this rabbit will go. Will there be villages that serve as player hubs? Will it be possible to finish the game by yourself? Is it even a good idea to keep a game that relies so heavily on its online component on the Wii?

Given how good the most recent game turned out to be, I'm cautiously optimistic about Dragon Quest X's prospects. But as much as I think evolution is a good thing, there's a part of me that secretly yearns for something more along the lines of Dragon Quest VIII?; for things to be the way they used to be, even if I know that it's the path of least resistance.

I guess this is what it's like to get older.