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Dragon Quest IX dated for July

Japan's blockbuster nearly here.

Nintendo has just announced a 23rd July date for Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

This DS game has sold a whopping 4.26m copies in Japan, where it was given top marks by regional magazine Famitsu.

Dragon Quest IX picks up the series where the PS2 left off. You will create your own hero and grow them over the course of the adventure, discovering over 1000 pieces of clothing, items, weapons and armour. Companions can be customised too.

A key feature of DQIX is wireless co-op. This enables up to four friends to share the adventure and join their unique characters locally to tackle tough dungeons and monsters.

And if you leave the DS on while the handheld is stowed in your bag, the game enters a Canvassing mode and shares character information with other players as they stride unknowingly by.