Dragon Quest 9 was a Nintendo DS exclusive when it launched in 2009 – and it technically still is. Square Enix never set the RPG free, despite many of its fans' appetite for a remake, and it seems franchise creator Yuji Horii isn't worried about it – possibly because he's still hurting from fans' reactions to the DS game 17 years ago.
The RPG's emperor recently spoke to Japanese site Famitsu as Dragon Quest celebrated its 40th anniversary; Nintendo Everything translated a chunk of Horii's interview. In it, he discusses fans' response to Dragon Quest 9 being a Nintendo DS exclusive after experiencing the visual splendor of the first completely 3D Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest 8, in 2004. Their response was… not good.