Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

After the stellar eighth game, Level-5 once again brought us a satisfyingly complete handheld Dragon Quest. Yet, they failed to shake the gameplay formula from the usual turn-based RPG, after massive fan backlash.

Unused Graphics
Stored on 3D models, these seem to be graphics meant for testing transparency and fade-outs on 3D animations, judging on their name ("3dalphatest" and "xfade").



Debug Mode
By using Action Replay codes ( for the European version), you can access a debug menu on start-up. It has an option for accessing a debug room that was removed from overseas versions (but with the name NineWH for the character name) and an NPC/Enemy viewer (see here for more), with some non-functional save data management options.

It uses the Japanese title graphics, with the sword-shaped T letter. There is also a 2008 copyright, which may be due to the fact that the game was originally developed as an action-RPG before getting completely reworked as a turn-based game.



Unused Items
Using a save editor, you can get two unused items. Their names are translated for EU languages. There are also some unused equipment which have their names blanked out.
 * Mimic Rock
 * Rock of Sales Talk (?)

Test Areas
Via a save editor, one can access some rooms meant for testing:
 * Debug Floor
 * Monster Modify
 * Encounter Test
 * Bed Test

In the international versions, these rooms lead to a pitch-black unnamed room, except for the Encounter Test pictured below (from the French version), which has odd textures but is otherwise featureless.