Is Dragon Quest 12's Hero Also That Lizard Guy?

Two characters. Same hairstyle. Same sword. Similar armour. And they never appear in the same shot.

That's the observation driving the most interesting fan theory to come out of Square Enix's Dragon Quest 40th anniversary stream, which revealed that Dragon Quest 12 has been rebooted from scratch, renamed from The Flames of Fate to Beyond Dreams, and given its first real trailer. The trailer introduced a cast of characters in Akira Toriyama's signature style, including a lizard warrior who immediately became a fan favourite. It also introduced the main protagonist, who immediately became a meme.

The hero's reception on Reddit's r/dragonquest has been brutal. Fans have called him sleepy, bored, and worse. One Bluesky user compared him to a character who "enjoys someone putting cigarettes out on him." Another said he looks like Shu from Blue Dragon "if he was Really Going Through It." The vibe is clear: people think this guy looks weirdly flat for a Dragon Quest lead. I get it. Compared to the expressive, immediately likeable heroes of DQ8 and DQ11, this new protagonist looks like he hasn't slept in a week.

But what if that's the point?

The Dream Connection

As several Reddit users have pointed out, the hero and the lizard character share a suspiciously similar design. The hairstyle matches. They carry what appears to be the same sword. Their armour follows the same silhouette. And across the entire trailer, you never see them standing together. The game's official description says the hero is "beset by strange visions in their sleep," and the new subtitle is literally Beyond Dreams. If the lizard warrior is the hero's dream-world counterpart, or vice versa, the deliberately muted design of the "real" protagonist starts making a lot more sense. A dull waking life contrasted with a vivid dream identity is a classic RPG setup, and it would explain why Square Enix chose to make the human hero look so intentionally unremarkable.

I think this theory has legs. It's exactly the kind of dual-identity trick that Dragon Quest has played before, and the visual parallels are too specific to be coincidental. If it's true, it also means the people dunking on the hero's design are reacting exactly the way Square Enix wanted them to.

Separately, fans have been drawing connections between DQ12's world and Dragon Quest 9, noting that locations in the trailer resemble Stornway Castle and Angel Falls. There's no confirmation of any link, and it could easily be wishful thinking from a fanbase that has been asking for a DQ9 remake for years.

None of these theories will be confirmed any time soon. Producer Yosuke Saito acknowledged during the stream that the development reset means the game is still a long way out, with no platforms or release window announced. Series creator Yuji Horii confirmed that Dragon Quest 12 will feature Toriyama's character designs and music from Koichi Sugiyama, though Toriyama passed away in 2024, suggesting his contributions were completed before his death. In the meantime, Square Enix announced Dragon Quest 11 S for Nintendo Switch 2 on September 24, and a new Dragon Quest Monsters entry called The Withered World, which Horii said they hope to release before DQ12.