Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is a role-playing video game set in a fantasy world; the player takes on the role of a customizable player character of the Celestrian people trapped in the mortal world.[1][2] The display is split between the two screens of the Nintendo DS; the top screen displays the map area and the player's location on it together with party status, while the bottom screen shows the immediate environment and main menu display.[1] The in-game environment is displayed from an overhead isometric perspective, with both the environment and character models being displayed with 3D graphics.[3] In addition to the main story quests, the player can pick up optional side-quests from non-player characters (NPCs) found through the world, with some being standalone and others being related chains of quests. Multiple quests can be taken on and completed at once, and can vary in content from errand tasks to defeating specific monsters.[4] The player can use an alchemy pot to synthesise equipment, items, and weapons using ingredients gathered by foraging or finding them in treasure chests or getting them as drops from defeated monsters.[5] Saving can only be performed at a church in town.[1]