Everything about Dragon Quest totally explained
, published as
Dragon Warrior in
North America until the 2005 release of, is a series of
role-playing games produced by
Enix (now
Square Enix). Installments of the series have appeared on
MSX computers,
Famicom/NES,
Super Famicom/Super NES,
Game Boy Color,
Game Boy Advance,
Nintendo DS,
PlayStation,
PlayStation 2 and
Wii video game consoles, as well as on several models of
mobile phone. As of
December 19 2007, the
Dragon Quest series has sold over 43 million units worldwide. It is Square Enix's most successful franchise after
Final Fantasy; although,
Dragon Quest is arguably the most popular video game franchise in Japan.
Dragon Quest's North American name was changed due to a trademark conflict with the
role-playing game DragonQuest, which was published by veteran wargame publisher
SPI in the 1980s until the company's
bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by
TSR, which then published it as an alternate line to
Dungeons & Dragons until 1987. In 2003, Square Enix registered the
Dragon Quest trademark in the
US, signalling the end of the
Dragon Warrior moniker.
Overview
During the mid-1980s,
Dragon Quest was created by
Yuji Horii, who has been the scenario director since. The series monster and character designs, as well as box art, were by famed
Dragon Ball manga artist,
Akira Toriyama. All of the
music for the
Dragon Quest series has been composed by
Koichi Sugiyama. When Horii first created
Dragon Quest, most people doubted that a fantasy series with swords and dungeons instead of science fiction would become popular in Japan, but the series has become a phenomenon there.
The games themselves feature a number of religious overtones--saving the game (in later games) and reviving characters who have died is performed by clergy in churches.
Bishops are often seen wandering around the overworld of
Dragon Warrior Monsters and have the ability to heal. The final enemy in some of the
Dragon Quest games is known as the Demon Lord. For instance, in
Dragon Warrior VII, the Demon Lord, known as Orgodemir in that particular game, is the final
boss, and there's also a
sidequest to battle God himself.
musical concerts, and
audio CDs based on the
Dragon Quest universe. The
London Philharmonic Orchestra has performed for several
Dragon Quest music
albums. It was the first video game series to have its music performed live by an orchestra. Since 1987, music from Dragon Quest has been performed annually in Japan in concert halls. In Japan, due to complaints of mass absenteeism from schools and places of work, Enix changed its policy of releasing new
Dragon Quest games on weekdays.
Outside Japan
Dragon Quest isn't nearly as successful outside Japan, having been eclipsed by
Final Fantasy and other RPG series. Because of
Enix America Corporation's closure in the mid 1990's,
Dragon Quest V and
Dragon Quest VI were never officially released in
North America. In
Europe, none of the games except and
Dragon Warrior Monsters have seen release. The lack of official
localizations for
Dragon Quest games has inspired many
fan translation projects. The legal status of these translations, while untested in court, are considered to be
illegal. The completed fan translation projects include
Dragon Quest V and the Super Famicom remake of
Dragon Quest I & II.
The first four
Dragon Warrior titles suffered from substantial
censorship in their North American localizations, largely in keeping with
Nintendo of America's content guidelines at the time, which placed severe restrictions on religious iconography and mature content. Both graphics and text were edited, replacing
coffins with
ghosts,
crucifixes with
five-point stars, and "Priest" with "Healer," to name but a few. The "puff-puff massage" scenario was also taken out of the first two games. However, the graphics, sound and menus of
Dragon Warrior and
Dragon Warrior II were given an upgrade for American release. When these games were remade for the
Game Boy Color, many of these censorships were taken out. Since
Dragon Warrior VII, the games have been kept similar to their original versions when going through localization.
Only two titles in the series have been released in Europe. The first was
Dragon Warrior Monsters published by
Eidos Interactive; the second was, but the game was marketed as
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King. However, the series is one of Square Enix's flagship titles, and it's currently planning to release at least four upcoming installments in the series outside Japan. With the Square Enix merge in 2003, the number of places that
Dragon Quest games are released has greatly increased.
On May 20, 2008, Square Enix announced localizations of the Nintendo DS remakes of Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI, known collectively as the Zenithia trilogy, with the opening of the North American website. On the following day a press release from Square Enix confirmed that the games will be released in Europe. With this announcement, all the main games in the Dragon Quest series will now have seen release outside Japan at least once. In Europe, the series installments are not numbered.
Common elements
Gameplay
The
Dragon Quest system is similar to the basis of the
Ultima and
Wizardry video game systems, as well as games like
Final Fantasy, which came later. The game player's party walks into a town and buys weapons, armor, and items in order to defeat monsters easily. When the player's party is out of the town, the party is vulnerable to random monster attacks. When players encounter monsters, they've several options from which to choose through menus. The player can attack and defeat the enemy with weapons, magic, or items. The player can also attempt to run away from the fight. However, this option isn't available during a
boss battle. After a player wins a battle by defeating all the monsters, the player's party members gain
experience points (EXP) in order to gain new levels. When a certain character gains a new level, the stats of the character are upgraded.
When the player's party dies in battle, the group will lose half of their gold and the leader of the party warps back to the nearest church. The leader then needs to pay a priest to revive his/her party members. More recent games in the series have banks in many towns that allow the player to store gold, which prevents it from being lost when the party dies.
To save one's progress, the player must visit a Church (also known as a House of Healing in early North American versions) and talk to a priest or nun. In early versions of
Dragon Quest, the player must visit a king in order to save his or her progress
Dragon Warrior III,
Dragon Quest VI, and
Dragon Warrior VII feature several classes to choose for the party members.
Monsters
The series features several recurring monsters, such as Slimes, Drackies, Shadows, Mummies, Trick Bags, and Dragons. Many of the monsters have been designed by Akira Toriyama. Many of the
Dragon Quest monsters have been featured in the
Dragon Quest Monsters series of games, which allows the player to catch monsters and use them in battle. This idea is also used in
Dragon Quest V, although humans fight in battle as well.
The official
mascot of the
Dragon Quest series is the
Slime. A Slime is a small blob with a face, shaped like an
onion or
Hershey's Kiss. It has appeared in every
Dragon Quest game and it's usually one of the first monsters the player encounters. The Slime's popularity has netted it two
spinoffs: and . They also make a significant showing in the Japanese manga and two-episode anime
Dragon Half.
In 1989, a manga was published by Enix called
Dragon Quest Monster Story, which had nothing to do with
Dragon Quest Monsters. The name Erdrick was first mentioned in the
English localization,
Dragon Warrior in which the player is referred to as Erdrick's descendent. Erdrick’s
legend was completed with the 1991 release of
Dragon Warrior III.
In
Dragon Warrior, Loto was the ancestor of the Hero. The Hero follows in the footsteps of Loto to ultimately reach the Dragonlord's Castle and confront the
Dragonlord. In
Dragon Warrior II, the heroes are descendants of Loto, and also of the Hero from
Dragon Warrior. At the end of
Dragon Warrior III, the King of Alefgard bestows upon the Hero “the Order of Loto”, the country’s highest honor reserved only for true heroes. While this implies Loto is merely a title, it's possible to name the Hero Loto at the beginning of
Dragon Warrior III. In
Dragon Warrior III, the origins of the hero Loto are revealed; therefore, the
chronological order of the first three games is
III,
I,
II.
The Hero, originally known as Erdrick to many English-speaking players, is also known by two other names. In the original
Japanese language games (
Dragon Quest), Erdrick is known exclusively by the name
Roto, which is also used by some
import gamers. Another
romanization of the name is
Loto, which was used in place of Erdrick when
Enix America, Inc. re-released
Dragon Warrior I,
II, and
III on the
Game Boy Color. This was most likely used because the Japanese language doesn't distinguish between L and R.
In the original
Final Fantasy, Square parodies Dragon Quest by displaying a grave for Erdrick in the town of Elfland. In retaliation, Enix hid a Cid grave in
Dragon Quest III. A parody of Erdrick's sword is wielded by
Gilgamesh in
Final Fantasy XII: it's referred to as the "Wyrmhero Blade" (In the Japanese version, it's called "Tolo Sword").
Zenithia
Zenithia, also called
Zenith Castle or simply
Zenith, is the name of a fictional sky castle from the series. The first appearance is in
Dragon Warrior IV, and the castle is one of several elements from
Dragon Quest IV,
V, and
VI which suggest the three games are linked as a
trilogy; this group is often called the
Tenkū (Japanese for Heaven), or the
Tenkū no Shiro (
Castle in the Sky) trilogy. A castle in the
Dragon Warrior III remakes for
Super Famicom/
Game Boy Color is also called
Zenith, though the layout differs from the castle from the Tenku series.
In
Dragon Warrior IV, Zenithia can be accessed by climbing the Tower near Gottside, which goes as far up to the sky. It is directly above the entrance to the world of darkness. In
Dragon Quest V, Zenithia has fallen into a lake south of Elheaven. This happened when the
Golden Orb, half of a set of magical orbs that supported the castle in the sky, fell from its place. Once recovered and returned to Master Dragon, Zenithia will rise again. This time, the castle can move freely around the sky. In
Dragon Quest VI, Zenith Castle is sealed away by Demon Lord Durran, and a giant hole is left behind in its place in the
Dream World. After the Dream World returns to its natural state, Zenith Castle is the only part of it that can still be seen floating above the real world.
Square Enix has released the Celestial Sword (the Zenithian Sword) and Sword of Ramias as part of their Dragon Quest Legend Items series - miniature collectible toy replicas of artifacts from the
Dragon Quest universe.
Games
Main series
- Dragon Warrior — NES & MSX (1986) (As Dragon Warrior (1989) in North America)
- Originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest
- Remade for the Super Famicom in Japan 1993 as Dragon Quest I & II and for Game Boy Color in Japan in 1999 and in 2000 in North America as Dragon Warrior I & II (Dragon Quest I & II in Japan).
- Released for Satellaview (1998) and as a cellular phone game (2004) in Japan.
- Dragon Warrior II — NES & MSX (1987) (1990 in North America)
- Originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest II Akuryo no Kamigami which translates to "Dragon Quest II Pantheon of Evil Spirits."
- Remade for the Super Famicom in Japan 1993 as Dragon Quest I & II and for Game Boy Color in Japan in 1999 and in 2000 in North America as Dragon Warrior I & II (Dragon Quest I & II in Japan).
- Dragon Warrior III — NES (1988) (1991 in North America)
- Originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest III Soshite Densetsu e... which translates to "Dragon Quest III And Into the Legend..."
- Remade for the Super Famicom (1996) and the Game Boy Color (2000).
- — NES (1990) (1992 in North America as Dragon Warrior IV)
- Originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest IV Michibikareshi Monotachi which translates to "Dragon Quest IV The Guided Ones"
- Remade for the PlayStation in Japan (2001).
- Remade for the Nintendo DS. Released in Japan on November 22, 2007. Planned release in North America on September 16, 2008. Planned release in Europe on September 2008.
- European version to be released under the name Dragon Quest: The Chapters of the Chosen.
- — Super Famicom (1992)
- Originally only released in Japan as Dragon Quest V Tenkū no Hanayome which translates to "Dragon Quest V Bride of Heaven"
- Remade for the PlayStation 2 (2004) in Japan.
- Remade for the Nintendo DS. Planned release in Japan on July 17, 2008. Planned for future release in North America and Europe.
- European version to be released under the name Dragon Quest: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride.
- — Super Famicom (1995)
- Originally only released in Japan as Dragon Quest VI Maboroshi no Daichi which translated to "Dragon Quest VI Land of Illusion"
- Remake for the Nintendo DS in development. Planned for future releases in Japan, North America, and Europe.
- European version to be released under the name Dragon Quest: Realms of Reverie.
- Dragon Warrior VII — PlayStation (2000) (2001 in North America)
- Originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest VII Eden no Senshi-tachi which translates to "Dragon Quest VII Warriors of Eden"
- — PlayStation 2 (2004) (2005 in North America, 2006 in Europe)
- Originally released in Japan as Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi which translates to "Dragon Quest VIII The Sky, the Ocean, the Earth, and the Cursed Princess"
- Released in PAL regions as Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King.
- Dragon Quest IX Hoshizora no Mamoribito
At a press conference in Japan celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dragon Quest, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest IX is in development for the
Nintendo DS handheld gaming system. The full title is reported to be
Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Sky (or
Protectors of the Starry Sky, depending on translation), and is the next main installment in the series by
Level-5, not a spin-off or side quest. This will be the first installment of the series that will be exclusive to a handheld system rather than a home console. Notably, this would have also been the first installment to feature real-time combat as well as four player
co-op over
wi-fi, but it was later reported that the system had been changed back to a turn based format.
Spinoffs
The franchise also includes several spin-off series, including
Dragon Quest Monsters and
Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest, as well as arcade games like the Japanese game
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road.
In 1993,
Chunsoft created a
Super Famicom game for Torneko Taloon, also known as simply Taloon to American gamers, a
fictional character first appearing in
Dragon Warrior IV. The game, titled which loosely translates to
Torneko's Great Adventure: Mysterious Dungeon, was a
roguelike which continued Torneko's story from
Dragon Quest IV, where he wished to make his store grow even further by venturing into mysterious dungeons and getting more items for stock. It was very successful, both on namesake and quality.
A direct sequel to
Torneko no Daibouken came out in Japan and the United States in 2000 called . This game was very similar to the first, but it's considered much easier by comparison. It was received well enough in Japan to warrant a third direct sequel, on the
PlayStation 2, titled
Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon 3. Both the second and third Torneko games have been ported to the
Game Boy Advance.
Following the success of Torneko, many other
Fushigi no Dungeon games were published by various companies (most of which developed by Chunsoft), among the best known are
Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon and
Nightmare of Druaga: Mysterious Dungeon. The most recent additions to the genre are and .
A card-based
arcade game, known as and developed by
Level-5, was released exclusively in Japan.
Finally, two spinoffs are played by physically swinging a controller using it as a sword to slash enemies among other things. is a stand alone game which comes with the a toy sword as the controller, and a toy shield containing the game's hardware.
Dragon Quest Swords is an exclusive
Wii title which uses the motion sensing abilities of the
Wii Remote similarly.
Development
Yuji Horii, Akira Toriyama, and Koichi Sugiyama are the three most well known creators of the
Dragon Quest series.
Dragon Quest games have been developed by
Chunsoft,
Heartbeat,
Artepiazza, and starting with
Dragon Quest VIII,
Level-5. Horii's own company,
Armor Project, is in charge of the
Dragon Quest games, which were published by Enix and now Square Enix. While Toriyama is the series' character designer, the primary designs are first conceived by Horii, before being handed to Toriyama to re-draw under Horii's supervision.
Reception
Dragon Quest is often regarded as the most popular video game series in Japan. For instance, the remake of
Dragon Quest V sold 1.3 million copies in Japan in its first two days, which is a very high number for a remake. In 2006, Japanese gaming magazine
Famitsu readers voted on the hundred best video games of all time.
Dragon Quest III came in third,
Dragon Quest VIII came in fourth,
Dragon Quest VII came in ninth,
Dragon Quest V came in eleventh,
Dragon Quest IV came in fourteenth,
Dragon Quest II came in seventeenth,
Dragon Quest came in thirtieth, and
Dragon Quest VI came in thirty-fourth.
Although the game is a phenomenon in Japan, the game never garnered as much attention in North America. Unlike other modern, complex RPGs,
Dragon Quest retains the simple gameplay from the first game, which many critics find refreshing and nostalgic. Other critics feel differently about the series, however, and claim that the story, characters, and gameplay have become boring and redundant over the years.
The original
Dragon Quest game is often claimed to be the birth of the
console role-playing game, despite the fact that many others consider
Final Fantasy "more important."
Media
Manga and anime
Dragon Quest: Abel Yuusha — loosely based on Dragon Quest III, 43 episodes (known as Dragon Warrior in the United States with 13 dubbed episodes)
— Original story, 37 volumes, 46 episodes, 3 movies
Dragon Quest: Emblem of Roto — takes place 100 years after Dragon Quest I, 21 volumes, movie
Dragon Quest: Princess Alena — based on Dragon Quest IV
— based on Dragon Quest V
— based on Dragon Quest VI
Dragon Quest: Warriors of Eden — based on Dragon Quest VII
Dragon Quest Monsters + — based on Dragon Quest Monsters, 5 volumes by Mine Yoshizaki
Dragon Quest e no Michi
Dragon Quest e no Michi (The Road to Dragon Quest) is a manga book based on the creators of Dragon Quest published by Enix. The one volume manga was produced by Ishimori Productions, a company famous for creating manga based on famous people and businesses. Released in 1990, the manga stars Yujii Hori, Koichi Nakamura (main programmer), Koichi Sugiyama, Akira Toriyama, and Yukinobu Chida (producer) and involves the creation of the series. The story shows that Horii and Yuji originally used the full-screen map of Ultima and the battle and stats oriented Wizardry screen to create the gameplay. Each of the Dragon Quest soundtracks have been composed and arranged by Koichi Sugiyama, who has also composed the music for the games. Since then, an album with the game's title and "Symphonic Suite" has been released for each game in the main series. Aside from the main series of soundtracks, other compilations of Dragon Quest music have been made, such as Dragon Quest Game Music Super Collection Vol. 1.
Some of the soundtracks songs are performed by the London Philharmonic, such as Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest I•II. With a few of the soundtracks, a second disc with the original game music is included, like with the original Dragon Quest VI soundtrack.
In 2003, SME Visual Works released Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest Complete CD-Box, a box set featuring music from the first seven Dragon Quest games. Each of the seven discs is broken up by where the music is played in the games. Disc one, for example, has the opening overture song from each of the Dragon Quest games, whereas disc six features all the battle songs.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dragon Quest'.
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