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For the first game of the series or Dragon Quest I, see Dragon Quest.
For the TV series originally named Dragon Quest, see Dragon Quest: Legend of the Hero Abel.

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Dragon Quest (ドラゴンクエスト) is a series of role-playing games made by Square Enix (originally Enix Corp.) for a variety of video game platforms. It is the all-time best-selling video game series in Japan, and enjoys decent popularity elsewhere as well. The series was referred to outside Japan as Dragon Warrior prior to the release of Dragon Quest VIII due to a trademark issue in the United States.

Each game in the main series of games is titled with the name "Dragon Quest" followed by a Roman numeral. Since 1986, which marked the release of the original Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest has so far featured eleven games within the main series, as well as several spin-off games, and also two animated productions.

Dragon Quest is often compared with the Final Fantasy series, created by SquareSoft. Although the Dragon Quest series started before Final Fantasy, it continues to lag behind in the number of games within the main series (eleven Dragon Quest titles versus sixteen Final Fantasy titles). The two competed for more or less the same market until the companies' merger in 2003, at which point Dragon Quest began to take a backseat to the more universally popular Final Fantasy.

Common themes

Every Dragon Quest game is told primarily through the eyes of a Hero named by the player, usually a prophesied "Chosen One" or a similar concept that requires him to rise against a new evil. Often, this evil is a Dragonlord or some kind of demon, but invariably wishes to take over the world and enslave or destroy humanity. Unlike other games in the genre, which have since the turn of the century begun to take on more of a science fiction slant, Dragon Quest tends to lean more towards traditional fantasy, with medieval technology and trappings. With certain exceptions, most games take place in a world distinct from every other; there is next to no direct continuity between instalments, with each game taking place in a world envisioned from the ground up ad hoc.

However, Dragon Quest I-III and IV-VI can be considered related through their storytelling. II is a direct sequel to the original game, while III is a prequel that effectively makes a trilogy; IV, V, and VI each feature the Zenithia castle as an important plot element, and so fans have come to call them the "Zenithia Trilogy." However, Yuji Horii has stated that this second group was never intended to be related.

Magic is frequently an important element, as both an in-battle ability of player-controlled characters and the cause of various world-shaking events.

As a pioneer in the RPG realm, Dragon Quest games have a reputation for being "bread and butter" representatives of the genre. The player advances through the game by carrying out predetermined actions directly related to the progression of the plot, such as collecting a key item or defeating a particular antagonist. Usually, one of his first orders of business is to gather a party of like-minded warriors to join him on his quest. As the party traverses the landscape and various dungeons, they will be forced to fight (or, if they choose, flee from) enemies based on a "random encounter" system. Later in the game, the party often acquires improved transportation that may allow them to avoid such skirmishes. Battles are turn-based; the player delivers combat instructions each turn from an in-battle menu system. Some games feature AI that sees all party members but the Hero character responding to situations based on various factors at hand, sometimes including general orders such as "Attack ferociously" or "Go all-out with magic."

Defeating enemy characters yields experience points (EXP). When a certain number of EXP has been accumulated, the character levels up and becomes stronger, improving in a number of areas represented by statistical values that affect their performance on the battlefield. This system means that if a player finds any part of a Dragon Quest game too difficult, he can simply fight against weaker enemies until he becomes strong enough to have an easier time of it.

Dragon Quest is, overall, a fairly lighthearted and humorous series that was likely not intended to be taken too seriously.

Design

The Dragon Quest series is primarily the work of three men: Yuji Horii is the scenario writer and lead designer; Akira Toriyama is the character designer, bringing in a style reminiscent of his manga works; and Koichi Sugiyama handled the music production until his untimely death in 2021, with the upcoming Dragon Quest XII credited as his final score.

List of games

Main series

This table shows the original platform in bold. Release dates are for the original release only; see the individual game articles for other release dates.

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest Famicom/NES, MSX, PC-98, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, mobile phones, Wii, Android, iOS, Nintendo 3DS PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 27 May 1986
Dragon Quest II Famicom/NES, MSX, MSX2, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, mobile phones, Android, iOS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 26 Jan 1987
Dragon Quest III Famicom/NES, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, mobile phones, Wii, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch 10 Feb 1988
Dragon Quest IV Famicom/NES, PlayStation, Nintendo DS, Android, iOS 11 Feb 1990
Dragon Quest V Super Famicom, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Android, iOS 27 Sep 1992
Dragon Quest VI Super Famicom, Nintendo DS, Android, iOS 9 Dec 1995
Dragon Quest VII Playstation, Nintendo 3DS, Android, iOS 26 Aug 2000
Dragon Quest VIII Playstation 2, Android, iOS, Nintendo 3DS 27 Nov 2004
Dragon Quest IX Nintendo DS 11 Jul 2009
Dragon Quest X Wii, Wii U, Windows, Android, iOS, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2 Aug 2012
Dragon Quest XI Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Google Stadia 29 Jul 2017
Dragon Quest XII TBA TBA

Monsters series

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest Monsters Game Boy Color, Playstation 25 Sep 1998
Dragon Quest Monsters 2 Game Boy Color, Playstation 9 Mar 2001
Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart Game Boy Advance 29 Mar 2003
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker Nintendo DS 28 Dec 2006
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Nintendo DS 28 Apr 2010
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional Nintendo DS 31 Mar 2011
Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D Nintendo 3DS 31 May 2012
Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light Android, iOS 23 Jan 2014
Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key Nintendo 3DS 6 Feb 2014
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Nintendo 3DS 24 Mar 2016
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Professional Nintendo 3DS 9 Feb 2017
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Nintendo Switch 1 Dec 2023

Mystery Dungeon series

Name Platforms Release date
Torneko's Great Adventure Super Famicom 19 Sep 1993
Torneko: The Last Hope Playstation, Game Boy Advance 15 Sep 1999
Torneko's Great Adventure 3 PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance 31 Oct 2002
Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon PlayStation 2 20 Apr 2006

Slime Morimori series

Name Platforms Release date
Slime Morimori Dragon Quest Game Boy Advance 14 Nov 2003
Rocket Slime Nintendo DS 1 Dec 2005
Slime Morimori Dragon Quest 3 Nintendo 3DS 2 Nov 2011

Builders series

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest Builders PS3, PS4, PSV, Nintendo Switch, Steam 25 Jan 2016
Dragon Quest Builders 2 Nintendo Switch, PS4, Windows 20 Dec 2018

Heroes series

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest Heroes PS3, PS4, Windows, Nintendo Switch 26 Feb 2015
Dragon Quest Heroes II PS3, PS4, PSV, Nintendo Switch, Windows 27 May 2016

Monster Battle Road series

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Arcade 21 Jun 2007
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II Arcade 3 Dec 2008
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II Legend Arcade 15 Jan 2010
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory Wii 15 Jul 2010

Scan series

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Scanner Arcade 23 Jun 2016
Dragon Quest: Scan Battlers Arcade 20 Jul 2017
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - Xross Blade Arcade 22 Oct 2020

Dragon Quest Mobile

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest of the Stars iOS, Android 15 Oct 2015
Dragon Quest Walk iOS, Android 12 Sep 2019
Dragon Quest Tact iOS, Android 15 Jul 2020
Dragon Quest Keshi Keshi! iOS, Android 1 Jul 2021
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - A Hero's Bonds iOS, Android 28 Sep 2021
Dragon Quest Champions iOS, Android 13 Jun 2023

Other Dragon Quest games

Name Platforms Release date
Kenshin Dragon Quest Dedicated hardware 19 Sep 2003
Dragon Quest Swords Wii 12 Jul 2007
Dragon Quest Wars Nintendo DSi 24 Jun 2009
Dragon Quest: Monster Parade Web broswers, mobile devices 2 Sep 2013
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest Nintendo 3DS 26 Mar 2015
Dragon Quest Rivals Android, iOS, web browsers, Nintendo Switch 2 Nov 2017
Dragon Quest Treasures Nintendo Switch, Steam 9 Dec 2022
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest - The Adventure of Dai Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X & S, Steam 28 Sep 2023

Compilations

Name Platforms Release date
Dragon Quest I·II Super Famicom, Game Boy Color 18 Dec 1993
Dragon Quest Monsters 1·2 PlayStation 30 May 2002
Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary Collection Wii 15 Sep 2011
Dragon Quest Heroes I·II Nintendo Switch 3 Mar 2017

Videos

Trivia

  • As of the release of Dragon Quest III, new installments have to be released on weekends in Japan, as at the time, so many children skipped school to buy the game.[1]
  • The original North American release of Final Fantasy took a dig at Dragon Quest when a tombstone in what was then Elfland quipped, "Here lies Erdrick". This was later changed to poke fun at The Legend of Zelda when the parent companies became Square Enix.

References

External links

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