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For the title, see Erdrick.
For the main character of Emblem of Roto, see Arus (Emblem of Roto).

The Hero/Heroine (male in original NES version, either male/female in remakes) of Dragon Quest III is the son/daughter of Ortega who is sent to destroy the Archfiend Baramos before he can destroy the world. Unexpectedly, they will find their quest expanding beyond their wildest expectations and will take on unexpected challenges before reuniting with their father. Upon their journey's end, the Hero/Heroine is given the title "Erdrick", and as such they are often referred to when spoken about them in other titles.

The Hero's name is up to the player, a Dragon Quest staple, but the official guidebook (公式ガイドブック) names are Arusu (アルス) for the male and Irin (アイリン) for the female. In the Dragon Quest III CD Theater audio and Emblem of Roto manga, his name is Arel (アレル).

Appearance[]

Although the hero can be either male or female, their appearances are practically identical. They are of average height and build, and they have incredibly spiky, dark brown hair. The heroine is slightly shorter than her male counterpart, her hair sticks up less, and she wears a pair of green earrings. Around their forehead is a silver circlet inlaid with a green gem. They wear a long blue tunic over a yellow long-sleeved shirt and pants, a pair of knee-length leather boots, leather gloves, and a long purple cloak around their necks. They wear a brown leather belt around their waist, and a scabbard strapped to their back.

The hero wields a simple sword and a grey heater shield with an insignia of a dragon's head and two crossed swords on the front. The hero's outfit is slightly different in the Famicom illustrations, having a gold circlet with a blue gem around their forehead, and a dark blue cloak around their neck. They are seen carrying a cutlass and a round version of Erdrick's shield. There were also no illustrations of the heroine until the Super Famicom remake: in certain illustrations, the heroine's outfit is more feminised, making her blue tunic a strapless miniskirt.

Personality[]

Keeping with Dragon Quest tradition, the Hero/Heroine is a silent protagonist, they have no actual lines of dialogue, their personality is dictated by the player, though they are often praised and celebrated for their courage and heroism, being pillars of goodness and bravery, taking on impossible tasks and coming out on top through many hardships and tribulations.

What makes them different from most Dragon Quest heroes is that in the SFC and later versions, their personalities are tested by the “Ruler of Everything”. They are asked a series of questions by the disembodied voice before being taken to one of several scenarios. How they act through the scenario will dictate their personality. They have several possible personalities attributed to them afterwards, ranging from positive ones such as being valiant, diligent, fearless, agile, smart, lucky, among others, to less positive ones such as cowardly, stubborn, lazy, helpless, naive, selfish, etc. Some personalities are even gender exclusive, for example, only the Female Hero can have the Vamp personality. It should also be mentioned that these personalities affect only the stat growth of the Hero, not any dialogue in game or even the story.

Biography[]

Dragon Quest III[]

The Hero was raised by their mother and grandfather in their home in Aliahan. Their father, the renowned warrior Ortega, was tasked by the king of Aliahan to assassinate the world-threatening archfiend Baramos on the very day of their birth. Some time later, word of Ortega's supposed death reaches the kingdom and the Hero's mother proposes that her child can follow in Ortega's footsteps to free the world from Baramos' growing menace. The child is then trained to become a great warrior like their father and, on their sixteenth birthday, they officially depart to save the world. The king gives a word of warning to take companions with them on their quest lest they meet the same fate as their father, and instructs them to visit Patty's Party Planning Place before leaving the safety of Aliahan.

The king of Aliahan has discreetly sent word of the Hero's journey to the monarchs of every major nation--this is why the kings and queens warmly receive them even though the citizenry knows nothing of their mission. The Hero encounters several towns and kingdoms throughout their journey and accomplishes many feats of heroism, such asmending the wounds between the Faeries and the people of Norvik and freeing the nation of Jipang from the deceit of a sinister serpent. Six legendary orbs are gathered by the Hero along their trek, which they use to hatch the legendary Everbird Ramia. The phoenix is the direct servant of the Goddess, and her camaraderie with the Hero is irrefutable proof of their destiny as the savior of the world. Additionally, the Hero encounters the dying Queen of Dragons in her remote mountain castle. Before she succumbs to her age, she gives the Hero the Sphere of Light and reassures them that their destiny is one of great courage and hardship for the benefit of the entire world.

After defeating Baramos, the Hero returns victorious to Aliahan, only to be confronted by a new nemesis, Zoma, the true master of the Archfiend Baramos. Taking up a new quest to defeat the true evil, the Hero travels through the Great Pit of Giaga to the world below and arrives in Alefgard, which is sealed in perpetual darkness under the devil's heel. Here, the Hero fights back against the eternal night by freeing the entrapped Goddess Rubiss and besieging Zoma's castle. Against all odds, the Hero encounters their father fighting in the depths of the castle--Ortega had fallen into the world below during his fight at the crater of a volcano and resumed his mission by seeking to kill the evil plaguing both worlds at its source.

Tragically, Ortega is mortally wounded in a battle with the King Hydra before he can even reach Zoma, and is so severely burned by the dragon that he can no longer see. Sensing someone is present, Ortega embraces his death with despair and bemoans his inability to bring peace to his world and that he was never able to see his child grow up. Ortega then quietly dies in the Hero's arms.

Reaching the lowest level of the castle, the Hero kills the king hydra before fighting through the animated corpse of Baramos and the fiend's very soul on their way to Zoma's throne. The devil mocks the would-be saviour and the battle begins, with Zoma's impenetrable shroud of darkness being burned away by the sphere of light and leaving him vulnerable. After a vicious clash the Hero emerges victorious, and Zoma begins to fade away--warning them that even though he may perish, there will always be another evil to take his place.

The castle begins to collapse due to the force of the battle, and the Hero emerges from the Nail Mark north of Tantegel. The light of the sun has begun to shine in Alefgard for the first time in untold years, and the people receive the Hero as nothing short of a messiah sent by the Goddess. The king bestows upon them the title of Erdrick, the most sacred honour that the land has, and the stratum gap between the world above and Alefgard closes before the Hero can return. Unable to rejoin friends and family above, the Hero settles down in their new home and begins a family that will continue their legacy of standing resolute in the face of desolating evil, while also leaving behind powerful equipment and tools so that their future descendants may use them to protect the world.

Spells[]

The Hero learns a mix of Priest and Mage spells, often learning them much later than either class, but they also learn some unique spells. The Hero's MP growth is rather weak and they won't be able to cast many spells in the beginning of the game they won't be able to do much, usually just reserved for attacking and only using magic when other party members are out of MP.

Dragon Quest III (Remake) 
Spell Level Learnt
Frizz 2
Heal 4
Poof 6
Zoom 8
Sizz 10
Kaclang 12
Evac 14
Snooze 16
Fizzle 18
Holy Protection 19
Sizzle 23
Zap 26
Midheal 29
Boom 31
Multiheal 33
Zing 35
Omniheal 38
Kazap 41

Other appearances[]

Main Games[]

Dragon Quest XI[]

In this game’s true ending after Serenica is shown to reunite with Erdwin, the beginning of Dragon Quest III is shown, with the Hero appearing at the end to be awoken by their mother before setting off for Aliahan castle. Their mother was shown reading a red book that detailed the adventure of the Luminary before walking upstairs to awaken their child. Whether this book is an historical account, making the world of Erdrea the very distant past of the Hero's own world, or a work of fiction is unknown.

The Definitive edition and 3DS verisons expand upon this, as the Luminary and his party are able to visit various locations of the Hero's world, including their house, thanks to the Echo Chamber of Tickington, a village outside the normal boundaries of space and time.

Other Games[]

Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Series[]

Reappearing from the first Battle Road onwards, he is summoned via the Kazap and the Sphere of Light cards, but can also be fought in the Alltrades Abbey Challenge Battle from Battle Road II Legend onwards, allowing the player to change into the Hero vocation when defeated, in addition to using him as a fightable character.

Skill/Spell Description
Erdrick's Sword Technique Attacks one enemy twice with the Sword of Kings and most likely lands a critical hit.
Zap Break Fires a ball of light that paralyzes all enemies and damages them.

Dragon Quest Rivals Aces[]

Appears as a card as part of the 2nd card series.

Third-Party Games[]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]

The Hero of Dragon Quest III appears as a costume for the Hero, along with the Heroes of XIIV, and VIII. While playing as the Hero in Classic Mode, he appears as the opponent of Stage 6, set on the third version of the Castle Seige stage.

Lineage[]

The Hero's bloodline is that of powerful men and women blessed by the goddess Rubiss who are destined to save the world from the grips of darkness. While every person descended from them carries their spirit, the most notable of them all is the descendant of Erdrick, who saved Alefgard from the threat of the Dragonlord and founded the kingdoms of Midenhall, Cannock and Moonbrooke, and the heirs of said kingdoms, the Prince of Midenhall, the Prince of Cannock, and the Princess of Moonbrooke, who united as the Scions of Erdrick and vanquisced the foul High Priest Hargon. Their own adventures would shape the course of history for the betterment of the world, and insuring that the name of Erdrick would never leave the hearts of Alefgard and Torland.

Additionally in the alternate reality of Dragon Quest Builders, the Builder is said to be a very distant descendant of them, but despite lacking their ancestor fighting prowess they nontheless inherited the spirit of the legendary hero, leading Rubiss to chose them to rebuld the world, even going as far as to reanimate them after their unfortunate early passing. Aganist her expectations the Builder would defy her prohibition to fight the Dragonlord, but in the end thanks also to her assistance, Rubiss was proven wrong and the Builder was successful in defeating the tyrant albeit at the cost of much of their remaining lifespan. Tragically, the descendant of Erdrick who was expected to slay the Dragonlord and had done as such in the main timeline, in this reality has fallen from grace, foolishly accepting the Dragonlord abominable offer, condemning the world to suffer for a century only to be reduced to a cackling lunatic cloistered away in a small fortress, for then fleeing once beaten, never to be seen again.

The lineage of Erdrick is once again presented, albeit in a much more subdued way in Dragon Quest Builders 2, an alternate reality of the events taking place after the conclusion of Dragon Quest II. The spirit of Hargon, who survived inside an illusory world, was planning to attack and destroy the real world, but the main reason behind said machination was specifically to spite the Scions of Erdrick who previously defeated him. Also the King of Moonbrooke, despite being only an illusory copy of the original ruler, still possessed the superior magical talent of Erdrick's bloodline and as such he was instrumental in assisting the Builder in the creation of a magic superweapon, the Kazapple Cannon. Not only the original weapon was crucial in saving the people of the illusory Moonbrooke, but it's design was later copied and used to permanently extinguish the evil part of Malroth's soul.

In the manga series Emblem of Roto, Prince Arus, Prince Jagan and Asteea are also descendants of them.

Items Iconography[]

As the Hero's legacy has grown in the distant time between the events of Dragon Quest III and the events of Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II, several items and powerful pieces of equipment that once belonged to the Hero are now addressed with their title "Erdrick" in their names.

Beyond the gear the Hero took into battle, they also left behind a tablet with a message written left for their descendant in Dragon Quest. It gives instructions on what items are needed to create the Rainbow Drop, which is needed to safely reach the Dragonlord's Castle. The tablet is found in a a small cave, what was previously the Nail Mark, that would be named Erdrick's Cave after their passing.

Gallery[]

NES[]

SNES[]

Others[]

Trivia[]

  • He shares his voice actor with Derolin in the 1996 Adventure of Dai anime.
  • The hero is not able to change classes like other characters in the game. In the original NES version of the game, the Hero/Heroine must always be in the party. In the remakes, this requirement is removed after defeating Zoma.
  • In Dragon Quest Heroes, it is possible to unlock outfits for Aurora and Luceus that are similar to the Hero/Heroine's outfit.
  • Despite being able to choose between a male or female hero, the game often still refers to the Hero as "he", even if the player has chosen the female one. This has led to a running joke that the female Hero is constantly mistaken for a boy. The remake versions of the game make reference to this when the female Hero talks to the King of Aliahan, as well as to several others throughout the story; they react with shock and often an apology for the mixup.
  • Interestingly, the Hero starts the game by being woken by their mother before going on their quest, a scenario that would repeat when Crono is woken by his mother in Chrono Trigger, a 1995 game by Square (who would later merge with Enix (publishers of the early Dragon Quest games) to become Square Enix) and whose art was also drawn by Akira Toriyama.


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