Hero/Heroine of Dragon Quest IX is a male or female Celestrian who, under an unexpected turn of events, loses his/her Celestrian nature and becomes human. Their mission was to collect Benevolessence (Star Auras in the Japanese version) in the village they were assigned to: Angel Falls. Benevolessence was used to power the sacred Yggdrasil Tree, giving it the ability to sprout Fyggs when enough has been given. Upon completion of this task, the Celestrians would be granted access to the Realm of the Almighty, which was their ultimate goal in their after-life. After giving Yggdrasil a certain amount of Benevolessence, the tree begins to bear fyggs. Shortly after this occurs, a disaster comes forth, which sends the fyggs and the hero/heroine falling down into the Protectorate (Earth). When the hero wakes up in Angel Falls, they have lost their uniqueness, bearing no wings or halo. This effectively turns them into a human.
A unique feature in this game is that you can design the hero alongside your party, much like in III. The only difference is that nearly everything is customizable. Name, hair style and color, eyes and eye color can be modified. This allows players to try and make the Hero/Heroine reflect themselves if they so desire.
The Hero, along with the other Heroes of the series, is playable in Monster Battle Road II Legends. In that game, the Hero is depicted as a male angel.
In Joker 2, which features a few boss monster cameo appearances from IX, you can see the Hero wearing the Dragon Warrior armor whilst riding Greygnarl.
Class and Skills
Hero always starts out as a Minstrel. They possess a few unique skills. For example, they receive the "Egg On" skill, which acts as a selectable Psyche Up spell, after a scene at Quester's Rest from Patty and learns the spell Zoom after returning to the Celestrian Observatory aboard the Starflight Express. After gaining access to the second continent, the hero/heroine and party are granted the ability to change their vocation at Alltrades Abbey. However, they must have completed the events occurring at the Tower of Trades.
Trivia
- As Akira Toriyama, famous for the Dragon Ball series, worked as a character designer for the game, most of the selectable hairstyles are shared with many Dragon Ball characters. Some notable ones include Videl's, Goku's, Tien's, Krillin's, Gohan's, and Android 18's.
- Originally, Vegeta's hair was meant to be available to the males.
- Coincidentally, the protagonist and Celestria have done something similar to Zenus and Corvus; taking the role of erasing humanity while the other, in contrast, both have a personal sacrifice. In Celestria's case, that would be her becoming Yggdrasil and the main character becoming fully mortal.
- It is unknown just how long the Hero/Heroine will still be able to see the Realm of the Almighty after becoming mortal and defeating Corvus. However, after the main story, they gain another Fygg allowing them to reunite with Stella and the Starlight Express
Gallery
 Hero's second artwork for IX.  Hero's third artwork for IX.  Heroine's first artwork for IX.  Heroine's second artwork for IX.  The Hero waving to people coming to Quester's Inn.  Hero and friends battling monsters in the wild.  Hero and friends battling Atlas.  The Hero and friends in Quester's Inn while the Hero talks to a Priest.  The Hero joined by friends, while he changes vocation.  The Hero acquiring a Fygg with friends and locals.  Hero preparing to battle in MBRV. |
| Dragon Quest IX | |
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