The Party refers to a set of playable characters that carry out the progress of a game.
Originally introduced in Dragon Quest II and made customizable in Dragon Quest III, it has become a staple of the Dragon Quest series. The number of the party members is 3-8.
Appearances[]
Dragon Quest II[]
See main article: Scions of Erdrick
Dragon Quest II did not offer any customization of party members. Instead, the Hero must recruit his two cousins, the Prince of Cannock and the Princess of Moonbrooke. The party is collectively known as the Luminaries.
Dragon Quest III[]
See main article: Party (Dragon Quest III)
Dragon Quest III introduced the concept of a totally customizable party to the series. The vocation, gender, and personality (in all remakes) of a party member can be controlled by the player when a character is created at Patty's Party Planning Place (a bar) in Aliahan. While only four characters (including the Hero) may be in the party, extra characters will stay in the bar.
Dragon Quest IV[]
See main article: Chosen Ones
With the series shifting focus to character-driven narratives, the act of character creation has been removed. The party line up can be changed on the fly, and even in battle, thanks to the addition of the wagon. In addition, all characters in the wagon recieve Experience points at the end of battle. The maximum party size remains four.
Though they are temporary uncontrollable characters, Healie and Sparkie are the first monsters to join the protagonists in the Dragon Quest series
IV also brought A.I. to the series: once the Hero gathers companions in the beginning of Chapter 5, they may be assigned one of several battle strategies to adhere to. A.I. could not be turned off in the original NES version.
The main members of the party are known as the Chosen Ones
Dragon Quest V[]
See main article: Party (Dragon Quest V)
The abundance of recruitable monsters saw the necessity of Monty, the monster monitor. The veteran veterinarian will care for all creatures not in the active party of the wagon. V also saw return of Patty, to manage the human cast when not in battle. The maximum party size is three in the original Super Famicom version but was increased to four in the later remakes.