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The wagon is a recurring vehicle in the Dragon Quest series that facilitates larger parties.

Function[]

Since only four characters can be in the active "battle" party at one time, once the party grows to more than that, the rest can wait in the wagon. Where the wagon is available, usually in the open fields, it is possible to rearrange the party any time, even during battles. The wagon is however not typically available in settlements, caves, dungeons, or castles, preventing from having anything to fall back on if the characters run low, and forcing to make do with what is currently at disposal; however, some items such as the Baron's Bugle can summon it.

Interestingly, despite the party not travelling in a wagon at any point in the story, all of its classic functionality with none of its limitations is nonetheless present by default in Dragon Quest XI.

In Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI, due to the large number of possible additional party members, the wagon system was combined with other means of character swapping: the wagon itself is given a ride limit of four people, while all other characters can be housed in Patty's Party Planning Place if Human, or Monty's dens for any Monster recruit in V.

The wagon system has a major advantage over the other party storing and swapping systems, those being the aforementioned Patty's Party Planning Place (found in Dragon Quest III, V , VI, IX and some spin-off titles), Monty's monster dens (in V) or Maribel's house in Pilchard Bay (Dragon Quest VII): inactive party members that are travelling inside the Wagon will still benefit from battle rewards such as EXP or Vocation proficiency points, while party members left to other places will have instead any growth negated.

Like all the above mentioned alternative ways to party swap, the use of the wagon to shuffle the party structure directly influences the available party chat dialogues, with only a partial exception for Dragon Quest VIII.

Usage in Games[]

Dragon Quest IV[]

The wagon is obtained in Chapter 5 at the Last Chance Saloon after Hank Hoffman Jr. is given the Symbol of faith and briefly joins the party.

He entrusts it and its pulley horse Mary Lou, to the care of The Hero and the rest of the Chosen after he leaves for Mintos. Thanks to use of the Baron's Bugle, found in the Baron's Folly shrine, the wagon can be summoned past Castle Nadiria, allowing for all the Chosen to confront Psaro the Manslayer.

Dragon Quest V[]

First is obtained in the Curiosity Shop at Fortuna for 300 gold coins, the wagon of Dragon Quest V, pulled by the horse Dusty, has most of its functionality similar to the one of Dragon Quest IV, but being in its possession is one of the essential triggers that allow the occasional recruitment of monsters, the other being talking to Monty for the first time.

However, with a new limit of only four extra people being able to ride in it, any additional human character of the party will be sent to Patty's Party Planning Place, while any monster recruit will be welcomed to Monty's monster dens. Some large monsters (like Eyevory tusk-tusk) can force a party member back into the wagon with the skill Banish to Wagon, requiring them to be switched back out, while others can use the skill Close Wagon to prevent reinforcements from it altogether.

Dragon Quest VI[]

The wagon is obtained from an old man in Somnia after both the Hero and Carver find the wild horse, Peggy Sue, in a field west of the castle.

Once again with a limit of four extra seats, any additional party member will be sent to Patty's Party Planning Place, regardless if they are a human or monster. The Close Wagon enemy skill also makes a reappearance.

Dragon Quest VIII[]

In the original release of Dragon Quest VIII, the wagon was purely cosmetic, since the party never contained more than four characters, having instead only a story's importance, as it is King Trode's primary method of locomotion, pulled by Princess Medea, and home of the Alchemy Pot.

Due to the wagon being unable to traverse caves and dungeons, and Trode being banned to enter most settlements, party chatting with him is only possible in the open fields; otherwise the party chat is not influenced by the wagon's use, unlike the other titles, as the rest of the group is always present. Prince Charmles also briefly rides in the wagon at one point in the story.

With the addition of Morrie and Red as party members, the wagon functionality was changed in the 3DS version; the wagon now acts exactly as it did in previous titles, making it possible to switch these two characters in and change the party structure except in caves and dungeons. Even with this change, it does not hinder the party chat function, as all of the group is still always together, minus for Trode and Medea as mentioned above.

Other languages[]

Other languages
French
German Wagen
Spanish
Italian
Dutch Unknown
Norwegian Unknown
Greek Unknown
Portuguese Unknown
Russian Unknown
Chinese
Korean



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