Dragon Quest

Dragon Quest

Original title	ドラゴンクエスト
transcription	Doragon Kuesuto
developer	Chunsoft Enix / Square Enix
Publisher	Enix / Square Enix
Designer	Yūji Horii
First title	Dragon Quest (1986)
Last title	Dragon Quest XI (2017)
Platform (s)	various
Genre (s)	Computer role playing game

Dragon Quest ( Japanese ドラゴンクエスト , Doragon Kuesuto ) is a console role-playing game series by the company Enix (since the merger with Square, then Square Enix ). The games were mainly published in Japan for various game consoles , only a few parts were initially published in the USA under the name Dragon Warrior , since the eighth part Dragon Quest . The series is invented and directed by Yūji Horii , and Akira Toriyama is responsible for the final character design . The music comes from Kōichi Sugiyama .

As of April 2009, over 47 million Dragon Quest units had been sold. It is Square Enix's second most successful franchise after Final Fantasy and the most successful video game series in Japan. Several manga and anime series were created based on the model of the games.

Games

In addition to the main series, in which only Dragon Quest VII, Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest IX, Dragon Quest XI and three new editions for the Nintendo DS (Dragon Quest IV, V and VI) were released in Europe, there are still numerous offshoots such as the "Dragon Quest Monsters" series, the first part of which was published by Eidos in the late 1990s.

Dragon Quest

Dragon Quest
Studio	Chunsoft
Publisher	Japan Enix Nintendo North America
Senior Developer	Yūji Horii
Erstveröffent- lichung	JapanMay 27, 1986 August 1989 North America
platform	Famicom / NES , MSX , MSX2 , NEC PC 9801 , Sharp X68000 , Super Famicom , Game Boy / Game Boy Color , mobile phone, Nintendo Switch
genre	Japano RPG
Subject	Fantasy
Game mode	Single player

Dragon Quest was developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix for Famicom on May 27, 1986 . At the end of 1986 ports for home computers according to the MSX and MSX2 standards appeared . In 2004 it was also released as a mobile game. 1.5 million units of the game were sold in Japan. The game was released for Nintendo Switch on September 27, 2019 .

Game mechanics

Due to its age, Dragon Quest is still a fairly primitive role-playing game. Battles are fought on a turn-based basis. After each fight you receive experience points, which may increase your level, and gold, which you can use to buy equipment, weapons and items . During the game you travel through different places and fight different monsters.

Actions are not triggered by pressing a key, as is usual in later RPG series, but must be selected from a series of commands. So z. For example, open a door by calling up the action menu while standing in front of it and selecting the "Door" command. This is exactly how you can address other characters with "Talk" and open chests with "Take". This principle kept the series up to Dragon Quest V.

Dragon Quest (I) is a solo role-playing game, i. H. the adventure group consists only of the hero himself, and the opponents always appear alone in the numerous random battles. There are no alternative means of transport in the game, such as horses, ships or the like. Every journey is made on foot and the storage options are limited, as it can only be saved in the royal castle.

action

The player embodies the descendant of the legendary hero Loto (also Roto or Erdrick), who is supposed to save the kingdom from the cruel dragon lord.

Dragon Quest II

Released on January 26, 1987 for Famicom and MSX , and on September 27, 2019 for Nintendo Switch .

In Dragon Quest II, a villain named Hargon is up to mischief. So three descendants of the hero from Dragon Quest I set out to stop him.

Many improvements and innovations have been incorporated into Dragon Quest II. The hero group consists of three characters and the opponents now also appear in groups. In the course of the game, the group is given a ship to explore remote islands. The whole world has gotten a lot bigger, which is why it is extremely practical to be able to save in every city.

It has been sold 2.4 million times in Japan.

Dragon Quest I + II

Released on December 18, 1993 for the Super Famicom and on September 23, 1999 for the Game Boy Color . The module contains the first two games in the series, with graphics and sound improved and game elements expanded. DQ I + II were sold 1.2 million times in Japan.

Dragon Quest III

Released on February 10, 1988 for the Famicom , on December 6, 1996 for the Super Famicom , on December 8, 2000 for the Game Boy Color and in September 2019 for Nintendo Switch . The game is a prequel to the first part.

Although the name of the main character can be freely chosen by the player, you play the hero Loto, known from the legends of Dragon Quest I, who is the last hope after his father Ortega failed to save the world.

In Dragon Quest III there are again many innovations. The adventurer group now includes up to four people, three of whom can be recruited in taverns by the player and released again. Since they each have a profession such as warrior, magician or the like, a group can be put together as desired. The medals typical of Dragon Quest also appear here for the first time.

Dragon Quest IV (The Chronicle of the Chosen)

Released on February 11, 1990 for the Famicom and on November 22, 2001 for the PlayStation . In November 2007, a version for the Nintendo DS was released in Japan, which is based on the Playstation game. In September 2008 this version was also released in Germany.

Dragon Quest IV differs from all other Dragon Quest games in that the game is divided into chapters. The individual chapters represent mini-adventures with their own complete story and their own characters. In the last chapter, the actual hero puts together an adventure group from the characters and takes them to the field against evil.

Due to the structure in chapters, the player gets to know the individual characters very well in terms of background story and skills.

The Playstation version differs from the Famicom version mainly in that there is a short prologue in the Playstation version before the first chapter. In this prologue, the player experiences the attack of monsters on the home village of the hero.

Dragon Quest IV sold 3.1 million copies for the Famicom and 1.16 million copies for the Nintendo DS in Japan .

Dragon Quest V (The Hand of the Heavenly Bride)

Dragon Quest V was first released in Japan on September 22, 1992 for the Super Famicom , followed by a remake for the PlayStation 2 on March 25, 2004 . In 2008, another version for the Nintendo DS portable game console appeared . This was also released in Europe and the USA in February 2009 , making the game officially available outside of Japan for the first time. The Super Famicom version sold over 2.8 million times in Japan .

In Dragon Quest V, the player takes on the role of a hero. The special thing about part V is that the player follows the path of his character from birth and partly also has an influence on the further course of the adventure. The player only knows that the hero traveled around with his father as a baby looking for something. When the hero returns to his home village at the age of six, the player learns that Prince Henry has been kidnapped. The hero's father decides to save him.

The adventures of the player-controlled hero stretch over several years. The player follows almost the entire life of the main character, who has to work as a slave for years, is turned to stone, but also marries, becomes a father and learns what happened to his mother.

A special feature of Dragon Quest V is that the party contains very few people and recruited monsters make up the majority of the group. These randomly join the group after being defeated in battle and can even be gifted with equipment such as weapons and armor.

Dragon Quest VI (Walker Between Worlds)

The game was released on December 9, 1995 for the Super Famicom . In Japan, a remake was released on the Nintendo DS on January 28, 2010. For the Super Famicom , 3.2 million units of Dragon Quest VI could be sold.

The hero, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Somnia, tries in this Dragon Quest adventure to overthrow the evil Mordar with his two friends. However, when he arrives at Mordar's castle and stands in front of him, he and his friends are sent to three different locations. When he falls out of bed, he thinks everything is a dream. When the “Lady of the Mountain” asked him to save the world at a folk festival, he embarked on a journey during which he learned his past and found many companions with whom he had already fought against Mordar. Ultimately, he and his companions defeated “Mortamor”, the “archenemy”.

In Germany it was published on May 20, 2011.

Dragon Quest VII (Fragments of the Past)

Released on August 26, 2000 in Japan and on November 1, 2001 in North America. In October 2012, Square Enix announced a remake of Dragon Quest VII for the Nintendo 3DS, which was finally released in Japan in February 2013; and was released in Europe in 2016.

Dragon Quest VII is about the unnamed hero searching for the lost lands of his world. At the beginning he lives on a small island that is populated by a small kingdom. While exploring the forbidden ruins near his fishing village, he discovers portals into an unknown world. As the game progresses, it turns out that this strange world is a bygone version of the lost world. By solving the residents' problems and collecting artefacts, the hero and his friends succeed in bringing this world back to the present little by little.

Dragon Quest VIII (The Journey of the Cursed King)

Released on November 27, 2004 for the PlayStation 2 , on April 13, 2006 as the first part of the series in Europe. The localized version for this is called "Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King" without a number in the title. In English ( UK ) the game is called: Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King . It differs from the Japanese original, among other things, in a new setting and a soundtrack recorded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. By June 2006, 400,000 copies of the game had been sold in Europe. The game has been sold 3.6 million times in Japan to date.

The story of Dragon Quest VIII is about a nameless hero who travels around with a little green troll and a horse-drawn carriage. The troll and the horse are actually a king named Trode and his daughter Princess Medea . The hero was in the royal guard before the attack that turned the king into a monster, now he's looking for Dhoulmagus , the court jester who enchanted the king and princess with a cursed scepter. On his journey he meets Angelo , a Knight Templar, Yangus , a former bandit and Jessica , who comes from a wealthy family. Angelo and Jessica are looking for Dhoulmagus to get revenge on him. Yangu s owes his life to the hero. He was rescued even though he tried to ambush the group.

Part eight is known to have the most extensive storyline and largest game world of all Dragon Quest parts.

Dragon Quest IX (Guardian of Heaven)

Dragon Quest IX: Guardian of the Sky

Original title

ドラゴンクエスト IX 星空の守り人

transcription

Doragon Kuesuto IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito

Erstveröffent-
lichung

July 11, 2009 July 11, 2010 July 23, 2010 August 19, 2010

Subject

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer

control

Keys , directional pad

information

In Japan, the game sold over 3.5 million times in the first two weeks.

Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito ( ドラゴンクエスト IX 星空の守り人 , Doragon Kuesuto IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito , dt. "Dragon Quest IX: Guardian of Heaven") is the ninth offshoot of the "Dragon Quest" series. It was developed by Level-5 and distributed by Square Enix.

On August 19, 2006, "Dragon Quest" composer Koichi Sugiyama confirmed that Dragon Quest IX is in development. On December 12, 2006, during a press conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the "Dragon Quest" franchise, it was announced that, according to the developers during the conference: Dragon Quest IX would appear exclusively for the Nintendo DS. This makes it the first part of the main series that appears exclusively on a handheld . Dragon Quest IX will have a turn-based combat system, and there will be a cooperative online mode with up to four players. Downloadable content such as B. Quests and various items. A dealer in a hostel runs an "online shop" for this purpose, in which you can set up an online connection via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in order to buy the content on offer.

On February 12, 2009, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest IX would be postponed to July 11, 2009. The Japanese release date of March 28, 2009 could no longer be kept. It was the second postponement after Dragon Quest IX was originally scheduled to appear in 2008. The reason for the postponement was given as serious bugs in the game that require more time to be fixed.

Dragon Quest IX takes place in the Kingdom of the Heavenly (observatory), which was built around the world tree Yggdrasil , and the kingdom of men (mortals), called "Protectorate", from Latin "protegere" - (be) to protect. The hero is one of these heavenly ones, but loses this status at the beginning of the game and has to go into the human kingdom. During the game, as in previous parts of the role-playing game series, the hero receives a ship and the "Star Express" with which the hero can travel between individual locations. The aim of the game is to find the Fyggen, which only grow on the world tree Yggdrasil, and to store them safely with the celestials in the observatory before they are added to the notorious large-brutal empire, which the former celestial Corvus, who hates all things mortal, uses the beast Barbarus Life has been breathed, fall into hands. When Corvus revived the empire, he also breathed life back into the three captains Grunz, Kauz and Katz, who together form the " Triumvirate " , which is probably based on the " Triumvirate " of the Roman ruler Gaius Julius Caesar. After the trainer (Aquilia) of the protagonist decides one day to hand over the Fyggen to the king of great brutality, Gottfried, in order to save the supposedly mortals, the king betrays him and the protagonist has to stop King Gottfried before he succeeds in the Abuse power of the Fyggen. If the protagonist has succeeded in this, he is then faced with the all-important battle with Corvus, who proclaims that after he has conquered the Almighty, the end of all things has come.

Since mid-December 2009, Dragon Quest IX has been the best-selling game in the Dragon Quest series. Square Enix has announced sales of 4.15 million copies in a press release. Because this number means that Dragon Quest VII was overtaken by 100,000 units, which had held the record until then. Dragon Quest IX was released on July 23, 2010 in Germany.

Dragon Quest X (The Awakening of the Five Tribes)

At a press conference, Nintendo's then CEO Satoru Iwata said they were very satisfied with Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS . As a result, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii threw in that he was looking forward to Iwata's satisfaction when Dragon Quest X appeared for the Nintendo Wii in late 2010 . This was the first official announcement for the tenth installment in the series.

Dragon Quest X was released for both Nintendo Wii and its successor console, the Nintendo Wii U. Unlike its predecessors, Dragon Quest X is an MMORPG . The same servers are available to players of both console generations, the online service costs a monthly subscription price. The players can chat using ready-made sentences or by entering their own sentences using a USB keyboard. Nothing is currently known about a version that will come to Europe.

Dragon Quest XI (Champion of Fate)

On June 12, 2014, Yuji Horii announced in a radio interview with N-Channel that Dragon Quest XI was in development and that it was working towards a release by the series' 30th birthday in 2016. He also announced that the part should be playable on a large screen, which speaks for a home console as a platform. In July 2017, the release for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 3DS took place in Japan . The PS4 version as well as a port for Steam appeared in Europe in September 2018. On September 27, 2019, an extended version of the game ("Dragon Quest XI S: Streiter des Schicksals - Definitive Edition") was released for the Nintendo Switch , which is available under includes a 16-bit mode and an orchestrated soundtrack.

Offshoot

Dragon Quest Monsters

Dragon Quest Monsters was developed by TOSE and published by Enix (today: Square Enix ). In April 2000 the game appeared u. a. in Germany .

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

On December 28, 2006, the offshoot Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker for the Nintendo DS was released in Japan . The game has been sold 1.47 million times to date. On November 6, 2007 it was also released in the USA. On March 11th, 2008 it was published in Germany and the rest of Europe. It's about a boy taking part in a big tournament to find out what the event is all about. There is now a second part (Joker 2).

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2

On October 7, 2011, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 was released for the Nintendo DS. In addition, the Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional Edition was released on March 3, 2011 . This edition only appeared in Japan. There are new monsters and new areas in it.

Dragon Quest Swords

Dragon Quest Swords: Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (OT: Japanese ドラゴンクエストソード仮面の女王と鏡の塔 , Doragon kuesuto sôdo: Kamen no joô to kagami no tô ) is, in contrast to the other games in the series, a Action game with first-person view and was produced as an exclusive for the Nintendo Wii . The Wii controller is heavily involved in the game; so the player can simulate sword blows with the Wiimote controller. The title was released in Japan on July 12, 2007 and sold over 305,000 times in the first week. The game was released in the US in early 2008 and in Europe on May 9, 2008.

Dragon Quest Battle Road

Dragon Quest Battle Road does not appear as usual for a home console, but for slot machines . In this part, well-known Dragon Quest monsters compete against each other in an arena , where players can unlock additional monsters using trading cards that are read in by the machine. Implementation for the Wii did not appear outside of Japan.

Dragon Quest Wars

Dragon Quest Wars was released as a downloadable game in the Nintendo DSi Shop in 2009. In the game you fight with well-known monsters of the Dragon Quest series in traditional turn-based battles.

Dragon Quest Builders

This offshoot of the Dragon Quest series takes place in an alternate timeline. In this scenario the kingdom was destroyed and the few survivors secure their existence by looting the ruins. In this wasteland the player can rebuild the world according to his ideas through imagination and combination. The game was released on October 14, 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita . At Gamescom 2016 you could already take a look at the gameplay. On February 9, 2018, the game was also released for the Nintendo Switch . With Dragon Quest Builders 2 a successor appeared in 2018.

Further offshoots

Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey, Game Boy Color , 2001 (USA)

Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure, Game Boy Color, 2001 (USA)

Dragon Quest Monsters 1 + 2, PlayStation , May 2002 ( Japan )

Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart, Game Boy Advance , March 29, 2003 (Japan)

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, April 28, 2010 (Japan)

Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest: Shōgeki no Shippo Dan, Game Boy Advance, Nov 14, 2003 (Japan)

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Nintendo DS , Dec 1, 2005 (Japan)

Dragon Quest Heroes II: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, May 2016 (Japan) and April 2017 (worldwide)

Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon, Super Famicom , September 19, 1993 (Japan)

Torneko: The Last Hope, PlayStation, Sep 15, 1999 (Japan)

Torneko's Great Adventure 3: Mysterious Dungeon, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance, October 31, 2002 (Japan)

Dragon Quest: Shōnen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon, PlayStation 2, April 20, 2006 (Japan)

Dragon Warrior I & II, Super Famicom and Game Boy Color, December 18, 1993 (Japan) and September 27, 2000 (USA)

Kenshin Dragon Quest: Yomigaerishi Densetsu no Ken, Sep 19, 2003 (Japan)

Manga and anime series

Dragon Quest

The anime series "Dragon Quest: Abel Yuusha" was released in 1990 and was loosely based on Dragon Quest III . It also served as merchandising for the fourth part of the game series. Like the games, this series comes from Yūji Horii and Akira Toriyama. The series was discontinued after six months due to insufficient audience ratings.

Dai no Daiboks

The 37-volume manga series Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibōken was published from 1989 to 1996 in the magazine " Shōnen Jump ". The draftsman of the series is Koji Inada, the copywriter is Riku Sanjo. In 1991 the series was implemented as an anime and in three films.

Gaiden: Roto no Monshou

The 21-volume manga series "Dragon Quest - Gaiden: Roto no Monshou" appeared in "Monthly GANGAN" from 1991 to 1997. The draftsman is Kamui Fujiwara, the texts are by Chiaki Kawamata and Junji Koyanagi.

Maboroshi no Daichi

This manga series, appearing in Monthly GANGAN, is based on Dragon Quest VI .

Eden no Senshi-tachi

This series is also published by GANGAN Comics, the artist is again Kamui Fujiwara. It sold 4.14 million times in 2006.

Soundtracks

There is a wide range of Dragon Quest merchandise available. So do dozens of soundtracks . Multiple versions are available for each game. So far none of the soundtracks has been released in Germany.

Dragon Quest I & II - Orchestra
Symphonic Suite: Dragon Quest II
Dragon Quest I, II & III
Dragon Quest III
Dragon Quest III - Orchestra Version
Symphonic Suite: Dragon Quest III
Dragon Quest IV - Orchestra Version
Symphony: Suite Dragon Quest
Sora to Umito Daichi to
Michibikareshi Monotachi
Dragon Quest V - Orchestra Version
Dragon Quest V Symphonic Suite
Dragon Quest VI - Orchestra Version
Dragon Quest VII
Dragon Quest VII - on Piano
Dragon Quest VIII
Dragon Quest - The Best
Symphony Suite Dragon Quest - The Best 2
String Quartet: Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest: Brass Quintet
Dragon Quest Game Ongaku Daize
Dragon Quest - Game Music Comp
Symphonic Dragon Quest Complete
Dragon Quest Concert in 2002

Web links

Dragon Quest at MobyGames (English)
Square Enix Official Dragon Quest Page (Japanese)
Dragon Quest Wiki (English)
Dragon-Quest.net

Individual evidence

↑ SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES NEW DOWNLOADABLE TITLES FOR NINTENDO'S Wii , Square Enix , March 25, 2009

↑ Anoop Gantayat: Dragon Quest IX set for DS , ign.com , September 10, 2007

↑ Product page for Dragonquest at Square-Enix (Japanese)

↑ Dragon Quest for MSX in the database of generation-msx.nl. (English)

↑ Dragon Quest for MSX2 in the GameFAQs database. (English)

↑ Dragon Quest for MSX2 in the database of generation-msx.nl. (English)

↑ The Magicbox: Japan Platinum Game Chart

↑ Florian Jung: Dragon Quest: The DS remake for DQ VI beats all records. In: Gamona.de. February 5, 2010, accessed February 22, 2010 .

↑ SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD: Consolidated Financial Report for the Three Months Period Ended June 30, 2006 (PDF; 200 kB) on Square-Enix.com . July 27, 2006. (Last checked on August 15.)

↑ Final Fantasy Future ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 27, 2009@1@ 2

↑ Report at Gamespot (December 13, 2006)

↑ Report at Final Fantasy Future ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (February 6, 2009)@1@ 2

↑ Dragon Quest IX is postponed to July 11, 2009 ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (February 12, 2009) @1@ 2

↑ Dragon Quest IX: first details about the story ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2
↑ Dragon Quest IX: best-selling Dragon Quest of all time ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2
↑ Dragon Quest X is coming to Nintendo Wii! dragon-quest.net, December 10, 2008, archived from the original on December 22, 2008 ; accessed on March 13, 2014 .
↑ Dragon Quest X: Housing System and Jobs gbase.ch, December 22, 2011, accessed on February 12, 2012.
↑ DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Champion of Fate - Definitive Edition. In: Nintendo Germany. Retrieved October 9, 2019 .
↑ Sales figures

[1] SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES NEW DOWNLOADABLE TITLES FOR NINTENDO'S Wii , Square Enix , March 25, 2009

[2] Anoop Gantayat: Dragon Quest IX set for DS , ign.com , September 10, 2007