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Dragon Quest (Japanese: ドラゴンクエスト), known as Dragon Warrior in North America until the 2005 release of Dragon Quest VIII, is a series of role playing games created by Enix, now Square Enix. Installments of the series have appeared on the MSX, Famicom (NES), Super Famicom (Super Nintendo), Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 video game consoles, as well as on several models of mobile phone. Installments of the series are slated to appear on the PlayStation 3 and Wii. As of 2006, the Dragon Quest series has sold over 40 million units worldwide, as stated by Square Enix in the E3 conference. It is Square Enix's second most successful franchise.

Dragon Quest's North American name change was necessitated due to a trademark conflict with the role-playing game DragonQuest, which was published by veteran wargame publisher SPI in the 1980s until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987. In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the US, signalling the end of the Dragon Warrior name.

Overview

During the mid-1980s, Dragon Quest was created by Yuji Horii. The series monster and character designs were by famed Dragon Ball manga artist, Akira Toriyama. Most of the music for the Dragon Quest series has been composed by Koichi Sugiyama.

The series is extremely popular in Japan. Following the release of Dragon Quest III in 1988, the Japanese Diet requested that Enix only release new installments of the Dragon Quest series on Sundays or holidays, to prevent children from skipping school to wait in line for the latest Dragon Quest title.

The Dragon Quest series stories are divided into trilogies. The first three games of the series tell the story of the legendary hero known as Roto (also known as Erdrick in the American version). Dragon Quest IV-VI are based around a castle in the sky called Zenithia. Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest VIII starts a new trilogy. If a Dragon Quest IX title ever sees release, it will most likely be connected to the two previous games.

The official mascot of the Dragon Quest series is the Slime. A Slime is a small blob with a face, shaped like an onion or Hershey's Kiss. It has appeared in every Dragon Quest game and it is usually one of the first monsters the player encounters (usually the Blue Slime). There are several varieties of Slimes in the Slime family, including the King Slime which is formed by a group of Slimes merging into one. The Slime's popularity has netted it a spinoff, Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest. They also make a significant showing in the Japanese manga and two-episode anime Dragon Half.

The games themselves feature a number of religious overtones: saving the game and reviving characters is always preformed by clergy in churches. Bishops are often seen wandering around the overworld of Dragon Warrior Monsters and have the ability to heal. In Dragon Warrior VII, the Demon Lord, otherwise known as the Devil (known as Orgodemir in the game), is the final boss, and there is also a sidequest to fight God himself.

Dragon Quest is such a cultural phenomenon in Japan that there are live-action ballets, musical concerts, and audio CDs based on the Dragon Quest universe. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has performed for several Dragon Quest music albums.

Outside Japan

Dragon Quest is not nearly as successful outside Japan, having been eclipsed by Final Fantasy and other RPG series. Because of Enix America's closure, Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI were never officially released in North America. In Europe, none of the games except Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Warrior Monsters have seen release. The lack of official localizations for Dragon Quest games has inspired many fan translation projects. Completed fan translation projects include: the Super Famicom remake of Dragon Quest I & II, Dragon Quest V, and Dragon Quest VI

The first four Dragon Warrior titles suffered from substantial censorship in their North American localizations, largely in keeping with Nintendo of America's content guidelines at the time, which placed severe restrictions on religious iconography and mature content. Both graphics and text were edited, replacing coffins with ghosts, crucifixes with five-point stars, and "Priest" with "Healer," to name but a few. However, the graphics, sound and menus of the first two games were given an upgrade for their American release.

Dragon Quest VIII has been the second Dragon Quest game to be released in Europe (the first being Dragon Warrior Monsters published by Eidos), marketed as Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King.

Still, the series is one of Square-Enix's flagship titles, and as of this year, they are planning to release at least four titles outside Japan.

How to play

Basic gameplay

The Dragon Quest system is similar to the basis of the Ultima and Wizardry video game systems. The game player's party walks into a town and buys weapons/armors/items in order to defeat monsters easily. When the player's party is out of the town, the party is vulnerable to monster attacks. When the player encounters monsters, s/he has several options from which to choose. The player can attack and defeat the monster(s) with weapons, magic, or items. The player can also attempt to run away from a fight, however the option is not open during a boss battle. After a player wins a battle by defeating all the monsters, the player's party members gain experience points (EXP) in order to gain a new level. When a certain character gains a new level, the stats of the character are upgraded.

When the player's party dies in battle, they will lose half of their gold and the leader of the party warps back to the nearest church. The leader then needs to pay a priest to revive his/her party members. More recent games in the series have banks in many towns that allow the player to store his or her money; this will prevent it from being lost when the party dies.

To save a game's progress, most of the time the player must go to a town's church (also known as House of Healing in later US NES versions, due to censorship) and talk to a priest/nun. In early versions of Dragon Quest, a player must visit a king in order to save his or her game (this does not include the first two Dragon Quest titles for the Famicom, which used a long password system).

Basic items

These items appeared in most of the Dragon Quest games:

  • Medical Herb (Medicinal Herb) — Heals wounds and restores HP (Hit Point(s)).
  • Antidote Herb (Antidotal Herb) — Cures poison-related ailments.
  • Wing of the Wyvern (Chimera Wing or Warp Wing) — Throw it into the air to return to a town or castle you have previously been to.
  • Fairy Water (Holy Water) — Sprinkle on yourself to temporarily repel monsters that are weaker than you.
  • Full Moon Herb (Moon Herb or Moonwort Bulb) — Cures paralysis.
  • Seed of Strength (STRseed) — Upgrades Strength.
  • Seed of Defense (DEFseed) — Upgrades Defense or Guard.
  • Seed of Life (Life Acorn) — Upgrades Maximum HP.
  • Seed of Magic (Mystic Nut) — Upgrades Maximum MP (Magic Point(s)).
  • Leaf of the World Tree (Yggdrasil Leaf or WorldLeaf) — Resurrects one fallen ally.

Note: Some English item names have changed slightly as the series has progressed.

Games list

Flagship titles

Spin off series

Fan translation games

  • Dragon Quest VI (Super Famicom) — fan-translated into English by NoPrgress in 2001
  • Dragon Quest V (Super Famicom) - fan-translated into English by DeJap Translations in 2001
  • Dragon Quest I & II (Super Famicom) - fan-translated into English and Spanish by RPGOne in 2002
  • Dragon Quest III (Super Famicom) - is currently being fan-translated into English and Spanish by RPGOne as of 2005. Status for the English translation is 47% (as of 12/17/2005).

Manga and anime

  • Dragon Quest: Abel Yuusha — loosely based on Dragon Quest III, 43 episodes (known as Dragon Warrior in the United States with 13 dubbed episodes)
  • Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken — loosely based on Dragon Quest II and Dragon Quest III, 37 volumes, 46 episodes, 3 movies
  • Dragon Quest: Emblem of Roto — takes place 100 years after Dragon Quest I, 21 volumes, movie
  • Dragon Quest: Maboroshi no Daichi — based on Dragon Quest VI
  • Dragon Quest: The Heaven Saga — based on Dragon Quest V
  • Dragon Quest: Warriors of Eden — based on Dragon Quest VII

See also

Notes

External links

Homages

  • In the webtoon, Bonus Stage, there is a character named Slim, a conman who appears to be a slime from the Dragon Quest series

Anime series | fantasy anime | Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior | Computer and video role-playing games

Dragon Quest | Dragon Quest | Dragon Quest | ドラゴンクエストシリーズ | Dragon Quest | ดราก้อนเควสต์ | 勇者鬥惡龍

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Dragon Quest".

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