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Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

2025-12-29T20:46:35Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
|title=Fragments of the Forgotten Past
|image= [[Image:DQVII_Logo.png|320px|center]][[File:DQVII Battle.png|center|320px]]
|caption=
|developer=[[Heartbeat]], [[ArtePiazza]]
|publisher=[[Enix]]
|designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
|artist=[[Akira Toriyama]]
|composer=[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|engine=
|released= '''PlayStation'''{{vgrelease|JP=August 26, 2000}}{{vgrelease|NA=November 1, 2001}}{{vgrelease|JP=March 2, 2005}} (PSOne Books re-release) {{vgrelease|JP=June 20, 2006}} (Ultimate Hits re-release) '''[[Nintendo 3DS]]''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 7, 2013}}{{vgrelease|NA=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|EU=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|AUS=September 17, 2016}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 17, 2015}}
|genre=[[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Role-playing game]]
|modes=[[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
|ratings={{vgratings|ESRB=T (Teen)|CERO=A (All Ages)}}
|platforms=[[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo 3DS]]
|media=2 [[Wikipedia:CD-ROM|CD-ROM]], Game cartridge
|requirements=
|input=
|series={{Main Series}}
}}
{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest VII'''|ドラゴンクエストVII エデンの戦士たち|Doragon Kuesuto Sebun Eden no Senshi-tachi|literally meaning; Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden}} is the seventh installment of the popular {{DQSeries}} of role playing games and the first in the series to not be a part of a larger trilogy.
It was the first main series ''Dragon Quest'' title to be released outside of Japan since the release of {{Dragon Quest IV}} in North America in [[wikipedia:1992 in video gaming|1992]], and the last title to be released in North America with the ''Dragon Warrior'' name.

The game follows the {{Hero 7}} and his friends as they discover secrets about the mysterious islands surrounding their isolated home of [[Estard]], the only land mass in the entire world. Through some ancient ruins, they are transported to the pasts of various islands that used to exist and must defeat evil in each new location.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest VII'' is best known for its immense playtime. Without completing its side quests, a single game of ''Dragon Quest VII'' can take 100 or more hours. The main flow of the game is different than other ''Dragon Quest'' games; instead of exploring one large world, the party goes to separate continents by placing stone [[fragment]]s into their appropriate pedestals in the [[Shrine of Mysteries]]. Once all of the missing shards are located and placed for a particular pedestal, the party is transported to the trapped location centuries in the past. After solving whatever problems plague the region, the party then travels back to the present. From there, they can travel via boat, carpet, or skystone to the modern version of the location they just saved. These saved lands appear on the main map, although the originals (from the past) can only be revisited through the ruins.

==Plot==
{{spoiler|start}}
''Dragon Quest VII'' tells the story of a young hero, the son of a prominent fisherman in the village of Pilchard Bay on Estard Island, the only land mass in the world, and his friends in a fantastical, medieval-like world. They set out on adventures through the world's past and learn about its history. Upon discovering different lands in the past and solving the troubles, they reappear in the game's present-day map.

The party begins their adventure when the hero and [[Kiefer]] discovers a mysterious stone fragment of a map his father brings home from a fishing trip. Further investigations lead him to discover that the world he lives on, which seems to consist of only his small island, used to contain many continents that have somehow been sealed away. By placing found fragments on pedestals in Estard's ruins, the Hero and his friends are sent to different lands in the past which the party eventually realizes. Once they solve the problems in the area's past, the land masses appear in the present.

After the world is restored, Orgodemir, the Demonlord, disguises himself as The Almighty and seals several of the islands away once again; this time Estard is sealed as well. The party sets out to revive the elemental spirits: Wind; Fire; Earth; and Water. Orgodemir is then revealed as the Demon Lord to the world whereupon he claims to have done so to trick humanity. Orgodemir then raises his Cathedral of Blight and with the aid of the Skystone, the party confronts him in a final battle.
{{spoiler|end}}

==Characters==
{{main|List of characters in Dragon Quest VII}}
*{{Hero 7}} — The Hero's official default name is "Auster"; however, as is traditional in the ''Dragon Quest'' series, the name is supplied by the player (however, he is called Arus in the official manga). The Hero is a lifelong native of the town of [[Pilchard Bay]] on Estard Island. He is good friends with {{Maribel}}, daughter of the mayor, and Kiefer, prince of Estard Castle. In particular, he has a fondness for going out on impromptu "adventures" with Kiefer. It is one such adventure that begins the story of the game. In terms of gameplay, the Hero is a well-rounded character who will do well in any vocation.

*[[Kiefer]] — Kiefer is a prince of [[Estard]] Island, and the presumptive heir to the throne. Far from anticipating his elevation to kingship, however, Kiefer seems to resent his royal blood, and is a source of endless worry and frustration to his family and advisers. Kiefer, for his part, spends much of his time in search of excitement and adventure, and has found a kindred spirit in the Hero, whom he considers his closest friend. Kiefer is incredibly strong, with a high physical attack statistic and naturally high hit points. He is the most powerful character available early on in the game. On one trip to an ancient land, Kiefer falls in love, and remains behind. Upon returning to the present, the hero finds out that Kiefer has become a famous guardian of the [[Roamers]], and is the biological ancestor of almost an entire culture/continent. Kiefer is also the main character of the game {{DQMCH}} as a young boy.

*[[Maribel Mayde]] — A friend of both the Hero and Kiefer, Maribel is the daughter of mayor Mayde. Unlike Kiefer, who has steadfastly refused to let his social status influence how he looks upon other people, Maribel tends to be very condescending towards others regardless of their social status. Despite this, she gets along well with her friends, and occasionally accompanies them on their adventuring, even if she sometimes has to pressure them into letting her tag along. Maribel is primarily a magic user: with low starting physical statistics, and an early lack of powerful weapons available for her use, it takes a good deal of time before she can do anything approaching the amount of physical damage inflicted by some of the other characters. On the other hand, Maribel has access to a variety of damaging attack spells relatively early on. In the remakes, she is capable of growing faster than even Ruff.

*[[Ruff]] — Although he appears to be a normal boy, Ruff is actually a [[White Wolves|white wolf]] pup who was irrevocably turned into a human. As such, he retains a number of obvious lupine characteristics, and can be somewhat bestial at times, though as a side effect of the Hackrobat attempting to cure him of his condition he can speak the human tongue well enough to be understood. He agrees to travel with the heroes hoping to protect his family from the demon king, but remains with the group out of a sense of loyalty. Despite his diminutive size and young age, he can easily become as powerful as the Hero, Mervyn, and Aishe through mastery of the the melee vocations. He is also very agile, though not as fleet-footed as Maribel.[[Image:Tablet Fragments.png|right|border|180px]]

*[[Sir Mervyn]] — A skilled paladin of centuries past, Mervyn fought on the side of [[Numen|The Almighty]] against the [[Orgodemir|Demon Lord]] many years ago. Mervyn excelled at his work, and distinguished himself in both skill and honor. As such, Mervyn was petrified in stone by God, so that, should the need arise, he could be reawakened to once again take up the fight against evil. Mervyn joins the party after a lengthy revival process, although his age and unfamiliarity with the present day often leave other characters somewhat befuddled. Mervyn is proficient at both magic and physical combat, though his magic casting abilities are slightly superior to his physical attack skills.

*[[Aishe]] — Aishe is the lead ritual dancer of the Roamer tribe, an ancient race of people charged with the stewardship of a temple necessary in the act of calling forth God. Raised and trained at swordsmanship as well as gypsy dancing, Aishe is a more than capable fighter and will do well in any physically-oriented vocation. Although capable of doing both significant physical and significant magical damage, Aishe stands in contrast to Mervyn, in that her magic skills tend to lag slightly behind her physical statistics.

==New features==
===Player conveniences===
*Total play time is now marked next to save files.
*The ability to change message display speed and audio settings has been moved from the start screen to the in-game menu.
*All items can now be bought in bulk, not just weapons and armor.
*Brief descriptions of items are displayed when the cursor hover over them in the menu.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] debuts, displaying monster actions, exp total, gold total, number defeated, and what item is dropped per species.
*If the player accidentally presses a button when there is nothing to interact with, no time-consuming message is displayed.
*When an item or gold is found, a small icon will appear over the protagonist's sprite along with the traditional jingle.
*The contents of bookshelves has been embellished, with hints for the area, anecdotal stories, and bad jokes found in several.
:*A mimic for books has been added as well.
*Characters will typically move and gesture while speaking, making it easier to tell whom is talking.
===Battle refinements===
*The maximum value for all stats has been set to 999.
*[[Artificial intelligence]] strategies can be assigned to specific characters now instead of group-wide orders.
:*Each character has a personalized A.I. that reflects their personality and influences their actions in battle. Maribel favors casting spells over using skills for one example; if she has learned [[Kaboom]] and [[Harvest Moon]] and her tactic is set to "Show No Mercy" then she will use the former whenever possible.
*The [[command menu]] layout for spells and skills have been split into three categories--''Offensive'', ''Defensive'', and ''Other''.
*Status buffs and debuffs for allies and enemies now expire after a number of turns, along with [[paralysis]].
*{{Cursed}} equipment has been reinstated, requiring the use of a priest to remove.
*''VII'' includes '''thirty-four''' Monster Vocations compared to the previous game's two, which can be unlocked by using the appropriate [[Monster Heart]] at the {{Alltrades Abbey 7}} or by mastering prerequisite monster forms. This allows a party member to transform into a monster during battle, gaining the resistances (and vulnerabilities) of that species.
:*In the {{3DS}} remake these vocations are often the only way to permanently learn excellent abilities.

===[[The Haven]]===
Returning from ''III'', the boom town side quest has been reworked from a passive sequence to one the player controls directly. The Haven lets the player recruit people from various towns in the {{PSX}} Version, which changes depending on the type of people living there (e.g. several merchants will bring more stores to the town). In the {{3DS}} remake the system is dependent on [[Traveller's Tablet]]s after a brief tutorial, and the culture of the settlement is no longer variable. Additionally, all the inhabitants of the haven are reformed monsters instead of mundane folk, with the syntax of their past life carrying over into their current persona.

===[[Party Chat]]===
The ability to talk with the party members in and outside of battles was first added to the series in ''VII'', adding a great layer of depth to each party member and setting a standard that would be continued in future installments. Party members will offer advice about battle strategies, remind the player about important plot points, or simply comment on how they feel at a given moment when this feature is used. The use of this feature adds considerable personality to each character, so much so that party chat was frequently used as a marketing device for remakes of older titles in Japan.
:*Due to the tendency of party members reminding players what to do, the memory spells seen in ''VI'' and ''III'' have been removed.

===[[Excellence Grading Organisation]]===
The E.G.O. contests allow the player to compete for the highest stats, like the Best Dressed Contest from {{DQ6}}. Excellent equipment is awarded to anyone who can topple the reigning champions, two of whom are {{NPC}}s that can be found in the larger world.

===[[Monster Meadows]]===
The ability to [[Monster recruitment|catch monsters]] functions similarly to the {{Super Famicom}} Version of ''VI'', although they no longer participate in battle. Instead, tamed monsters are sent off to a nature preserve called Monster Meadows: here the monsters can be seen in their natural environment and be interacted with in the same manner as human {{NPC}}s. Blueprints are found to add new environs to the park, allowing space for nearly every monster.

==Development==
[[File:Tomes of Torment.jpg|border|left|thumb|250px|The planning documents for ''VII''. Every line of dialogue, plot synopsis, character connections, item purposes, and battle details were written by hand over the course of development.]]
''Dragon Quest VII'' was directed by [[Manabu Yamana]], with [[Shintaro Majima]] serving as the art director. Series veterans [[Yuji Horii]], [[Akira Toriyama]] and [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] returned as designer, character designer and composer respectively. ''VII'' was designed to have a different feel from previous games, with a greater emphasis on puzzles.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000711025440/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q2-2000/062300b.html "Dragon Quest VII Interview"]. ''RPGamer''. </ref>

Around the release of {{DQ6}}, Yuji Horii initially expressed interest in developing a ''Dragon Quest'' game for the Nintendo 64, not elaborating if it would be a mainline game.<ref>''Famicom Tsushin'', December 22, 1995. ASCII Corporation.</ref><ref>''Famitsu'', January 19, 1996. ASCII Corporation.</ref> Horii's statements sparked rumors that ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be developed for the Nintendo 64DD add-on. On January 15, 1997, ''VII'' was announced to be in development for the Sony {{PlayStation}}, causing a rise in stock prices for both [[Wikipedia:Sony|Sony]] and Enix in Japan.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130926113152/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/01/17/enixsony-update "Enix/Sony Update"]. ''IGN''. January 16, 1997.</ref> By 2000, ''Dragon Quest VII'' was predicted to be so successful in Japan that it would "create a 50 billion yen effect on the Japanese economy", said research firm DIHS. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181119011003/https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20010109/enix.htm</ref> Enix president Yasuhiro Fukushima later explained that the company preferred to release ''Dragon Quest'' games on the highest-selling platform at the time of development.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030211172149/https://www.zakzak.co.jp/tsui-sat/tsuiseki/contents/2000_10-03/1021_02.html －－ゲーム新世紀－－過熱バトルの行方（２）]. ''Zakzak''. Fujisankei Communications Group. October 3, 2000.</ref>
[[File:DQVII Purple Fairy.png|border|right|thumb|275px|The attendant of the shrine of mysteries was created to make navigating the time periods and fragment finding easier.]]

Several aspects of the game's presentation were decided as development advanced. While most contemporary RPGs focused heavily on graphical fidelity, Horii took the PlayStation's hardware limitations into consideration when deciding on ''VII'''s visuals. Towns and dungeons were rendered in polygonal graphics and characters in animated pixel-art sprites, since Horii wanted to not only establish a visual identity appropriate for the series, but also have players feel like they were exploring the in-game world "on their own two feet".<ref>堀井: 自分の足で歩いている感じがする新フィールドにしたいな

堀井: 「FFVII」の背景の絵はすごかったですね。細かい所まで描きこんであって、町ごとにいろんな雰囲気がある。どこに入れるんだろう、ここはどうなっているんだろう、と思って歩き回りました。
鳥山: 僕も初めて見たときは、とにかくビックリしましたね~!! RPGのグラフィックもここまで来たか、と思いましたね。DQはどうなるんですか?
堀井: ハードが変わって、技術的な面でやれることが増えたんですが、どれがDQに合っているのか、ということを考えてプログラムをする必要があると思うんです。ほのぼのした味を残しつつ、自分の足で歩いている感じが出せたらいいですね。''V Jump'', March 2000. Shueisha.</ref> In-game enemies were displayed through animated pixel art, as Yuji Horii thought the PlayStation's limited polygon count could not fully reproduce Akira Toriyama's monster designs.<ref>堀井: ポリゴンにすると、画面に表示できるポリゴンの数に限りがあるでしょ? カクカクとか、ノッペリしちゃったりして、鳥山さんの絵がいきない。
鳥山: スライムがカクカクしてたら、スライムらしくないですからね。キャラも冷たい感じがするし。''V Jump'', March 2000. Shueisha.</ref> Conversely the towns and dungeons are fully rendered in three-dimensional polygon graphics. According to Yuji Horii this offered the gameplay advantage of letting players freely control camera angles, whereas contemporary RPGs on the PlayStation only offered limited camera control (as in Capcom's ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath_of_Fire_III Breath of Fire III]'') or static pre-rendered backgrounds of Square's ''Final Fantasy'' games. Horii also experimented with showing the party members in battle, but this resulted in there being less screen-space to display the monsters and that having to draw new pixel art for them at a smaller scale resulted in it being too difficult to discern their details <ref>鳥山: やっぱり戦闘画面に自分がいないんですか?
堀井: 実はそこが悩みどころでね。今いろいろ検証中なの。自分の姿を見せると画面が小さくなって、モンスターが小さくてわかりにくくなるんですよ。</ref>.

At one point in 1997 Horii began playing the Japanese release of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_(video_game) Diablo]'' and was impressed by the [https://www.diablowiki.net/Gossip gossip] feature of the title, which gave NPCs multiple lines of dialogue not related to the main plot to enrich the atmosphere of the game <ref>— 『VI』では自分捜しの旅でしたが、『VII』ではどんな旅に?
堀井: 仲間が重要になってきます。
富田: おー、仲間ですか?
堀井: 仲間をより仲間らしく。パソコンゲームの『ディアブロ』など、通信で生身の人たちと遊ぶゲームが、最近人気ありますよね。その感覚を出せないモノかなって思ってるんですよ。
富田: 生きてる相手とコミュニケーションをとるようなゲームですか? 楽しそうですね。
堀井: 実際に人間といっしょに旅をしてるんだっていう感覚。オンラインじゃないので、どこまで実現できるかわからないですけど、そのためにいろいろシステムを考えて、膨大な量のデータを用意してるんです。でも、やっぱり容量的にも時間的にも限りがありますからね(笑)。
富田: どんなゲームになりそうですか?
堀井: エンディングを見て「いい話だったなあ」って言うゲームよりも、やってるときが楽しいゲームにしたいんですよね。ストーリー重視だと早く終わらせようとするけど、「まだ終わりたくない、ずっと遊んでいたい」というゲームにしたいですね。March 6, 1998 issue of Famitsu</ref>. Being inspired by ''Diablo'' and knowing the immense storage capacity of CD-ROMs were now at his disposal, Horii developed the [[party chat]] system to give the cast more defined personalities than had been possible during the cartridge days. Furthermore developing the party chat feature led to the creation of Maribel; the original scenario for the game's opening segment was having Kiefer be the only companion to the Hero, but Horii found that the prince's straightforward personality did not elicit the most interesting party chat dialogue. As such Horii wrote Maribel as a sharp-tongued teenager suitable for spicier dialogue and inserted her into the game at the beginning. The gossip system of ''Diablo'' was also expanded upon with in-battle party chat, where characters can weigh in on the situation and even give advice pertaining to specific situations.

The game's emphasis on solving puzzles was a result of Horii wondering if the series' tempo was beginning to grow stale after six games, as well as becoming fascinated with the 1993 puzzle game ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst Myst]''. In order to give ''Dragon Quest VII'' a fresh experience compared to its predecessors, it was decided that the opening segment would consist entirely of solving puzzles rather than engaging in battle as soon as the player stepped outside of [[Pilchard Bay]]. The puzzle solving would persist through the remainder of the game for the individual scenarios as well as searching for the missing tablet pieces necessary to operate the [[Shrine of Mysteries]] <ref>岩田: 堀井さんが『VII』の
オリジナル版をつくった時、
容量が増えてできたこと以外の
新しいチャレンジとして、
どんなことを盛り込まれたんですか？

堀井: ボクは当時、『ＭＹＳＴ』という
海外のアドベンチャーゲームが気に入っていて、
「こんな謎解きもおもしろいな」と思っていたんです。
というのも、その頃は
「みんなレベル上げの戦闘に飽きてきたんじゃないか？」
という思いが、ちょっとあったんですね。

岩田: たしかに、ＲＰＧの序盤は、
「とりあえずレベル上げしておこう」
みたいなところが、
当時のお約束になっていましたからね。

堀井: そこで『VII』は、ゲームをはじめると
謎解きをメインに展開する構成にしたんですね。
だから冒頭の５時間くらいは、
戦闘なしで物語を進めるというふうに。

岩田 :ああ、あれは『ＭＹＳＴ』の
影響を受けていたんですか。

堀井: はい、やってみたかったんです。
まあ、いま振り返ると
「あれは必要だったかな？」とは
思いますが（笑）。https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index2.html</ref>. As Horii would explain in a 2013 interview with the late Satoru Iwata, the development staff felt liberated by the storage capacity of CD-ROM technology and continued adding more and more scenarios to the game <ref>堀井: あのときはじめて『ドラクエ』を
ＣＤ-ＲＯＭメディアでつくったんですけど、
「とにかく容量が多く入る」ということで
はりきって、つくりすぎちゃったんです。

岩田: 制限から解き放たれた人たちが
やりたかったことを表現しようとしたのが、
『VII』の歴史なんですよね。

藤本: スクウェア・エニックスに
歴代の『ドラクエ』の仕様書が保管されているんですけど、
『VII』はほかのナンバリングよりも圧倒的に多くて
「これ、ほとんど『VII』なんじゃない？」
というくらいの量があるんです。
しかも資料がぜんぶ、紙なんですよ。

堀井:『VII』までは、紙に手書きでシナリオを書いて、
データとかもすべて紙上でつくっていました。

岩田: 時代を感じますね。

堀井: ちょうどシナリオスタッフを増やした頃で
毎週、スタッフからこのくらいの
（人差し指と親指をいっぱいに広げて）
シナリオが送られてくるんです。
それを一言一句読んで、修正を延々やって・・・。
あの時は毎日つらかったなあ。

一同:（笑）

藤本:１日に数百枚のＦＡＸをやりとりするので、
機械がしょっちゅう故障したそうです。
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index.html</ref>. Horii and his team of five assistants ended up writing enough material to fill 16,000 [https://papersizes.io/a/a4 A4-sized documents], which is the equivalent of 20 books <ref>――現在はどのくらいのスタッフでプロットを考えているのですか？　また、ゲームを制作する上で大切だと思うことは何でしょうか。

プロットは僕自身で考えていますが、だんだんゲームが大きくなってきたので、実際の細かいセリフなどでは、『ドラクエIV』あたりから何人かのスタッフに協力してもらっています。『ドラクエVII』は5人が参加していますね。なにしろ、シナリオだけでA4の紙に1万6000ページくらいある。8センチファイルで20冊分に相当する分量です。とても1人で書けるレベルじゃないですよね。ゲームの制作そのものは、しだいに分業制になっていって、『ドラクエVIII』でも総勢200人以上という規模になっています。制作期間も長くなって、1つのゲームをつくるのに4〜5年かかるようになりました。https://web.archive.org/web/20100614061622/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/museum/meister/entertainment/vol2/</ref>; 3,000 of those pages were [[party chat]] and battle conversations alone<ref>戦闘の見どころは?

— 戦闘の見どころを教えてもらえますか?
「『VII』の大きな特徴のひとつが戦闘ですね。戦闘はモンスターがすごく動きます。ひとつの行動についてひとつのアクションを持っているくらいですから、見ていてあきないですね。それでいてテンポをよくしました。すごく気持ちのいい戦いができるように設定しています。(※5) それから、これがいちばん大きなウリなんですけど、実は戦闘中も仲間と話ができるんです。たとえば〝オレは弱っているからホイミをかけてくれ!"とか。実際に友だちといっしょに戦っているような感じがあると思います。(※6)
実はですね、『VI』のシナリオは、紙にして全部で4000ページぶんくらいあったんです。で、『VII』のシナリオは1万6000ページあって、そのうち3000ページが仲間のセリフなんですね。(※7) 仲間のセリフだけで『VI』全体の4分の3に相当する量なんです。これ、言っちゃっていいのかな(笑)。そういう、ぼう大なゲームです」[[V Jump]] March 2000 interview</ref>.

The game was delayed numerous times before its actual release. During a press conference held on March 13th, 1997 the planned release date was for the end of 1998, but it was delayed to the Summer of 1999 during a second press conference held on May 29th, 1998. The second delay would be announced in August of 1999, where the game was given a definitive release date of December 29th of that year; this date would be rescinded in November. A release window for Spring 2000 was announced during the Jump Festa 2000 event held in December of 1999, but this would also be rescinded in March 2000. The final release date of August 26th was announced in May. Work on the game was extended because the development staff wanted to perfect the game due to high expectations from the fans, and because the team only consisted of about 35 people. Before its release, it was ranked as the most wanted game in Japan and Square, knowing about ''Dragon Quest VII's'' release, moved its ''Final Fantasy IX'' game to come out on a later date to avoid competing directly with the title. ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be released on August 26, 2000 and hit a number of major sales milestones in Japan during it's initial release, becoming the highest selling PlayStation game in Japan at 4.06 million units sold, the best selling game of 2000 period, the sixth highest selling software title of all time by the end of 2000, and ''the'' highest selling title in the series until the release of ''Dragon Quest IX'' in 2009.

The English language localization of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' began directly after the game's Japanese release. Enix of America was tasked with translating over 70,000 pages of text via 20 translators and 5 copy editors, leading to inconsistent portrayals of main characters and several plot-holes. No effort was made to censor the context of the Japanese script, though considerable edits were made that change the tone of certain scenes. Additionally, nearly all dialogue for the monsters inhabiting the meadows was scrapped and replaced with new dialogue created by the localizers.

Development of the Nintendo 3DS version first began with transferring the documentation for the game into a digital format from the handwritten notes seen in the picture above, which took approximately one year. Producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto personally made the photocopies of each page to be archived digitally. Once this was completed and the information for the game could be readily accessed from at the click of a mouse, actual development time took approximately two and a half years. The largest structural change is in the beginning of the game, where the sequences of events that uncovers the ruins of Estard island is greatly streamlined to accelerate the beginning of adventure.

The 2013 remake for the Nintendo 3DS was localized in 2016 under the title ''Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past''. It was translated by UK-based localization specialists [[Shloc Ltd]], and adheres to the localizatio style set by [[Richard Honeywood]] and [[Plus Alpha]]. Square Enix originally had no plans to localize the title due to the size of text being cost-prohibitive compared to potential sales, but Dragon Quest fans of France began a letter writing campaign to bring the game overseas that reached the CEO of the company as well as that of [[Nintendo]]<ref>[http://archive.fo/6KBad "Why Dragon Quest VII 3DS Took So Long to Come West"]. ''Kotaku''. June 17, 2016.</ref>

{{quote|style=1|quote='''''“We actually had no plans of releasing it at first. It was because the text was so huge that considering [the] cost and time that went in, we didn’t think it was worth it. Actually a lot of core fans from France approached us, and then we received letters, not just us but the CEO of our company as well as Nintendo, and everybody else that was involved, requesting a localized version of ''Dragon Quest VII''. They were even saying at one point that they’ll localize it themselves for us. Because of that high demand we realized we really had to do this thing.”'''''|source=Yu Miyake, series producer|console=|align=center|bgcolor=fffff}}

==Soundtrack==
As with every ''Dragon Quest'', [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the musical score and directed all the associated spinoff soundtracks. As a first for the series, the original sound version was bundled with the symphonic suite in a two-disc set called ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi Symphonic Suite + OST''. The entire first disc and the opening song of the second disc consists of the symphonic suite, while the rest of the second disc is the original sound version. A disc titled ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi on Piano'' was also released, and contained 27 [[wikipedia:Piano|piano]]-arranged tracks. The ''Symphonic Suite'' was later reprinted by itself in 2006.

==Reception==
{|class="wikitable infobox" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 80%; float: right; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; width: 23em; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center"
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%"|Reception
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Aggregate scores
|-
!Aggregator
!Score
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameRankings|GameRankings]]
|81%
|-
|[[wikipedia:Metacritic|Metacritic]]
|78 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:MobyGames|MobyGames]]
|77 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:TopTenReviews|TopTenReviews]]
|3.20 of 4
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Review scores
|-
!Publication
!Score
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Famitsu|Famitsu]]''
|38 out of 40
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]]''
|6.75 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]''
|4 out of 5
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameSpot|GameSpot]]
|7.7 out of 10
|-
|[[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]]
|8.7 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Official_U.S._PlayStation_Magazine|Official PlayStation Magazine (US)]]''
|4.5 out of 5
|}
''VII'' was very well-received in Japan upon release, though in recent years it has attracted a larger amount of criticism than is usual for the series. ''Dragon Quest VII'' won the grand prize in Digital (Interactive) Art Division at the 4th [[wikipedia:Japan_Media_Arts_Festival|Japan Media Arts Festival]] in 2000, where the game was praised for being "...engaging without depending on a high degree of realism..." and "...well refined and artfully executed." The game also won four awards from the 5th Japan Entertainment Software Awards by the [[wikipedia:Computer_Entertainment_Supplier|Association Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association]] (CESA), including Best Prize, Scenario Prize, Sales Prize, and Popularity Prize.

Sales of the North American version of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' reached about 200,000 copies according to The Magic Box, which was not nearly as stellar as its Japanese counterpart. Enix of America still expressed their satisfaction with the sales figures. ''Dragon Warrior VII'' met with mostly good reviews from North American critics. [[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]] noted that all "100+ hours" of the game are enjoyable despite the dated visuals and clunky presentation. ''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]'' questioned whether the game's package was nostalgic or just awful, but still gave it a decent score and called it a great game overall. GameZone.com praised the game's concept and nostalgia factor and cited it as "what role-playing games were meant to be." They also noted the game's high difficulty, which, instead of making the game frustrating, they say, "make it that much more of an accomplishment when you complete a quest." IGN described the game's class system as "one of the best class systems seen outside a strategy RPG."

Other critics were not as pleased with ''VII'': GameShark.com described the first two hours of the game as "some of the most boring hours you will ever play in a video game." XenGamers.com also pointed out that in order to play the game, the player needs "the patience of a rock". [[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]] even went as far as to say that "four million Japanese can be wrong", referring to the game's immense popularity in Japan.

Because of the game's delay in being developed, its release was after the {{PlayStation 2}}'s release, which created some negative feedback, particularly about the game's graphics. [https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/13/dragon-quest-7-fragments-of-the-forgotten-past-review IGN commented] on this, calling the game "a game that makes only a bare minimum of concessions to advancing technology, but more than makes up for this with its deep gameplay, massive quest, and sheer variety." Gamespot called the graphics "not good" and warned readers that if the "most rewarding things" they "got out of ''Final Fantasy VII'' were the full-motion video interludes, you definitely won't be wowed by anything you see in ''Dragon Warrior VII''."

Since the game's release, the most notable and consistent points of contrition among fans have been the lackluster graphical presentation, and the exploitative nature of the vocation system. Of particular note is the abundance of redundant skills and spells available to the earlier careers ([[Focus Strength]] & [[Muster Strength]], [[Shove]] & [[Heave-ho]], [[Muscle Dance]] & [[Roundhouse Kick]], etc), along with a distinct imbalance between the usefulness of spells compared to skills. Coupled with this is the fact that, by having only three top tier vocations, the five party members will invariably share similar abilities and thus negate their individuality. Indeed, the glut of abilities was one of the primary motivations for the creation of ''VIII's'' weapon-specific skill trees, which have become the standard of the series ever since.

==Remakes==
===Nintendo 3DS===
The {{3DS}} remake presents the game in full 3D with polygonal models replacing the {{PS1}} version's sprites. The game has received the most modification of any remake or port in the series thus far, reworking the entire opening section to streamline the introduction to the story and characters to the point that approximately two hours have been removed. Additional conveniences and modifications have been implemented to remove the tedious nature of finding fragments.
*A radar has been added to make finding the stone shards easier than ever. A new character stationed in the Divine Shrine has also been added that gives players hints to finding them as well.
*Streetpass stones, a place in the immigrant town to go online to trade them with other players. Bringing streetpass stones to the immigrant town unlocks new dungeons, and special story scenes. Players can also get Streetpass Stones by making a party of monsters from the monster park and sending them into a special randomly generated dungeon.
*Party member appearance change immediately after switching vocations, with designs being made for several vocations for the first time.
*Party member appearance also changes immediately for monster vocations, not just upon rank 8 mastery like in the PS1 version.
*Weapons and shields are displayed in battle, some of which are animated.[[Image:Running_From_The_Fiends.png|right|border|350px]]
*Vocation ranks require fewer battles to advance, with some losing as much as 40% of their mandate.
*Spells/skills for second and third tier vocations are only usable when in that class, giving the last part of the main game more balance.
*Overall simplification and re-balancing of which vocations get which skills, including elimination of the hybrid skill system. The skills in question have not been removed, however, and are now available through normal vocation advancement.
*Maribel now learns the [[Bang]] spell naturally, making the scenarios prior to unlocking the vocations easier.
*The [[Tidal Wave]] skill has been removed in response to the Kanto Earthquake disaster of 2011. Enemies that used the skill now use [[Jolly Rager]] instead, with the damage range lowered to that of Tidal Wave's for balance.

===Dragon Quest VII Reimagined===
An HD remake titled ''[[Dragon Quest VII Reimagined]]'' was announced on September 12th, 2025. Unlike the Nintendo 3DS remake, this iteration is a complete reworking of the experience that fundamentally changes the nature of the game.

==Related media==
The [[wikipedia:Manga|manga]] adaptation of ''Dragon Quest VII'' was published by Enix's ''[[wikipedia:Gangan Comics|Monthly Gangan]]'' in Japan. It was illustrated by [[wikipedia:Kamui_Fujiwara|Kamui Fujiwara]], who also worked on another franchise-related manga, ''[[The Emblem of Roto|Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō]]''. Fourteen volumes were released between 2001 and 2006 until the series was cancelled, and a canonical sequel titled ''Dragon Quest Ending'' began serialization in Square-Enix's Young Gan-Gan magazine on January 5th 2026.

In this adaptation, the hero is given the name "Arus". The manga follows the game story while adding in new characters and more detailed relationships, as the original hero was silent and a personality needed to be added for the comic version.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original {{PlayStation}} version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario & game design
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|[[Akira Toriyama]]
|----------
|Music composer
|[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|----------
|Director of programming
|[[Manabu Yamana]]
|----------
|Art director
|Shintaro Majima
|----------
|Scenario
|Yuji Horii, Sachiko Sugimura, Fuminori Ishikawa, Kazunori Orio
|----------
|Programming
|Manabu Yamana, Masayuki Kawamoto, Yasushi Watanabe, Hiroaki Suzuki, Hajime Ito, Makoto Hirashima, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Yasuhiro Yoshida
|----------
|Graphic design
|Shintaro Majima, Hiroshi Muroki, Naoyuki Hayakawa, Tatsuya Takahashi, Yukari Umada, Masato Hirayama, Ruri Yamaguchi, Yoshihisa Nishimura, Rena Konaka, Keiichi Egawa, Kohei Matsushita, Katsuhiko Shiono
|----------
|Graphic tool programming
|Takeshi Sugimura
|----------
|Sound design
|Tsukasa Tawada
|----------
|Monster Design
|Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Osamu Kaneko
|----------
|Localization Programming
|Hiroaki Suzuki
|----------
|Translation
|(Wordbox Inc.) Lucie Ishii, Hiroko Yoda, Jeff Gelbard, Wayne Lammers, Matt Alt, Jeremy Blaustein, Ryan Morris
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix America, Inc.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Localization manager
|Mitsuru George Torii
|----------
|Product manager
|John Laurence
|----------
|Quality assurance lead
|Jon Weisnewski
|----------
|Copy edit
|Chris Chymiy, Dustin Brown, Doug Hill, Sean Peters, Mike Tidwell
|----------
|QA translation
|Masanobu Yoshida, Katsuko Bandur, Hisayo Tomiyama, Miki Yasui Marr
|----------
|Play testers
|Zeb Clinton, Shawn Conard, T. J. Cowgill, Bryce Felt, Matthew A. Gillikin, Eric Ho, John Holes, Eric Junge, Ed Price, Jerry Pritchard, David Rieman, Dylan Sharp, Tom Shultz Jr.
|----------
|Sales & marketing manager
|Andrew Stein
|----------
|Accounting & credit manager
|Misuzu McMillan
|----------
|A/R analyst
|Yuri Kato
|----------
|Administrative assistant
|Emi Coughlin
|----------
|President
|Paul Handelman
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix corporation
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Technical Support
|Kenjiro Kano, Tomoyuki Iwai
|----------
|Play testers
|Satoshi Sato, Hideyuki Nukui, Satoru Kubota, Joe Mitsuta, Takayuki Mibu, Iiro Kimura, Rie Iwao, Masaki Murashita, Shinobu Nonaka, Mika Endo, Takatoshi Akiyama, Ryuichi Nakamura, Mie Ohnishi
|----------
|Artwork
|Naoki Oishi, Takashi Kamimura, Arte Piazza
|----------
|Public relations
|Yū Miyake, Ryoichi Kuramochi
|----------
|Special thanks
|TamTam
|----------
|Localization coordinators
|Daisuke Kobayashi, Jun Miyamoto, Yoshito Taniuchi
|----------
|Producer
|Taichi Inuzuka
|----------
|Executive producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|President
|Keiji Honda
|}
==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQ VII print ad.jpg|The final print ad The monsters spell out the hiragana for mattete, "hold on" in English, owing the game's numerous delays
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Front Side).png|PlayStation. (JP)
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Back Side).jpg|
DQ VII PS1 Disc 1.jpg|Disc 1
DQ VII PS1 Disc 2.jpg|Disc 2
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Front Side).jpg|Instruction manual front cover
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Back Side).jpg|Instruction manual back cover
DW VII PS1 Case (Front Side).png|PlayStation (NA)
DW VII PS1 Case (Back Side).jpg|
DW VII PS1 Disc 1.png|Disc 1
DW VII PS1 Disc 2.png|Disc 2
DQVII Japan Art.png|Cover art
DQVII_guide.png|Guide cover
DQVII soundtrack.png|Symphonic Suite + OST
DQVII Eden No Senshi Tachi On Piano.png|Piano arrangements
DQVII_3DS.png|3DS box art (Japan)
DQVII 3DS Box.png|3DS box art (NA)
DQVII 3DS Europe.png|3DS box art (Europe)
DQVII 3DS France.png|3DS box art (France)
DQVII All Aglow.png|3DS art
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 1.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 2.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine 2
DQVII_Manga.png|Manga Vol. 1
DQVII_Manga 2.png|Manga Vol. 2
DQVII_Manga 3.png|Manga Vol. 3
DQVII_Manga 4.png|Manga Vol. 4
DQVII_Manga 5.png|Manga Vol. 5
DQVII_Manga 6.png|Manga Vol. 6
DQVII Manga 7.png|Manga Vol. 7
Dragon Quest Ending promo art by Kamui Fujiwara.jpeg|''Dragon Quest Ending'' promo art with an adult [[Kiefer]]
DQVII iOS Japan.png|iOS/Android icon (Japan)
</gallery></center>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://dragonquest7.nintendo.com/ DQVII Nintendo 3DS website]

{{DQVII}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}
[[Category:Dragon Quest VII|*!]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS games]]

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

2025-12-28T22:13:45Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
|title=Fragments of the Forgotten Past
|image= [[Image:DQVII_Logo.png|320px|center]][[File:DQVII Battle.png|center|320px]]
|caption=
|developer=[[Heartbeat]], [[ArtePiazza]]
|publisher=[[Enix]]
|designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
|artist=[[Akira Toriyama]]
|composer=[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|engine=
|released= '''PlayStation'''{{vgrelease|JP=August 26, 2000}}{{vgrelease|NA=November 1, 2001}}{{vgrelease|JP=March 2, 2005}} (PSOne Books re-release) {{vgrelease|JP=June 20, 2006}} (Ultimate Hits re-release) '''[[Nintendo 3DS]]''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 7, 2013}}{{vgrelease|NA=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|EU=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|AUS=September 17, 2016}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 17, 2015}}
|genre=[[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Role-playing game]]
|modes=[[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
|ratings={{vgratings|ESRB=T (Teen)|CERO=A (All Ages)}}
|platforms=[[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo 3DS]]
|media=2 [[Wikipedia:CD-ROM|CD-ROM]], Game cartridge
|requirements=
|input=
|series={{Main Series}}
}}
{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest VII'''|ドラゴンクエストVII エデンの戦士たち|Doragon Kuesuto Sebun Eden no Senshi-tachi|literally meaning; Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden}} is the seventh installment of the popular {{DQSeries}} of role playing games and the first in the series to not be a part of a larger trilogy.
It was the first main series ''Dragon Quest'' title to be released outside of Japan since the release of {{Dragon Quest IV}} in North America in [[wikipedia:1992 in video gaming|1992]], and the last title to be released in North America with the ''Dragon Warrior'' name.

The game follows the {{Hero 7}} and his friends as they discover secrets about the mysterious islands surrounding their isolated home of [[Estard]], the only land mass in the entire world. Through some ancient ruins, they are transported to the pasts of various islands that used to exist and must defeat evil in each new location.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest VII'' is best known for its immense playtime. Without completing its side quests, a single game of ''Dragon Quest VII'' can take 100 or more hours. The main flow of the game is different than other ''Dragon Quest'' games; instead of exploring one large world, the party goes to separate continents by placing stone [[fragment]]s into their appropriate pedestals in the [[Shrine of Mysteries]]. Once all of the missing shards are located and placed for a particular pedestal, the party is transported to the trapped location centuries in the past. After solving whatever problems plague the region, the party then travels back to the present. From there, they can travel via boat, carpet, or skystone to the modern version of the location they just saved. These saved lands appear on the main map, although the originals (from the past) can only be revisited through the ruins.

==Plot==
{{spoiler|start}}
''Dragon Quest VII'' tells the story of a young hero, the son of a prominent fisherman in the village of Pilchard Bay on Estard Island, the only land mass in the world, and his friends in a fantastical, medieval-like world. They set out on adventures through the world's past and learn about its history. Upon discovering different lands in the past and solving the troubles, they reappear in the game's present-day map.

The party begins their adventure when the hero and [[Kiefer]] discovers a mysterious stone fragment of a map his father brings home from a fishing trip. Further investigations lead him to discover that the world he lives on, which seems to consist of only his small island, used to contain many continents that have somehow been sealed away. By placing found fragments on pedestals in Estard's ruins, the Hero and his friends are sent to different lands in the past which the party eventually realizes. Once they solve the problems in the area's past, the land masses appear in the present.

After the world is restored, Orgodemir, the Demonlord, disguises himself as The Almighty and seals several of the islands away once again; this time Estard is sealed as well. The party sets out to revive the elemental spirits: Wind; Fire; Earth; and Water. Orgodemir is then revealed as the Demon Lord to the world whereupon he claims to have done so to trick humanity. Orgodemir then raises his Cathedral of Blight and with the aid of the Skystone, the party confronts him in a final battle.
{{spoiler|end}}

==Characters==
{{main|List of characters in Dragon Quest VII}}
*{{Hero 7}} — The Hero's official default name is "Auster"; however, as is traditional in the ''Dragon Quest'' series, the name is supplied by the player (however, he is called Arus in the official manga). The Hero is a lifelong native of the town of [[Pilchard Bay]] on Estard Island. He is good friends with {{Maribel}}, daughter of the mayor, and Kiefer, prince of Estard Castle. In particular, he has a fondness for going out on impromptu "adventures" with Kiefer. It is one such adventure that begins the story of the game. In terms of gameplay, the Hero is a well-rounded character who will do well in any vocation.

*[[Kiefer]] — Kiefer is a prince of [[Estard]] Island, and the presumptive heir to the throne. Far from anticipating his elevation to kingship, however, Kiefer seems to resent his royal blood, and is a source of endless worry and frustration to his family and advisers. Kiefer, for his part, spends much of his time in search of excitement and adventure, and has found a kindred spirit in the Hero, whom he considers his closest friend. Kiefer is incredibly strong, with a high physical attack statistic and naturally high hit points. He is the most powerful character available early on in the game. On one trip to an ancient land, Kiefer falls in love, and remains behind. Upon returning to the present, the hero finds out that Kiefer has become a famous guardian of the [[Roamers]], and is the biological ancestor of almost an entire culture/continent. Kiefer is also the main character of the game {{DQMCH}} as a young boy.

*[[Maribel Mayde]] — A friend of both the Hero and Kiefer, Maribel is the daughter of mayor Mayde. Unlike Kiefer, who has steadfastly refused to let his social status influence how he looks upon other people, Maribel tends to be very condescending towards others regardless of their social status. Despite this, she gets along well with her friends, and occasionally accompanies them on their adventuring, even if she sometimes has to pressure them into letting her tag along. Maribel is primarily a magic user: with low starting physical statistics, and an early lack of powerful weapons available for her use, it takes a good deal of time before she can do anything approaching the amount of physical damage inflicted by some of the other characters. On the other hand, Maribel has access to a variety of damaging attack spells relatively early on. In the remakes, she is capable of growing faster than even Ruff.

*[[Ruff]] — Although he appears to be a normal boy, Ruff is actually a [[White Wolves|white wolf]] pup who was irrevocably turned into a human. As such, he retains a number of obvious lupine characteristics, and can be somewhat bestial at times, though as a side effect of the Hackrobat attempting to cure him of his condition he can speak the human tongue well enough to be understood. He agrees to travel with the heroes hoping to protect his family from the demon king, but remains with the group out of a sense of loyalty. Despite his diminutive size and young age, he can easily become as powerful as the Hero, Mervyn, and Aishe through mastery of the the melee vocations. He is also very agile, though not as fleet-footed as Maribel.[[Image:Tablet Fragments.png|right|border|180px]]

*[[Sir Mervyn]] — A skilled paladin of centuries past, Mervyn fought on the side of [[Numen|The Almighty]] against the [[Orgodemir|Demon Lord]] many years ago. Mervyn excelled at his work, and distinguished himself in both skill and honor. As such, Mervyn was petrified in stone by God, so that, should the need arise, he could be reawakened to once again take up the fight against evil. Mervyn joins the party after a lengthy revival process, although his age and unfamiliarity with the present day often leave other characters somewhat befuddled. Mervyn is proficient at both magic and physical combat, though his magic casting abilities are slightly superior to his physical attack skills.

*[[Aishe]] — Aishe is the lead ritual dancer of the Roamer tribe, an ancient race of people charged with the stewardship of a temple necessary in the act of calling forth God. Raised and trained at swordsmanship as well as gypsy dancing, Aishe is a more than capable fighter and will do well in any physically-oriented vocation. Although capable of doing both significant physical and significant magical damage, Aishe stands in contrast to Mervyn, in that her magic skills tend to lag slightly behind her physical statistics.

==New features==
===Player conveniences===
*Total play time is now marked next to save files.
*The ability to change message display speed and audio settings has been moved from the start screen to the in-game menu.
*All items can now be bought in bulk, not just weapons and armor.
*Brief descriptions of items are displayed when the cursor hover over them in the menu.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] debuts, displaying monster actions, exp total, gold total, number defeated, and what item is dropped per species.
*If the player accidentally presses a button when there is nothing to interact with, no time-consuming message is displayed.
*When an item or gold is found, a small icon will appear over the protagonist's sprite along with the traditional jingle.
*The contents of bookshelves has been embellished, with hints for the area, anecdotal stories, and bad jokes found in several.
:*A mimic for books has been added as well.
*Characters will typically move and gesture while speaking, making it easier to tell whom is talking.
===Battle refinements===
*The maximum value for all stats has been set to 999.
*[[Artificial intelligence]] strategies can be assigned to specific characters now instead of group-wide orders.
:*Each character has a personalized A.I. that reflects their personality and influences their actions in battle. Maribel favors casting spells over using skills for one example; if she has learned [[Kaboom]] and [[Harvest Moon]] and her tactic is set to "Show No Mercy" then she will use the former whenever possible.
*The [[command menu]] layout for spells and skills have been split into three categories--''Offensive'', ''Defensive'', and ''Other''.
*Status buffs and debuffs for allies and enemies now expire after a number of turns, along with [[paralysis]].
*{{Cursed}} equipment has been reinstated, requiring the use of a priest to remove.
*''VII'' includes '''thirty-four''' Monster Vocations compared to the previous game's two, which can be unlocked by using the appropriate [[Monster Heart]] at the {{Alltrades Abbey 7}} or by mastering prerequisite monster forms. This allows a party member to transform into a monster during battle, gaining the resistances (and vulnerabilities) of that species.
:*In the {{3DS}} remake these vocations are often the only way to permanently learn excellent abilities.

===[[The Haven]]===
Returning from ''III'', the boom town side quest has been reworked from a passive sequence to one the player controls directly. The Haven lets the player recruit people from various towns in the {{PSX}} Version, which changes depending on the type of people living there (e.g. several merchants will bring more stores to the town). In the {{3DS}} remake the system is dependent on [[Traveller's Tablet]]s after a brief tutorial, and the culture of the settlement is no longer variable. Additionally, all the inhabitants of the haven are reformed monsters instead of mundane folk, with the syntax of their past life carrying over into their current persona.

===[[Party Chat]]===
The ability to talk with the party members in and outside of battles was first added to the series in ''VII'', adding a great layer of depth to each party member and setting a standard that would be continued in future installments. Party members will offer advice about battle strategies, remind the player about important plot points, or simply comment on how they feel at a given moment when this feature is used. The use of this feature adds considerable personality to each character, so much so that party chat was frequently used as a marketing device for remakes of older titles in Japan.
:*Due to the tendency of party members reminding players what to do, the memory spells seen in ''VI'' and ''III'' have been removed.

===[[Excellence Grading Organisation]]===
The E.G.O. contests allow the player to compete for the highest stats, like the Best Dressed Contest from {{DQ6}}. Excellent equipment is awarded to anyone who can topple the reigning champions, two of whom are {{NPC}}s that can be found in the larger world.

===[[Monster Meadows]]===
The ability to [[Monster recruitment|catch monsters]] functions similarly to the {{Super Famicom}} Version of ''VI'', although they no longer participate in battle. Instead, tamed monsters are sent off to a nature preserve called Monster Meadows: here the monsters can be seen in their natural environment and be interacted with in the same manner as human {{NPC}}s. Blueprints are found to add new environs to the park, allowing space for nearly every monster.

==Development==
[[File:Tomes of Torment.jpg|border|left|thumb|250px|The planning documents for ''VII''. Every line of dialogue, plot synopsis, character connections, item purposes, and battle details were written by hand over the course of development.]]
''Dragon Quest VII'' was directed by [[Manabu Yamana]], with [[Shintaro Majima]] serving as the art director. Series veterans [[Yuji Horii]], [[Akira Toriyama]] and [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] returned as designer, character designer and composer respectively. ''VII'' was designed to have a different feel from previous games, with a greater emphasis on puzzles.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000711025440/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q2-2000/062300b.html "Dragon Quest VII Interview"]. ''RPGamer''. </ref>

Around the release of {{DQ6}}, Yuji Horii initially expressed interest in developing a ''Dragon Quest'' game for the Nintendo 64, not elaborating if it would be a mainline game.<ref>''Famicom Tsushin'', December 22, 1995. ASCII Corporation.</ref><ref>''Famitsu'', January 19, 1996. ASCII Corporation.</ref> Horii's statements sparked rumors that ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be developed for the Nintendo 64DD add-on. On January 15, 1997, ''VII'' was announced to be in development for the Sony {{PlayStation}}, causing a rise in stock prices for both [[Wikipedia:Sony|Sony]] and Enix in Japan.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130926113152/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/01/17/enixsony-update "Enix/Sony Update"]. ''IGN''. January 16, 1997.</ref> By 2000, ''Dragon Quest VII'' was predicted to be so successful in Japan that it would "create a 50 billion yen effect on the Japanese economy", said research firm DIHS. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181119011003/https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20010109/enix.htm</ref> Enix president Yasuhiro Fukushima later explained that the company preferred to release ''Dragon Quest'' games on the highest-selling platform at the time of development.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030211172149/https://www.zakzak.co.jp/tsui-sat/tsuiseki/contents/2000_10-03/1021_02.html －－ゲーム新世紀－－過熱バトルの行方（２）]. ''Zakzak''. Fujisankei Communications Group. October 3, 2000.</ref>
[[File:DQVII Purple Fairy.png|border|right|thumb|275px|The attendant of the shrine of mysteries was created to make navigating the time periods and fragment finding easier.]]

Aspects of the game's presentation were decided as development advanced. In a June 1997 interview with [[V Jump]] magazine conducted alongside Akira Toriyama, Yuji Horii congratulated Squaresoft for the impressive visuals of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII]'', marveling at how the pre-rendered backgrounds for each town maintained a distinct atmosphere and a high level of detail. When asked by Toriyama if ''Dragon Quest VII'' would also utilize pre-rendered backgrounds, Horii asserted that finding a presentation style best suited for his series was more important than pursuing graphical fidelity and that he wanted players to have the sensation of exploring the game's world on their own two feet <ref>堀井: 自分の足で歩いている感じがする新フィールドにしたいな

堀井: 「FFVII」の背景の絵はすごかったですね。細かい所まで描きこんであって、町ごとにいろんな雰囲気がある。どこに入れるんだろう、ここはどうなっているんだろう、と思って歩き回りました。
鳥山: 僕も初めて見たときは、とにかくビックリしましたね~!! RPGのグラフィックもここまで来たか、と思いましたね。DQはどうなるんですか?
堀井: ハードが変わって、技術的な面でやれることが増えたんですが、どれがDQに合っているのか、ということを考えてプログラムをする必要があると思うんです。ほのぼのした味を残しつつ、自分の足で歩いている感じが出せたらいいですね。</ref>. In the same interview Horii stated that the monsters would be animated through traditional pixel art, expressing skepticism of rendering Toriyama's creations in 3D polygons. Horii cited the limited amount of polygons that the PlayStation could displayed on screen would leave monsters looking too blocky or flat; Toriyama himself chimed in and stated that a slime that looked blocky is not a slime at all <ref>堀井: ポリゴンにすると、画面に表示できるポリゴンの数に限りがあるでしょ? カクカクとか、ノッペリしちゃったりして、鳥山さんの絵がいきない。
鳥山: スライムがカクカクしてたら、スライムらしくないですからね。キャラも冷たい感じがするし。</ref>. Conversely the towns and dungeons are fully rendered in three-dimensional polygon graphics. According to Yuji Horii this offered the gameplay advantage of letting players freely control camera angles, whereas contemporary RPGs on the PlayStation only offered limited camera control (as in Capcom's ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath_of_Fire_III Breath of Fire III]'') or static pre-rendered backgrounds of Square's ''Final Fantasy'' games. Horii also experimented with showing the party members in battle, but this resulted in there being less screen-space to display the monsters and that having to draw new pixel art for them at a smaller scale resulted in it being too difficult to discern their details <ref>鳥山: やっぱり戦闘画面に自分がいないんですか?
堀井: 実はそこが悩みどころでね。今いろいろ検証中なの。自分の姿を見せると画面が小さくなって、モンスターが小さくてわかりにくくなるんですよ。</ref>.

At one point in 1997 Horii began playing the Japanese release of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_(video_game) Diablo]'' and was impressed by the [https://www.diablowiki.net/Gossip gossip] feature of the title, which gave NPCs multiple lines of dialogue not related to the main plot to enrich the atmosphere of the game <ref>— 『VI』では自分捜しの旅でしたが、『VII』ではどんな旅に?
堀井: 仲間が重要になってきます。
富田: おー、仲間ですか?
堀井: 仲間をより仲間らしく。パソコンゲームの『ディアブロ』など、通信で生身の人たちと遊ぶゲームが、最近人気ありますよね。その感覚を出せないモノかなって思ってるんですよ。
富田: 生きてる相手とコミュニケーションをとるようなゲームですか? 楽しそうですね。
堀井: 実際に人間といっしょに旅をしてるんだっていう感覚。オンラインじゃないので、どこまで実現できるかわからないですけど、そのためにいろいろシステムを考えて、膨大な量のデータを用意してるんです。でも、やっぱり容量的にも時間的にも限りがありますからね(笑)。
富田: どんなゲームになりそうですか?
堀井: エンディングを見て「いい話だったなあ」って言うゲームよりも、やってるときが楽しいゲームにしたいんですよね。ストーリー重視だと早く終わらせようとするけど、「まだ終わりたくない、ずっと遊んでいたい」というゲームにしたいですね。March 6, 1998 issue of Famitsu</ref>. Being inspired by ''Diablo'' and knowing the immense storage capacity of CD-ROMs were now at his disposal, Horii developed the [[party chat]] system to give the cast more defined personalities than had been possible during the cartridge days. Furthermore developing the party chat feature led to the creation of Maribel; the original scenario for the game's opening segment was having Kiefer be the only companion to the Hero, but Horii found that the prince's straightforward personality did not elicit the most interesting party chat dialogue. As such Horii wrote Maribel as a sharp-tongued teenager suitable for spicier dialogue and inserted her into the game at the beginning. The gossip system of ''Diablo'' was also expanded upon with in-battle party chat, where characters can weigh in on the situation and even give advice pertaining to specific situations.

The game's emphasis on solving puzzles was a result of Horii wondering if the series' tempo was beginning to grow stale after six games, as well as becoming fascinated with the 1993 puzzle game ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst Myst]''. In order to give ''Dragon Quest VII'' a fresh experience compared to its predecessors, it was decided that the opening segment would consist entirely of solving puzzles rather than engaging in battle as soon as the player stepped outside of [[Pilchard Bay]]. The puzzle solving would persist through the remainder of the game for the individual scenarios as well as searching for the missing tablet pieces necessary to operate the [[Shrine of Mysteries]] <ref>岩田: 堀井さんが『VII』の
オリジナル版をつくった時、
容量が増えてできたこと以外の
新しいチャレンジとして、
どんなことを盛り込まれたんですか？

堀井: ボクは当時、『ＭＹＳＴ』という
海外のアドベンチャーゲームが気に入っていて、
「こんな謎解きもおもしろいな」と思っていたんです。
というのも、その頃は
「みんなレベル上げの戦闘に飽きてきたんじゃないか？」
という思いが、ちょっとあったんですね。

岩田: たしかに、ＲＰＧの序盤は、
「とりあえずレベル上げしておこう」
みたいなところが、
当時のお約束になっていましたからね。

堀井: そこで『VII』は、ゲームをはじめると
謎解きをメインに展開する構成にしたんですね。
だから冒頭の５時間くらいは、
戦闘なしで物語を進めるというふうに。

岩田 :ああ、あれは『ＭＹＳＴ』の
影響を受けていたんですか。

堀井: はい、やってみたかったんです。
まあ、いま振り返ると
「あれは必要だったかな？」とは
思いますが（笑）。https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index2.html</ref>. As Horii would explain in a 2013 interview with the late Satoru Iwata, the development staff felt liberated by the storage capacity of CD-ROM technology and continued adding more and more scenarios to the game <ref>堀井: あのときはじめて『ドラクエ』を
ＣＤ-ＲＯＭメディアでつくったんですけど、
「とにかく容量が多く入る」ということで
はりきって、つくりすぎちゃったんです。

岩田: 制限から解き放たれた人たちが
やりたかったことを表現しようとしたのが、
『VII』の歴史なんですよね。

藤本: スクウェア・エニックスに
歴代の『ドラクエ』の仕様書が保管されているんですけど、
『VII』はほかのナンバリングよりも圧倒的に多くて
「これ、ほとんど『VII』なんじゃない？」
というくらいの量があるんです。
しかも資料がぜんぶ、紙なんですよ。

堀井:『VII』までは、紙に手書きでシナリオを書いて、
データとかもすべて紙上でつくっていました。

岩田: 時代を感じますね。

堀井: ちょうどシナリオスタッフを増やした頃で
毎週、スタッフからこのくらいの
（人差し指と親指をいっぱいに広げて）
シナリオが送られてくるんです。
それを一言一句読んで、修正を延々やって・・・。
あの時は毎日つらかったなあ。

一同:（笑）

藤本:１日に数百枚のＦＡＸをやりとりするので、
機械がしょっちゅう故障したそうです。
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index.html</ref>. Horii and his team of five assistants ended up writing enough material to fill 16,000 [https://papersizes.io/a/a4 A4-sized documents], which is the equivalent of 20 books <ref>――現在はどのくらいのスタッフでプロットを考えているのですか？　また、ゲームを制作する上で大切だと思うことは何でしょうか。

プロットは僕自身で考えていますが、だんだんゲームが大きくなってきたので、実際の細かいセリフなどでは、『ドラクエIV』あたりから何人かのスタッフに協力してもらっています。『ドラクエVII』は5人が参加していますね。なにしろ、シナリオだけでA4の紙に1万6000ページくらいある。8センチファイルで20冊分に相当する分量です。とても1人で書けるレベルじゃないですよね。ゲームの制作そのものは、しだいに分業制になっていって、『ドラクエVIII』でも総勢200人以上という規模になっています。制作期間も長くなって、1つのゲームをつくるのに4〜5年かかるようになりました。https://web.archive.org/web/20100614061622/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/museum/meister/entertainment/vol2/</ref>; 3,000 of those pages were [[party chat]] and battle conversations alone<ref>戦闘の見どころは?

— 戦闘の見どころを教えてもらえますか?
「『VII』の大きな特徴のひとつが戦闘ですね。戦闘はモンスターがすごく動きます。ひとつの行動についてひとつのアクションを持っているくらいですから、見ていてあきないですね。それでいてテンポをよくしました。すごく気持ちのいい戦いができるように設定しています。(※5) それから、これがいちばん大きなウリなんですけど、実は戦闘中も仲間と話ができるんです。たとえば〝オレは弱っているからホイミをかけてくれ!"とか。実際に友だちといっしょに戦っているような感じがあると思います。(※6)
実はですね、『VI』のシナリオは、紙にして全部で4000ページぶんくらいあったんです。で、『VII』のシナリオは1万6000ページあって、そのうち3000ページが仲間のセリフなんですね。(※7) 仲間のセリフだけで『VI』全体の4分の3に相当する量なんです。これ、言っちゃっていいのかな(笑)。そういう、ぼう大なゲームです」[[V Jump]] March 2000 interview</ref>.

The game was delayed numerous times before its actual release. During a press conference held on March 13th, 1997 the planned release date was for the end of 1998, but it was delayed to the Summer of 1999 during a second press conference held on May 29th, 1998. The second delay would be announced in August of 1999, where the game was given a definitive release date of December 29th of that year; this date would be rescinded in November. A release window for Spring 2000 was announced during the Jump Festa 2000 event held in December of 1999, but this would also be rescinded in March 2000. The final release date of August 26th was announced in May. Work on the game was extended because the development staff wanted to perfect the game due to high expectations from the fans, and because the team only consisted of about 35 people. Before its release, it was ranked as the most wanted game in Japan and Square, knowing about ''Dragon Quest VII's'' release, moved its ''Final Fantasy IX'' game to come out on a later date to avoid competing directly with the title. ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be released on August 26, 2000 and hit a number of major sales milestones in Japan during it's initial release, becoming the highest selling PlayStation game in Japan at 4.06 million units sold, the best selling game of 2000 period, the sixth highest selling software title of all time by the end of 2000, and ''the'' highest selling title in the series until the release of ''Dragon Quest IX'' in 2009.

The English language localization of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' began directly after the game's Japanese release. Enix of America was tasked with translating over 70,000 pages of text via 20 translators and 5 copy editors, leading to inconsistent portrayals of main characters and several plot-holes. No effort was made to censor the context of the Japanese script, though considerable edits were made that change the tone of certain scenes. Additionally, nearly all dialogue for the monsters inhabiting the meadows was scrapped and replaced with new dialogue created by the localizers.

Development of the Nintendo 3DS version first began with transferring the documentation for the game into a digital format from the handwritten notes seen in the picture above, which took approximately one year. Producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto personally made the photocopies of each page to be archived digitally. Once this was completed and the information for the game could be readily accessed from at the click of a mouse, actual development time took approximately two and a half years. The largest structural change is in the beginning of the game, where the sequences of events that uncovers the ruins of Estard island is greatly streamlined to accelerate the beginning of adventure.

The 2013 remake for the Nintendo 3DS was localized in 2016 under the title ''Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past''. It was translated by UK-based localization specialists [[Shloc Ltd]], and adheres to the localizatio style set by [[Richard Honeywood]] and [[Plus Alpha]]. Square Enix originally had no plans to localize the title due to the size of text being cost-prohibitive compared to potential sales, but Dragon Quest fans of France began a letter writing campaign to bring the game overseas that reached the CEO of the company as well as that of [[Nintendo]]<ref>[http://archive.fo/6KBad "Why Dragon Quest VII 3DS Took So Long to Come West"]. ''Kotaku''. June 17, 2016.</ref>

{{quote|style=1|quote='''''“We actually had no plans of releasing it at first. It was because the text was so huge that considering [the] cost and time that went in, we didn’t think it was worth it. Actually a lot of core fans from France approached us, and then we received letters, not just us but the CEO of our company as well as Nintendo, and everybody else that was involved, requesting a localized version of ''Dragon Quest VII''. They were even saying at one point that they’ll localize it themselves for us. Because of that high demand we realized we really had to do this thing.”'''''|source=Yu Miyake, series producer|console=|align=center|bgcolor=fffff}}

==Soundtrack==
As with every ''Dragon Quest'', [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the musical score and directed all the associated spinoff soundtracks. As a first for the series, the original sound version was bundled with the symphonic suite in a two-disc set called ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi Symphonic Suite + OST''. The entire first disc and the opening song of the second disc consists of the symphonic suite, while the rest of the second disc is the original sound version. A disc titled ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi on Piano'' was also released, and contained 27 [[wikipedia:Piano|piano]]-arranged tracks. The ''Symphonic Suite'' was later reprinted by itself in 2006.

==Reception==
{|class="wikitable infobox" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 80%; float: right; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; width: 23em; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center"
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%"|Reception
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Aggregate scores
|-
!Aggregator
!Score
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameRankings|GameRankings]]
|81%
|-
|[[wikipedia:Metacritic|Metacritic]]
|78 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:MobyGames|MobyGames]]
|77 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:TopTenReviews|TopTenReviews]]
|3.20 of 4
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Review scores
|-
!Publication
!Score
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Famitsu|Famitsu]]''
|38 out of 40
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]]''
|6.75 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]''
|4 out of 5
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameSpot|GameSpot]]
|7.7 out of 10
|-
|[[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]]
|8.7 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Official_U.S._PlayStation_Magazine|Official PlayStation Magazine (US)]]''
|4.5 out of 5
|}
''VII'' was very well-received in Japan upon release, though in recent years it has attracted a larger amount of criticism than is usual for the series. ''Dragon Quest VII'' won the grand prize in Digital (Interactive) Art Division at the 4th [[wikipedia:Japan_Media_Arts_Festival|Japan Media Arts Festival]] in 2000, where the game was praised for being "...engaging without depending on a high degree of realism..." and "...well refined and artfully executed." The game also won four awards from the 5th Japan Entertainment Software Awards by the [[wikipedia:Computer_Entertainment_Supplier|Association Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association]] (CESA), including Best Prize, Scenario Prize, Sales Prize, and Popularity Prize.

Sales of the North American version of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' reached about 200,000 copies according to The Magic Box, which was not nearly as stellar as its Japanese counterpart. Enix of America still expressed their satisfaction with the sales figures. ''Dragon Warrior VII'' met with mostly good reviews from North American critics. [[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]] noted that all "100+ hours" of the game are enjoyable despite the dated visuals and clunky presentation. ''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]'' questioned whether the game's package was nostalgic or just awful, but still gave it a decent score and called it a great game overall. GameZone.com praised the game's concept and nostalgia factor and cited it as "what role-playing games were meant to be." They also noted the game's high difficulty, which, instead of making the game frustrating, they say, "make it that much more of an accomplishment when you complete a quest." IGN described the game's class system as "one of the best class systems seen outside a strategy RPG."

Other critics were not as pleased with ''VII'': GameShark.com described the first two hours of the game as "some of the most boring hours you will ever play in a video game." XenGamers.com also pointed out that in order to play the game, the player needs "the patience of a rock". [[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]] even went as far as to say that "four million Japanese can be wrong", referring to the game's immense popularity in Japan.

Because of the game's delay in being developed, its release was after the {{PlayStation 2}}'s release, which created some negative feedback, particularly about the game's graphics. [https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/13/dragon-quest-7-fragments-of-the-forgotten-past-review IGN commented] on this, calling the game "a game that makes only a bare minimum of concessions to advancing technology, but more than makes up for this with its deep gameplay, massive quest, and sheer variety." Gamespot called the graphics "not good" and warned readers that if the "most rewarding things" they "got out of ''Final Fantasy VII'' were the full-motion video interludes, you definitely won't be wowed by anything you see in ''Dragon Warrior VII''."

Since the game's release, the most notable and consistent points of contrition among fans have been the lackluster graphical presentation, and the exploitative nature of the vocation system. Of particular note is the abundance of redundant skills and spells available to the earlier careers ([[Focus Strength]] & [[Muster Strength]], [[Shove]] & [[Heave-ho]], [[Muscle Dance]] & [[Roundhouse Kick]], etc), along with a distinct imbalance between the usefulness of spells compared to skills. Coupled with this is the fact that, by having only three top tier vocations, the five party members will invariably share similar abilities and thus negate their individuality. Indeed, the glut of abilities was one of the primary motivations for the creation of ''VIII's'' weapon-specific skill trees, which have become the standard of the series ever since.

==Remakes==
===Nintendo 3DS===
The {{3DS}} remake presents the game in full 3D with polygonal models replacing the {{PS1}} version's sprites. The game has received the most modification of any remake or port in the series thus far, reworking the entire opening section to streamline the introduction to the story and characters to the point that approximately two hours have been removed. Additional conveniences and modifications have been implemented to remove the tedious nature of finding fragments.
*A radar has been added to make finding the stone shards easier than ever. A new character stationed in the Divine Shrine has also been added that gives players hints to finding them as well.
*Streetpass stones, a place in the immigrant town to go online to trade them with other players. Bringing streetpass stones to the immigrant town unlocks new dungeons, and special story scenes. Players can also get Streetpass Stones by making a party of monsters from the monster park and sending them into a special randomly generated dungeon.
*Party member appearance change immediately after switching vocations, with designs being made for several vocations for the first time.
*Party member appearance also changes immediately for monster vocations, not just upon rank 8 mastery like in the PS1 version.
*Weapons and shields are displayed in battle, some of which are animated.[[Image:Running_From_The_Fiends.png|right|border|350px]]
*Vocation ranks require fewer battles to advance, with some losing as much as 40% of their mandate.
*Spells/skills for second and third tier vocations are only usable when in that class, giving the last part of the main game more balance.
*Overall simplification and re-balancing of which vocations get which skills, including elimination of the hybrid skill system. The skills in question have not been removed, however, and are now available through normal vocation advancement.
*Maribel now learns the [[Bang]] spell naturally, making the scenarios prior to unlocking the vocations easier.
*The [[Tidal Wave]] skill has been removed in response to the Kanto Earthquake disaster of 2011. Enemies that used the skill now use [[Jolly Rager]] instead, with the damage range lowered to that of Tidal Wave's for balance.

===Dragon Quest VII Reimagined===
An HD remake titled ''[[Dragon Quest VII Reimagined]]'' was announced on September 12th, 2025. Unlike the Nintendo 3DS remake, this iteration is a complete reworking of the experience that fundamentally changes the nature of the game.

==Related media==
The [[wikipedia:Manga|manga]] adaptation of ''Dragon Quest VII'' was published by Enix's ''[[wikipedia:Gangan Comics|Monthly Gangan]]'' in Japan. It was illustrated by [[wikipedia:Kamui_Fujiwara|Kamui Fujiwara]], who also worked on another franchise-related manga, ''[[The Emblem of Roto|Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō]]''. Fourteen volumes were released between 2001 and 2006 until the series was cancelled, and a canonical sequel titled ''Dragon Quest Ending'' began serialization in Square-Enix's Young Gan-Gan magazine on January 5th 2026.

In this adaptation, the hero is given the name "Arus". The manga follows the game story while adding in new characters and more detailed relationships, as the original hero was silent and a personality needed to be added for the comic version.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original {{PlayStation}} version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario & game design
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|[[Akira Toriyama]]
|----------
|Music composer
|[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|----------
|Director of programming
|[[Manabu Yamana]]
|----------
|Art director
|Shintaro Majima
|----------
|Scenario
|Yuji Horii, Sachiko Sugimura, Fuminori Ishikawa, Kazunori Orio
|----------
|Programming
|Manabu Yamana, Masayuki Kawamoto, Yasushi Watanabe, Hiroaki Suzuki, Hajime Ito, Makoto Hirashima, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Yasuhiro Yoshida
|----------
|Graphic design
|Shintaro Majima, Hiroshi Muroki, Naoyuki Hayakawa, Tatsuya Takahashi, Yukari Umada, Masato Hirayama, Ruri Yamaguchi, Yoshihisa Nishimura, Rena Konaka, Keiichi Egawa, Kohei Matsushita, Katsuhiko Shiono
|----------
|Graphic tool programming
|Takeshi Sugimura
|----------
|Sound design
|Tsukasa Tawada
|----------
|Monster Design
|Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Osamu Kaneko
|----------
|Localization Programming
|Hiroaki Suzuki
|----------
|Translation
|(Wordbox Inc.) Lucie Ishii, Hiroko Yoda, Jeff Gelbard, Wayne Lammers, Matt Alt, Jeremy Blaustein, Ryan Morris
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix America, Inc.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Localization manager
|Mitsuru George Torii
|----------
|Product manager
|John Laurence
|----------
|Quality assurance lead
|Jon Weisnewski
|----------
|Copy edit
|Chris Chymiy, Dustin Brown, Doug Hill, Sean Peters, Mike Tidwell
|----------
|QA translation
|Masanobu Yoshida, Katsuko Bandur, Hisayo Tomiyama, Miki Yasui Marr
|----------
|Play testers
|Zeb Clinton, Shawn Conard, T. J. Cowgill, Bryce Felt, Matthew A. Gillikin, Eric Ho, John Holes, Eric Junge, Ed Price, Jerry Pritchard, David Rieman, Dylan Sharp, Tom Shultz Jr.
|----------
|Sales & marketing manager
|Andrew Stein
|----------
|Accounting & credit manager
|Misuzu McMillan
|----------
|A/R analyst
|Yuri Kato
|----------
|Administrative assistant
|Emi Coughlin
|----------
|President
|Paul Handelman
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix corporation
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Technical Support
|Kenjiro Kano, Tomoyuki Iwai
|----------
|Play testers
|Satoshi Sato, Hideyuki Nukui, Satoru Kubota, Joe Mitsuta, Takayuki Mibu, Iiro Kimura, Rie Iwao, Masaki Murashita, Shinobu Nonaka, Mika Endo, Takatoshi Akiyama, Ryuichi Nakamura, Mie Ohnishi
|----------
|Artwork
|Naoki Oishi, Takashi Kamimura, Arte Piazza
|----------
|Public relations
|Yū Miyake, Ryoichi Kuramochi
|----------
|Special thanks
|TamTam
|----------
|Localization coordinators
|Daisuke Kobayashi, Jun Miyamoto, Yoshito Taniuchi
|----------
|Producer
|Taichi Inuzuka
|----------
|Executive producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|President
|Keiji Honda
|}
==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQ VII print ad.jpg|The final print ad The monsters spell out the hiragana for mattete, "hold on" in English, owing the game's numerous delays
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Front Side).png|PlayStation. (JP)
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Back Side).jpg|
DQ VII PS1 Disc 1.jpg|Disc 1
DQ VII PS1 Disc 2.jpg|Disc 2
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Front Side).jpg|Instruction manual front cover
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Back Side).jpg|Instruction manual back cover
DW VII PS1 Case (Front Side).png|PlayStation (NA)
DW VII PS1 Case (Back Side).jpg|
DW VII PS1 Disc 1.png|Disc 1
DW VII PS1 Disc 2.png|Disc 2
DQVII Japan Art.png|Cover art
DQVII_guide.png|Guide cover
DQVII soundtrack.png|Symphonic Suite + OST
DQVII Eden No Senshi Tachi On Piano.png|Piano arrangements
DQVII_3DS.png|3DS box art (Japan)
DQVII 3DS Box.png|3DS box art (NA)
DQVII 3DS Europe.png|3DS box art (Europe)
DQVII 3DS France.png|3DS box art (France)
DQVII All Aglow.png|3DS art
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 1.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 2.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine 2
DQVII_Manga.png|Manga Vol. 1
DQVII_Manga 2.png|Manga Vol. 2
DQVII_Manga 3.png|Manga Vol. 3
DQVII_Manga 4.png|Manga Vol. 4
DQVII_Manga 5.png|Manga Vol. 5
DQVII_Manga 6.png|Manga Vol. 6
DQVII Manga 7.png|Manga Vol. 7
Dragon Quest Ending promo art by Kamui Fujiwara.jpeg|''Dragon Quest Ending'' promo art with an adult [[Kiefer]]
DQVII iOS Japan.png|iOS/Android icon (Japan)
</gallery></center>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://dragonquest7.nintendo.com/ DQVII Nintendo 3DS website]

{{DQVII}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}
[[Category:Dragon Quest VII|*!]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS games]]

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

2025-12-27T18:34:08Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
|title=Fragments of the Forgotten Past
|image= [[Image:DQVII_Logo.png|320px|center]][[File:DQVII Battle.png|center|320px]]
|caption=
|developer=[[Heartbeat]], [[ArtePiazza]]
|publisher=[[Enix]]
|designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
|artist=[[Akira Toriyama]]
|composer=[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|engine=
|released= '''PlayStation'''{{vgrelease|JP=August 26, 2000}}{{vgrelease|NA=November 1, 2001}}{{vgrelease|JP=March 2, 2005}} (PSOne Books re-release) {{vgrelease|JP=June 20, 2006}} (Ultimate Hits re-release) '''[[Nintendo 3DS]]''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 7, 2013}}{{vgrelease|NA=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|EU=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|AUS=September 17, 2016}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 17, 2015}}
|genre=[[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Role-playing game]]
|modes=[[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
|ratings={{vgratings|ESRB=T (Teen)|CERO=A (All Ages)}}
|platforms=[[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo 3DS]]
|media=2 [[Wikipedia:CD-ROM|CD-ROM]], Game cartridge
|requirements=
|input=
|series={{Main Series}}
}}
{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest VII'''|ドラゴンクエストVII エデンの戦士たち|Doragon Kuesuto Sebun Eden no Senshi-tachi|literally meaning; Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden}} is the seventh installment of the popular {{DQSeries}} of role playing games and the first in the series to not be a part of a larger trilogy.
It was the first main series ''Dragon Quest'' title to be released outside of Japan since the release of {{Dragon Quest IV}} in North America in [[wikipedia:1992 in video gaming|1992]], and the last title to be released in North America with the ''Dragon Warrior'' name.

The game follows the {{Hero 7}} and his friends as they discover secrets about the mysterious islands surrounding their isolated home of [[Estard]], the only land mass in the entire world. Through some ancient ruins, they are transported to the pasts of various islands that used to exist and must defeat evil in each new location.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest VII'' is best known for its immense playtime. Without completing its side quests, a single game of ''Dragon Quest VII'' can take 100 or more hours. The main flow of the game is different than other ''Dragon Quest'' games; instead of exploring one large world, the party goes to separate continents by placing stone [[fragment]]s into their appropriate pedestals in the [[Shrine of Mysteries]]. Once all of the missing shards are located and placed for a particular pedestal, the party is transported to the trapped location centuries in the past. After solving whatever problems plague the region, the party then travels back to the present. From there, they can travel via boat, carpet, or skystone to the modern version of the location they just saved. These saved lands appear on the main map, although the originals (from the past) can only be revisited through the ruins.

==Plot==
{{spoiler|start}}
''Dragon Quest VII'' tells the story of a young hero, the son of a prominent fisherman in the village of Pilchard Bay on Estard Island, the only land mass in the world, and his friends in a fantastical, medieval-like world. They set out on adventures through the world's past and learn about its history. Upon discovering different lands in the past and solving the troubles, they reappear in the game's present-day map.

The party begins their adventure when the hero and [[Kiefer]] discovers a mysterious stone fragment of a map his father brings home from a fishing trip. Further investigations lead him to discover that the world he lives on, which seems to consist of only his small island, used to contain many continents that have somehow been sealed away. By placing found fragments on pedestals in Estard's ruins, the Hero and his friends are sent to different lands in the past which the party eventually realizes. Once they solve the problems in the area's past, the land masses appear in the present.

After the world is restored, Orgodemir, the Demonlord, disguises himself as The Almighty and seals several of the islands away once again; this time Estard is sealed as well. The party sets out to revive the elemental spirits: Wind; Fire; Earth; and Water. Orgodemir is then revealed as the Demon Lord to the world whereupon he claims to have done so to trick humanity. Orgodemir then raises his Cathedral of Blight and with the aid of the Skystone, the party confronts him in a final battle.
{{spoiler|end}}

==Characters==
{{main|List of characters in Dragon Quest VII}}
*{{Hero 7}} — The Hero's official default name is "Auster"; however, as is traditional in the ''Dragon Quest'' series, the name is supplied by the player (however, he is called Arus in the official manga). The Hero is a lifelong native of the town of [[Pilchard Bay]] on Estard Island. He is good friends with {{Maribel}}, daughter of the mayor, and Kiefer, prince of Estard Castle. In particular, he has a fondness for going out on impromptu "adventures" with Kiefer. It is one such adventure that begins the story of the game. In terms of gameplay, the Hero is a well-rounded character who will do well in any vocation.

*[[Kiefer]] — Kiefer is a prince of [[Estard]] Island, and the presumptive heir to the throne. Far from anticipating his elevation to kingship, however, Kiefer seems to resent his royal blood, and is a source of endless worry and frustration to his family and advisers. Kiefer, for his part, spends much of his time in search of excitement and adventure, and has found a kindred spirit in the Hero, whom he considers his closest friend. Kiefer is incredibly strong, with a high physical attack statistic and naturally high hit points. He is the most powerful character available early on in the game. On one trip to an ancient land, Kiefer falls in love, and remains behind. Upon returning to the present, the hero finds out that Kiefer has become a famous guardian of the [[Roamers]], and is the biological ancestor of almost an entire culture/continent. Kiefer is also the main character of the game {{DQMCH}} as a young boy.

*[[Maribel Mayde]] — A friend of both the Hero and Kiefer, Maribel is the daughter of mayor Mayde. Unlike Kiefer, who has steadfastly refused to let his social status influence how he looks upon other people, Maribel tends to be very condescending towards others regardless of their social status. Despite this, she gets along well with her friends, and occasionally accompanies them on their adventuring, even if she sometimes has to pressure them into letting her tag along. Maribel is primarily a magic user: with low starting physical statistics, and an early lack of powerful weapons available for her use, it takes a good deal of time before she can do anything approaching the amount of physical damage inflicted by some of the other characters. On the other hand, Maribel has access to a variety of damaging attack spells relatively early on. In the remakes, she is capable of growing faster than even Ruff.

*[[Ruff]] — Although he appears to be a normal boy, Ruff is actually a [[White Wolves|white wolf]] pup who was irrevocably turned into a human. As such, he retains a number of obvious lupine characteristics, and can be somewhat bestial at times, though as a side effect of the Hackrobat attempting to cure him of his condition he can speak the human tongue well enough to be understood. He agrees to travel with the heroes hoping to protect his family from the demon king, but remains with the group out of a sense of loyalty. Despite his diminutive size and young age, he can easily become as powerful as the Hero, Mervyn, and Aishe through mastery of the the melee vocations. He is also very agile, though not as fleet-footed as Maribel.[[Image:Tablet Fragments.png|right|border|180px]]

*[[Sir Mervyn]] — A skilled paladin of centuries past, Mervyn fought on the side of [[Numen|The Almighty]] against the [[Orgodemir|Demon Lord]] many years ago. Mervyn excelled at his work, and distinguished himself in both skill and honor. As such, Mervyn was petrified in stone by God, so that, should the need arise, he could be reawakened to once again take up the fight against evil. Mervyn joins the party after a lengthy revival process, although his age and unfamiliarity with the present day often leave other characters somewhat befuddled. Mervyn is proficient at both magic and physical combat, though his magic casting abilities are slightly superior to his physical attack skills.

*[[Aishe]] — Aishe is the lead ritual dancer of the Roamer tribe, an ancient race of people charged with the stewardship of a temple necessary in the act of calling forth God. Raised and trained at swordsmanship as well as gypsy dancing, Aishe is a more than capable fighter and will do well in any physically-oriented vocation. Although capable of doing both significant physical and significant magical damage, Aishe stands in contrast to Mervyn, in that her magic skills tend to lag slightly behind her physical statistics.

==New features==
===Player conveniences===
*Total play time is now marked next to save files.
*The ability to change message display speed and audio settings has been moved from the start screen to the in-game menu.
*All items can now be bought in bulk, not just weapons and armor.
*Brief descriptions of items are displayed when the cursor hover over them in the menu.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] debuts, displaying monster actions, exp total, gold total, number defeated, and what item is dropped per species.
*If the player accidentally presses a button when there is nothing to interact with, no time-consuming message is displayed.
*When an item or gold is found, a small icon will appear over the protagonist's sprite along with the traditional jingle.
*The contents of bookshelves has been embellished, with hints for the area, anecdotal stories, and bad jokes found in several.
:*A mimic for books has been added as well.
*Characters will typically move and gesture while speaking, making it easier to tell whom is talking.
===Battle refinements===
*The maximum value for all stats has been set to 999.
*[[Artificial intelligence]] strategies can be assigned to specific characters now instead of group-wide orders.
:*Each character has a personalized A.I. that reflects their personality and influences their actions in battle. Maribel favors casting spells over using skills for one example; if she has learned [[Kaboom]] and [[Harvest Moon]] and her tactic is set to "Show No Mercy" then she will use the former whenever possible.
*The [[command menu]] layout for spells and skills have been split into three categories--''Offensive'', ''Defensive'', and ''Other''.
*Status buffs and debuffs for allies and enemies now expire after a number of turns, along with [[paralysis]].
*{{Cursed}} equipment has been reinstated, requiring the use of a priest to remove.
*''VII'' includes '''thirty-four''' Monster Vocations compared to the previous game's two, which can be unlocked by using the appropriate [[Monster Heart]] at the {{Alltrades Abbey 7}} or by mastering prerequisite monster forms. This allows a party member to transform into a monster during battle, gaining the resistances (and vulnerabilities) of that species.
:*In the {{3DS}} remake these vocations are often the only way to permanently learn excellent abilities.

===[[The Haven]]===
Returning from ''III'', the boom town side quest has been reworked from a passive sequence to one the player controls directly. The Haven lets the player recruit people from various towns in the {{PSX}} Version, which changes depending on the type of people living there (e.g. several merchants will bring more stores to the town). In the {{3DS}} remake the system is dependent on [[Traveller's Tablet]]s after a brief tutorial, and the culture of the settlement is no longer variable. Additionally, all the inhabitants of the haven are reformed monsters instead of mundane folk, with the syntax of their past life carrying over into their current persona.

===[[Party Chat]]===
The ability to talk with the party members in and outside of battles was first added to the series in ''VII'', adding a great layer of depth to each party member and setting a standard that would be continued in future installments. Party members will offer advice about battle strategies, remind the player about important plot points, or simply comment on how they feel at a given moment when this feature is used. The use of this feature adds considerable personality to each character, so much so that party chat was frequently used as a marketing device for remakes of older titles in Japan.
:*Due to the tendency of party members reminding players what to do, the memory spells seen in ''VI'' and ''III'' have been removed.

===[[Excellence Grading Organisation]]===
The E.G.O. contests allow the player to compete for the highest stats, like the Best Dressed Contest from {{DQ6}}. Excellent equipment is awarded to anyone who can topple the reigning champions, two of whom are {{NPC}}s that can be found in the larger world.

===[[Monster Meadows]]===
The ability to [[Monster recruitment|catch monsters]] functions similarly to the {{Super Famicom}} Version of ''VI'', although they no longer participate in battle. Instead, tamed monsters are sent off to a nature preserve called Monster Meadows: here the monsters can be seen in their natural environment and be interacted with in the same manner as human {{NPC}}s. Blueprints are found to add new environs to the park, allowing space for nearly every monster.

==Development==
[[File:Tomes of Torment.jpg|border|left|thumb|250px|The planning documents for ''VII''. Every line of dialogue, plot synopsis, character connections, item purposes, and battle details were written by hand over the course of development.]]
''Dragon Quest VII'' was directed by [[Manabu Yamana]], with [[Shintaro Majima]] serving as the art director. Series veterans [[Yuji Horii]], [[Akira Toriyama]] and [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] returned as designer, character designer and composer respectively. ''VII'' was designed to have a different feel from previous games, with a greater emphasis on puzzles.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000711025440/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q2-2000/062300b.html "Dragon Quest VII Interview"]. ''RPGamer''. </ref>

Around the release of {{DQ6}}, Yuji Horii initially expressed interest in developing a ''Dragon Quest'' game for the Nintendo 64, not elaborating if it would be a mainline game.<ref>''Famicom Tsushin'', December 22, 1995. ASCII Corporation.</ref><ref>''Famitsu'', January 19, 1996. ASCII Corporation.</ref> Horii's statements sparked rumors that ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be developed for the Nintendo 64DD add-on. On January 15, 1997, development was announced to be in development for the Sony {{PlayStation}}, causing a rise in stock prices for both [[Wikipedia:Sony|Sony]] and Enix in Japan.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130926113152/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/01/17/enixsony-update "Enix/Sony Update"]. ''IGN''. January 16, 1997.</ref> By 2000, ''Dragon Quest VII'' was predicted to be so successful in Japan that it would "create a 50 billion yen effect on the Japanese economy", said research firm DIHS. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181119011003/https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20010109/enix.htm</ref> Enix president Yasuhiro Fukushima later explained that the company preferred to release ''Dragon Quest'' games on the highest-selling platform at the time of development.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030211172149/https://www.zakzak.co.jp/tsui-sat/tsuiseki/contents/2000_10-03/1021_02.html －－ゲーム新世紀－－過熱バトルの行方（２）]. ''Zakzak''. Fujisankei Communications Group. October 3, 2000.</ref>
[[File:DQVII Purple Fairy.png|border|right|thumb|275px|The attendant of the shrine of mysteries was created to make navigating the time periods and fragment finding easier.]]

Aspects of the game's presentation were decided as development advanced. In a June 1997 interview with [[V Jump]] magazine conducted alongside Akira Toriyama, Yuji Horii congratulated Squaresoft for the impressive visuals of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII]'', marveling at how the pre-rendered backgrounds for each town maintained a distinct atmosphere and a high level of detail. When asked by Toriyama if ''Dragon Quest VII'' would also utilize pre-rendered backgrounds, Horii asserted that finding a presentation style best suited for his series was more important than pursuing graphical fidelity and that he wanted players to have the sensation of exploring the game's world on their own two feet <ref>堀井: 自分の足で歩いている感じがする新フィールドにしたいな

堀井: 「FFVII」の背景の絵はすごかったですね。細かい所まで描きこんであって、町ごとにいろんな雰囲気がある。どこに入れるんだろう、ここはどうなっているんだろう、と思って歩き回りました。
鳥山: 僕も初めて見たときは、とにかくビックリしましたね~!! RPGのグラフィックもここまで来たか、と思いましたね。DQはどうなるんですか?
堀井: ハードが変わって、技術的な面でやれることが増えたんですが、どれがDQに合っているのか、ということを考えてプログラムをする必要があると思うんです。ほのぼのした味を残しつつ、自分の足で歩いている感じが出せたらいいですね。</ref>. In the same interview Horii stated that the monsters would be animated through traditional pixel art, expressing skepticism of rendering Toriyama's creations in 3D polygons. Horii cited the limited amount of polygons that the PlayStation could displayed on screen would leave monsters looking too blocky or flat; Toriyama himself chimed in and stated that a slime that looked blocky is not a slime at all <ref>堀井: ポリゴンにすると、画面に表示できるポリゴンの数に限りがあるでしょ? カクカクとか、ノッペリしちゃったりして、鳥山さんの絵がいきない。
鳥山: スライムがカクカクしてたら、スライムらしくないですからね。キャラも冷たい感じがするし。</ref>. Conversely the towns and dungeons are fully rendered in three-dimensional polygon graphics. According to Yuji Horii this offered the gameplay advantage of letting players freely control camera angles, whereas contemporary RPGs on the PlayStation only offered limited camera control (as in Capcom's ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath_of_Fire_III Breath of Fire III]'') or static pre-rendered backgrounds of Square's ''Final Fantasy'' games. Horii also experimented with showing the party members in battle, but this resulted in there being less screen-space to display the monsters and that having to draw new pixel art for them at a smaller scale resulted in it being too difficult to discern their details <ref>鳥山: やっぱり戦闘画面に自分がいないんですか?
堀井: 実はそこが悩みどころでね。今いろいろ検証中なの。自分の姿を見せると画面が小さくなって、モンスターが小さくてわかりにくくなるんですよ。</ref>.

At one point in 1997 Horii began playing the Japanese release of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_(video_game) Diablo]'' and was impressed by the [https://www.diablowiki.net/Gossip gossip] feature of the title, which gave NPCs multiple lines of dialogue not related to the main plot to enrich the atmosphere of the game <ref>— 『VI』では自分捜しの旅でしたが、『VII』ではどんな旅に?
堀井: 仲間が重要になってきます。
富田: おー、仲間ですか?
堀井: 仲間をより仲間らしく。パソコンゲームの『ディアブロ』など、通信で生身の人たちと遊ぶゲームが、最近人気ありますよね。その感覚を出せないモノかなって思ってるんですよ。
富田: 生きてる相手とコミュニケーションをとるようなゲームですか? 楽しそうですね。
堀井: 実際に人間といっしょに旅をしてるんだっていう感覚。オンラインじゃないので、どこまで実現できるかわからないですけど、そのためにいろいろシステムを考えて、膨大な量のデータを用意してるんです。でも、やっぱり容量的にも時間的にも限りがありますからね(笑)。
富田: どんなゲームになりそうですか?
堀井: エンディングを見て「いい話だったなあ」って言うゲームよりも、やってるときが楽しいゲームにしたいんですよね。ストーリー重視だと早く終わらせようとするけど、「まだ終わりたくない、ずっと遊んでいたい」というゲームにしたいですね。March 6, 1998 issue of Famitsu</ref>. Being inspired by ''Diablo'' and knowing the immense storage capacity of CD-ROMs were now at his disposal, Horii developed the [[party chat]] system to give the cast more defined personalities than had been possible during the cartridge days. Furthermore developing the party chat feature led to the creation of Maribel; the original scenario for the game's opening segment was having Kiefer be the only companion to the Hero, but Horii found that the prince's straightforward personality did not elicit the most interesting party chat dialogue. As such Horii wrote Maribel as a sharp-tongued teenager suitable for spicier dialogue and inserted her into the game at the beginning. The gossip system of ''Diablo'' was also expanded upon with in-battle party chat, where characters can weigh in on the situation and even give advice pertaining to specific situations.

The game's emphasis on solving puzzles was a result of Horii wondering if the series' tempo was beginning to grow stale after six games, as well as becoming fascinated with the 1993 puzzle game ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst Myst]''. In order to give ''Dragon Quest VII'' a fresh experience compared to its predecessors, it was decided that the opening segment would consist entirely of solving puzzles rather than engaging in battle as soon as the player stepped outside of [[Pilchard Bay]]. The puzzle solving would persist through the remainder of the game for the individual scenarios as well as searching for the missing tablet pieces necessary to operate the [[Shrine of Mysteries]] <ref>岩田: 堀井さんが『VII』の
オリジナル版をつくった時、
容量が増えてできたこと以外の
新しいチャレンジとして、
どんなことを盛り込まれたんですか？

堀井: ボクは当時、『ＭＹＳＴ』という
海外のアドベンチャーゲームが気に入っていて、
「こんな謎解きもおもしろいな」と思っていたんです。
というのも、その頃は
「みんなレベル上げの戦闘に飽きてきたんじゃないか？」
という思いが、ちょっとあったんですね。

岩田: たしかに、ＲＰＧの序盤は、
「とりあえずレベル上げしておこう」
みたいなところが、
当時のお約束になっていましたからね。

堀井: そこで『VII』は、ゲームをはじめると
謎解きをメインに展開する構成にしたんですね。
だから冒頭の５時間くらいは、
戦闘なしで物語を進めるというふうに。

岩田 :ああ、あれは『ＭＹＳＴ』の
影響を受けていたんですか。

堀井: はい、やってみたかったんです。
まあ、いま振り返ると
「あれは必要だったかな？」とは
思いますが（笑）。https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index2.html</ref>. As Horii would explain in a 2013 interview with the late Satoru Iwata, the development staff felt liberated by the storage capacity of CD-ROM technology and continued adding more and more scenarios to the game <ref>堀井: あのときはじめて『ドラクエ』を
ＣＤ-ＲＯＭメディアでつくったんですけど、
「とにかく容量が多く入る」ということで
はりきって、つくりすぎちゃったんです。

岩田: 制限から解き放たれた人たちが
やりたかったことを表現しようとしたのが、
『VII』の歴史なんですよね。

藤本: スクウェア・エニックスに
歴代の『ドラクエ』の仕様書が保管されているんですけど、
『VII』はほかのナンバリングよりも圧倒的に多くて
「これ、ほとんど『VII』なんじゃない？」
というくらいの量があるんです。
しかも資料がぜんぶ、紙なんですよ。

堀井:『VII』までは、紙に手書きでシナリオを書いて、
データとかもすべて紙上でつくっていました。

岩田: 時代を感じますね。

堀井: ちょうどシナリオスタッフを増やした頃で
毎週、スタッフからこのくらいの
（人差し指と親指をいっぱいに広げて）
シナリオが送られてくるんです。
それを一言一句読んで、修正を延々やって・・・。
あの時は毎日つらかったなあ。

一同:（笑）

藤本:１日に数百枚のＦＡＸをやりとりするので、
機械がしょっちゅう故障したそうです。
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index.html</ref>. Horii and his team of five assistants ended up writing enough material to fill 16,000 [https://papersizes.io/a/a4 A4-sized documents], which is the equivalent of 20 books <ref>――現在はどのくらいのスタッフでプロットを考えているのですか？　また、ゲームを制作する上で大切だと思うことは何でしょうか。

プロットは僕自身で考えていますが、だんだんゲームが大きくなってきたので、実際の細かいセリフなどでは、『ドラクエIV』あたりから何人かのスタッフに協力してもらっています。『ドラクエVII』は5人が参加していますね。なにしろ、シナリオだけでA4の紙に1万6000ページくらいある。8センチファイルで20冊分に相当する分量です。とても1人で書けるレベルじゃないですよね。ゲームの制作そのものは、しだいに分業制になっていって、『ドラクエVIII』でも総勢200人以上という規模になっています。制作期間も長くなって、1つのゲームをつくるのに4〜5年かかるようになりました。https://web.archive.org/web/20100614061622/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/museum/meister/entertainment/vol2/</ref>; 3,000 of those pages were [[party chat]] and battle conversations alone<ref>戦闘の見どころは?

— 戦闘の見どころを教えてもらえますか?
「『VII』の大きな特徴のひとつが戦闘ですね。戦闘はモンスターがすごく動きます。ひとつの行動についてひとつのアクションを持っているくらいですから、見ていてあきないですね。それでいてテンポをよくしました。すごく気持ちのいい戦いができるように設定しています。(※5) それから、これがいちばん大きなウリなんですけど、実は戦闘中も仲間と話ができるんです。たとえば〝オレは弱っているからホイミをかけてくれ!"とか。実際に友だちといっしょに戦っているような感じがあると思います。(※6)
実はですね、『VI』のシナリオは、紙にして全部で4000ページぶんくらいあったんです。で、『VII』のシナリオは1万6000ページあって、そのうち3000ページが仲間のセリフなんですね。(※7) 仲間のセリフだけで『VI』全体の4分の3に相当する量なんです。これ、言っちゃっていいのかな(笑)。そういう、ぼう大なゲームです」[[V Jump]] March 2000 interview</ref>.

The game was delayed numerous times before its actual release. During a press conference held on March 13th, 1997 the planned release date was for the end of 1998, but it was delayed to the Summer of 1999 during a second press conference held on May 29th, 1998. The second delay would be announced in August of 1999, where the game was given a definitive release date of December 29th of that year; this date would be rescinded in November. A release window for Spring 2000 was announced during the Jump Festa 2000 event held in December of 1999, but this would also be rescinded in March 2000. The final release date of August 26th was announced in May. Work on the game was extended because the development staff wanted to perfect the game due to high expectations from the fans, and because the team only consisted of about 35 people. Before its release, it was ranked as the most wanted game in Japan and Square, knowing about ''Dragon Quest VII's'' release, moved its ''Final Fantasy IX'' game to come out on a later date to avoid competing directly with the title. ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be released on August 26, 2000 and hit a number of major sales milestones in Japan during it's initial release, becoming the highest selling PlayStation game in Japan at 4.06 million units sold, the best selling game of 2000 period, the sixth highest selling software title of all time by the end of 2000, and ''the'' highest selling title in the series until the release of ''Dragon Quest IX'' in 2009.

The English language localization of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' began directly after the game's Japanese release. Enix of America was tasked with translating over 70,000 pages of text via 20 translators and 5 copy editors, leading to inconsistent portrayals of main characters and several plot-holes. No effort was made to censor the context of the Japanese script, though considerable edits were made that change the tone of certain scenes. Additionally, nearly all dialogue for the monsters inhabiting the meadows was scrapped and replaced with new dialogue created by the localizers.

Development of the Nintendo 3DS version first began with transferring the documentation for the game into a digital format from the handwritten notes seen in the picture above, which took approximately one year. Producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto personally made the photocopies of each page to be archived digitally. Once this was completed and the information for the game could be readily accessed from at the click of a mouse, actual development time took approximately two and a half years. The largest structural change is in the beginning of the game, where the sequences of events that uncovers the ruins of Estard island is greatly streamlined to accelerate the beginning of adventure.

The 2013 remake for the Nintendo 3DS was localized in 2016 under the title ''Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past''. It was translated by UK-based localization specialists [[Shloc Ltd]], and adheres to the localizatio style set by [[Richard Honeywood]] and [[Plus Alpha]]. Square Enix originally had no plans to localize the title due to the size of text being cost-prohibitive compared to potential sales, but Dragon Quest fans of France began a letter writing campaign to bring the game overseas that reached the CEO of the company as well as that of [[Nintendo]]<ref>[http://archive.fo/6KBad "Why Dragon Quest VII 3DS Took So Long to Come West"]. ''Kotaku''. June 17, 2016.</ref>

{{quote|style=1|quote='''''“We actually had no plans of releasing it at first. It was because the text was so huge that considering [the] cost and time that went in, we didn’t think it was worth it. Actually a lot of core fans from France approached us, and then we received letters, not just us but the CEO of our company as well as Nintendo, and everybody else that was involved, requesting a localized version of ''Dragon Quest VII''. They were even saying at one point that they’ll localize it themselves for us. Because of that high demand we realized we really had to do this thing.”'''''|source=Yu Miyake, series producer|console=|align=center|bgcolor=fffff}}

==Soundtrack==
As with every ''Dragon Quest'', [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the musical score and directed all the associated spinoff soundtracks. As a first for the series, the original sound version was bundled with the symphonic suite in a two-disc set called ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi Symphonic Suite + OST''. The entire first disc and the opening song of the second disc consists of the symphonic suite, while the rest of the second disc is the original sound version. A disc titled ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi on Piano'' was also released, and contained 27 [[wikipedia:Piano|piano]]-arranged tracks. The ''Symphonic Suite'' was later reprinted by itself in 2006.

==Reception==
{|class="wikitable infobox" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 80%; float: right; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; width: 23em; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center"
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%"|Reception
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Aggregate scores
|-
!Aggregator
!Score
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameRankings|GameRankings]]
|81%
|-
|[[wikipedia:Metacritic|Metacritic]]
|78 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:MobyGames|MobyGames]]
|77 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:TopTenReviews|TopTenReviews]]
|3.20 of 4
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Review scores
|-
!Publication
!Score
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Famitsu|Famitsu]]''
|38 out of 40
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]]''
|6.75 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]''
|4 out of 5
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameSpot|GameSpot]]
|7.7 out of 10
|-
|[[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]]
|8.7 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Official_U.S._PlayStation_Magazine|Official PlayStation Magazine (US)]]''
|4.5 out of 5
|}
''VII'' was very well-received in Japan upon release, though in recent years it has attracted a larger amount of criticism than is usual for the series. ''Dragon Quest VII'' won the grand prize in Digital (Interactive) Art Division at the 4th [[wikipedia:Japan_Media_Arts_Festival|Japan Media Arts Festival]] in 2000, where the game was praised for being "...engaging without depending on a high degree of realism..." and "...well refined and artfully executed." The game also won four awards from the 5th Japan Entertainment Software Awards by the [[wikipedia:Computer_Entertainment_Supplier|Association Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association]] (CESA), including Best Prize, Scenario Prize, Sales Prize, and Popularity Prize.

Sales of the North American version of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' reached about 200,000 copies according to The Magic Box, which was not nearly as stellar as its Japanese counterpart. Enix of America still expressed their satisfaction with the sales figures. ''Dragon Warrior VII'' met with mostly good reviews from North American critics. [[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]] noted that all "100+ hours" of the game are enjoyable despite the dated visuals and clunky presentation. ''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]'' questioned whether the game's package was nostalgic or just awful, but still gave it a decent score and called it a great game overall. GameZone.com praised the game's concept and nostalgia factor and cited it as "what role-playing games were meant to be." They also noted the game's high difficulty, which, instead of making the game frustrating, they say, "make it that much more of an accomplishment when you complete a quest." IGN described the game's class system as "one of the best class systems seen outside a strategy RPG."

Other critics were not as pleased with ''VII'': GameShark.com described the first two hours of the game as "some of the most boring hours you will ever play in a video game." XenGamers.com also pointed out that in order to play the game, the player needs "the patience of a rock". [[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]] even went as far as to say that "four million Japanese can be wrong", referring to the game's immense popularity in Japan.

Because of the game's delay in being developed, its release was after the {{PlayStation 2}}'s release, which created some negative feedback, particularly about the game's graphics. [https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/13/dragon-quest-7-fragments-of-the-forgotten-past-review IGN commented] on this, calling the game "a game that makes only a bare minimum of concessions to advancing technology, but more than makes up for this with its deep gameplay, massive quest, and sheer variety." Gamespot called the graphics "not good" and warned readers that if the "most rewarding things" they "got out of ''Final Fantasy VII'' were the full-motion video interludes, you definitely won't be wowed by anything you see in ''Dragon Warrior VII''."

Since the game's release, the most notable and consistent points of contrition among fans have been the lackluster graphical presentation, and the exploitative nature of the vocation system. Of particular note is the abundance of redundant skills and spells available to the earlier careers ([[Focus Strength]] & [[Muster Strength]], [[Shove]] & [[Heave-ho]], [[Muscle Dance]] & [[Roundhouse Kick]], etc), along with a distinct imbalance between the usefulness of spells compared to skills. Coupled with this is the fact that, by having only three top tier vocations, the five party members will invariably share similar abilities and thus negate their individuality. Indeed, the glut of abilities was one of the primary motivations for the creation of ''VIII's'' weapon-specific skill trees, which have become the standard of the series ever since.

==Remakes==
===Nintendo 3DS===
The {{3DS}} remake presents the game in full 3D with polygonal models replacing the {{PS1}} version's sprites. The game has received the most modification of any remake or port in the series thus far, reworking the entire opening section to streamline the introduction to the story and characters to the point that approximately two hours have been removed. Additional conveniences and modifications have been implemented to remove the tedious nature of finding fragments.
*A radar has been added to make finding the stone shards easier than ever. A new character stationed in the Divine Shrine has also been added that gives players hints to finding them as well.
*Streetpass stones, a place in the immigrant town to go online to trade them with other players. Bringing streetpass stones to the immigrant town unlocks new dungeons, and special story scenes. Players can also get Streetpass Stones by making a party of monsters from the monster park and sending them into a special randomly generated dungeon.
*Party member appearance change immediately after switching vocations, with designs being made for several vocations for the first time.
*Party member appearance also changes immediately for monster vocations, not just upon rank 8 mastery like in the PS1 version.
*Weapons and shields are displayed in battle, some of which are animated.[[Image:Running_From_The_Fiends.png|right|border|350px]]
*Vocation ranks require fewer battles to advance, with some losing as much as 40% of their mandate.
*Spells/skills for second and third tier vocations are only usable when in that class, giving the last part of the main game more balance.
*Overall simplification and re-balancing of which vocations get which skills, including elimination of the hybrid skill system. The skills in question have not been removed, however, and are now available through normal vocation advancement.
*Maribel now learns the [[Bang]] spell naturally, making the scenarios prior to unlocking the vocations easier.
*The [[Tidal Wave]] skill has been removed in response to the Kanto Earthquake disaster of 2011. Enemies that used the skill now use [[Jolly Rager]] instead, with the damage range lowered to that of Tidal Wave's for balance.

===Dragon Quest VII Reimagined===
An HD remake titled ''[[Dragon Quest VII Reimagined]]'' was announced on September 12th, 2025. Unlike the Nintendo 3DS remake, this iteration is a complete reworking of the experience that fundamentally changes the nature of the game.

==Related media==
The [[wikipedia:Manga|manga]] adaptation of ''Dragon Quest VII'' was published by Enix's ''[[wikipedia:Gangan Comics|Monthly Gangan]]'' in Japan. It was illustrated by [[wikipedia:Kamui_Fujiwara|Kamui Fujiwara]], who also worked on another franchise-related manga, ''[[The Emblem of Roto|Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō]]''. Fourteen volumes were released between 2001 and 2006 until the series was cancelled, and a canonical sequel titled ''Dragon Quest Ending'' began serialization in Square-Enix's Young Gan-Gan magazine on January 5th 2026.

In this adaptation, the hero is given the name "Arus". The manga follows the game story while adding in new characters and more detailed relationships, as the original hero was silent and a personality needed to be added for the comic version.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original {{PlayStation}} version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario & game design
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|[[Akira Toriyama]]
|----------
|Music composer
|[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|----------
|Director of programming
|[[Manabu Yamana]]
|----------
|Art director
|Shintaro Majima
|----------
|Scenario
|Yuji Horii, Sachiko Sugimura, Fuminori Ishikawa, Kazunori Orio
|----------
|Programming
|Manabu Yamana, Masayuki Kawamoto, Yasushi Watanabe, Hiroaki Suzuki, Hajime Ito, Makoto Hirashima, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Yasuhiro Yoshida
|----------
|Graphic design
|Shintaro Majima, Hiroshi Muroki, Naoyuki Hayakawa, Tatsuya Takahashi, Yukari Umada, Masato Hirayama, Ruri Yamaguchi, Yoshihisa Nishimura, Rena Konaka, Keiichi Egawa, Kohei Matsushita, Katsuhiko Shiono
|----------
|Graphic tool programming
|Takeshi Sugimura
|----------
|Sound design
|Tsukasa Tawada
|----------
|Monster Design
|Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Osamu Kaneko
|----------
|Localization Programming
|Hiroaki Suzuki
|----------
|Translation
|(Wordbox Inc.) Lucie Ishii, Hiroko Yoda, Jeff Gelbard, Wayne Lammers, Matt Alt, Jeremy Blaustein, Ryan Morris
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix America, Inc.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Localization manager
|Mitsuru George Torii
|----------
|Product manager
|John Laurence
|----------
|Quality assurance lead
|Jon Weisnewski
|----------
|Copy edit
|Chris Chymiy, Dustin Brown, Doug Hill, Sean Peters, Mike Tidwell
|----------
|QA translation
|Masanobu Yoshida, Katsuko Bandur, Hisayo Tomiyama, Miki Yasui Marr
|----------
|Play testers
|Zeb Clinton, Shawn Conard, T. J. Cowgill, Bryce Felt, Matthew A. Gillikin, Eric Ho, John Holes, Eric Junge, Ed Price, Jerry Pritchard, David Rieman, Dylan Sharp, Tom Shultz Jr.
|----------
|Sales & marketing manager
|Andrew Stein
|----------
|Accounting & credit manager
|Misuzu McMillan
|----------
|A/R analyst
|Yuri Kato
|----------
|Administrative assistant
|Emi Coughlin
|----------
|President
|Paul Handelman
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix corporation
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Technical Support
|Kenjiro Kano, Tomoyuki Iwai
|----------
|Play testers
|Satoshi Sato, Hideyuki Nukui, Satoru Kubota, Joe Mitsuta, Takayuki Mibu, Iiro Kimura, Rie Iwao, Masaki Murashita, Shinobu Nonaka, Mika Endo, Takatoshi Akiyama, Ryuichi Nakamura, Mie Ohnishi
|----------
|Artwork
|Naoki Oishi, Takashi Kamimura, Arte Piazza
|----------
|Public relations
|Yū Miyake, Ryoichi Kuramochi
|----------
|Special thanks
|TamTam
|----------
|Localization coordinators
|Daisuke Kobayashi, Jun Miyamoto, Yoshito Taniuchi
|----------
|Producer
|Taichi Inuzuka
|----------
|Executive producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|President
|Keiji Honda
|}
==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQ VII print ad.jpg|The final print ad The monsters spell out the hiragana for mattete, "hold on" in English, owing the game's numerous delays
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Front Side).png|PlayStation. (JP)
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Back Side).jpg|
DQ VII PS1 Disc 1.jpg|Disc 1
DQ VII PS1 Disc 2.jpg|Disc 2
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Front Side).jpg|Instruction manual front cover
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Back Side).jpg|Instruction manual back cover
DW VII PS1 Case (Front Side).png|PlayStation (NA)
DW VII PS1 Case (Back Side).jpg|
DW VII PS1 Disc 1.png|Disc 1
DW VII PS1 Disc 2.png|Disc 2
DQVII Japan Art.png|Cover art
DQVII_guide.png|Guide cover
DQVII soundtrack.png|Symphonic Suite + OST
DQVII Eden No Senshi Tachi On Piano.png|Piano arrangements
DQVII_3DS.png|3DS box art (Japan)
DQVII 3DS Box.png|3DS box art (NA)
DQVII 3DS Europe.png|3DS box art (Europe)
DQVII 3DS France.png|3DS box art (France)
DQVII All Aglow.png|3DS art
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 1.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 2.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine 2
DQVII_Manga.png|Manga Vol. 1
DQVII_Manga 2.png|Manga Vol. 2
DQVII_Manga 3.png|Manga Vol. 3
DQVII_Manga 4.png|Manga Vol. 4
DQVII_Manga 5.png|Manga Vol. 5
DQVII_Manga 6.png|Manga Vol. 6
DQVII Manga 7.png|Manga Vol. 7
Dragon Quest Ending promo art by Kamui Fujiwara.jpeg|''Dragon Quest Ending'' promo art with an adult [[Kiefer]]
DQVII iOS Japan.png|iOS/Android icon (Japan)
</gallery></center>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://dragonquest7.nintendo.com/ DQVII Nintendo 3DS website]

{{DQVII}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}
[[Category:Dragon Quest VII|*!]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS games]]

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

2025-12-27T13:02:43Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
|title=Fragments of the Forgotten Past
|image= [[Image:DQVII_Logo.png|320px|center]][[File:DQVII Battle.png|center|320px]]
|caption=
|developer=[[Heartbeat]], [[ArtePiazza]]
|publisher=[[Enix]]
|designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
|artist=[[Akira Toriyama]]
|composer=[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|engine=
|released= '''PlayStation'''{{vgrelease|JP=August 26, 2000}}{{vgrelease|NA=November 1, 2001}}{{vgrelease|JP=March 2, 2005}} (PSOne Books re-release) {{vgrelease|JP=June 20, 2006}} (Ultimate Hits re-release) '''[[Nintendo 3DS]]''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 7, 2013}}{{vgrelease|NA=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|EU=September 16, 2016}}{{vgrelease|AUS=September 17, 2016}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 17, 2015}}
|genre=[[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Role-playing game]]
|modes=[[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
|ratings={{vgratings|ESRB=T (Teen)|CERO=A (All Ages)}}
|platforms=[[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo 3DS]]
|media=2 [[Wikipedia:CD-ROM|CD-ROM]], Game cartridge
|requirements=
|input=
|series={{Main Series}}
}}
{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest VII'''|ドラゴンクエストVII エデンの戦士たち|Doragon Kuesuto Sebun Eden no Senshi-tachi|literally meaning; Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden}} is the seventh installment of the popular {{DQSeries}} of role playing games and the first in the series to not be a part of a larger trilogy.
It was the first main series ''Dragon Quest'' title to be released outside of Japan since the release of {{Dragon Quest IV}} in North America in [[wikipedia:1992 in video gaming|1992]], and the last title to be released in North America with the ''Dragon Warrior'' name.

The game follows the {{Hero 7}} and his friends as they discover secrets about the mysterious islands surrounding their isolated home of [[Estard]], the only land mass in the entire world. Through some ancient ruins, they are transported to the pasts of various islands that used to exist and must defeat evil in each new location.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest VII'' is best known for its immense playtime. Without completing its side quests, a single game of ''Dragon Quest VII'' can take 100 or more hours. The main flow of the game is different than other ''Dragon Quest'' games; instead of exploring one large world, the party goes to separate continents by placing stone [[fragment]]s into their appropriate pedestals in the [[Shrine of Mysteries]]. Once all of the missing shards are located and placed for a particular pedestal, the party is transported to the trapped location centuries in the past. After solving whatever problems plague the region, the party then travels back to the present. From there, they can travel via boat, carpet, or skystone to the modern version of the location they just saved. These saved lands appear on the main map, although the originals (from the past) can only be revisited through the ruins.

==Plot==
{{spoiler|start}}
''Dragon Quest VII'' tells the story of a young hero, the son of a prominent fisherman in the village of Pilchard Bay on Estard Island, the only land mass in the world, and his friends in a fantastical, medieval-like world. They set out on adventures through the world's past and learn about its history. Upon discovering different lands in the past and solving the troubles, they reappear in the game's present-day map.

The party begins their adventure when the hero and [[Kiefer]] discovers a mysterious stone fragment of a map his father brings home from a fishing trip. Further investigations lead him to discover that the world he lives on, which seems to consist of only his small island, used to contain many continents that have somehow been sealed away. By placing found fragments on pedestals in Estard's ruins, the Hero and his friends are sent to different lands in the past which the party eventually realizes. Once they solve the problems in the area's past, the land masses appear in the present.

After the world is restored, Orgodemir, the Demonlord, disguises himself as The Almighty and seals several of the islands away once again; this time Estard is sealed as well. The party sets out to revive the elemental spirits: Wind; Fire; Earth; and Water. Orgodemir is then revealed as the Demon Lord to the world whereupon he claims to have done so to trick humanity. Orgodemir then raises his Cathedral of Blight and with the aid of the Skystone, the party confronts him in a final battle.
{{spoiler|end}}

==Characters==
{{main|List of characters in Dragon Quest VII}}
*{{Hero 7}} — The Hero's official default name is "Auster"; however, as is traditional in the ''Dragon Quest'' series, the name is supplied by the player (however, he is called Arus in the official manga). The Hero is a lifelong native of the town of [[Pilchard Bay]] on Estard Island. He is good friends with {{Maribel}}, daughter of the mayor, and Kiefer, prince of Estard Castle. In particular, he has a fondness for going out on impromptu "adventures" with Kiefer. It is one such adventure that begins the story of the game. In terms of gameplay, the Hero is a well-rounded character who will do well in any vocation.

*[[Kiefer]] — Kiefer is a prince of [[Estard]] Island, and the presumptive heir to the throne. Far from anticipating his elevation to kingship, however, Kiefer seems to resent his royal blood, and is a source of endless worry and frustration to his family and advisers. Kiefer, for his part, spends much of his time in search of excitement and adventure, and has found a kindred spirit in the Hero, whom he considers his closest friend. Kiefer is incredibly strong, with a high physical attack statistic and naturally high hit points. He is the most powerful character available early on in the game. On one trip to an ancient land, Kiefer falls in love, and remains behind. Upon returning to the present, the hero finds out that Kiefer has become a famous guardian of the [[Roamers]], and is the biological ancestor of almost an entire culture/continent. Kiefer is also the main character of the game {{DQMCH}} as a young boy.

*[[Maribel Mayde]] — A friend of both the Hero and Kiefer, Maribel is the daughter of mayor Mayde. Unlike Kiefer, who has steadfastly refused to let his social status influence how he looks upon other people, Maribel tends to be very condescending towards others regardless of their social status. Despite this, she gets along well with her friends, and occasionally accompanies them on their adventuring, even if she sometimes has to pressure them into letting her tag along. Maribel is primarily a magic user: with low starting physical statistics, and an early lack of powerful weapons available for her use, it takes a good deal of time before she can do anything approaching the amount of physical damage inflicted by some of the other characters. On the other hand, Maribel has access to a variety of damaging attack spells relatively early on. In the remakes, she is capable of growing faster than even Ruff.

*[[Ruff]] — Although he appears to be a normal boy, Ruff is actually a [[White Wolves|white wolf]] pup who was irrevocably turned into a human. As such, he retains a number of obvious lupine characteristics, and can be somewhat bestial at times, though as a side effect of the Hackrobat attempting to cure him of his condition he can speak the human tongue well enough to be understood. He agrees to travel with the heroes hoping to protect his family from the demon king, but remains with the group out of a sense of loyalty. Despite his diminutive size and young age, he can easily become as powerful as the Hero, Mervyn, and Aishe through mastery of the the melee vocations. He is also very agile, though not as fleet-footed as Maribel.[[Image:Tablet Fragments.png|right|border|180px]]

*[[Sir Mervyn]] — A skilled paladin of centuries past, Mervyn fought on the side of [[Numen|The Almighty]] against the [[Orgodemir|Demon Lord]] many years ago. Mervyn excelled at his work, and distinguished himself in both skill and honor. As such, Mervyn was petrified in stone by God, so that, should the need arise, he could be reawakened to once again take up the fight against evil. Mervyn joins the party after a lengthy revival process, although his age and unfamiliarity with the present day often leave other characters somewhat befuddled. Mervyn is proficient at both magic and physical combat, though his magic casting abilities are slightly superior to his physical attack skills.

*[[Aishe]] — Aishe is the lead ritual dancer of the Roamer tribe, an ancient race of people charged with the stewardship of a temple necessary in the act of calling forth God. Raised and trained at swordsmanship as well as gypsy dancing, Aishe is a more than capable fighter and will do well in any physically-oriented vocation. Although capable of doing both significant physical and significant magical damage, Aishe stands in contrast to Mervyn, in that her magic skills tend to lag slightly behind her physical statistics.

==New features==
===Player conveniences===
*Total play time is now marked next to save files.
*The ability to change message display speed and audio settings has been moved from the start screen to the in-game menu.
*All items can now be bought in bulk, not just weapons and armor.
*Brief descriptions of items are displayed when the cursor hover over them in the menu.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] debuts, displaying monster actions, exp total, gold total, number defeated, and what item is dropped per species.
*If the player accidentally presses a button when there is nothing to interact with, no time-consuming message is displayed.
*When an item or gold is found, a small icon will appear over the protagonist's sprite along with the traditional jingle.
*The contents of bookshelves has been embellished, with hints for the area, anecdotal stories, and bad jokes found in several.
:*A mimic for books has been added as well.
*Characters will typically move and gesture while speaking, making it easier to tell whom is talking.
===Battle refinements===
*The maximum value for all stats has been set to 999.
*[[Artificial intelligence]] strategies can be assigned to specific characters now instead of group-wide orders.
:*Each character has a personalized A.I. that reflects their personality and influences their actions in battle. Maribel favors casting spells over using skills for one example; if she has learned [[Kaboom]] and [[Harvest Moon]] and her tactic is set to "Show No Mercy" then she will use the former whenever possible.
*The [[command menu]] layout for spells and skills have been split into three categories--''Offensive'', ''Defensive'', and ''Other''.
*Status buffs and debuffs for allies and enemies now expire after a number of turns, along with [[paralysis]].
*{{Cursed}} equipment has been reinstated, requiring the use of a priest to remove.
*''VII'' includes '''thirty-four''' Monster Vocations compared to the previous game's two, which can be unlocked by using the appropriate [[Monster Heart]] at the {{Alltrades Abbey 7}} or by mastering prerequisite monster forms. This allows a party member to transform into a monster during battle, gaining the resistances (and vulnerabilities) of that species.
:*In the {{3DS}} remake these vocations are often the only way to permanently learn excellent abilities.

===[[The Haven]]===
Returning from ''III'', the boom town side quest has been reworked from a passive sequence to one the player controls directly. The Haven lets the player recruit people from various towns in the {{PSX}} Version, which changes depending on the type of people living there (e.g. several merchants will bring more stores to the town). In the {{3DS}} remake the system is dependent on [[Traveller's Tablet]]s after a brief tutorial, and the culture of the settlement is no longer variable. Additionally, all the inhabitants of the haven are reformed monsters instead of mundane folk, with the syntax of their past life carrying over into their current persona.

===[[Party Chat]]===
The ability to talk with the party members in and outside of battles was first added to the series in ''VII'', adding a great layer of depth to each party member and setting a standard that would be continued in future installments. Party members will offer advice about battle strategies, remind the player about important plot points, or simply comment on how they feel at a given moment when this feature is used. The use of this feature adds considerable personality to each character, so much so that party chat was frequently used as a marketing device for remakes of older titles in Japan.
:*Due to the tendency of party members reminding players what to do, the memory spells seen in ''VI'' and ''III'' have been removed.

===[[Excellence Grading Organisation]]===
The E.G.O. contests allow the player to compete for the highest stats, like the Best Dressed Contest from {{DQ6}}. Excellent equipment is awarded to anyone who can topple the reigning champions, two of whom are {{NPC}}s that can be found in the larger world.

===[[Monster Meadows]]===
The ability to [[Monster recruitment|catch monsters]] functions similarly to the {{Super Famicom}} Version of ''VI'', although they no longer participate in battle. Instead, tamed monsters are sent off to a nature preserve called Monster Meadows: here the monsters can be seen in their natural environment and be interacted with in the same manner as human {{NPC}}s. Blueprints are found to add new environs to the park, allowing space for nearly every monster.

==Development==
[[File:Tomes of Torment.jpg|border|left|thumb|250px|The planning documents for ''VII''. Every line of dialogue, plot synopsis, character connections, item purposes, and battle details were written by hand over the course of development.]]
''Dragon Quest VII'' was directed by [[Manabu Yamana]], with [[Shintaro Majima]] serving as the art director. Series veterans [[Yuji Horii]], [[Akira Toriyama]] and [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] returned as designer, character designer and composer respectively. ''VII'' was designed to have a different feel from previous games, with a greater emphasis on puzzles.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000711025440/http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q2-2000/062300b.html "Dragon Quest VII Interview"]. ''RPGamer''. </ref>

Around the release of {{DQ6}}, Yuji Horii initially expressed interest in developing a ''Dragon Quest'' game for the Nintendo 64, not elaborating if it would be a mainline game.<ref>''Famicom Tsushin'', December 22, 1995. ASCII Corporation.</ref><ref>''Famitsu'', January 19, 1996. ASCII Corporation.</ref> Horii's statements sparked rumors that ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be developed for the Nintendo 64DD add-on.

On January 15, 1997, development was announced to be in development for the Sony {{PlayStation}}, causing a rise in stock prices for both [[Wikipedia:Sony|Sony]] and Enix in Japan.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130926113152/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/01/17/enixsony-update "Enix/Sony Update"]. ''IGN''. January 16, 1997.</ref> By 2000, ''Dragon Quest VII'' was predicted to be so successful in Japan that it would "create a 50 billion yen effect on the Japanese economy", said research firm DIHS. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181119011003/https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20010109/enix.htm</ref>
[[File:DQVII Purple Fairy.png|border|right|thumb|275px|The attendant of the shrine of mysteries was created to make navigating the time periods and fragment finding easier.]]

Aspects of the game's presentation were decided as development advanced. In a June 1997 interview with [[V Jump]] magazine conducted alongside Akira Toriyama, Yuji Horii congratulated Squaresoft for the impressive visuals of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII]'', marveling at how the pre-rendered backgrounds for each town maintained a distinct atmosphere and a high level of detail. When asked by Toriyama if ''Dragon Quest VII'' would also utilize pre-rendered backgrounds, Horii asserted that finding a presentation style best suited for his series was more important than pursuing graphical fidelity and that he wanted players to have the sensation of exploring the game's world on their own two feet <ref>堀井: 自分の足で歩いている感じがする新フィールドにしたいな

堀井: 「FFVII」の背景の絵はすごかったですね。細かい所まで描きこんであって、町ごとにいろんな雰囲気がある。どこに入れるんだろう、ここはどうなっているんだろう、と思って歩き回りました。
鳥山: 僕も初めて見たときは、とにかくビックリしましたね~!! RPGのグラフィックもここまで来たか、と思いましたね。DQはどうなるんですか?
堀井: ハードが変わって、技術的な面でやれることが増えたんですが、どれがDQに合っているのか、ということを考えてプログラムをする必要があると思うんです。ほのぼのした味を残しつつ、自分の足で歩いている感じが出せたらいいですね。</ref>. In the same interview Horii stated that the monsters would be animated through traditional pixel art, expressing skepticism of rendering Toriyama's creations in 3D polygons. Horii cited the limited amount of polygons that the PlayStation could displayed on screen would leave monsters looking too blocky or flat; Toriyama himself chimed in and stated that a slime that looked blocky is not a slime at all <ref>堀井: ポリゴンにすると、画面に表示できるポリゴンの数に限りがあるでしょ? カクカクとか、ノッペリしちゃったりして、鳥山さんの絵がいきない。
鳥山: スライムがカクカクしてたら、スライムらしくないですからね。キャラも冷たい感じがするし。</ref>. Conversely the towns and dungeons are fully rendered in three-dimensional polygon graphics. According to Yuji Horii this offered the gameplay advantage of letting players freely control camera angles, whereas contemporary RPGs on the PlayStation only offered limited camera control (as in Capcom's ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath_of_Fire_III Breath of Fire III]'') or static pre-rendered backgrounds of Square's ''Final Fantasy'' games. Horii also experimented with showing the party members in battle, but this resulted in there being less screen-space to display the monsters and that having to draw new pixel art for them at a smaller scale resulted in it being too difficult to discern their details <ref>鳥山: やっぱり戦闘画面に自分がいないんですか?
堀井: 実はそこが悩みどころでね。今いろいろ検証中なの。自分の姿を見せると画面が小さくなって、モンスターが小さくてわかりにくくなるんですよ。</ref>.

At one point in 1997 Horii began playing the Japanese release of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_(video_game) Diablo]'' and was impressed by the [https://www.diablowiki.net/Gossip gossip] feature of the title, which gave NPCs multiple lines of dialogue not related to the main plot to enrich the atmosphere of the game <ref>— 『VI』では自分捜しの旅でしたが、『VII』ではどんな旅に?
堀井: 仲間が重要になってきます。
富田: おー、仲間ですか?
堀井: 仲間をより仲間らしく。パソコンゲームの『ディアブロ』など、通信で生身の人たちと遊ぶゲームが、最近人気ありますよね。その感覚を出せないモノかなって思ってるんですよ。
富田: 生きてる相手とコミュニケーションをとるようなゲームですか? 楽しそうですね。
堀井: 実際に人間といっしょに旅をしてるんだっていう感覚。オンラインじゃないので、どこまで実現できるかわからないですけど、そのためにいろいろシステムを考えて、膨大な量のデータを用意してるんです。でも、やっぱり容量的にも時間的にも限りがありますからね(笑)。
富田: どんなゲームになりそうですか?
堀井: エンディングを見て「いい話だったなあ」って言うゲームよりも、やってるときが楽しいゲームにしたいんですよね。ストーリー重視だと早く終わらせようとするけど、「まだ終わりたくない、ずっと遊んでいたい」というゲームにしたいですね。March 6, 1998 issue of Famitsu</ref>. Being inspired by ''Diablo'' and knowing the immense storage capacity of CD-ROMs were now at his disposal, Horii developed the [[party chat]] system to give the cast more defined personalities than had been possible during the cartridge days. Furthermore developing the party chat feature led to the creation of Maribel; the original scenario for the game's opening segment was having Kiefer be the only companion to the Hero, but Horii found that the prince's straightforward personality did not elicit the most interesting party chat dialogue. As such Horii wrote Maribel as a sharp-tongued teenager suitable for spicier dialogue and inserted her into the game at the beginning. The gossip system of ''Diablo'' was also expanded upon with in-battle party chat, where characters can weigh in on the situation and even give advice pertaining to specific situations.

The game's emphasis on solving puzzles was a result of Horii wondering if the series' tempo was beginning to grow stale after six games, as well as becoming fascinated with the 1993 puzzle game ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst Myst]''. In order to give ''Dragon Quest VII'' a fresh experience compared to its predecessors, it was decided that the opening segment would consist entirely of solving puzzles rather than engaging in battle as soon as the player stepped outside of [[Pilchard Bay]]. The puzzle solving would persist through the remainder of the game for the individual scenarios as well as searching for the missing tablet pieces necessary to operate the [[Shrine of Mysteries]] <ref>岩田: 堀井さんが『VII』の
オリジナル版をつくった時、
容量が増えてできたこと以外の
新しいチャレンジとして、
どんなことを盛り込まれたんですか？

堀井: ボクは当時、『ＭＹＳＴ』という
海外のアドベンチャーゲームが気に入っていて、
「こんな謎解きもおもしろいな」と思っていたんです。
というのも、その頃は
「みんなレベル上げの戦闘に飽きてきたんじゃないか？」
という思いが、ちょっとあったんですね。

岩田: たしかに、ＲＰＧの序盤は、
「とりあえずレベル上げしておこう」
みたいなところが、
当時のお約束になっていましたからね。

堀井: そこで『VII』は、ゲームをはじめると
謎解きをメインに展開する構成にしたんですね。
だから冒頭の５時間くらいは、
戦闘なしで物語を進めるというふうに。

岩田 :ああ、あれは『ＭＹＳＴ』の
影響を受けていたんですか。

堀井: はい、やってみたかったんです。
まあ、いま振り返ると
「あれは必要だったかな？」とは
思いますが（笑）。https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index2.html</ref>. As Horii would explain in a 2013 interview with the late Satoru Iwata, the development staff felt liberated by the storage capacity of CD-ROM technology and continued adding more and more scenarios to the game <ref>堀井: あのときはじめて『ドラクエ』を
ＣＤ-ＲＯＭメディアでつくったんですけど、
「とにかく容量が多く入る」ということで
はりきって、つくりすぎちゃったんです。

岩田: 制限から解き放たれた人たちが
やりたかったことを表現しようとしたのが、
『VII』の歴史なんですよね。

藤本: スクウェア・エニックスに
歴代の『ドラクエ』の仕様書が保管されているんですけど、
『VII』はほかのナンバリングよりも圧倒的に多くて
「これ、ほとんど『VII』なんじゃない？」
というくらいの量があるんです。
しかも資料がぜんぶ、紙なんですよ。

堀井:『VII』までは、紙に手書きでシナリオを書いて、
データとかもすべて紙上でつくっていました。

岩田: 時代を感じますね。

堀井: ちょうどシナリオスタッフを増やした頃で
毎週、スタッフからこのくらいの
（人差し指と親指をいっぱいに広げて）
シナリオが送られてくるんです。
それを一言一句読んで、修正を延々やって・・・。
あの時は毎日つらかったなあ。

一同:（笑）

藤本:１日に数百枚のＦＡＸをやりとりするので、
機械がしょっちゅう故障したそうです。
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/interview/creators/vol24/index.html</ref>. Horii and his team of five assistants ended up writing enough material to fill 16,000 [https://papersizes.io/a/a4 A4-sized documents], which is the equivalent of 20 books <ref>――現在はどのくらいのスタッフでプロットを考えているのですか？　また、ゲームを制作する上で大切だと思うことは何でしょうか。

プロットは僕自身で考えていますが、だんだんゲームが大きくなってきたので、実際の細かいセリフなどでは、『ドラクエIV』あたりから何人かのスタッフに協力してもらっています。『ドラクエVII』は5人が参加していますね。なにしろ、シナリオだけでA4の紙に1万6000ページくらいある。8センチファイルで20冊分に相当する分量です。とても1人で書けるレベルじゃないですよね。ゲームの制作そのものは、しだいに分業制になっていって、『ドラクエVIII』でも総勢200人以上という規模になっています。制作期間も長くなって、1つのゲームをつくるのに4〜5年かかるようになりました。https://web.archive.org/web/20100614061622/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/museum/meister/entertainment/vol2/</ref>; 3,000 of those pages were [[party chat]] and battle conversations alone<ref>戦闘の見どころは?

— 戦闘の見どころを教えてもらえますか?
「『VII』の大きな特徴のひとつが戦闘ですね。戦闘はモンスターがすごく動きます。ひとつの行動についてひとつのアクションを持っているくらいですから、見ていてあきないですね。それでいてテンポをよくしました。すごく気持ちのいい戦いができるように設定しています。(※5) それから、これがいちばん大きなウリなんですけど、実は戦闘中も仲間と話ができるんです。たとえば〝オレは弱っているからホイミをかけてくれ!"とか。実際に友だちといっしょに戦っているような感じがあると思います。(※6)
実はですね、『VI』のシナリオは、紙にして全部で4000ページぶんくらいあったんです。で、『VII』のシナリオは1万6000ページあって、そのうち3000ページが仲間のセリフなんですね。(※7) 仲間のセリフだけで『VI』全体の4分の3に相当する量なんです。これ、言っちゃっていいのかな(笑)。そういう、ぼう大なゲームです」[[V Jump]] March 2000 interview</ref>.

The game was delayed numerous times before its actual release. During a press conference held on March 13th, 1997 the planned release date was for the end of 1998, but it was delayed to the Summer of 1999 during a second press conference held on May 29th, 1998. The second delay would be announced in August of 1999, where the game was given a definitive release date of December 29th of that year; this date would be rescinded in November. A release window for Spring 2000 was announced during the Jump Festa 2000 event held in December of 1999, but this would also be rescinded in March 2000. The final release date of August 26th was announced in May. Work on the game was extended because the development staff wanted to perfect the game due to high expectations from the fans, and because the team only consisted of about 35 people. Before its release, it was ranked as the most wanted game in Japan and Square, knowing about ''Dragon Quest VII's'' release, moved its ''Final Fantasy IX'' game to come out on a later date to avoid competing directly with the title. ''Dragon Quest VII'' would be released on August 26, 2000 and hit a number of major sales milestones in Japan during it's initial release, becoming the highest selling PlayStation game in Japan at 4.06 million units sold, the best selling game of 2000 period, the sixth highest selling software title of all time by the end of 2000, and ''the'' highest selling title in the series until the release of ''Dragon Quest IX'' in 2009.

The English language localization of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' began directly after the game's Japanese release. Enix of America was tasked with translating over 70,000 pages of text via 20 translators and 5 copy editors, leading to inconsistent portrayals of main characters and several plot-holes. No effort was made to censor the context of the Japanese script, though considerable edits were made that change the tone of certain scenes. Additionally, nearly all dialogue for the monsters inhabiting the meadows was scrapped and replaced with new dialogue created by the localizers.

Development of the Nintendo 3DS version first began with transferring the documentation for the game into a digital format from the handwritten notes seen in the picture above, which took approximately one year. Producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto personally made the photocopies of each page to be archived digitally. Once this was completed and the information for the game could be readily accessed from at the click of a mouse, actual development time took approximately two and a half years. The largest structural change is in the beginning of the game, where the sequences of events that uncovers the ruins of Estard island is greatly streamlined to accelerate the beginning of adventure.

The 2013 remake for the Nintendo 3DS was localized in 2016 under the title ''Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past''. It was translated by UK-based localization specialists [[Shloc Ltd]], and adheres to the localizatio style set by [[Richard Honeywood]] and [[Plus Alpha]]. Square Enix originally had no plans to localize the title due to the size of text being cost-prohibitive compared to potential sales, but Dragon Quest fans of France began a letter writing campaign to bring the game overseas that reached the CEO of the company as well as that of [[Nintendo]]<ref>[http://archive.fo/6KBad "Why Dragon Quest VII 3DS Took So Long to Come West"]. ''Kotaku''. June 17, 2016.</ref>

{{quote|style=1|quote='''''“We actually had no plans of releasing it at first. It was because the text was so huge that considering [the] cost and time that went in, we didn’t think it was worth it. Actually a lot of core fans from France approached us, and then we received letters, not just us but the CEO of our company as well as Nintendo, and everybody else that was involved, requesting a localized version of ''Dragon Quest VII''. They were even saying at one point that they’ll localize it themselves for us. Because of that high demand we realized we really had to do this thing.”'''''|source=Yu Miyake, series producer|console=|align=center|bgcolor=fffff}}

==Soundtrack==
As with every ''Dragon Quest'', [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the musical score and directed all the associated spinoff soundtracks. As a first for the series, the original sound version was bundled with the symphonic suite in a two-disc set called ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi Symphonic Suite + OST''. The entire first disc and the opening song of the second disc consists of the symphonic suite, while the rest of the second disc is the original sound version. A disc titled ''Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi on Piano'' was also released, and contained 27 [[wikipedia:Piano|piano]]-arranged tracks. The ''Symphonic Suite'' was later reprinted by itself in 2006.

==Reception==
{|class="wikitable infobox" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 80%; float: right; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; width: 23em; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center"
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%"|Reception
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Aggregate scores
|-
!Aggregator
!Score
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameRankings|GameRankings]]
|81%
|-
|[[wikipedia:Metacritic|Metacritic]]
|78 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:MobyGames|MobyGames]]
|77 out of 100
|-
|[[wikipedia:TopTenReviews|TopTenReviews]]
|3.20 of 4
|-
!colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #d1dbdf"|Review scores
|-
!Publication
!Score
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Famitsu|Famitsu]]''
|38 out of 40
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]]''
|6.75 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]''
|4 out of 5
|-
|[[wikipedia:GameSpot|GameSpot]]
|7.7 out of 10
|-
|[[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]]
|8.7 out of 10
|-
|''[[wikipedia:Official_U.S._PlayStation_Magazine|Official PlayStation Magazine (US)]]''
|4.5 out of 5
|}
''VII'' was very well-received in Japan upon release, though in recent years it has attracted a larger amount of criticism than is usual for the series. ''Dragon Quest VII'' won the grand prize in Digital (Interactive) Art Division at the 4th [[wikipedia:Japan_Media_Arts_Festival|Japan Media Arts Festival]] in 2000, where the game was praised for being "...engaging without depending on a high degree of realism..." and "...well refined and artfully executed." The game also won four awards from the 5th Japan Entertainment Software Awards by the [[wikipedia:Computer_Entertainment_Supplier|Association Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association]] (CESA), including Best Prize, Scenario Prize, Sales Prize, and Popularity Prize.

Sales of the North American version of ''Dragon Warrior VII'' reached about 200,000 copies according to The Magic Box, which was not nearly as stellar as its Japanese counterpart. Enix of America still expressed their satisfaction with the sales figures. ''Dragon Warrior VII'' met with mostly good reviews from North American critics. [[wikipedia:IGN|IGN]] noted that all "100+ hours" of the game are enjoyable despite the dated visuals and clunky presentation. ''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]'' questioned whether the game's package was nostalgic or just awful, but still gave it a decent score and called it a great game overall. GameZone.com praised the game's concept and nostalgia factor and cited it as "what role-playing games were meant to be." They also noted the game's high difficulty, which, instead of making the game frustrating, they say, "make it that much more of an accomplishment when you complete a quest." IGN described the game's class system as "one of the best class systems seen outside a strategy RPG."

Other critics were not as pleased with ''VII'': GameShark.com described the first two hours of the game as "some of the most boring hours you will ever play in a video game." XenGamers.com also pointed out that in order to play the game, the player needs "the patience of a rock". [[wikipedia:Game_Informer|Game Informer]] even went as far as to say that "four million Japanese can be wrong", referring to the game's immense popularity in Japan.

Because of the game's delay in being developed, its release was after the {{PlayStation 2}}'s release, which created some negative feedback, particularly about the game's graphics. [https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/13/dragon-quest-7-fragments-of-the-forgotten-past-review IGN commented] on this, calling the game "a game that makes only a bare minimum of concessions to advancing technology, but more than makes up for this with its deep gameplay, massive quest, and sheer variety." Gamespot called the graphics "not good" and warned readers that if the "most rewarding things" they "got out of ''Final Fantasy VII'' were the full-motion video interludes, you definitely won't be wowed by anything you see in ''Dragon Warrior VII''."

Since the game's release, the most notable and consistent points of contrition among fans have been the lackluster graphical presentation, and the exploitative nature of the vocation system. Of particular note is the abundance of redundant skills and spells available to the earlier careers ([[Focus Strength]] & [[Muster Strength]], [[Shove]] & [[Heave-ho]], [[Muscle Dance]] & [[Roundhouse Kick]], etc), along with a distinct imbalance between the usefulness of spells compared to skills. Coupled with this is the fact that, by having only three top tier vocations, the five party members will invariably share similar abilities and thus negate their individuality. Indeed, the glut of abilities was one of the primary motivations for the creation of ''VIII's'' weapon-specific skill trees, which have become the standard of the series ever since.

==Remakes==
===Nintendo 3DS===
The {{3DS}} remake presents the game in full 3D with polygonal models replacing the {{PS1}} version's sprites. The game has received the most modification of any remake or port in the series thus far, reworking the entire opening section to streamline the introduction to the story and characters to the point that approximately two hours have been removed. Additional conveniences and modifications have been implemented to remove the tedious nature of finding fragments.
*A radar has been added to make finding the stone shards easier than ever. A new character stationed in the Divine Shrine has also been added that gives players hints to finding them as well.
*Streetpass stones, a place in the immigrant town to go online to trade them with other players. Bringing streetpass stones to the immigrant town unlocks new dungeons, and special story scenes. Players can also get Streetpass Stones by making a party of monsters from the monster park and sending them into a special randomly generated dungeon.
*Party member appearance change immediately after switching vocations, with designs being made for several vocations for the first time.
*Party member appearance also changes immediately for monster vocations, not just upon rank 8 mastery like in the PS1 version.
*Weapons and shields are displayed in battle, some of which are animated.[[Image:Running_From_The_Fiends.png|right|border|350px]]
*Vocation ranks require fewer battles to advance, with some losing as much as 40% of their mandate.
*Spells/skills for second and third tier vocations are only usable when in that class, giving the last part of the main game more balance.
*Overall simplification and re-balancing of which vocations get which skills, including elimination of the hybrid skill system. The skills in question have not been removed, however, and are now available through normal vocation advancement.
*Maribel now learns the [[Bang]] spell naturally, making the scenarios prior to unlocking the vocations easier.
*The [[Tidal Wave]] skill has been removed in response to the Kanto Earthquake disaster of 2011. Enemies that used the skill now use [[Jolly Rager]] instead, with the damage range lowered to that of Tidal Wave's for balance.

===Dragon Quest VII Reimagined===
An HD remake titled ''[[Dragon Quest VII Reimagined]]'' was announced on September 12th, 2025. Unlike the Nintendo 3DS remake, this iteration is a complete reworking of the experience that fundamentally changes the nature of the game.

==Related media==
The [[wikipedia:Manga|manga]] adaptation of ''Dragon Quest VII'' was published by Enix's ''[[wikipedia:Gangan Comics|Monthly Gangan]]'' in Japan. It was illustrated by [[wikipedia:Kamui_Fujiwara|Kamui Fujiwara]], who also worked on another franchise-related manga, ''[[The Emblem of Roto|Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō]]''. Fourteen volumes were released between 2001 and 2006 until the series was cancelled, and a canonical sequel titled ''Dragon Quest Ending'' began serialization in Square-Enix's Young Gan-Gan magazine on January 5th 2026.

In this adaptation, the hero is given the name "Arus". The manga follows the game story while adding in new characters and more detailed relationships, as the original hero was silent and a personality needed to be added for the comic version.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original {{PlayStation}} version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario & game design
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|[[Akira Toriyama]]
|----------
|Music composer
|[[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|----------
|Director of programming
|[[Manabu Yamana]]
|----------
|Art director
|Shintaro Majima
|----------
|Scenario
|Yuji Horii, Sachiko Sugimura, Fuminori Ishikawa, Kazunori Orio
|----------
|Programming
|Manabu Yamana, Masayuki Kawamoto, Yasushi Watanabe, Hiroaki Suzuki, Hajime Ito, Makoto Hirashima, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Yasuhiro Yoshida
|----------
|Graphic design
|Shintaro Majima, Hiroshi Muroki, Naoyuki Hayakawa, Tatsuya Takahashi, Yukari Umada, Masato Hirayama, Ruri Yamaguchi, Yoshihisa Nishimura, Rena Konaka, Keiichi Egawa, Kohei Matsushita, Katsuhiko Shiono
|----------
|Graphic tool programming
|Takeshi Sugimura
|----------
|Sound design
|Tsukasa Tawada
|----------
|Monster Design
|Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Osamu Kaneko
|----------
|Localization Programming
|Hiroaki Suzuki
|----------
|Translation
|(Wordbox Inc.) Lucie Ishii, Hiroko Yoda, Jeff Gelbard, Wayne Lammers, Matt Alt, Jeremy Blaustein, Ryan Morris
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix America, Inc.
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Localization manager
|Mitsuru George Torii
|----------
|Product manager
|John Laurence
|----------
|Quality assurance lead
|Jon Weisnewski
|----------
|Copy edit
|Chris Chymiy, Dustin Brown, Doug Hill, Sean Peters, Mike Tidwell
|----------
|QA translation
|Masanobu Yoshida, Katsuko Bandur, Hisayo Tomiyama, Miki Yasui Marr
|----------
|Play testers
|Zeb Clinton, Shawn Conard, T. J. Cowgill, Bryce Felt, Matthew A. Gillikin, Eric Ho, John Holes, Eric Junge, Ed Price, Jerry Pritchard, David Rieman, Dylan Sharp, Tom Shultz Jr.
|----------
|Sales & marketing manager
|Andrew Stein
|----------
|Accounting & credit manager
|Misuzu McMillan
|----------
|A/R analyst
|Yuri Kato
|----------
|Administrative assistant
|Emi Coughlin
|----------
|President
|Paul Handelman
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Enix corporation
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Technical Support
|Kenjiro Kano, Tomoyuki Iwai
|----------
|Play testers
|Satoshi Sato, Hideyuki Nukui, Satoru Kubota, Joe Mitsuta, Takayuki Mibu, Iiro Kimura, Rie Iwao, Masaki Murashita, Shinobu Nonaka, Mika Endo, Takatoshi Akiyama, Ryuichi Nakamura, Mie Ohnishi
|----------
|Artwork
|Naoki Oishi, Takashi Kamimura, Arte Piazza
|----------
|Public relations
|Yū Miyake, Ryoichi Kuramochi
|----------
|Special thanks
|TamTam
|----------
|Localization coordinators
|Daisuke Kobayashi, Jun Miyamoto, Yoshito Taniuchi
|----------
|Producer
|Taichi Inuzuka
|----------
|Executive producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|President
|Keiji Honda
|}
==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQ VII print ad.jpg|The final print ad The monsters spell out the hiragana for mattete, "hold on" in English, owing the game's numerous delays
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Front Side).png|PlayStation. (JP)
DQ VII PS1 Cover (Back Side).jpg|
DQ VII PS1 Disc 1.jpg|Disc 1
DQ VII PS1 Disc 2.jpg|Disc 2
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Front Side).jpg|Instruction manual front cover
DQ VII PS1 Instruction Manuel (Back Side).jpg|Instruction manual back cover
DW VII PS1 Case (Front Side).png|PlayStation (NA)
DW VII PS1 Case (Back Side).jpg|
DW VII PS1 Disc 1.png|Disc 1
DW VII PS1 Disc 2.png|Disc 2
DQVII Japan Art.png|Cover art
DQVII_guide.png|Guide cover
DQVII soundtrack.png|Symphonic Suite + OST
DQVII Eden No Senshi Tachi On Piano.png|Piano arrangements
DQVII_3DS.png|3DS box art (Japan)
DQVII 3DS Box.png|3DS box art (NA)
DQVII 3DS Europe.png|3DS box art (Europe)
DQVII 3DS France.png|3DS box art (France)
DQVII All Aglow.png|3DS art
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 1.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine
DQ VII PS1 V-Jump 2.jpg|''Dragon Quest VII'' on the cover of ''V-Jump'' magazine 2
DQVII_Manga.png|Manga Vol. 1
DQVII_Manga 2.png|Manga Vol. 2
DQVII_Manga 3.png|Manga Vol. 3
DQVII_Manga 4.png|Manga Vol. 4
DQVII_Manga 5.png|Manga Vol. 5
DQVII_Manga 6.png|Manga Vol. 6
DQVII Manga 7.png|Manga Vol. 7
Dragon Quest Ending promo art by Kamui Fujiwara.jpeg|''Dragon Quest Ending'' promo art with an adult [[Kiefer]]
DQVII iOS Japan.png|iOS/Android icon (Japan)
</gallery></center>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://dragonquest7.nintendo.com/ DQVII Nintendo 3DS website]

{{DQVII}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}
[[Category:Dragon Quest VII|*!]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS games]]

Gremlin

2025-06-19T14:19:21Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Characteristics */

{{Monster Infobox
| title=Gremlin
| image=[[File:DQII_Gremlin.png|250px]]
| caption=Art by [[Akira Toriyama]]
| firstappear={{Dragon Quest II}}
| kanji=グレムリン
| romanji=Guremurin
}}

The '''Gremlin''' is a recurring monster in the {{DQSeries}}, first appearing in {{DQ2}}.

==Characteristics==
Gremlins are diminutive members of the [[Demon family]] with pink or purple skin, a lizard's tail, a small pair of wings on their backs, and a tiny pair of blue horns on their heads. They are mischievous creatures who always float with their tongues constantly sticking out of their mouths, capable of casting several different spells and breathing fire at their opponents.

After the Gremlins' debut in {{DQ2}}, their only mainline appearance has been in {{DQ10}}; most of their appearances have been in spin-offs such as the ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters]]'' series.

==Appearances==
==={{DQ2}}===
{{DQ2Enemy
|name=Gremlin
|kanji=グレムリン
|romanji=Guremurin
|nes-sprite=[[Image:DQII Gremlin NES.png|44px]]
|nes-hp=60
|nes-mp=Unlimited
|nes-exp=52
|nes-gold=23
|nes-attack=57
|nes-defense=20
|nes-agility=30
|nes-spells=[[Heal]] [[Snooze]] Flame (7~17 damage)
|nes-locations=''As a boss'': [[Rippleport]] ''As a regular enemy'': [[Tantegel]] region [[Dragonlord's Castle]] [[Lighthouse (Dragon Quest II)|Lighthouse]]
|nes-item=[[Chimaera wing]] {{fraction|1|8}}
|nes-evasion={{fraction|1|64}}
|nes-fire-resist={{fraction|2|7}}
|nes-dazzle-resist={{fraction|2|7}}
|nes-snooze-resist={{fraction|3|7}}
|nes-thwack-resist={{fraction|3|7}}
|nes-fizzle-resist={{fraction|4|7}}
|nes-kasap-resist={{fraction|2|7}}
|remake-sprites=[[Image:DQII Gremlin SFC.png|44px]][[Image:DQII Gremlin GBC.png]][[Image:DQII Gremlin iOS.png|44px]][[Image:DQII Gremlin Switch.png|44px]]
|remake-hp=60
|remake-mp=4
|remake-exp=52
|remake-gold=47
|remake-attack=57
|remake-defense=20
|remake-agility=30
|remake-spells=[[Heal]] [[Snooze]] [[Fire Breath]] (12~20 damage) Flee
|remake-locations=''As a boss'': [[Rippleport]] ''As a regular enemy'': [[Tantegel]] region [[Dragonlord's Castle]] [[Lighthouse (Dragon Quest II)|Lighthouse]]
|remake-item=[[Chimaera wing]] {{fraction|1|8}}
|remake-evasion={{fraction|1|64}}
|remake-fire-resist={{fraction|1|7}}
|remake-dazzle-resist={{fraction|0|7}}
|remake-snooze-resist={{fraction|3|7}}
|remake-thwack-resist={{fraction|2|7}}
|remake-fizzle-resist={{fraction|2|7}}
|remake-kasap-resist={{fraction|2|7}}
}}

==={{DQ10}}===
{{stub}}

==={{DQM}}===
{{DQMEnemy
|name=Gremlin
|kanji= グレムリン
|romanji=Guremurin
|sprite=[[Image:Gremlin.png]]
|level=25
|hp=2/5
|mp=1/5
|attack=3/5
|defense=1/5
|wisdom=5/5
|agility=1/5
|family= {{Devil}}
|in-game-description=Mischievous & likes to play tricks with traps
|abilities=[[Heal]], [[Sizz|Firebal]], [[Fizzle|StopSpell]]
|habitat=[[List of teleportals in Dragon Quest Monsters|Gate of Villager]]
|breeding=[[Demon family|Devil family]] x [[Beast family]]
|frizz-resist=Weak
|sizz-resist=Weak
|fire-breath-resist=None
|bang-resist=Weak
|crack-resist=Weak
|ice-breath-resist=None
|woosh-resist=Weak
|rock-resist=Weak
|zap-resist=Weak
|water-resist=None
|gigaslash-resist=Weak
|magic-burst-resist=None
|drain-resist=None
|whack-resist=Immune
|kamikazee-resist=Immune
|poison-resist=None
|paralysis-resist=Strong
|fuddle-resist=None
|snooze-resist=Weak
|dazzle-resist=None
|sap-resist=Strong
|decelerate-resist=Strong
|fizzle-resist=None
|stun-resist=Strong
|ban-dance-resist=Weak
|gobstopper-resist=Weak
|curse-resist=None
}}

==={{DQM2}}===
{{DQM2Enemy
|name=Gremlin
|kanji= グレムリン
|romanji=Guremurin
|sprite=[[Image:Gremlin 1.png]]
|level=25
|hp=4/10
|mp=4/10
|attack=4/10
|defense=3/10
|wisdom=2/10
|agility=7/10
|family= {{Devil}}
|in-game-description=Flies incredibly fast in mischief.
|abilities=[[Heal]], [[Sizz|Firebal]], [[Fizzle|StopSpell]]
|habitat=[[Small Cave]] (Tara's Adventure)
|breeding=[[Demon family|Devil family]] x [[Beast family]]
|frizz-resist=Weak
|sizz-resist=Weak
|fire-breath-resist=None
|bang-resist=Weak
|crack-resist=Weak
|ice-breath-resist=None
|woosh-resist=Weak
|rock-resist=Weak
|zap-resist=Weak
|water-resist=None
|gigaslash-resist=Weak
|magic-burst-resist=None
|drain-resist=None
|whack-resist=Immune
|kamikazee-resist=Immune
|poison-resist=None
|paralysis-resist=Strong
|fuddle-resist=None
|snooze-resist=Weak
|dazzle-resist=None
|sap-resist=Strong
|decelerate-resist=Strong
|fizzle-resist=None
|stun-resist=Strong
|ban-dance-resist=Weak
|gobstopper-resist=Weak
|curse-resist=None
}}

==={{DQM3D}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQM23D}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQMJ3}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQM3}}===
{{DQM3Enemy
|name=Gremlin
|kanji=グレムリン
|romanji=Guremurin
|icon=[[File:Gremlin DQM3 portrait.png|100px]]
|family=[[File:DQM3 demon family icon.png|link=Demon family]]
|hp=<big><big>1,360</big></big>
|mp=<big><big>650</big></big>
|attack=<big><big>450</big></big>
|defense=<big><big>270</big></big>
|wisdom=<big><big>640</big></big>
|agility=<big><big>500</big></big>
|bestiary=#353
|rank=<big><big>'''G'''</big></big>
|in-game-description=Monsters which love nothing more than making fun of people. Even on their last legs they'd rather take the mickey than beg for mercy
|talents=[[Paramedic]] (lv. 1) [[Wisdom Booster|Wisdom Booster I]] (lv. 20) [[Frizz Ward]] (lv. 40)
|traits=[[Critical Theorist]] (lv. 1) [[Ace Evader]] (lv. 20) [[Major Downer]] (lv. 40)
|ltraits=[[Tactical Genius]] (lv. 1) [[Insult to Injury]] (lv. 1) [[Close Scraper]] (lv. 60)
|habitat=[[Hotcake Heap]] [[Fort Nox]]
|items=[[Moonwort bulb]] (Common) [[Seed of magic]] (Rare)
|synthesis=[[File:DQM3 demon family icon.png|64px|link=Demon family]] X [[File:DQM3 dragon family icon.png|64px|link=Dragon family]] (Either parent needs to be G-rank.)
|fusions=[[File:Killer_gila_DQM3_portrait.png|64px|link=Killer gila]] X [[File:Gremlin DQM3 portrait.png|64px|Gremlin]] = [[File:Flython DQM3 portrait.png|64px|link=Flython]] [[File:Gremlin DQM3 portrait.png|64px|Gremlin]] X [[File:Bludgerigar DQM3 portrait.png|64px|link=Bludgerigar]] = [[File:Dracky DQM3 portrait.png|64px|link=Dracky]] [[File:Gremlin DQM3 portrait.png|64px|Gremlin]] X [[File:Pan piper DQM3 portrait.png|64px|link=Pan piper]] or [[File:DQM3 undead family icon.png|64px|link=Undead family]] = [[File:Dancing devil DQM3 portrait.png|64px|link=Dancing devil]]
|fire-resist=0%
|water-resist=50%
|wind-resist=50%
|earth-resist=0%
|explosion-resist=0%
|ice-resist=25%
|electricity-resist=-25%
|light-resist=0%
|dark-resist=50%
|debilitation-resist=0%
|bedazzlement-resist=0%
|antimagic-resist=25%
|mp-absorption-resist=50%
|confusion-resist=50%
|sleep-resist=25%
|paralysis-resist=-25%
|stun-resist=25%
|poison-resist=0%
|instant-death-resist=0%
}}

==={{DQB2}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQStars}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQRivals}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQWalk}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQTact}}===
{{Stub}}

==={{DQTact}}===
Gremlin appears as a B-rank monster of the [[Demon family]] as part of the limited {{Dragon Quest II}} event and it stars in its own Battle Road. The gremlin will join the party in Chapter 3, Episode 4: Almost Out! of the event quests and it can be fully awakened by journeying through the [[Cave to Rendarak|Passage to Rendarak]] dungeon, where it appears as an enemy on the 5th, 10th, and 15th floors.
{{DQTactEnemy
|name=Gremlin
|kanji=グレムリン
|romanji=Guremurin
|sprite=[[Image:DQT Gremlin.png|225px]]
|family=[[Image:Tact Icon Devil.png|48px]] {{Demon}}
|rank=[[Image:DQTact Rank Icon B.png|48px]]
|role=[[Image:DQTact MagicType.png|48px]] Magic
|lvl=110
|hp=540
|mp=287
|move=4
|attack=212
|defense=222
|agility=318
|wisdom=283
|weight=25
|bskill1=[[Reheal]]
|bskill2=[[Frizzle]]{{tt|*|Level 22}}
|bskill3=[[Fiery Breath]]{{tt|*|Level 36}}
|askill1=Frizz-type Breath Potency +5% / Stats Up
|askill2=Zam Res +25 / Stats Up
|askill3=Fiery Breath Potency +5% / Stats Up
|askill4=Woosh Res +25 / Stats Up
|askill5=Fiery Breath Potency +5% / Stats Up
|lperk1=N/a
|bperk1=WIS +5
|bperk2=Fiery Breath Potency +2%
|bperk3=N/a
|aperk1='''Frizz-type Breath Potency +5''': Raises [[Frizz]]-type breath potency by 5%.
|frizz-resist=Normal
|sizz-resist=Normal
|crack-resist=Very Weak
|woosh-resist=Half Res
|bang-resist=Very Weak
|zap-resist=Normal
|zam-resist=Half Res
|snooze-resist=Normal
|poison-resist=Normal
|physical-seal-resist=Normal
|spell-seal-resist=Half Res
|martial-seal-resist=Normal
|breath-seal-resist=Super Weak
|hobble-resist=Normal
|stun-resist=Half Res
|blind-resist=Normal
|curse-resist=Normal
|paralysis-resist=Super Weak
|confusion-resist=Normal
|charm-resist=Immune
}}

==={{DQKK}}===
{{Stub}}

==Notes==
The deviled egg, a variation of the [[Bad egg]], is based on its design.

==Similar species==
*[[Baalzebub]]
*[[Grimlin]]

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQII GremlinArt.jpg|{{Famicom}} art.
DQII fighting gremlins.jpg|The [[Luminaries]] battling Gremlins in [[Rippleport]].
DWM_Box_%28Front_Side%29.png|A Gremlin in the left side of the American boxart for [[Dragon Warrior Monsters]].
Cobi Tara and monster eggs.png|Watching [[Cobi]] and [[Tara]] move some monster eggs.
DQX Gremlin.jpg|A Gremlin in {{X}}.
DQBRV Gremlin.png|''Battle Road Victory'' cut-in.
DQBRV Gremlin2.png
DQS Gremlin.jpg|{{Stars}} model.
DQR Gremlin.png|{{Rivals}} card.
DQTCG Gremlin.jpg|''DQ'' Trading Card.
DQMSL Deviled Egg.png|Deviled Egg.
</gallery></center>

[[Category:Dragon Quest II enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest X enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters 2 enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road Victory enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Builders 2 enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest of the Stars enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Rivals enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Walk enemies]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Tact monsters]]

[[fr:Gremlin]]

Rippleport

2025-06-19T13:24:24Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Appearances */

{{LocationInfobox
|game = {{Dragon Quest II}}
|title = Rippleport
|type= Village
|image = [[File:Rippleport.jpg|center|325px]]
|caption = The gateway to the sea.
|japanese=ルプガナ
|romaji=Rupugana
|old=Lianport
}}
'''Rippleport''' is a port village in northwestern [[Torland]]. It is the location where a [[ship]] can be obtained in {{DQ2}}.

As it is the only town with a port in the game, it can be inferred that Rippleport is the center of commerce in Torland.

==Appearances==
==={{DQ2}}===
[[Image:DQII fighting gremlins.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The party fighting gremlins in town.]]
After rescuing a girl from two [[Gremlin]]s, the [[Luminaries]] receive a [[ship]] from her grandfather for them to use in traveling the world.

After this point, the game becomes much more non-linear: as long as they are prepared to deal with strong enough monsters, the [[Luminaries]] can travel anywhere they please.

Like any port town, gambling is available via the [[Tombola]] house, with a [[Bank]] present as well. A bunny girl in the southwest corner offers to give the princes [[Puff-Puff]].

By giving the [[Sunken Treasure]] to a man reachable only by ship, the Luminaries will receive the [[Echo Flute]].

====Treasures====
*[[Seed of strength]] (remakes only)

====Shops & services====
{{WeaponShop/Start|title=|subtitle=|float=}}
{{WeaponShop/Item|name=Wizard's staff|price=2500|attributes=+8 Attack (NES) +27 Attack (remix) Casts [[Sizz]] when used in battle}}
{{WeaponShop/Item|name=Divine dagger|price=200|attributes=+12 Attack}}
{{WeaponShop/Item|name=Steel broadsword|price=1500|attributes=+30 Attack}}
{{WeaponShop/Item|name=Cloak of evasion|price=1250|attributes=+20 Defense}}
{{WeaponShop/Item|name=Full plate armour|price=1000|attributes=+25 Defense}}
{{WeaponShop/Item|name=Steel shield|price=2000|attributes=+10 Defense}}
{{WeaponShop/End|note=}}

{{ItemShop/Start|title=|subtitle=|float=}}
{{ItemShop/Item|name=Medicinal herb|price=10|attributes=Heals a small amount of HP}}
{{ItemShop/Item|name=Antidotal herb|price=8|attributes=Cures poison}}
{{ItemShop/Item|name=Holy water|price=40|attributes=Repels monsters}}
{{ItemShop/Item|name=Chimaera wing|price=25|attributes=Returns you to your last save location}}
{{ItemShop/Item|name=Banishing bell|price=640|attributes=Protects against non-damaging spells}}
{{ItemShop/End|note=}}

====Nearby {{MFamilies}}s====
*'''[[Gremlin]]''': boss {{MFamilies}}s in Rippleport
*[[Chewlip]]
*[[Corpse corporal]]
*[[Big badboon]]
*[[Mud mannequin]]
*[[Sekerleton (Dragon Quest II)|Sekerleton]]
*[[Shaman]]

==={{DQB2}}===
[[Lulu]] mentions that she is from Rippleport, but doesn't elaborate on her past there.

==Map & Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQ II NES Lianport.gif|Map. ({{NES}})
Rippleport 16-bit.png|Map. ({{SFC}})
Lianport DQII GBC.png|Welcomed to Rippleport. ({{GBC}})
DQ II Android Rippleport Entrance.jpg|Rippleport. ([[Cell phone]])
DQ II Android Rippleport 1.jpg|
DQ II Android Rippleport 2.jpg|[[Gremlin]]'s preparing to attack. ([[Cell phone]])
DQ II Android Rippleport 3.jpg|
DQ II Android Rippleport 4.jpg|
DQ II Android Rippleport 5.jpg|
DQ II Android Rippleport 6.jpg|Getting the [[Echo Flute]] for the [[Sunken Treasure]]. ([[Cell phone]])
DQ II Android Rippleport 7.jpg|[[Puff-Puff]]. ([[Cell phone]])
DQ II Android Rippleport Hidden Seed.jpg|Hidden [[Seed of strength]]. ([[Cell phone]])
</gallery></center>

{{DQII}}

[[Category:Dragon Quest II locations]]

Princess of Moonbrooke

2025-06-14T23:58:19Z

Dead Phoenix:

{{Character
|Name=Princess of Moonbrooke
|Game={{Dragon Quest II}}
|Image=[[Image:Moonbrook.png|225px]]
|Sprite=[[Image:Dq2princess-sprite-NES.gif|32px|class=pixels]][[Image:Dq2princess-sprite-MSX.gif|class=pixels]] [[Image:Dq2princess-sprite-MSX2.gif|class=pixels]] [[Image:Dq2princess-sprite-SNES.gif|class=pixels]] [[Image:Dq2princess-sprite-GB.gif|class=pixels]] [[Image:Dq2princess-sprite-Mobile.gif|class=pixels]]
|Japanese name=ムーンブルクの王女
|Roumaji=Mūnburuku no Oujo
|Title=Princess Moonbrooke Maiden ({{IX}})
|Class=[[Mage]]
|Race=[[Human]]
|Age=16
|Family=[[Erdrick]] (ancestor) [[Hero (Dragon Quest I)|Hero]] (ancestor) [[Princess Gwaelin]] (ancestor) {{Prince of Midenhall}} (cousin) [[Prince of Cannock]] (cousin)
|Voice Actor= [[Chisa Yokoyama]] ([[Dragon Quest II CD Theater|CD Theater]]) [[Sumire Uesaka]] ({{Rivals Ace}})
|}}

The '''Princess of Moonbrooke''' is a character in the {{DQSeries}} that appears as a playable {{Party 2}} member in {{Dragon Quest II}}.

She is a descendant of [[Erdrick]] who inherited none of her ancestor's physical strength but makes up for it with her magical prowess.

After [[Hargon]] attacks [[Moonbrooke]], the Princess of Moonbrooke is cursed and turned into a dog. Later, after her cousins the {{Prince of Midenhall}} and the [[Prince of Cannock]] break the curse, she joins forces with them to exact revenge on [[Hargon]] for what he did to her subjects and her father.

==Appearance and Personality==
She is depicted as shorter than her cousins, by how much depending on the illustration. She alternates between having blonde and lavender hair, and is clothed in a white robe and purple or red hood with Erdrick's crest on the forehead, carrying what looks to be a [[Wizard's staff]] in the Japanese version of the game. Her eye color changes between lavender, red, and blue, as well. In the American illustrations for the {{NES}} version of the game she is tall, blond, and wears a pink and black robe, knee-high black boots, red cape and holds the [[Lightning staff]]. When cursed by [[Hargon]], she took the form of a brown dog.

The Princess comes across as a shy but strong willed girl, who wants revenge on [[Hargon]] for what was done to her father and [[Moonbrooke|home]]. When encountered in various spin-offs and cameo appearances in later games, the Princess is a jubilant and perky young woman prone to fits of laughter. Humorously, she sometimes ''barks'' when she becomes angry in said cameos, such as [[Fortune Street]].

==Appearances==
==={{DQ2}}===
The Princess is first seen in the opening cutscene, and is encountered in person in [[Moonaham]]. Unable to communicate with her cousins due to her curse, she follows them around as a {{Party 2}} member anyway as head's up to new players that the dog is more than it seems. After getting hints from the townsfolk of [[Moonaham]], the two princes find the [[Ra's Mirror]] in a swamp east of the ruins of [[Moonbrooke]]. Returning to the village, the mirror is used on the Princess and she is restored.

====Stats====
''{{SFC}} & [[Game Boy]] versions''
{| class=wikitable style="width:65%; height:100px; text-align:center"
|-<---!Headings are up first.!---> style="font-weight:bold; background:#FBC7C7"
| Attribute || Starting Stats || Maximum Stats
|- style="font-weight:normal"
| Level || 1 || 35
|-
| {{HP}} || 32 || 175
|-
| {{MP}} || 28 || 196
|-
| {{Strength}} || 2 || 70
|-
| {{Agility}} || 22 || 160
|-
| {{Resilience}} || 11 || 71
|-
| Initial gear ||colspan=2|[[Cypress stick]], [[Plain clothes]]
|}

''[[Cell phone|Android and iOS]] versions''
{| class=wikitable style="width:65%; height:100px; text-align:center"
|-<---!Headings are up first.!---> style="font-weight:bold; background:#FBC7C7"
| Attribute || Starting Stats || Maximum Stats
|- style="font-weight:normal"
| Level || 1 || 50
|-
| {{HP}} || 32 || 180
|-
| {{MP}} || 28 || 229
|-
| {{Strength}} || 2 || 72
|-
| {{Agility}} || 22 || 202
|-
| {{Resilience}} || 10 || 125
|-
| Initial gear ||colspan=2|[[Cypress stick]], [[Plain clothes]]
|}
{{clear}}
====Spells====
[[File:Moonbrooke_Studying.png|right|thumb|200px|The Princess hard at work studying magic.]]

{| class=wikitable style="width:65%; height:100px; text-align:center"
|-<---!Headings are up first.!---> style="font-weight:bold; background:#FBC7C7"
| Level Learned || Original Japanese || Dragon Quest II || {{MP}} || Description
|- style="font-weight:normal"
| 1 || ベホイミ ''Behoimi'' || [[Midheal]] || 5 || Restores 85-100 {{HP}}.
|-
| 2 || ラリホー ''Rarihoo'' || [[Snooze]] || 2 || Sends the enemy into a deep sleep.
|-
| 4 || バギ ''Bagi'' || [[Woosh]] || 4 || Slices through the enemy with a small whirlwind.
|-
| 6 || マヌーサ ''Manuusa'' || [[Dazzle]] || 2 || Envelops enemies in illusions.
|-
| 8 || トヘロス ''Toherosu'' || [[Holy Protection]] || 2 || Wards off weaker {{MFamilies}}s.
|-
| 10 || ルカナン ''Rukanan'' || [[Kasap]] || 2 || Reduces enemies' {{Defence}}.
|-
| 12/13 || キアリー ''Kiarii'' || [[Squelch]] || 3 || Cures the effects of {{Poison}}.
|-
| 15/16 || ベホマ ''Behoma'' || [[Fullheal]] || 8 || Restores an ally's {{HP}} completely.
|-
| 17/18 || リレミト ''Riremito'' || [[Evac]] || 6 || Instantly escape from the depths of any dungeon.
|-
| 19/21 || イオナズン ''Ionazun'' || [[Kaboom]] || 8 || Engulfs the enemy in a large explosion.
|-
| 21 || トラマナ ''Toramana'' || [[Safe Passage]] || 4 || Walk safely over barriers.
|-
| 22/27 (remake only) || ザオリク ''[[Zaoriku]]'' || [[Kazing]] || 15 || Resurrects a fallen ally.
|-
| 23/29/36 || アバカム ''Abakamu'' || [[Click]] || 2 || Open a door without needing a key.
|-
| 25/30 || パルプンテ ''Parupunte'' || [[Hocus Pocus]] || 15 || Take a chance with Lady Luck! Only she knows what will happen.
|}
{{clear}}

====Equipment====
The Princess of Moonbrooke is the most limited in terms of equipment compared to her cousins, being only able to equip light clothing and magical staves and wands. She cannot use any shields. She joins the {{Party 2}} equipped only with [[Plain clothes]] and a [[Cypress stick]] and does not have much in the way of physical {{Attack}}s and {{Defense}}. The {{SFC}}, {{GBC}}, and [[Cell phone|iOS/Android]] versions of the game mitigate this slightly by improving the attack scores on the wands she can equip.
{{VersionTabs|Weapons|{{CharacterEquipmentList|header|title=Dragon Quest II|subtitle=All|equipmentType=Weapon}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Cypress stick]]|statModifier=Attack +2}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Divine dagger]]|statModifier=Attack +12}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Wizard's staff]]|statModifier=Attack +27}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Lightning staff]]|statModifier=Attack +45}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|note|text=}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|footer}}|Helmets|
{{CharacterEquipmentList|header|title=Dragon Quest II|subtitle=All|equipmentType=Helmet}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Mad Cap]]|statModifier=Defense +8}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|footer}}|Armor|
{{CharacterEquipmentList|header|title=Dragon Quest II|subtitle=All|equipmentType=Armor}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Plain clothes]]|statModifier=Defense +2}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Cloak of evasion]]|statModifier=Defense +35}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Mink mantle]]|statModifier=Defense +60}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Flowing dress]]|statModifier=Defense +65}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|footer}}|Accessories|
{{CharacterEquipmentList|header|title=Dragon Quest II|subtitle=All|equipmentType=Accessories}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Banishing bell]]|statModifier=N/A}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Devil's tail]]|statModifier=N/A}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|entry|item=[[Windbreaker]]|statModifier=N/A}}
{{CharacterEquipmentList|footer}}}}
{{clear}}

====Names====
*Her name and stats are determined by the name the player chooses for the {{Hero 2}}. The Princess' name is selected from a list of eight names. They are Maria, Elani, Ollisa, Roz, Kailin, Peta, Illyth, and Gwen.
*In the {{Game Boy Color}} version, her possible names are: Erin, Mary, Nana, Beth, Fran, Gwen, Lynn, and Sara. Her name can be changed manually by putting in a code at the title screen.
*In the [[Cell phone|smartphone]] and [[Nintendo Switch]] versions, her possible names are no longer based on the Hero's name and instead is chosen randomly. The names are: Eileen, Elaine, Fleurette, Ginny, Isolde, Lynda, Maria and Peronel. It can also be manually entered at the beginning of the game.
*The Japanese options for her name are Eileen (アイリン), Akina (あきな), Samantha (サマンサ), Nana (ナナ), Pudding (プリン), Maiko (まいこ), Maria (マリア), and Linda (リンダ).
*The official Japanese [[Dragon Quest II CD Theater|CD theater]] drama calls her Nana, from her default names. The novel switches things up by calling her Seria, a name not found in the game.
*In ''[[Fortune Street]]'', her name is Princessa or Pudding. In {{Dragon Quest IX}}, her name is Princessa.
*{{DQStars}} refers to her as Pudding again.
*In the Japanese version of {{DQTact}}, her name is Pudding, while the English version calls her Peronel.

[[File:DQI and II Princess of Moonbrooke.png|right|border|135px]]

==={{DQ9}}===
On May 27, 2011, the Princess of Moonbrooke began appearing as a special guest under the name of '''Princess Princessa''' at the [[Quester's Rest]] in [[Stornway]]. This could be downloaded through the [[DQVC]] using Nintendo's Wi-Fi channel when it was still available. When spoken to, she will give the {{Hero 9}} different pieces of her outfit is certain conditions are fulfilled.
*[[Moonbrooke dress]] - Received when talking to her.
*[[Moonbrooke hood]] - Received when it is the player's birthday.
*[[Moonbrooke shoes]] - Received after the inn is fully expanded.
The player will receive the [[Accolade]] '''Moonbrooke Maiden''' if the {{Hero 9}} wears all of the parts of the Prince of Moonbrooke's costume.

==={{DQ11}}===
The princess is found in the [[Moonaham]] section of the [[Echo Chamber]], where in she has returned to [[human]] form at the cost of the citizens becoming dogs themselves. Distraught, she requests aid from the {{Luminary}} and seeks a jug of [[Magic water]] to undo the curse. After being given the phial and returning history to normal, she laments her fate and awaits the arrival of her cousins. Humorously, she is greatly taken aback at how common magic water is in the {{Luminary}}'s world compared to her own, which is likely a developer joke at how mundane magical items have become in recent games in the series.

==={{DQTreasures}}===
A statue representing the princess is [[List of treasures in Dragon Quest Treasures|Treasure No. 331]],, with a base value of 1,200,000.

==={{DQStars}}===
The Princess is a playable ally who encounters [[Cyril]] during the the {{II}} scenario quest. She first appears in her cursed form and is illustrated with blonde hair, but has lavender hair in her polygon model.

Her outfit and staff is available as a drop in most {{Dragon Quest II}} missions.

==={{DQRivals}}===
The princess is a playable character in the game, being introduced alongside her cousins in the "Triumph of Heroes" card pack that was released after the game's title changed to {{DQRA}}. She is featured on three different cards.

===''[[Fortune Street]]''===
The Princess is a playable character and a rank C opponent.

==={{DQWalk}}===
The Princess of Moonbrooke appears as part of the {{Dragon Quest II}} event that began on May 27, 2021. She can participate as a helper after clearing Chapter 2, Episode 2 of the event and her outfit can be purchased by exchanging gold pass medals.

==={{DQTact}}===
The Princess of Moonbrooke is known as '''Peronel''' and she appears as an S-rank member of the [[Hero family]] as part of the {{Dragon Quest II}} event on her own banner alongside [[Orc king]]. Peronel also appears as a boss in the special Luminaries of the Legendary Line boss battle with Rickerd.
{{DQTactEnemy
|name=Peronel
|kanji=プリン
|romanji= {{tt|Purin|Pudding}}
|sprite=[[File:DQT Peronel.png|280px]]
|family=[[File:Tact Icon Hero.png|48px]] {{Hero F}}
|rank=[[File:DQTact Rank Icon S.png|48px]]
|role=[[File:DQTact MagicType.png|48px]] Magic
|lvl=130
|hp=1,013
|mp=537
|attack=305
|defense=388
|agility=346
|wisdom=461
|move=2
|weight=60
|bskill1=[[Sacred Light]]
|bskill2=[[Earth-Shattering Kaboom]]{{tt|*|Level 38}} [[Kazap]]{{tt|*|Level 56}}
|bskill3='''[[Coup de Grâce]]''': [[Moonbrooke Prayer]]{{tt|*|Level 80}} '''Talent Blossoming''': [[Erdrick's Northlight]]
|askill1=Rubiss's Blessing / Stats Up
|askill2=[[Crack]] Res +25 / Stats Up
|askill3=[[Kazap]] Potency +5% [[Moonbrooke Prayer]] Recovery +5% / Stats Up
|askill4=[[Woosh]] Res +25 / Stats Up
|askill5=[[Kazap]] Potency +5% [[Moonbrooke Prayer]] Recovery +5% / Stats Up
|lperk1=Raises [[Zap]]-type spell potency of allies, including herself, by 20% in a 5x5 square around her.
|bperk1=WIS +15 Max {{MP}} +15
|bperk2='''Sporadic Lightning Jolt Follow-Up''': When any other ally attacks: Occasionally follows up with Lightning Jolt if attack target is within follow-up range.
|bperk3=[[Kazap]] Potency +2% [[Moonbrooke Prayer]] Recovery +2%
|aperk1= '''Rubiss's Blessing''': Restores 10 {{MP}} for all allies in area of effect at the start of each action until turn 10.
|frizz-resist= Very Weak
|sizz-resist= Normal
|crack-resist= Half Res
|woosh-resist= Half Res
|bang-resist= Normal
|zam-resist= Very Weak
|zap-resist= Normal
|snooze-resist= Immune
|poison-resist= Normal
|physical-seal-resist= Normal
|spell-seal-resist= Half Res
|martial-seal-resist= Normal
|breath-seal-resist= Normal
|hobble-resist= Super Weak
|stun-resist= Super Weak
|blind-resist= Normal
|curse-resist= Normal
|paralysis-resist= Normal
|confusion-resist= Half Res
|charm-resist= Normal
}}

==Legacy==
The fair Princess introduces several firsts to the {{Main Series}} series, such as being the first heroine to join the protagonist, the series' original dedicated spell-casting character, and the first to endure the destruction of their family and home. Such a melancholy fate would become the series' standard, with only a scant few lead characters avoiding the trend.

==Other Languages==
{{OtherLanguages
|es=Princesa de Arroyo Luna|es-meaning=Princess of Moonbrook
|fr=Princesse de Ruisselune|fr-meaning=Princess of Moonbrook
}}

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
Princess_of_Moonbrooke_concept_art.jpg|Concept art of the Princess
DQII_Pudding.png|{{Famicom}} art.
DQII Princessa Chibi-style.png|Art from the back of the {{Famicom}} box.
DQII Trio.png|With her cousins.
DQII Clothes Hiding.png|Wearing the [[Cloak of evasion]].
Flowing dress Moonbrooke.jpg|Her highness wearing the [[Flowing dress]].
Mad cap old.jpg|Her Highness' [[Mad cap|curious]] cap.
Mink mantle old.jpg|[[Mink mantle|Posh]] Princess.
Dq2 cloak of evasion.jpg|
DQII flowing dress.jpg
DQII Mink mantle.jpg
File:MSX nightmare.png|The Scandalous Swimsuit scene from the MSX version.
Moonbrookeinfernos.jpg|The Princess of [[Moonbrooke]] casting the spell [[Woosh]].
Moonbrookehealall.jpg|Healing the [[Prince of Midenhall]], with the [[Prince of Cannock]] in the background.
Conflagation.jpg|
DQII fighting gremlins.jpg|The {{Party 2}} fighting [[Gremlin]]s in [[Rippleport]].
SNES DQII.jpg|{{Super Famicom}} art.
DQI and II Princess of Moonbrooke.png|{{I & II}}.
DQI and II Princess of Moonbrooke alt.png|{{I & II}}.
March Dragon Quest detail.png|"March Dragon Quest" detail.
Itadaki Street DS Princessa.png|''Itadaki Street DS''.
Itadaki St DS girls.png|''Itadaki Street DS''.
Fortune Street Princessa.png|''[[Fortune Street]]''.
DQII PrincessOfMoonbrooke ModernArt.png|Modern artwork.
Theathrhythm Moonbrooke.png|''[[Theathrhythm Dragon Quest]]''.
DQRA Cousins.jpg|Alongside her cousins in {{DQRA}}
DQT Princess of Moonbrooke.png|{{Tact}} official art.
DQT Purin.jpg
DQT Mindini DQ2.png|[[Mindini]] dressed as the Princess of [[Moonbrooke]].
DQ 4Koma Gekijou Extra 8.png|
DQ Heroines.png|''DQ'' Heroines.
DQII Moonbrooke Figure.jpg|''Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou'' series.
Conklave 1 and 2.jpg|Being parodied by a [[Conklave]].
DQ Stars Android Puppy of Moonbrooke.jpg|Cursed form in {{Stars}}.
DQ Stars Android Princess of Moonbrooke 1.jpg|Regular form in {{Stars}}.
DQ Stars Android Princess of Moonbrooke 2.jpg|
DQ Stars Android Princess of Moonbrooke 3.jpg|
DQ Stars Android Princess of Moonbrooke 4.jpg|
DQ Stars Android Princess of Moonbrooke 5.jpg|
princess of moonbrooke statue treasures icon.jpg|The statue of the princess in ''Treasures''
</gallery></center>

==See also==
*[[Moonbrooke|Kingdom of Moonbrooke]]
*[[Moonbrooke costume]]
*[[Hero (Dragon Quest II)|Prince of Midenhall]]
*[[Prince of Cannock]]
{{clear}}
{{DQII}}
[[Category:Royalty]]
[[Category:Party members]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest II characters]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest IX characters]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest XI characters]]
[[Category:Theatrhythm Dragon Quest characters]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest of the Stars characters]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Rivals characters]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Tact characters]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest Walk characters]]
[[Category:Fortune Street characters]]

[[fr:Princesse_de_Ruisselune]]

User:Dead Phoenix

2025-06-11T23:43:19Z

Dead Phoenix: Created page with "A Japanese-to-English translator part of the duo The Ninth Hour. I have translated quite a few old ''Dragon Quest''-related interviews to source in this wiki!"

A Japanese-to-English translator part of the duo The Ninth Hour.

I have translated quite a few old ''Dragon Quest''-related interviews to source in this wiki!

Template:Did You Know

2025-06-06T09:51:07Z

Dead Phoenix:

<div style="border: 1px solid #cedff2; padding: 5px; background-color: #f6fafd; border-radius: 5px; line-height: 24px;">
<h3 style="padding: 2px; text-align: center; border-radius: 5px; background-color: #0096FF;">Did you know?</h3>
* '''[[Erdrick's Sword]]''' is used during an optional boss fight in ''[[Final Fantasy]] XII'', and is also the prize for winning that battle.
* During the release of '''{{Dragon Quest IV}}''', Enix held a publicity stunt in which the word '''''[[Heal|hoimi]]''''' was "inducted" into the Japanese language.
* The MSX version of '''{{Dragon Quest II}}''' contained a special scene involving the "Dangerous Swimsuit" and the [[Princess of Moonbrooke]].
*That '''[[Borya]]''' is the oldest party member in the series, being in his early 70's.
*'''[[Yangus]]''' is the '''[[List of character statistics#Strength|strongest]]''' party member in the series, reaching a whopping 425 at level 99.
*'''[[Lizzie]]''' is the only [[Monster recruitment|monster companion]] to have a full suite of party chat dialogue.
*'''{{Meena}}''' is infatuated with caves, dungeons, and underground structures.
*The '''[[Dragonlord's great-great-grandson]]''' is the first monster in the series to not attack the player?
*The '''[[Prince of Cannock]]''' is often drawn in a coffin or as a weakling in fanart by Japanese fans due to his lackluster statistics and equipment choices in the original {{Famicom}} version of {{Dragon Quest II}}.
*[[Thief|Thieves]] only appear in remake versions of '''{{Dragon Quest III}}'''.
*The '''[[Princess of Moonbrooke]]''' has been depicted with both blonde and pink hair.
*'''[[Healie]]''' is the first [[Monster recruitment|monster companion]] in the series.
*An advertisement for an English translation of the {{PS1}} remake for '''{{Dragon Quest IV}}''' appears on the back of the instruction manual for '''{{Dragon Quest VII}}''', but it was never released.
*No monster in the series is just called a '''[[Dragon family|dragon]]'''? Each drake has a descriptive noun in it's name.
*That '''[[Orgodemir]]''' is the only final boss in the series immune to [[Sap]]?
*A popular misconception states that the Japanese government has forbidden Square Enix from selling {{Main Series}} titles on weekdays to prevent children playing hooky. This was the publisher's own decision after several children skipped school (and adults left work early) to purchase their copy of ''DQIII''.
</div>
[[Category:Homepage templates]]

Hero (Super Smash Bros.)

2025-06-06T09:47:59Z

Dead Phoenix:

{{quote|style=1|quote='''''The Hero Draws Near!'''''|source=The Hero's tagline from his reveal trailer.''|console=|align=center|bgcolor=fffff}}
[[File:AllFourHeroes.png|thumb|right|Each of the four Heroes, as they appear in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.]]
The '''Hero''' {{Translation|勇者|Yūsha}} is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' and the main representative of the ''[[Dragon Quest (series)|Dragon Quest]]'' series, being the third DLC character and the second to be part of the Fighters Pass. He was announced alongside fellow DLC newcomers Banjo & Kazooie at E3 2019, and was released on July 30th, 2019, where he was also made available for individual purchase for $5.99 USD, or downloaded automatically with the purchase of the Fighters Pass.

When the Hero originally began development, he was planned to be silent, similar to previous ''Dragon Quest'' protagonists. However, with the addition of voice acting in the Japanese version of ''Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition'' (as the localized version of ''Dragon Quest XI'' had voice acting from the beginning), plans were changed and voices for the Hero were added. As a result, each Hero has a different voice actor - Mitsuki Saiga for XI's Hero (reprising her role from ''Dragon Quest XI S''), Nobuyuki Hiyama for III's, Takeshi Kusao for IV's, and Yuki Kaji for VIII's.

==Attributes==
* Despite having a singular name, the Hero actually consists of four characters: [[Hero (Dragon Quest XI)|XI's Hero]] is the default, while [[Hero (Dragon Quest III)|III's Hero]], [[Hero (Dragon Quest IV)|IV's Hero]], and [[Hero (Dragon Quest VIII)|VIII's Hero]] are alternate characters.
* He has a shield that can block projectiles, much like the Links' shields.
* His smash attacks have a 1/8 chance of acting as critical hits, accompanied by the critical hit sound effect.
* His Fighter Ability (a distinct character trait) is an MP Gauge that depletes each time a special attack is used, with the max amount of MP being 100. The MP Gauge automatically recharges over time, though using standard attacks also fills it up.

==Moveset==
* His neutral attack consists of three hits: an upward slash, a downward slash, and an inward swipe.
* His dash attack is a jumping slash, similar to Link's.
* His forward tilt is a two-hit attack: a shield bash followed up by an outward slash. This attack can block projectiles, just like his shield.
* His up tilt is an upward arcing slash.
* His down tilt is a sweeping front kick.
* His up smash is an upward thrust, which resembles Marth's up smash.
* His forward smash is a two-handed downward slash, resembling Ike's forward smash.
* His down smash is a kneeling inward slash in front of him, followed by a kneeling outward slash behind him, resembling Link's down smash.
* His neutral aerial is him swinging his sword around him, resembling Ike's neutral aerial.
* His forward aerial is a downward slash.
* His back aerial is an upward slash behind his back, which resembles Marth's back aerial.
* His up aerial an upward kick.
* His down aerial is a downward thrust, which can meteor smash opponents if hit at the beginning.
* His pummel is a knee strike.
* His up throw tosses his opponent into the air.
* His forward throw heaves his opponent forward.
* His back throw is the tomoe nage, a judo throw that involves falling backward while grappling the opponent and using his leg to flip them behind him.
* His down throw is a body slam.
* In conjunction with his MP Gauge, the Hero has a plethora of magical attacks:
** His neutral special is [[Frizz]], but it can be charged up into [[Frizzle]] and [[Kafrizz]]. Frizz uses 6 MP, Frizzle uses 16 MP, and Kafrizz uses 36 MP.
** His side special is [[Zap]], but it can be charged up into [[Zapple]] and [[Kazap]]. Zap uses 8 MP, Zapple uses 18 MP, and Kazap uses 42 MP.
** His up special is [[Woosh]], but it can be charged up into [[Swoosh]] and [[Kaswoosh]]. Woosh uses 5 MP, Swoosh uses 9 MP, and Kaswoosh uses 18 MP.
** His down special is [[Command menu|Command Selection]], which brings up a random set of four spells each time it is used. To exit the menu, the player can press the shield button, and use it again to bring up a different set of spells. The different spells that Hero is able to use are:
*** [[Bang]] and [[Kaboom]], both of which fire off an orb of energy that explodes upon contact with an opponent, with the latter being a much larger explosion. Bang uses 9 MP, and Kaboom uses 37 MP.
*** [[Sizz]] and [[Sizzle]], both of which fire a spark that bursts into flames, with the latter covering more area with the flames. Sizz uses 8 MP, and Sizzle uses 20 MP.
*** [[Whack]] and [[Thwack]], both of which have a random chance of KOing the opponent, the odds of which increase as the battle progresses. Thwack has more range than Whack. Whack uses 10 MP, and Thwack uses 30 MP.
*** [[Kamikazee]], which causes a devastatingly powerful explosion around him, but also causes the Hero to self-destruct. Uses 1 MP.
*** [[Magic Burst]], which uses the Hero's remaining MP to create an expanding, spherical explosion around him. The amount of MP the Hero has determines the effectiveness of the attack.
*** [[Snooze]], which puts any opponents it hits to sleep. Uses 16 MP.
*** [[Heal]], which heals Hero's damage percentage. Uses 7 MP.
*** [[Oomph]], which powers up attacks for a limited amount of time, but increases the damage he receives. Uses 16 MP.
*** [[Acceleratle]], which increases the Hero's movement speed, but increases the knockback he receives. Uses 13 MP.
*** [[Bounce]], which acts as a reflector. Other attacks can be used while Bounce is active. If two Heroes use Bounce, the projectile will eventually break Bounce. Uses 14 MP.
*** [[Kaclang]], which turns the Hero into metal, and makes him invulnerable to damage, but he cannot move. Uses 6 MP.
*** [[Zoom]], which has the Hero fly upwards to the top of the screen, before landing on the stage. Ceilings above the Hero will stop him from using the attack. Uses 8 MP.
*** [[Hocus Pocus]], which causes a random effect. It can poison or flower himself to increase his damage, remove all his MP, make him invincible, make himself tiny or large, slow himself down, turn himself invisible, or activate Acceleratle, Zoom, Magic Burst, Metal Slash, Snooze, Bounce, Sizz, Kaclang, Psyche Up, Flame Slash, Heal, or Bang. Uses 4 MP.
*** [[Flame Slash]] and [[Kacrackle Slash]], both of which have the Hero slash outward, with the former dealing flame damage and the latter freezing opponents. Flame Slash uses 12 MP, and Kacrackle Slash uses 11 MP.
*** [[Hatchet Man]], which has the Hero perform a powerful overhead slash. Uses 15 MP.
*** [[Metal Slash]], which instantly KOs a metal opponent, but deals almost nonexistent damage and knockback to non-metal opponents. Uses 6 MP.
*** [[Psyche Up]], which powers up the Hero's next attack, but doesn't go away if the attack misses. Uses 14 MP.
* The Final Smash is [[Gigaslash]], which involves the seven non-playable ''Dragon Quest'' heroes charging the Hero's sword with bolts of electricity.

==Taunts==
* Up: The Hero puts away his sword and powers up.
* Side: The Hero raises his sword into the air triumphantly.
* Down: A [[Slime]] appears at the Hero's feet and hops, causing the Hero to lose his balance.

==Trivia==
* The Hero's tagline references the message shown when encountering a monster in many ''Dragon Quest'' games.
* In the alternate costume for IV's Hero, his Slime earring turns [[Metal slime|metal]].
* Prior to update 2.0.0 of ''Ultimate'', there existed hidden data for future downloadable characters under the placeholder names "packun", "jack", and "brave". "packun" referred to [https://www.ssbwiki.com/Piranha_Plant_(SSBU) Piranha Plant], and "jack" referred to [https://www.ssbwiki.com/Joker_(SSBU) Joker], but at the time, it was unclear as to who "brave" was referring to, though a ''Dragon Quest'' character was heavily speculated to be filling the slot. Hero's Japanese name eventually confirmed this, as {{Translation|勇者|Yūsha}} can be literally translated into English as "brave".
* The Hero is one of three characters to change weapons via alternate costumes, with the other two being Cloud and Bayonetta.
** XI's Hero wields the Supreme Sword of Light and [[Erdwin]]'s Shield.
** III's Hero wields the [[Erdrick Equipment|Sword of Kings and Shield of Heroes]].
** IV's Hero wields the [[Zenithian Equipment|Zenithian Sword and Shield]].
** VIII's Hero wields the [[Dragovian Equipment|Dragovian King Sword and Dragovian shield]].
* In Japanese, Hero has a chance of calling out a spell's name, excluding the Command Selection spells. This makes him the fifth character in the series to have specific lines in the Japanese language track of a game replaced by generic grunts outside of Japan after Fox, Sheik, and Falco in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' and Mewtwo in all of its playable appearances.
* When Kirby copies Hero, he gains [[Erdwin]]'s cornet and shield, and the Supreme Sword of Light, all items available to XI's Hero in ''Dragon Quest XI''.
** Additionally, unlike other fighters with a gauge (such as Robin or Inkling), Kirby also gains the MP Gauge's rechargeability.
* Depending on which version of the Hero is being played, the Critical Hit sound effect from that Hero's respective game will play when a critical hit through a smash attack or when Hatchet Man hits.
* On November 24, 2019, ''[[Dragon Quest: Scan Battlers]]'' added in a special battle card referencing Gigaslash's depiction in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', as well as Hero's reveal trailer for the game.<ref>https://twitter.com/DQSB_PR/status/1198511571162390528</ref>

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
Image:DQXIHeroSSBU.png|XI's Hero render.
Image:DQIIIHeroSSBU.png|III's Hero render.
Image:DQIVHeroSSBU.png|IV's Hero render.
Image:DQVIIIHeroSSBU.png|VIII's Hero render.
Image:HeroIntro.png|XI's Hero, as seen in the splash art of "Heroic Encounters", the character trailer for the Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
</gallery></center>

==References==
<references/>

{{SSBU}}
{{Hero}}

[[Category:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters]]

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

2025-05-25T12:10:02Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
| title = Chapters of the Chosen
| type = Main series games
| developer = [[Chunsoft]] Heartbeat, [[ArtePiazza]] (''{{PS1}}'') [[ArtePiazza]], Cattle Call(''{{DS}}'')
| publisher = [[Enix]] [[Square Enix]] (''{{DS}}'')
| designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
| image = [[Image:DQIV_Logo.png|center|310px]][[File:DQIV V Jump Art.png|310px]]
| caption =
| artist = [[Akira Toriyama]]
| composer = [[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
| engine =
| released = '''{{Famicom}}'''/'''{{NES}}''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 11, 1990|NA=October 1992}}'''{{PlayStation}}''' {{vgrelease|JP=November 22, 2001}}'''Nintendo DS''' {{vgrelease|JP=November 22, 2007|NA=September 16, 2008|EU=September 12, 2008|AUS=September 11, 2008}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=April 17, 2014|NA=August 7, 2014}}
| genre = [[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Console role-playing game]]
| modes = [[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
| ratings = {{vgratings|CERO=A ({{PS1}}, DS)|ESRB=E10+ ({{DS}})|OFLCA=PG}}
| platforms = [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], {{Famicom}}, [[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo DS]], [[Cell phone]]
| media = 4-[[Wikipedia:megabit|megabit]] {{NES}} [[Wikipedia:cartridge (electronics)|cartridge]] [[Wikipedia:Compact disc|CD]] ({{PS1}}) [[Nintendo DS#Media specifications|Nintendo DS Game Card]]
| requirements =
| input =
|series = {{Main Series}}
}}

{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest IV'''|ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たち|Doragon Kuesuto Fō Michibikareshi Monotachi|literally meaning; ''The People Who Are Shown the Way''}} is a role-playing game and the fourth installment of the {{Main Series}} video game series. The game was originally released for the {{NES}} and earned acclaim for pioneering the advancement of [[artificial intelligence]] in the video game industry. It begins the ''Tenkuu'' (''Celestial'') trilogy, known better as the ''[[Zenithia trilogy]]'' in English.

It was originally released for the {{Famicom}} on February 11, 1990 in Japan. The North American version, titled {{Dragon Warrior IV}}, was released for the {{NES}} in October 1992.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest IV'' is the first of the series to not be related to the [[Erdrick trilogy|lineage of Erdrick]]--the game is the first of a new trilogy revolving around the legend of a [[Zenithia trilogy|castle in the sky]] that watches over the world below. The world map is of a comparable size to that of {{III}}, but has no direct parallels to the real world in regards to the shape of the continents and nature of the kingdoms.

==Plot==
The story in ''IV'' is a more character-focused tale centered around the lives of the chosen ones prior to and during their quest to prevent the resurrection of the ruler of evil, [[Estark]]. The first four chapters of the story are about the hero's companions and their own challenges and hardships. While they each travel with their own goals and dreams in mind, they all eventually discover the conspiracy of [[Psaro the Manslayer]] to drive the human race to extinction via Estark's hellish power.

===Prologue===
[[File:DQIV_Group.png|right|thumb|The characters of ''Dragon Quest IV''. From left to right: [[Kiryl]], [[Ragnar]], [[Alena]], the {{Hero 4}} (female and male), [[Borya]], [[Maya Mahabala]], [[Meena Mahabala]], and [[Torneko Taloon]]. |380px]]
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Prologue{{!}}Prologue}}

Introduces The {{Hero 4}} and his/her friend [[Eliza]]. This portion of the story was introduced in the {{PlayStation}} version, and became standard in later remakes.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 1}}: Ragnar McRyan and the Case of the Missing Children===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 1{{!}}Chapter 1}}

[[Ragnar McRyan]], one of the soldiers in the royal palace of [[Burland]], is sent by the king on a journey to find out why children are disappearing across the kingdom.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 2}}: Alena and the Journey to the Tourney===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 2{{!}}Chapter 2}}

[[Alena]], princess (Tsarevna in the [[Nintendo DS]] localization) of [[Zamoksva]], who slips out of the castle in hopes of seeing the world that exists beyond the castle walls. She is accompanied by the priest [[Kiryl]] and the mage [[Borya]].

==={{DQ4 Chapter 3}}: Torneko and the Extravagant Excavation===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 3{{!}}Chapter 3}}

[[Torneko Taloon]] lives in [[Lakanaba]] with his [[Tessie Taloon|wife]] and [[Tipper Taloon|son]], and works part-time in the local weapon shop. He aims to become the best merchant in the world, and begins his chapter in search of a regional treasure that could help him accomplish his goal.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 4}}: Meena and Maya and the Mahabala Mystery===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 4{{!}}Chapter 4}}

[[Maya Mahabala]] the dancer and her younger sister [[Meena Mahabala]], the fortune teller, have left [[Laissez Fayre]] in search of vengeance against [[Balzack]], their [[Mahabala|father]]'s traitorous apprentice.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 5}}: The Chosen===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 5{{!}}Chapter 5}}

The {{Hero 4}} has been brought up by the inhabitants of a remote and [[Hidden Valley|nameless mountain village]]. But [[Psaro]] and his legions destroy the village, leaving only the hidden hero alive. The hero leaves in search of his seven companions, in the hopes of defeating Psaro and saving the world.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 6}}===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 6{{!}}Chapter 6}}

{{DQ4 Chapter 6}} is a post-epilogue continuation of the game's storyline. Originally appearing in the {{PlayStation}} remake of ''Dragon Quest IV'', {{DQ4 Chapter 6}} offers a lengthy [[bonus dungeon]], and the culmination of certain plot points that were left ambiguous in the original release.

==New features==
===Artificial intelligence===
In Chapter 5, party members beside the Hero are no longer directly controlled, their behavior instead being dictated by options in the Tactics menu (Normal, Defensive, Offensive, Save {{MP}}, Use No MP, Try Out). The ensuing actions are controlled by an intricate [[artificial intelligence]] system, which takes up a significant amount of the game's memory. The other chapters, except {{DQ4 Chapter 2}}, also contain [[Non-Player Character|computer-controlled party members]] that act alongside the player in battle.

===Party expansion===
*Every chapter save the second includes a non-chosen party member who will assist the group temporarily during their travels together. Each is tied to a story element of the chapter and reflect that section of the story's tone.
*A [[Wagon]] was implemented to transport up to eight party members at the same time, allowing for battle configurations to be rearranged to suit any encounter at will. Certain dungeons will not allow the wagon to enter the area, however.

===Collectibles===
As the [[Erdrick trilogy]] revolved around amassing several artifacts to advance a game's progress, ''IV'' introduced collectibles to maintain the same sense of accomplishment while playing a more linear narrative.
*[[Mini medal]]s are scattered throughout the world for the player to gather at their leisure, which can be exchanged for incredible equipment at the palace of the [[Medal King]].
*Items are now hidden in drawers, cabinets, and urns in addition to {{chest}}s. Contents range from stat boosting seeds to common item and small sums of [[gold]].

===[[Casino]]===
Building upon the gambling featured in the monster arenas of {{III}}, the fourth game allows players to explore a large casino in the city of [[Endor]]. Redeemable tokens can be won at slot machines, poker, and monster betting, which can be spent on exclusive items and equipment.

===Sequel connectivity===
{{DQ5}} has some references to ''Dragon Quest IV'', but is mostly an independent story that does not heavily rely on the previous entry. The adventure of the chosen is known only by a scant few individuals, which further separates the [[Zenithia trilogy]] from the Erdrick saga's heavy focus on in-game history and family lineage.

==Remakes and ports==
''Dragon Quest IV'' was remade for the [[Sony PlayStation]] on November 22, 2001 in Japan. It was developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix. The remake was developed using {{DQ7}} 's 3D graphics engine. With this remake came new features; among them were a new chapter, a new character, a boom town reminiscent of {{VII}}'s, an [[Party Chat|inter-party talk]] command similar to {{Dragon Quest VII}}, and the ability to turn off the artificial intelligence for party members. The Enix of America Corporation originally planned to bring the remake to North America in 2002, but it was later cancelled due to Heartbeat closing its video game development operations.

*The [[Bag]] has been added for unlimited item storage, which can carry up to 99 for each item.
*A ''{{DQ4 Prologue}}'' chapter is added to introduce the {{Hero 4}} before chapter one begins, as well as a 6th chapter with a [[bonus dungeon]] and alternate ending. There is also a new Tactics feature to manually control your party in {{DQ4 Chapter 5}}. The PlayStation version uses the graphics engine from {{DQ7}}.
*A [[Pioneer Town]] was added, similar to [[The Haven]] in {{DQ7}}. It is located in place of the [[Desert Bazaar]] (which in the {{NES}} version served no purpose in Chapter 5). It is run by [[Hank Hoffman Jr.]] (who remains in the Inn at [[Mintos]] in the NES version).
*A new dungeon, the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] was added in the "after-game", along with a new [[Zoom]] point within. The floors aside from the bosses room are taken from areas from the previous dungeons, the shop from Zalenagrad and areas from {{DQ7}}.
*In the {{NES}} version, Hank Hoffman Jr. leaves the party after [[Alena]] and her companions join. In this version, he leaves immediately upon entering Mintos.
*The first floor of the [[Imperial Pantry of Parthenia]] has a [[Thief's Key]] door blocking off the rest of the cave. To get it opened, [[Borya]] has to be recruited, which triggers a scene where Alena kicks the door down despite having the key. The {{NES}} version of the cave lacks the door and can be completed without recruiting Borya.
*The bonus {{DQ4 Chapter 6}}, includes [[Psaro (Character)|someone]] becoming a playable character.
*While still uncontrollable during combat, healing spells known by [[Healie]], [[Laurel]] and [[Orifiela]] can be used manually out of battle.
*Only [[Eliza]] and [[Float-o-copier]]s can use the [[Morph]] spell, whereas in the {{NES}} version, the Hero could also learn it.
*In the {{NES}} version, [[Marquis de Léon]] dies after his defeat, whereas in the remakes, he reverts to his human form and forgets his time as a monster.
*The player no longer loses [[Gold]] Coins after being defeated by Marquis de Léon in Chapter 4.
*The remakes have the [[Lightning staff]] available much sooner in the [[Vault of Vrenor]], as opposed to later in [[Castle Nadiria]].
*[[Boomerang (weapon)|Boomerang]]s were replaced by [[Hunter's bow]]s.
*[[Thorn whip]]s were replaced by [[Divine dagger]]s.
*[[Morning star]]s were replaced by [[Holy lance]]s.
*Instead of the [[Liquid metal shield]] which sold for 4000 coins, the [[casino]] sells [[Falcon sword]]s for 65,000 coins.
*There's only one Liquid metal shield that you can get by trading in 52 mini medals to the medal king.
*[[Liquid metal armour]] now costs 35,000 [[gold]] coins, as opposed to the 15,000 in the {{NES}} version.
*The [[Gospel ring]] accessory is now included at the Pioneer town which is upgraded to a castle and is sold for 250,000 coins at the casino.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] is now included for the monster bestiary and the player will be rewarded 250,000 coins if they complete the list of monsters.

[[File:DQ4-DS-OVERWORLD-SCREENSHOT.jpg|250px|thumb|Exploring the world in the {{DS}} version of ''Dragon Quest IV'']]
On November 22, 2007, this PlayStation remake was ported to the [[Nintendo DS]]. No significant changes were made to the game's story, gameplay, or bonus features, aside from modifying the boom town's immigration aspects to reflect the lack of memory cards in the DS hardware and the calculation method for [[Alena]]'s [[Critical Hit]]s. The {{Fungeon 4}} ([[bonus dungeon]]) changed it's layout to random locations for each floor, whereas the {{PlayStation}} version was a mix of previous areas from the game and from {{DQ7}}. This portable version was released internationally in September of 2008, but without the party chat feature. This was due to Square Enix's uncertainty regarding the reception of the title, and the budget to translate the two-thirds of the script that the chat contained was slashed. However, the international release performed well and the budget for localization was expanded to allow the feature to be retained in {{V}} and {{VI}}.

*The [[Nintendo DS]] remake uses nearly the same style as the {{PS1}} version, with some minor compression to account for the handheld's screen size.
*The [[Pioneer Town]] lacks the variants of the {{PS1}} version due to replacing recruitable {{NPC}}s with ones that can be found after a certain point in game (see the article for more details).
*The floors of the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] are made up of new designs rather than from previous areas in the game, as well as {{DQ7}}.
*The {{DS}} uses 2 separate screens in the game, the top screen displaying the map and the heroes' battle information.
*Religious references that were removed from the {{NES}} version are now included in the game.
*Name changes to Weapons, Armour, items.
*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula was changed from ''level/256'' to ''(level(0.75))/256'', rendering her maximum chance at level 64 to be 19%.

On April 7, 2014, the PlayStation remake was ported to iOS and Android compatible devices. This version features significantly sharper graphics than before, as well as a fully orchestrated soundtrack. No significant gameplay changes were made aside from yet another tweaking of the Tsarevna's [[Critical Hit]] formula, and a slight change adding a detour in the boom town development. The [[bonus dungeon]] layout from the {{DS}} port was retained. This version was released world wide on August 7, 2014, and most importantly restored the long-lost party chat to much critical acclaim.

*The Android and iOS uses touch screen features and the game uses a portrait screen setting instead of the landscape screen.
*[[Zoom]] and [[Evac]]'s {{MP}} cost have been reduced to 1 MP each.
*The Pioneer Town's upgrade requirements have been slightly tweaked, requiring more townsfolk to be recruited per stage of development.
*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula cap has been raised to 87, restoring the 25% chance from the {{NES}} and {{PSX}} versions.

==Soundtrack==
[[File:Monster Battle Victory DQ IV group.png|right|border|450px|thumb|Splash art of the cast as they appear in ''[[Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory|Monster Battle Road Victory]]'']]
[[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. This is the track listing of the Symphonic Suite:
#''[[Overture]]'' (1:55)
#''Minuet'' (3:07)
#''Comrades'' (10:28)
#''In a Town'' (8:16)
#''Homeland ~ Wagon Wheels' March'' (5:58)
#''Frightening Dungeons ~ Cursed Towers'' (5:19)
#''Elegy ~ Mysterious Shrine'' (5:03)
#''Balloon's Flight'' (4:32)
#''Sea Breeze'' (4:31)
#''The Unknown Castle'' (4:37)
#''Battle for the Glory'' (7:51)
#''The End'' (5:12)

==Development==
As the Erdrick trilogy had reached a definite conclusion with the twist ending of {{DQ3}}, [[Yuji Horii]] decided that ''IV'' would begin a new story unconnected to the previous games, even considering starting a new trilogy<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>.

''IV'''s development began with the intent of exploring [[artificial intelligence]], which was a growing trend in Japan at the time. Meetings on the topic were held from February—June 1988<ref>・・・・・・今回イロイロと新しいことにチャレンジしてますけど、なかでもいちばん苦労したところはどこですか?
堀井: やっぱりAIでしょう。できあがるのに1年以上かかってますから。とにかくAIを使うっていうことは、最初からほとんど決まってたんですよね。それまでまず、'88年の2月頃から会議を初めて、延々と会議を繰り返したわけです。

最初のうちは、ほとんどAIのことばかり話しあっていたんですね。
堀井: そうです。どんな方法があるかっていうのを何回も話し合って詰めていって、6月の段階で、これだというものがやっとできあがったんです。その後プログラムに移ったわけなんですけど、実際にプログラムをする山名くんがかなり苦労をして、1年以上かかたっと思いますよ。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 4, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, in which the team also reflected on player feedback from ''III''. As a result, the gameplay flow was streamlined, with changes including a simplified [[Command Menu]] and the return of the door-opening command, changed to automatically select the highest-tier key for the player<ref>堀井さんて、今までも常に反響を生かしてゲームを作っていますよね。
堀井: 反響の中でも特に、不満の部分を生かしますね。なんとかがめんどくさかったとか、それはある程度自分たちでも反省会を開いたりするんですけどね。るそういう意味では今回、コマンド体系をさらに使いやすくしたつもりです。カギを使うのがめんどくさいとか、そういった部分をすべて改善しましたから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The save points were also moved from castles to [[church]]es placed close to town entrances; because the kings and queens of each region no longer saved games, the developers were able to flesh out those characters' personalities<ref>''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 9, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

The party's artificial intelligence system, written by series veteran Manabu Yamana with an emphasis on player convenience, took approximately a year to be fully implemented. Because Horii considered it tedious to switch characters in and out of the wagon to learn monsters' weaknesses, Yamana programmed the AI so that any battle information would be automatically passed to every party member, which pleased Horii, as he considered it immersive to imagine the party members sharing advice among each other<ref>堀井: あとね、みんなが誤解してるかもしれないんで、これだけは言っておきたいんです。たとえば8人いますよね。で、ブライばかり出して戦闘してて、マーニャは馬車の中にばかりいたと。だからマーニャは、このモンスターと戦うのは初めてだという場合でも、マーニャはいちおう馬車の中から今までの戦いを見ている、という設定のもとに学習しているんです。それはナゼかって言うと、1人ずつ出して学習させるのはダルいと思ったからなんです。だから、パーティとして覚えちゃう。1人の知識はみんなの知識というような、学習機能にしちゃったんですね。結果的にはこれでよかったと思いますよ。やっぱり、それぞれのキャラクターを外に出して、何回も同じモンスターと戦うのってダルいですから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. This emphasis on convenience also allowed party members in the wagon to obtain the same amounts of experience as the active characters<ref>逆に、中にいる人は学習できないとなると、必然的に外に出すキャラって固定されますよね。
堀井: そうなんですよね。役に立つキャラばかり使うことになるから、役に立たないキャラはいつまでたっても育たないし、役に立たないままになっちゃうでしょう。それじゃ困りますからね。馬車の中のキャラも経験値がもらえるっていうのも、そのせいなんです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The AI feature in the final chapter was deliberately not implemented for the protagonists in the first four to allow the players to empathize with the characters as they controlled them, and to keep players from being bored by not having any influence during battle<ref>もう1つ目立って新しい要素として、5章構成のストーリーっていうのがあるんですけど、そもそもどうしてシナリオを5つに分けたんですか?
堀井: これもイロんな要因があるんですよ。まず、メモリーが増えるぶん、ΙIよりも長い話になりそうだと。そうすると、IIIより長い1本の話っていうのは、けっこうヘビーだと思ったわけです。長いぶん、終盤になってダレたりとかしちゃうんじゃないかとね。それだったら、スパンスパンと区切って、1本1本の話しとしてはそれほど長くないけど、全体のボリュームとしては川よるもあるという方法をとろうと思ったんです。それで何章かに分けたいというのが出てきたんですね。また、それと並行してAIを使うということになったんですよね。AIで仲間が勝手に動くと。ただ、初めから勝手に動かれたんじゃ、あまり感情移入ができないんじゃないかと思ったんです。何か変なことをやっても、プレイヤーはろくに見もせずに、ボタンを押していくだけじゃないかとね。やっぱりAIをおもしろいと感じるのは、そのAIのキャラに思い入れができないといけないわけですよね。それじゃあ、章に分けたのと合わせて、最初はAIじゃなくて、それぞれのキャラに対する思い入れをつくる部分にしようって、そう考えたわけです。コイツはこんなヤツだということがわかってこそ、5章になってからAIで動かれても、楽しめると思うんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

The game's storyline, with self-contained chapters leading up to a greater finale, came about because Horii did not want to overwhelm players with a single long campaign that was twice as long as ''Dragon Quest III'''s. He also wanted to examine the lives of the Hero's companions before they joined forces, a deliberate contrast to the blank slates created at [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] in ''III''<ref>"What was the inspiration for dividing ''Dragon Quest IV'' into five stand-alone chapters?"
Horii: In ''Dragon Quest III'', you went on an adventure with three companions, but these characters were simply created from scratch by the player. I thought it would be interesting to explore the lives of your comrades, which became the inspiration for ''Dragon Quest IV''</ref>.

The chapter structure was also intended to ease players into the structure of a ''Dragon Quest'' game and the AI system<ref>確かに1章なんか、イロイロな面で入門用にもピッタリという感じはしますね。
堀井: ただ、あんまりドラクエすぎてもちょっとつまらないので、ホイミンをつけてみたりとか。(笑)ちょっとだけNPC(ノンプレイヤーキャラ)の練習をさせたりもしてるんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, as Horii believed the systems had evolved too fast between the previous games. Due to this, Chapters 1 and 2 were intentionally structured similarly to {{DQ}} and {{DQ2}}, with its simple combat and three-man party respectively. Chapter 2 proved to be the most difficult to balance, with the continent of [[Terrestria|Maestral]] receiving mountainous terrain to increase encounter rates and [[Zalenagrad]] getting a conspicuous sign post warning players to level up before moving forward with their journey<ref>今のところ2章までやらせてもらったんですけど、今回は結構イベントが多そうですね。2章なんていきなりイベントがあったりして...。

堀井: そうですね。2章はバランスどりもけっこう苦労しました。というのは、町の数が多いものですから、隣の町までの距離もあまりなくて、ヘタすると1回もエンカウントせずに行けてしまう可能性があったんですよ。

それで最初の町に、注意のメッセージがあったりするわけなんですね。
堀井: あのサランの町の武器屋にはアリーナが装備できる“いばらのムチ"を売るようにしたり....。地形もモンスターに会いやすいように山を多くしたりと、いろんなことをやりました。で“いばらのムチ”を買うために戦っていると、ちょうど次の村にいっても大丈夫なレベルになっていると・・・・・・。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

Because the chapter structure meant that the series staple of gathering sacred artifacts (like the [[5 Sigils]] and the [[Six Orbs]]) could no longer be implemented, the [[mini medals]] were created as a replacement to satisfy players that enjoyed the collection aspect<ref>週刊少年ジャンプ issue 45, page 8, 1989</ref>. The slot machines and monster-betting cards expanded on similar minigames from ''II'' and ''III'' respectively; the betting cards were suggested to programmer Kazuya Asano. Asano wanted the monster arena to be based on more than pure chance, thus he tested each monster's winning probability to ensure every monster had a chance to win a battle and assigned the odds accordingly<ref>あと、カジノもやらせてもらったんですけど、あれはオトナがハマるんじゃないかと思います。
堀井: けっこう凝ってるでしょ。

・・あれは絶対ハマりますよ。**
堀井: いやあ、ボクはあそこまでチュンソフトが疑ってくれるとは思わなかったですよ。

特に格闘場が、前よりオモシロイんじゃないかなって感じがするんですが...。
堀井: 前はランダムで対戦カードを作ってたんですけど、今回は前もってある程度のカードを用意してあるんです。で、オッズ(倍率)もちゃんと設定してあるし。

オッズを調べるのが、かなり大変だったという話を聞いてますけど。
堀井: チュンソフトの浅野くんっていう人がいるんですけど、彼が、こっちのスタッフが作ったカードを何度もためしてみて、確率を計算して、オッズを作ってくれたんですよ。

**ということは逆に言えば、それだけ確かめてあるから、いくら倍率が高いとはいっても、決して勝てないというわけではないですよね。
堀井そうです、勝つこともあります。勝つ確率が0っていうカードはないです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 7, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original Famicom version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario writer
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|Akira Toriyama
|----------
|Music composer
|Koichi Sugiyama
|----------
| rowspan="5 |Scenario assistant
|Kazunori Orio
|-
|Tsuyoshi Asami
|-
|Fuminori Ishikawa
|-
|Shigeya Ueno
|-
|Sachiko Sugimura
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Chief programmers
|Hiroshi Naito
|-
|Manbu Yamana
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Programmers
|Narita Togo
|-
|Masaaki Okano
|----------
| rowspan="6 |Assistant programmer
|Kenichi Masuda
|-
|Kazuya Asano
|-
|Masumi Takimoto
|-
|Masayoshi Saitoh
|-
|Takahito Ikeda
|-
|Hiyoji Shinohara
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Graphic designer
|Takashi Yasuno
|-
|Satoshi Fudaba
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Sound programmers
|Masumi Takamoto
|-
|Tadashi Fukuzawa
|----------
| rowspan="8 |Assistants
|Rika Suzuki
|-
|Kenjiro Kano
|-
|Mariko Iida
|-
|Kazuhiro Kurimoto
|-
|Yuchi Kikumoto
|-
|Toshiaki Kamata
|-
|Eriko Yamakawa
|-
|Chiharu Ando
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Assistant producer
|[[Hiroyuki Takahashi]]
|-
|Sadao Yahagi
|----------
|Director
|Koichi Nakamura
|----------
|Producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|Publisher
|Yasuhiro Fukushima
|}

==Trivia==
*''IV'' is the only one of the original four games released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] to not be remade for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], and the only title in the [[Zenithia trilogy]] to not have been originally developed for the 16-bit hardware

==Gallery==
===Title Screens===
<center>
{{ScreenshotGallery/Start}}
{{ScreenshotGallery/Item|image=[[File:DQ4-NDS-TITLESCREEN.png]]|game={{DQ4}}|platform=Nintendo DS}}
{{ScreenshotGallery/End}}
</center>

===Box art===
<center><gallery>
DQIV_Famicom.png|Original artwork of the {{Famicom}} release.
Dragon_Warrior_IV_NES.png|{{NES}} box art.
DQIV PS Box Art.png|[[Sony PlayStation|Playstation]] box art
DQIV_DS_Box.png|[[Nintendo DS]] box art.
</gallery></center>

===Miscellaneous===
<center><gallery>
Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IV.png|Symphonic Suite.
DQIV Famicom guide.png|Famicom guide.
DQIV V Jump guide.png|PlayStation guide.
DQIVPSArt.png|PlayStation art.
DQIV PS Group.jpg|PlayStation group.
File:Dragon Warrior IV logo.png|Logo of the cancelled localization of the psx remake.
DQIVCast.png|Cast.
DQIV_Cast battling monsters.png|
DQIV Into The Fray.png|
DQIV Camping.png|
DQIV_Group_cheering.png|
DQIVCharacters.png
DQIV Random Encounter.png|
Dragon Quest IV characters.png|
DQIV CD Theater 1.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV CD Theater 2.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV CD Theater 3.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV Legend in the Dark.png|"Legend in the Dark" novel.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 1.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 2.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 3.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 4.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 5.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 6.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQIV iOS Android.png|[[Cell phone]].
DQTCG DQIV Bosses card sleeve.jpg|''Bosses'' Trading Card Game sleeve.
</gallery></center>

==External links==
*[http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/nes/dw4/ RPG Classics shrine]
*[http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dw4nes/ Dragon's Den]
*[http://www.dqshrine.com/dq/dq4/ DQ Shrine]

==References==
<references/>

{{DQIV}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}

[[Category:Articles on Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest IV|*!]]
[[Category:NES games]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo DS games]]
[[Category:Android/iOS games]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Quest 04}}

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

2025-05-25T11:37:01Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
| title = Chapters of the Chosen
| type = Main series games
| developer = [[Chunsoft]] Heartbeat, [[ArtePiazza]] (''{{PS1}}'') [[ArtePiazza]], Cattle Call(''{{DS}}'')
| publisher = [[Enix]] [[Square Enix]] (''{{DS}}'')
| designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
| image = [[Image:DQIV_Logo.png|center|310px]][[File:DQIV V Jump Art.png|310px]]
| caption =
| artist = [[Akira Toriyama]]
| composer = [[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
| engine =
| released = '''{{Famicom}}'''/'''{{NES}}''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 11, 1990|NA=October 1992}}'''{{PlayStation}}''' {{vgrelease|JP=November 22, 2001}}'''Nintendo DS''' {{vgrelease|JP=November 22, 2007|NA=September 16, 2008|EU=September 12, 2008|AUS=September 11, 2008}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=April 17, 2014|NA=August 7, 2014}}
| genre = [[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Console role-playing game]]
| modes = [[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
| ratings = {{vgratings|CERO=A ({{PS1}}, DS)|ESRB=E10+ ({{DS}})|OFLCA=PG}}
| platforms = [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], {{Famicom}}, [[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo DS]], [[Cell phone]]
| media = 4-[[Wikipedia:megabit|megabit]] {{NES}} [[Wikipedia:cartridge (electronics)|cartridge]] [[Wikipedia:Compact disc|CD]] ({{PS1}}) [[Nintendo DS#Media specifications|Nintendo DS Game Card]]
| requirements =
| input =
|series = {{Main Series}}
}}

{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest IV'''|ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たち|Doragon Kuesuto Fō Michibikareshi Monotachi|literally meaning; ''The People Who Are Shown the Way''}} is a role-playing game and the fourth installment of the {{Main Series}} video game series. The game was originally released for the {{NES}} and earned acclaim for pioneering the advancement of [[artificial intelligence]] in the video game industry. It begins the ''Tenkuu'' (''Celestial'') trilogy, known better as the ''[[Zenithia trilogy]]'' in English.

It was originally released for the {{Famicom}} on February 11, 1990 in Japan. The North American version, titled {{Dragon Warrior IV}}, was released for the {{NES}} in October 1992.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest IV'' is the first of the series to not be related to the [[Erdrick trilogy|lineage of Erdrick]]--the game is the first of a new trilogy revolving around the legend of a [[Zenithia trilogy|castle in the sky]] that watches over the world below. The world map is of a comparable size to that of {{III}}, but has no direct parallels to the real world in regards to the shape of the continents and nature of the kingdoms.

==Plot==
The story in ''IV'' is a more character-focused tale centered around the lives of the chosen ones prior to and during their quest to prevent the resurrection of the ruler of evil, [[Estark]]. The first four chapters of the story are about the hero's companions and their own challenges and hardships. While they each travel with their own goals and dreams in mind, they all eventually discover the conspiracy of [[Psaro the Manslayer]] to drive the human race to extinction via Estark's hellish power.

===Prologue===
[[File:DQIV_Group.png|right|thumb|The characters of ''Dragon Quest IV''. From left to right: [[Kiryl]], [[Ragnar]], [[Alena]], the {{Hero 4}} (female and male), [[Borya]], [[Maya Mahabala]], [[Meena Mahabala]], and [[Torneko Taloon]]. |380px]]
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Prologue{{!}}Prologue}}

Introduces The {{Hero 4}} and his/her friend [[Eliza]]. This portion of the story was introduced in the {{PlayStation}} version, and became standard in later remakes.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 1}}: Ragnar McRyan and the Case of the Missing Children===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 1{{!}}Chapter 1}}

[[Ragnar McRyan]], one of the soldiers in the royal palace of [[Burland]], is sent by the king on a journey to find out why children are disappearing across the kingdom.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 2}}: Alena and the Journey to the Tourney===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 2{{!}}Chapter 2}}

[[Alena]], princess (Tsarevna in the [[Nintendo DS]] localization) of [[Zamoksva]], who slips out of the castle in hopes of seeing the world that exists beyond the castle walls. She is accompanied by the priest [[Kiryl]] and the mage [[Borya]].

==={{DQ4 Chapter 3}}: Torneko and the Extravagant Excavation===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 3{{!}}Chapter 3}}

[[Torneko Taloon]] lives in [[Lakanaba]] with his [[Tessie Taloon|wife]] and [[Tipper Taloon|son]], and works part-time in the local weapon shop. He aims to become the best merchant in the world, and begins his chapter in search of a regional treasure that could help him accomplish his goal.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 4}}: Meena and Maya and the Mahabala Mystery===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 4{{!}}Chapter 4}}

[[Maya Mahabala]] the dancer and her younger sister [[Meena Mahabala]], the fortune teller, have left [[Laissez Fayre]] in search of vengeance against [[Balzack]], their [[Mahabala|father]]'s traitorous apprentice.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 5}}: The Chosen===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 5{{!}}Chapter 5}}

The {{Hero 4}} has been brought up by the inhabitants of a remote and [[Hidden Valley|nameless mountain village]]. But [[Psaro]] and his legions destroy the village, leaving only the hidden hero alive. The hero leaves in search of his seven companions, in the hopes of defeating Psaro and saving the world.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 6}}===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 6{{!}}Chapter 6}}

{{DQ4 Chapter 6}} is a post-epilogue continuation of the game's storyline. Originally appearing in the {{PlayStation}} remake of ''Dragon Quest IV'', {{DQ4 Chapter 6}} offers a lengthy [[bonus dungeon]], and the culmination of certain plot points that were left ambiguous in the original release.

==New features==
===Artificial intelligence===
In Chapter 5, party members beside the Hero are no longer directly controlled, their behavior instead being dictated by options in the Tactics menu (Normal, Defensive, Offensive, Save {{MP}}, Use No MP, Try Out). The ensuing actions are controlled by an intricate [[artificial intelligence]] system, which takes up a significant amount of the game's memory. The other chapters, except {{DQ4 Chapter 2}}, also contain [[Non-Player Character|computer-controlled party members]] that act alongside the player in battle.

===Party expansion===
*Every chapter save the second includes a non-chosen party member who will assist the group temporarily during their travels together. Each is tied to a story element of the chapter and reflect that section of the story's tone.
*A [[Wagon]] was implemented to transport up to eight party members at the same time, allowing for battle configurations to be rearranged to suit any encounter at will. Certain dungeons will not allow the wagon to enter the area, however.

===Collectibles===
As the [[Erdrick trilogy]] revolved around amassing several artifacts to advance a game's progress, ''IV'' introduced collectibles to maintain the same sense of accomplishment while playing a more linear narrative.
*[[Mini medal]]s are scattered throughout the world for the player to gather at their leisure, which can be exchanged for incredible equipment at the palace of the [[Medal King]].
*Items are now hidden in drawers, cabinets, and urns in addition to {{chest}}s. Contents range from stat boosting seeds to common item and small sums of [[gold]].

===[[Casino]]===
Building upon the gambling featured in the monster arenas of {{III}}, the fourth game allows players to explore a large casino in the city of [[Endor]]. Redeemable tokens can be won at slot machines, poker, and monster betting, which can be spent on exclusive items and equipment.

===Sequel connectivity===
{{DQ5}} has some references to ''Dragon Quest IV'', but is mostly an independent story that does not heavily rely on the previous entry. The adventure of the chosen is known only by a scant few individuals, which further separates the [[Zenithia trilogy]] from the Erdrick saga's heavy focus on in-game history and family lineage.

==Remakes and ports==
''Dragon Quest IV'' was remade for the [[Sony PlayStation]] on November 22, 2001 in Japan. It was developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix. The remake was developed using {{DQ7}} 's 3D graphics engine. With this remake came new features; among them were a new chapter, a new character, a boom town reminiscent of {{VII}}'s, an [[Party Chat|inter-party talk]] command similar to {{Dragon Quest VII}}, and the ability to turn off the artificial intelligence for party members. The Enix of America Corporation originally planned to bring the remake to North America in 2002, but it was later cancelled due to Heartbeat closing its video game development operations.

*The [[Bag]] has been added for unlimited item storage, which can carry up to 99 for each item.
*A ''{{DQ4 Prologue}}'' chapter is added to introduce the {{Hero 4}} before chapter one begins, as well as a 6th chapter with a [[bonus dungeon]] and alternate ending. There is also a new Tactics feature to manually control your party in {{DQ4 Chapter 5}}. The PlayStation version uses the graphics engine from {{DQ7}}.
*A [[Pioneer Town]] was added, similar to [[The Haven]] in {{DQ7}}. It is located in place of the [[Desert Bazaar]] (which in the {{NES}} version served no purpose in Chapter 5). It is run by [[Hank Hoffman Jr.]] (who remains in the Inn at [[Mintos]] in the NES version).
*A new dungeon, the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] was added in the "after-game", along with a new [[Zoom]] point within. The floors aside from the bosses room are taken from areas from the previous dungeons, the shop from Zalenagrad and areas from {{DQ7}}.
*In the {{NES}} version, Hank Hoffman Jr. leaves the party after [[Alena]] and her companions join. In this version, he leaves immediately upon entering Mintos.
*The first floor of the [[Imperial Pantry of Parthenia]] has a [[Thief's Key]] door blocking off the rest of the cave. To get it opened, [[Borya]] has to be recruited, which triggers a scene where Alena kicks the door down despite having the key. The {{NES}} version of the cave lacks the door and can be completed without recruiting Borya.
*The bonus {{DQ4 Chapter 6}}, includes [[Psaro (Character)|someone]] becoming a playable character.
*While still uncontrollable during combat, healing spells known by [[Healie]], [[Laurel]] and [[Orifiela]] can be used manually out of battle.
*Only [[Eliza]] and [[Float-o-copier]]s can use the [[Morph]] spell, whereas in the {{NES}} version, the Hero could also learn it.
*In the {{NES}} version, [[Marquis de Léon]] dies after his defeat, whereas in the remakes, he reverts to his human form and forgets his time as a monster.
*The player no longer loses [[Gold]] Coins after being defeated by Marquis de Léon in Chapter 4.
*The remakes have the [[Lightning staff]] available much sooner in the [[Vault of Vrenor]], as opposed to later in [[Castle Nadiria]].
*[[Boomerang (weapon)|Boomerang]]s were replaced by [[Hunter's bow]]s.
*[[Thorn whip]]s were replaced by [[Divine dagger]]s.
*[[Morning star]]s were replaced by [[Holy lance]]s.
*Instead of the [[Liquid metal shield]] which sold for 4000 coins, the [[casino]] sells [[Falcon sword]]s for 65,000 coins.
*There's only one Liquid metal shield that you can get by trading in 52 mini medals to the medal king.
*[[Liquid metal armour]] now costs 35,000 [[gold]] coins, as opposed to the 15,000 in the {{NES}} version.
*The [[Gospel ring]] accessory is now included at the Pioneer town which is upgraded to a castle and is sold for 250,000 coins at the casino.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] is now included for the monster bestiary and the player will be rewarded 250,000 coins if they complete the list of monsters.

[[File:DQ4-DS-OVERWORLD-SCREENSHOT.jpg|250px|thumb|Exploring the world in the {{DS}} version of ''Dragon Quest IV'']]
On November 22, 2007, this PlayStation remake was ported to the [[Nintendo DS]]. No significant changes were made to the game's story, gameplay, or bonus features, aside from modifying the boom town's immigration aspects to reflect the lack of memory cards in the DS hardware and the calculation method for [[Alena]]'s [[Critical Hit]]s. The {{Fungeon 4}} ([[bonus dungeon]]) changed it's layout to random locations for each floor, whereas the {{PlayStation}} version was a mix of previous areas from the game and from {{DQ7}}. This portable version was released internationally in September of 2008, but without the party chat feature. This was due to Square Enix's uncertainty regarding the reception of the title, and the budget to translate the two-thirds of the script that the chat contained was slashed. However, the international release performed well and the budget for localization was expanded to allow the feature to be retained in {{V}} and {{VI}}.

*The [[Nintendo DS]] remake uses nearly the same style as the {{PS1}} version, with some minor compression to account for the handheld's screen size.
*The [[Pioneer Town]] lacks the variants of the {{PS1}} version due to replacing recruitable {{NPC}}s with ones that can be found after a certain point in game (see the article for more details).
*The floors of the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] are made up of new designs rather than from previous areas in the game, as well as {{DQ7}}.
*The {{DS}} uses 2 separate screens in the game, the top screen displaying the map and the heroes' battle information.
*Religious references that were removed from the {{NES}} version are now included in the game.
*Name changes to Weapons, Armour, items.
*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula was changed from ''level/256'' to ''(level(0.75))/256'', rendering her maximum chance at level 64 to be 19%.

On April 7, 2014, the PlayStation remake was ported to iOS and Android compatible devices. This version features significantly sharper graphics than before, as well as a fully orchestrated soundtrack. No significant gameplay changes were made aside from yet another tweaking of the Tsarevna's [[Critical Hit]] formula, and a slight change adding a detour in the boom town development. The [[bonus dungeon]] layout from the {{DS}} port was retained. This version was released world wide on August 7, 2014, and most importantly restored the long-lost party chat to much critical acclaim.

*The Android and iOS uses touch screen features and the game uses a portrait screen setting instead of the landscape screen.
*[[Zoom]] and [[Evac]]'s {{MP}} cost have been reduced to 1 MP each.
*The Pioneer Town's upgrade requirements have been slightly tweaked, requiring more townsfolk to be recruited per stage of development.
*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula cap has been raised to 87, restoring the 25% chance from the {{NES}} and {{PSX}} versions.

==Soundtrack==
[[File:Monster Battle Victory DQ IV group.png|right|border|450px|thumb|Splash art of the cast as they appear in ''[[Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory|Monster Battle Road Victory]]'']]
[[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. This is the track listing of the Symphonic Suite:
#''[[Overture]]'' (1:55)
#''Minuet'' (3:07)
#''Comrades'' (10:28)
#''In a Town'' (8:16)
#''Homeland ~ Wagon Wheels' March'' (5:58)
#''Frightening Dungeons ~ Cursed Towers'' (5:19)
#''Elegy ~ Mysterious Shrine'' (5:03)
#''Balloon's Flight'' (4:32)
#''Sea Breeze'' (4:31)
#''The Unknown Castle'' (4:37)
#''Battle for the Glory'' (7:51)
#''The End'' (5:12)

==Development==
As the Erdrick trilogy had reached a definite conclusion with the twist ending of {{DQ3}}, [[Yuji Horii]] decided that ''IV'' would begin a new story unconnected to the previous games, even considering starting a new trilogy<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>.

''IV'''s development began with the intent of exploring [[artificial intelligence]], which was a growing trend in Japan at the time. Meetings on the topic were held from February—June 1988<ref>・・・・・・今回イロイロと新しいことにチャレンジしてますけど、なかでもいちばん苦労したところはどこですか?
堀井: やっぱりAIでしょう。できあがるのに1年以上かかってますから。とにかくAIを使うっていうことは、最初からほとんど決まってたんですよね。それまでまず、'88年の2月頃から会議を初めて、延々と会議を繰り返したわけです。

最初のうちは、ほとんどAIのことばかり話しあっていたんですね。
堀井: そうです。どんな方法があるかっていうのを何回も話し合って詰めていって、6月の段階で、これだというものがやっとできあがったんです。その後プログラムに移ったわけなんですけど、実際にプログラムをする山名くんがかなり苦労をして、1年以上かかたっと思いますよ。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 4, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, in which the team also reflected on player feedback from ''III''. As a result, the gameplay flow was streamlined, with changes including a simplified [[Command Menu]] and the return of the door-opening command, changed to automatically select the highest-tier key for the player<ref>堀井さんて、今までも常に反響を生かしてゲームを作っていますよね。
堀井: 反響の中でも特に、不満の部分を生かしますね。なんとかがめんどくさかったとか、それはある程度自分たちでも反省会を開いたりするんですけどね。るそういう意味では今回、コマンド体系をさらに使いやすくしたつもりです。カギを使うのがめんどくさいとか、そういった部分をすべて改善しましたから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The save points were also moved from castles to [[church]]es placed close to town entrances; because the kings and queens of each region no longer saved games, the developers were able to flesh out those characters' personalities<ref>''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 9, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

The task of writing the AI code was taken up by series veteran [[Manabu Yamana]], who took approximately a year to implement and fine-tune the intricate system. Yamana developed a group-learning AI where battle information obtained by one character is shared among the whole party. This was done at [[Yuji Horii]]'s insistence on the grounds that having to switch characters in and out of the wagon just to learn the weaknesses of a particular monster would be very tedious. This approach also had the extra benefit of enriching the immersion experience as it was easy to imagine the characters sharing advice among themselves once a battle was over<ref>堀井: あとね、みんなが誤解してるかもしれないんで、これだけは言っておきたいんです。たとえば8人いますよね。で、ブライばかり出して戦闘してて、マーニャは馬車の中にばかりいたと。だからマーニャは、このモンスターと戦うのは初めてだという場合でも、マーニャはいちおう馬車の中から今までの戦いを見ている、という設定のもとに学習しているんです。それはナゼかって言うと、1人ずつ出して学習させるのはダルいと思ったからなんです。だから、パーティとして覚えちゃう。1人の知識はみんなの知識というような、学習機能にしちゃったんですね。結果的にはこれでよかったと思いますよ。やっぱり、それぞれのキャラクターを外に出して、何回も同じモンスターと戦うのってダルいですから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. This emphasis on player convenience is the reason why characters riding in the wagon also gain the same experience points obtained by characters fighting on the front-lines<ref>逆に、中にいる人は学習できないとなると、必然的に外に出すキャラって固定されますよね。
堀井: そうなんですよね。役に立つキャラばかり使うことになるから、役に立たないキャラはいつまでたっても育たないし、役に立たないままになっちゃうでしょう。それじゃ困りますからね。馬車の中のキャラも経験値がもらえるっていうのも、そのせいなんです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

The chapter-based story structure that defines the game's plot came about from the increase in available memory for Famicom cartridges since the release of ''Dragon Quest III'', having risen from 2 megabits to 4. Though a similar situation happened between the release of {{Dragon Quest II}} and ''Dragon Quest III'', that transition was handled smoothly thanks to the smaller scope of the second game compared to the third; Horii was concerned that designing ''Dragon Quest IV'' as a game that was twice as long as ''Dragon Quest III'' would overwhelm players and be too exhausting. The chapter structure was also implemented because Horii wanted to examine the lives of the Hero's companions before joining forces, a deliberate contrast to the characters made from scratch by the player in [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] in ''Dragon Quest III''<ref>"What was the inspiration for dividing ''Dragon Quest IV'' into five stand-alone chapters?"
Horii: ''In Dragon Quest III'', you went on an adventure with three companions, but these characters were simply created from scratch by the player. I thought it would be interesting to explore the lives of your comrades, which became the inspiration for ''Dragon Quest IV''</ref>. Though much focus was given to the AI during development, it was decided that the feature would not be applied to the Chosen in their respective chapters so that the player would be in control of their actions and empathize with each character directly. This approach also avoided the boredom that would result from the player not having any influence during battle<ref>もう1つ目立って新しい要素として、5章構成のストーリーっていうのがあるんですけど、そもそもどうしてシナリオを5つに分けたんですか?
堀井: これもイロんな要因があるんですよ。まず、メモリーが増えるぶん、ΙIよりも長い話になりそうだと。そうすると、IIIより長い1本の話っていうのは、けっこうヘビーだと思ったわけです。長いぶん、終盤になってダレたりとかしちゃうんじゃないかとね。それだったら、スパンスパンと区切って、1本1本の話しとしてはそれほど長くないけど、全体のボリュームとしては川よるもあるという方法をとろうと思ったんです。それで何章かに分けたいというのが出てきたんですね。また、それと並行してAIを使うということになったんですよね。AIで仲間が勝手に動くと。ただ、初めから勝手に動かれたんじゃ、あまり感情移入ができないんじゃないかと思ったんです。何か変なことをやっても、プレイヤーはろくに見もせずに、ボタンを押していくだけじゃないかとね。やっぱりAIをおもしろいと感じるのは、そのAIのキャラに思い入れができないといけないわけですよね。それじゃあ、章に分けたのと合わせて、最初はAIじゃなくて、それぞれのキャラに対する思い入れをつくる部分にしようって、そう考えたわけです。コイツはこんなヤツだということがわかってこそ、5章になってからAIで動かれても、楽しめると思うんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>

A secondary purpose of the chapter structure was to ease new players into the style of ''Dragon Quest'' games, as Horii believed that the system had evolved too quickly between the first three titles. As such Ragnar McRyan's chapter is the most simple and plays like the first {{Dragon Quest}}, with Healie added to avoid the monotony of controlling just one character that plagued the first game and to give players an early, unobtrusive exposure to the AI system<ref>確かに1章なんか、イロイロな面で入門用にもピッタリという感じはしますね。
堀井: ただ、あんまりドラクエすぎてもちょっとつまらないので、ホイミンをつけてみたりとか。(笑)ちょっとだけNPC(ノンプレイヤーキャラ)の練習をさせたりもしてるんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The structure chapter 2 is based on ''Dragon Quest II'' with the player controlling three characters at once in a more involved narrative: this chapter proved to be the most difficult to balance, which lead to the continent of [[Terrestria|Maestral]] being given mountainous terrain to increase the encounter rate and the village of [[Zalenagrad]] having a conspicuous sign post warning players to take their time leveling up before moving on to the north<ref>今のところ2章までやらせてもらったんですけど、今回は結構イベントが多そうですね。2章なんていきなりイベントがあったりして...。

堀井: そうですね。2章はバランスどりもけっこう苦労しました。というのは、町の数が多いものですから、隣の町までの距離もあまりなくて、ヘタすると1回もエンカウントせずに行けてしまう可能性があったんですよ。

それで最初の町に、注意のメッセージがあったりするわけなんですね。
堀井: あのサランの町の武器屋にはアリーナが装備できる“いばらのムチ"を売るようにしたり....。地形もモンスターに会いやすいように山を多くしたりと、いろんなことをやりました。で“いばらのムチ”を買うために戦っていると、ちょうど次の村にいっても大丈夫なレベルになっていると・・・・・・。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

Using a chapter structure with distinct playstyles meant that certain elements like collecting sacred artifacts such as the [[5 Sigils|five sigils]] and the [[Six Orbs|six orbs]] could not be implemented. Because the feature had become emblematic of ''Dragon Quest'', an optional substitute was created in the form of mini medals to satisfy players that enjoyed amassing a collection of items in the earlier titles<ref>週刊少年ジャンプ issue 45, page 8, 1989</ref>. The slot machines found in casinos were a similar expansion of the [[tombola]] games in ''Dragon Quest II'', as were the monster cards compared to those found in ''Dragon Quest III''. These bouts were programmed by Kazuya Asano, who created the betting cards from suggestions from other staff members. Cards would only be programmed into the game after Asano tested the victory probability of each monster within to insure that every monster had a chance to emerge the winner, and assigned the odds accordingly<ref>あと、カジノもやらせてもらったんですけど、あれはオトナがハマるんじゃないかと思います。
堀井: けっこう凝ってるでしょ。

・・あれは絶対ハマりますよ。**
堀井: いやあ、ボクはあそこまでチュンソフトが疑ってくれるとは思わなかったですよ。

特に格闘場が、前よりオモシロイんじゃないかなって感じがするんですが...。
堀井: 前はランダムで対戦カードを作ってたんですけど、今回は前もってある程度のカードを用意してあるんです。で、オッズ(倍率)もちゃんと設定してあるし。

オッズを調べるのが、かなり大変だったという話を聞いてますけど。
堀井: チュンソフトの浅野くんっていう人がいるんですけど、彼が、こっちのスタッフが作ったカードを何度もためしてみて、確率を計算して、オッズを作ってくれたんですよ。

**ということは逆に言えば、それだけ確かめてあるから、いくら倍率が高いとはいっても、決して勝てないというわけではないですよね。
堀井そうです、勝つこともあります。勝つ確率が0っていうカードはないです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 7, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original Famicom version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario writer
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|Akira Toriyama
|----------
|Music composer
|Koichi Sugiyama
|----------
| rowspan="5 |Scenario assistant
|Kazunori Orio
|-
|Tsuyoshi Asami
|-
|Fuminori Ishikawa
|-
|Shigeya Ueno
|-
|Sachiko Sugimura
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Chief programmers
|Hiroshi Naito
|-
|Manbu Yamana
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Programmers
|Narita Togo
|-
|Masaaki Okano
|----------
| rowspan="6 |Assistant programmer
|Kenichi Masuda
|-
|Kazuya Asano
|-
|Masumi Takimoto
|-
|Masayoshi Saitoh
|-
|Takahito Ikeda
|-
|Hiyoji Shinohara
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Graphic designer
|Takashi Yasuno
|-
|Satoshi Fudaba
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Sound programmers
|Masumi Takamoto
|-
|Tadashi Fukuzawa
|----------
| rowspan="8 |Assistants
|Rika Suzuki
|-
|Kenjiro Kano
|-
|Mariko Iida
|-
|Kazuhiro Kurimoto
|-
|Yuchi Kikumoto
|-
|Toshiaki Kamata
|-
|Eriko Yamakawa
|-
|Chiharu Ando
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Assistant producer
|[[Hiroyuki Takahashi]]
|-
|Sadao Yahagi
|----------
|Director
|Koichi Nakamura
|----------
|Producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|Publisher
|Yasuhiro Fukushima
|}

==Trivia==
*''IV'' is the only one of the original four games released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] to not be remade for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], and the only title in the [[Zenithia trilogy]] to not have been originally developed for the 16-bit hardware

==Gallery==
===Title Screens===
<center>
{{ScreenshotGallery/Start}}
{{ScreenshotGallery/Item|image=[[File:DQ4-NDS-TITLESCREEN.png]]|game={{DQ4}}|platform=Nintendo DS}}
{{ScreenshotGallery/End}}
</center>

===Box art===
<center><gallery>
DQIV_Famicom.png|Original artwork of the {{Famicom}} release.
Dragon_Warrior_IV_NES.png|{{NES}} box art.
DQIV PS Box Art.png|[[Sony PlayStation|Playstation]] box art
DQIV_DS_Box.png|[[Nintendo DS]] box art.
</gallery></center>

===Miscellaneous===
<center><gallery>
Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IV.png|Symphonic Suite.
DQIV Famicom guide.png|Famicom guide.
DQIV V Jump guide.png|PlayStation guide.
DQIVPSArt.png|PlayStation art.
DQIV PS Group.jpg|PlayStation group.
File:Dragon Warrior IV logo.png|Logo of the cancelled localization of the psx remake.
DQIVCast.png|Cast.
DQIV_Cast battling monsters.png|
DQIV Into The Fray.png|
DQIV Camping.png|
DQIV_Group_cheering.png|
DQIVCharacters.png
DQIV Random Encounter.png|
Dragon Quest IV characters.png|
DQIV CD Theater 1.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV CD Theater 2.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV CD Theater 3.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV Legend in the Dark.png|"Legend in the Dark" novel.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 1.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 2.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 3.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 4.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 5.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 6.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQIV iOS Android.png|[[Cell phone]].
DQTCG DQIV Bosses card sleeve.jpg|''Bosses'' Trading Card Game sleeve.
</gallery></center>

==External links==
*[http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/nes/dw4/ RPG Classics shrine]
*[http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dw4nes/ Dragon's Den]
*[http://www.dqshrine.com/dq/dq4/ DQ Shrine]

==References==
<references/>

{{DQIV}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}

[[Category:Articles on Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest IV|*!]]
[[Category:NES games]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo DS games]]
[[Category:Android/iOS games]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Quest 04}}

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

2025-05-25T11:17:41Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Artificial intelligence */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
| title = Chapters of the Chosen
| type = Main series games
| developer = [[Chunsoft]] Heartbeat, [[ArtePiazza]] (''{{PS1}}'') [[ArtePiazza]], Cattle Call(''{{DS}}'')
| publisher = [[Enix]] [[Square Enix]] (''{{DS}}'')
| designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
| image = [[Image:DQIV_Logo.png|center|310px]][[File:DQIV V Jump Art.png|310px]]
| caption =
| artist = [[Akira Toriyama]]
| composer = [[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
| engine =
| released = '''{{Famicom}}'''/'''{{NES}}''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 11, 1990|NA=October 1992}}'''{{PlayStation}}''' {{vgrelease|JP=November 22, 2001}}'''Nintendo DS''' {{vgrelease|JP=November 22, 2007|NA=September 16, 2008|EU=September 12, 2008|AUS=September 11, 2008}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=April 17, 2014|NA=August 7, 2014}}
| genre = [[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Console role-playing game]]
| modes = [[Wikipedia:Single-player|Single-player]]
| ratings = {{vgratings|CERO=A ({{PS1}}, DS)|ESRB=E10+ ({{DS}})|OFLCA=PG}}
| platforms = [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], {{Famicom}}, [[Sony PlayStation]], [[Nintendo DS]], [[Cell phone]]
| media = 4-[[Wikipedia:megabit|megabit]] {{NES}} [[Wikipedia:cartridge (electronics)|cartridge]] [[Wikipedia:Compact disc|CD]] ({{PS1}}) [[Nintendo DS#Media specifications|Nintendo DS Game Card]]
| requirements =
| input =
|series = {{Main Series}}
}}

{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest IV'''|ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たち|Doragon Kuesuto Fō Michibikareshi Monotachi|literally meaning; ''The People Who Are Shown the Way''}} is a role-playing game and the fourth installment of the {{Main Series}} video game series. The game was originally released for the {{NES}} and earned acclaim for pioneering the advancement of [[artificial intelligence]] in the video game industry. It begins the ''Tenkuu'' (''Celestial'') trilogy, known better as the ''[[Zenithia trilogy]]'' in English.

It was originally released for the {{Famicom}} on February 11, 1990 in Japan. The North American version, titled {{Dragon Warrior IV}}, was released for the {{NES}} in October 1992.

==Setting==
''Dragon Quest IV'' is the first of the series to not be related to the [[Erdrick trilogy|lineage of Erdrick]]--the game is the first of a new trilogy revolving around the legend of a [[Zenithia trilogy|castle in the sky]] that watches over the world below. The world map is of a comparable size to that of {{III}}, but has no direct parallels to the real world in regards to the shape of the continents and nature of the kingdoms.

==Plot==
The story in ''IV'' is a more character-focused tale centered around the lives of the chosen ones prior to and during their quest to prevent the resurrection of the ruler of evil, [[Estark]]. The first four chapters of the story are about the hero's companions and their own challenges and hardships. While they each travel with their own goals and dreams in mind, they all eventually discover the conspiracy of [[Psaro the Manslayer]] to drive the human race to extinction via Estark's hellish power.

===Prologue===
[[File:DQIV_Group.png|right|thumb|The characters of ''Dragon Quest IV''. From left to right: [[Kiryl]], [[Ragnar]], [[Alena]], the {{Hero 4}} (female and male), [[Borya]], [[Maya Mahabala]], [[Meena Mahabala]], and [[Torneko Taloon]]. |380px]]
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Prologue{{!}}Prologue}}

Introduces The {{Hero 4}} and his/her friend [[Eliza]]. This portion of the story was introduced in the {{PlayStation}} version, and became standard in later remakes.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 1}}: Ragnar McRyan and the Case of the Missing Children===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 1{{!}}Chapter 1}}

[[Ragnar McRyan]], one of the soldiers in the royal palace of [[Burland]], is sent by the king on a journey to find out why children are disappearing across the kingdom.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 2}}: Alena and the Journey to the Tourney===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 2{{!}}Chapter 2}}

[[Alena]], princess (Tsarevna in the [[Nintendo DS]] localization) of [[Zamoksva]], who slips out of the castle in hopes of seeing the world that exists beyond the castle walls. She is accompanied by the priest [[Kiryl]] and the mage [[Borya]].

==={{DQ4 Chapter 3}}: Torneko and the Extravagant Excavation===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 3{{!}}Chapter 3}}

[[Torneko Taloon]] lives in [[Lakanaba]] with his [[Tessie Taloon|wife]] and [[Tipper Taloon|son]], and works part-time in the local weapon shop. He aims to become the best merchant in the world, and begins his chapter in search of a regional treasure that could help him accomplish his goal.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 4}}: Meena and Maya and the Mahabala Mystery===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 4{{!}}Chapter 4}}

[[Maya Mahabala]] the dancer and her younger sister [[Meena Mahabala]], the fortune teller, have left [[Laissez Fayre]] in search of vengeance against [[Balzack]], their [[Mahabala|father]]'s traitorous apprentice.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 5}}: The Chosen===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 5{{!}}Chapter 5}}

The {{Hero 4}} has been brought up by the inhabitants of a remote and [[Hidden Valley|nameless mountain village]]. But [[Psaro]] and his legions destroy the village, leaving only the hidden hero alive. The hero leaves in search of his seven companions, in the hopes of defeating Psaro and saving the world.

==={{DQ4 Chapter 6}}===
{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 6{{!}}Chapter 6}}

{{DQ4 Chapter 6}} is a post-epilogue continuation of the game's storyline. Originally appearing in the {{PlayStation}} remake of ''Dragon Quest IV'', {{DQ4 Chapter 6}} offers a lengthy [[bonus dungeon]], and the culmination of certain plot points that were left ambiguous in the original release.

==New features==
===Artificial intelligence===
In Chapter 5, party members beside the Hero are no longer directly controlled, their behavior instead being dictated by options in the Tactics menu (Normal, Defensive, Offensive, Save {{MP}}, Use No MP, Try Out). The ensuing actions are controlled by an intricate [[artificial intelligence]] system, which takes up a significant amount of the game's memory. The other chapters, except {{DQ4 Chapter 2}}, also contain [[Non-Player Character|computer-controlled party members]] that act alongside the player in battle.

===Party expansion===
*Every chapter save the second includes a non-chosen party member who will assist the group temporarily during their travels together. Each is tied to a story element of the chapter and reflect that section of the story's tone.
*A [[Wagon]] was implemented to transport up to eight party members at the same time, allowing for battle configurations to be rearranged to suit any encounter at will. Certain dungeons will not allow the wagon to enter the area, however.

===Collectibles===
As the [[Erdrick trilogy]] revolved around amassing several artifacts to advance a game's progress, ''IV'' introduced collectibles to maintain the same sense of accomplishment while playing a more linear narrative.
*[[Mini medal]]s are scattered throughout the world for the player to gather at their leisure, which can be exchanged for incredible equipment at the palace of the [[Medal King]].
*Items are now hidden in drawers, cabinets, and urns in addition to {{chest}}s. Contents range from stat boosting seeds to common item and small sums of [[gold]].

===[[Casino]]===
Building upon the gambling featured in the monster arenas of {{III}}, the fourth game allows players to explore a large casino in the city of [[Endor]]. Redeemable tokens can be won at slot machines, poker, and monster betting, which can be spent on exclusive items and equipment.

===Sequel connectivity===
{{DQ5}} has some references to ''Dragon Quest IV'', but is mostly an independent story that does not heavily rely on the previous entry. The adventure of the chosen is known only by a scant few individuals, which further separates the [[Zenithia trilogy]] from the Erdrick saga's heavy focus on in-game history and family lineage.

==Remakes and ports==
''Dragon Quest IV'' was remade for the [[Sony PlayStation]] on November 22, 2001 in Japan. It was developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix. The remake was developed using {{DQ7}} 's 3D graphics engine. With this remake came new features; among them were a new chapter, a new character, a boom town reminiscent of {{VII}}'s, an [[Party Chat|inter-party talk]] command similar to {{Dragon Quest VII}}, and the ability to turn off the artificial intelligence for party members. The Enix of America Corporation originally planned to bring the remake to North America in 2002, but it was later cancelled due to Heartbeat closing its video game development operations.

*The [[Bag]] has been added for unlimited item storage, which can carry up to 99 for each item.
*A ''{{DQ4 Prologue}}'' chapter is added to introduce the {{Hero 4}} before chapter one begins, as well as a 6th chapter with a [[bonus dungeon]] and alternate ending. There is also a new Tactics feature to manually control your party in {{DQ4 Chapter 5}}. The PlayStation version uses the graphics engine from {{DQ7}}.
*A [[Pioneer Town]] was added, similar to [[The Haven]] in {{DQ7}}. It is located in place of the [[Desert Bazaar]] (which in the {{NES}} version served no purpose in Chapter 5). It is run by [[Hank Hoffman Jr.]] (who remains in the Inn at [[Mintos]] in the NES version).
*A new dungeon, the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] was added in the "after-game", along with a new [[Zoom]] point within. The floors aside from the bosses room are taken from areas from the previous dungeons, the shop from Zalenagrad and areas from {{DQ7}}.
*In the {{NES}} version, Hank Hoffman Jr. leaves the party after [[Alena]] and her companions join. In this version, he leaves immediately upon entering Mintos.
*The first floor of the [[Imperial Pantry of Parthenia]] has a [[Thief's Key]] door blocking off the rest of the cave. To get it opened, [[Borya]] has to be recruited, which triggers a scene where Alena kicks the door down despite having the key. The {{NES}} version of the cave lacks the door and can be completed without recruiting Borya.
*The bonus {{DQ4 Chapter 6}}, includes [[Psaro (Character)|someone]] becoming a playable character.
*While still uncontrollable during combat, healing spells known by [[Healie]], [[Laurel]] and [[Orifiela]] can be used manually out of battle.
*Only [[Eliza]] and [[Float-o-copier]]s can use the [[Morph]] spell, whereas in the {{NES}} version, the Hero could also learn it.
*In the {{NES}} version, [[Marquis de Léon]] dies after his defeat, whereas in the remakes, he reverts to his human form and forgets his time as a monster.
*The player no longer loses [[Gold]] Coins after being defeated by Marquis de Léon in Chapter 4.
*The remakes have the [[Lightning staff]] available much sooner in the [[Vault of Vrenor]], as opposed to later in [[Castle Nadiria]].
*[[Boomerang (weapon)|Boomerang]]s were replaced by [[Hunter's bow]]s.
*[[Thorn whip]]s were replaced by [[Divine dagger]]s.
*[[Morning star]]s were replaced by [[Holy lance]]s.
*Instead of the [[Liquid metal shield]] which sold for 4000 coins, the [[casino]] sells [[Falcon sword]]s for 65,000 coins.
*There's only one Liquid metal shield that you can get by trading in 52 mini medals to the medal king.
*[[Liquid metal armour]] now costs 35,000 [[gold]] coins, as opposed to the 15,000 in the {{NES}} version.
*The [[Gospel ring]] accessory is now included at the Pioneer town which is upgraded to a castle and is sold for 250,000 coins at the casino.
*[['The Big Book of Beasts']] is now included for the monster bestiary and the player will be rewarded 250,000 coins if they complete the list of monsters.

[[File:DQ4-DS-OVERWORLD-SCREENSHOT.jpg|250px|thumb|Exploring the world in the {{DS}} version of ''Dragon Quest IV'']]
On November 22, 2007, this PlayStation remake was ported to the [[Nintendo DS]]. No significant changes were made to the game's story, gameplay, or bonus features, aside from modifying the boom town's immigration aspects to reflect the lack of memory cards in the DS hardware and the calculation method for [[Alena]]'s [[Critical Hit]]s. The {{Fungeon 4}} ([[bonus dungeon]]) changed it's layout to random locations for each floor, whereas the {{PlayStation}} version was a mix of previous areas from the game and from {{DQ7}}. This portable version was released internationally in September of 2008, but without the party chat feature. This was due to Square Enix's uncertainty regarding the reception of the title, and the budget to translate the two-thirds of the script that the chat contained was slashed. However, the international release performed well and the budget for localization was expanded to allow the feature to be retained in {{V}} and {{VI}}.

*The [[Nintendo DS]] remake uses nearly the same style as the {{PS1}} version, with some minor compression to account for the handheld's screen size.
*The [[Pioneer Town]] lacks the variants of the {{PS1}} version due to replacing recruitable {{NPC}}s with ones that can be found after a certain point in game (see the article for more details).
*The floors of the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] are made up of new designs rather than from previous areas in the game, as well as {{DQ7}}.
*The {{DS}} uses 2 separate screens in the game, the top screen displaying the map and the heroes' battle information.
*Religious references that were removed from the {{NES}} version are now included in the game.
*Name changes to Weapons, Armour, items.
*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula was changed from ''level/256'' to ''(level(0.75))/256'', rendering her maximum chance at level 64 to be 19%.

On April 7, 2014, the PlayStation remake was ported to iOS and Android compatible devices. This version features significantly sharper graphics than before, as well as a fully orchestrated soundtrack. No significant gameplay changes were made aside from yet another tweaking of the Tsarevna's [[Critical Hit]] formula, and a slight change adding a detour in the boom town development. The [[bonus dungeon]] layout from the {{DS}} port was retained. This version was released world wide on August 7, 2014, and most importantly restored the long-lost party chat to much critical acclaim.

*The Android and iOS uses touch screen features and the game uses a portrait screen setting instead of the landscape screen.
*[[Zoom]] and [[Evac]]'s {{MP}} cost have been reduced to 1 MP each.
*The Pioneer Town's upgrade requirements have been slightly tweaked, requiring more townsfolk to be recruited per stage of development.
*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula cap has been raised to 87, restoring the 25% chance from the {{NES}} and {{PSX}} versions.

==Soundtrack==
[[File:Monster Battle Victory DQ IV group.png|right|border|450px|thumb|Splash art of the cast as they appear in ''[[Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory|Monster Battle Road Victory]]'']]
[[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. This is the track listing of the Symphonic Suite:
#''[[Overture]]'' (1:55)
#''Minuet'' (3:07)
#''Comrades'' (10:28)
#''In a Town'' (8:16)
#''Homeland ~ Wagon Wheels' March'' (5:58)
#''Frightening Dungeons ~ Cursed Towers'' (5:19)
#''Elegy ~ Mysterious Shrine'' (5:03)
#''Balloon's Flight'' (4:32)
#''Sea Breeze'' (4:31)
#''The Unknown Castle'' (4:37)
#''Battle for the Glory'' (7:51)
#''The End'' (5:12)

==Development==
As the [[Erdrick trilogy]] had been wrapped up concisely with the twist ending of {{Dragon Quest III}}, [[Yuji Horii]] decided that ''Dragon Quest IV'' would be a fresh start with a story unconnected to what came before During an interview with ''Weekly Famitsu'' magazine, he mused that the game could be the start of a brand new trilogy<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>.

Development of ''Dragon Quest IV'' began with the decision that the title would explore the emerging world of [[artificial intelligence]] behavior. The development team held an initial planning meeting in February of 1988 to explore what programming techniques were available and what would be suitable for the game, with frequent subsequent meetings being held until the team's priorities were finalized in June<ref>・・・・・・今回イロイロと新しいことにチャレンジしてますけど、なかでもいちばん苦労したところはどこですか?
堀井: やっぱりAIでしょう。できあがるのに1年以上かかってますから。とにかくAIを使うっていうことは、最初からほとんど決まってたんですよね。それまでまず、'88年の2月頃から会議を初めて、延々と会議を繰り返したわけです。

最初のうちは、ほとんどAIのことばかり話しあっていたんですね。
堀井: そうです。どんな方法があるかっていうのを何回も話し合って詰めていって、6月の段階で、これだというものがやっとできあがったんです。その後プログラムに移ったわけなんですけど、実際にプログラムをする山名くんがかなり苦労をして、1年以上かかたっと思いますよ。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 4, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. These early production meetings also gave the team the time to reflect on some of the critiques that ''Dragon Quest III'' received, which resulted in a streamlined [[Command Menu]], the return of the command to open doors, and the moving of the save locations from castles to churches via the confession option. The open command now automatically defaults to the highest-ranking key the party's possession and saves the player the time-wasting hassle of selecting the key from the item menu<ref>堀井さんて、今までも常に反響を生かしてゲームを作っていますよね。
堀井: 反響の中でも特に、不満の部分を生かしますね。なんとかがめんどくさかったとか、それはある程度自分たちでも反省会を開いたりするんですけどね。るそういう意味では今回、コマンド体系をさらに使いやすくしたつもりです。カギを使うのがめんどくさいとか、そういった部分をすべて改善しましたから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, and churches have been placed near the entrances to towns to allow for quicker saving than having to venture deep into a castle to speak with the resident sovereign. Moving the save feature away from the world's royalty also allowed for the Kings and Queens to be given more personality through their dialogue, something that would not be possible if they had to cycle through the save functions and report how many experience points a character needed to level up<ref>''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 9, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>

The task of writing the AI code was taken up by series veteran [[Manabu Yamana]], who took approximately a year to implement and fine-tune the intricate system. Yamana developed a group-learning AI where battle information obtained by one character is shared among the whole party. This was done at [[Yuji Horii]]'s insistence on the grounds that having to switch characters in and out of the wagon just to learn the weaknesses of a particular monster would be very tedious. This approach also had the extra benefit of enriching the immersion experience as it was easy to imagine the characters sharing advice among themselves once a battle was over<ref>堀井: あとね、みんなが誤解してるかもしれないんで、これだけは言っておきたいんです。たとえば8人いますよね。で、ブライばかり出して戦闘してて、マーニャは馬車の中にばかりいたと。だからマーニャは、このモンスターと戦うのは初めてだという場合でも、マーニャはいちおう馬車の中から今までの戦いを見ている、という設定のもとに学習しているんです。それはナゼかって言うと、1人ずつ出して学習させるのはダルいと思ったからなんです。だから、パーティとして覚えちゃう。1人の知識はみんなの知識というような、学習機能にしちゃったんですね。結果的にはこれでよかったと思いますよ。やっぱり、それぞれのキャラクターを外に出して、何回も同じモンスターと戦うのってダルいですから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. This emphasis on player convenience is the reason why characters riding in the wagon also gain the same experience points obtained by characters fighting on the front-lines<ref>逆に、中にいる人は学習できないとなると、必然的に外に出すキャラって固定されますよね。
堀井: そうなんですよね。役に立つキャラばかり使うことになるから、役に立たないキャラはいつまでたっても育たないし、役に立たないままになっちゃうでしょう。それじゃ困りますからね。馬車の中のキャラも経験値がもらえるっていうのも、そのせいなんです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

The chapter-based story structure that defines the game's plot came about from the increase in available memory for Famicom cartridges since the release of ''Dragon Quest III'', having risen from 2 megabits to 4. Though a similar situation happened between the release of {{Dragon Quest II}} and ''Dragon Quest III'', that transition was handled smoothly thanks to the smaller scope of the second game compared to the third; Horii was concerned that designing ''Dragon Quest IV'' as a game that was twice as long as ''Dragon Quest III'' would overwhelm players and be too exhausting. The chapter structure was also implemented because Horii wanted to examine the lives of the Hero's companions before joining forces, a deliberate contrast to the characters made from scratch by the player in [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] in ''Dragon Quest III''<ref>"What was the inspiration for dividing ''Dragon Quest IV'' into five stand-alone chapters?"
Horii: ''In Dragon Quest III'', you went on an adventure with three companions, but these characters were simply created from scratch by the player. I thought it would be interesting to explore the lives of your comrades, which became the inspiration for ''Dragon Quest IV''</ref>. Though much focus was given to the AI during development, it was decided that the feature would not be applied to the Chosen in their respective chapters so that the player would be in control of their actions and empathize with each character directly. This approach also avoided the boredom that would result from the player not having any influence during battle<ref>もう1つ目立って新しい要素として、5章構成のストーリーっていうのがあるんですけど、そもそもどうしてシナリオを5つに分けたんですか?
堀井: これもイロんな要因があるんですよ。まず、メモリーが増えるぶん、ΙIよりも長い話になりそうだと。そうすると、IIIより長い1本の話っていうのは、けっこうヘビーだと思ったわけです。長いぶん、終盤になってダレたりとかしちゃうんじゃないかとね。それだったら、スパンスパンと区切って、1本1本の話しとしてはそれほど長くないけど、全体のボリュームとしては川よるもあるという方法をとろうと思ったんです。それで何章かに分けたいというのが出てきたんですね。また、それと並行してAIを使うということになったんですよね。AIで仲間が勝手に動くと。ただ、初めから勝手に動かれたんじゃ、あまり感情移入ができないんじゃないかと思ったんです。何か変なことをやっても、プレイヤーはろくに見もせずに、ボタンを押していくだけじゃないかとね。やっぱりAIをおもしろいと感じるのは、そのAIのキャラに思い入れができないといけないわけですよね。それじゃあ、章に分けたのと合わせて、最初はAIじゃなくて、それぞれのキャラに対する思い入れをつくる部分にしようって、そう考えたわけです。コイツはこんなヤツだということがわかってこそ、5章になってからAIで動かれても、楽しめると思うんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>

A secondary purpose of the chapter structure was to ease new players into the style of ''Dragon Quest'' games, as Horii believed that the system had evolved too quickly between the first three titles. As such Ragnar McRyan's chapter is the most simple and plays like the first {{Dragon Quest}}, with Healie added to avoid the monotony of controlling just one character that plagued the first game and to give players an early, unobtrusive exposure to the AI system<ref>確かに1章なんか、イロイロな面で入門用にもピッタリという感じはしますね。
堀井: ただ、あんまりドラクエすぎてもちょっとつまらないので、ホイミンをつけてみたりとか。(笑)ちょっとだけNPC(ノンプレイヤーキャラ)の練習をさせたりもしてるんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The structure chapter 2 is based on ''Dragon Quest II'' with the player controlling three characters at once in a more involved narrative: this chapter proved to be the most difficult to balance, which lead to the continent of [[Terrestria|Maestral]] being given mountainous terrain to increase the encounter rate and the village of [[Zalenagrad]] having a conspicuous sign post warning players to take their time leveling up before moving on to the north<ref>今のところ2章までやらせてもらったんですけど、今回は結構イベントが多そうですね。2章なんていきなりイベントがあったりして...。

堀井: そうですね。2章はバランスどりもけっこう苦労しました。というのは、町の数が多いものですから、隣の町までの距離もあまりなくて、ヘタすると1回もエンカウントせずに行けてしまう可能性があったんですよ。

それで最初の町に、注意のメッセージがあったりするわけなんですね。
堀井: あのサランの町の武器屋にはアリーナが装備できる“いばらのムチ"を売るようにしたり....。地形もモンスターに会いやすいように山を多くしたりと、いろんなことをやりました。で“いばらのムチ”を買うために戦っていると、ちょうど次の村にいっても大丈夫なレベルになっていると・・・・・・。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

Using a chapter structure with distinct playstyles meant that certain elements like collecting sacred artifacts such as the [[5 Sigils|five sigils]] and the [[Six Orbs|six orbs]] could not be implemented. Because the feature had become emblematic of ''Dragon Quest'', an optional substitute was created in the form of mini medals to satisfy players that enjoyed amassing a collection of items in the earlier titles<ref>週刊少年ジャンプ issue 45, page 8, 1989</ref>. The slot machines found in casinos were a similar expansion of the [[tombola]] games in ''Dragon Quest II'', as were the monster cards compared to those found in ''Dragon Quest III''. These bouts were programmed by Kazuya Asano, who created the betting cards from suggestions from other staff members. Cards would only be programmed into the game after Asano tested the victory probability of each monster within to insure that every monster had a chance to emerge the winner, and assigned the odds accordingly<ref>あと、カジノもやらせてもらったんですけど、あれはオトナがハマるんじゃないかと思います。
堀井: けっこう凝ってるでしょ。

・・あれは絶対ハマりますよ。**
堀井: いやあ、ボクはあそこまでチュンソフトが疑ってくれるとは思わなかったですよ。

特に格闘場が、前よりオモシロイんじゃないかなって感じがするんですが...。
堀井: 前はランダムで対戦カードを作ってたんですけど、今回は前もってある程度のカードを用意してあるんです。で、オッズ(倍率)もちゃんと設定してあるし。

オッズを調べるのが、かなり大変だったという話を聞いてますけど。
堀井: チュンソフトの浅野くんっていう人がいるんですけど、彼が、こっちのスタッフが作ったカードを何度もためしてみて、確率を計算して、オッズを作ってくれたんですよ。

**ということは逆に言えば、それだけ確かめてあるから、いくら倍率が高いとはいっても、決して勝てないというわけではないですよね。
堀井そうです、勝つこともあります。勝つ確率が0っていうカードはないです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 7, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original Famicom version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario writer
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|Akira Toriyama
|----------
|Music composer
|Koichi Sugiyama
|----------
| rowspan="5 |Scenario assistant
|Kazunori Orio
|-
|Tsuyoshi Asami
|-
|Fuminori Ishikawa
|-
|Shigeya Ueno
|-
|Sachiko Sugimura
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Chief programmers
|Hiroshi Naito
|-
|Manbu Yamana
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Programmers
|Narita Togo
|-
|Masaaki Okano
|----------
| rowspan="6 |Assistant programmer
|Kenichi Masuda
|-
|Kazuya Asano
|-
|Masumi Takimoto
|-
|Masayoshi Saitoh
|-
|Takahito Ikeda
|-
|Hiyoji Shinohara
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Graphic designer
|Takashi Yasuno
|-
|Satoshi Fudaba
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Sound programmers
|Masumi Takamoto
|-
|Tadashi Fukuzawa
|----------
| rowspan="8 |Assistants
|Rika Suzuki
|-
|Kenjiro Kano
|-
|Mariko Iida
|-
|Kazuhiro Kurimoto
|-
|Yuchi Kikumoto
|-
|Toshiaki Kamata
|-
|Eriko Yamakawa
|-
|Chiharu Ando
|----------
| rowspan="2 |Assistant producer
|[[Hiroyuki Takahashi]]
|-
|Sadao Yahagi
|----------
|Director
|Koichi Nakamura
|----------
|Producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|Publisher
|Yasuhiro Fukushima
|}

==Trivia==
*''IV'' is the only one of the original four games released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] to not be remade for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], and the only title in the [[Zenithia trilogy]] to not have been originally developed for the 16-bit hardware

==Gallery==
===Title Screens===
<center>
{{ScreenshotGallery/Start}}
{{ScreenshotGallery/Item|image=[[File:DQ4-NDS-TITLESCREEN.png]]|game={{DQ4}}|platform=Nintendo DS}}
{{ScreenshotGallery/End}}
</center>

===Box art===
<center><gallery>
DQIV_Famicom.png|Original artwork of the {{Famicom}} release.
Dragon_Warrior_IV_NES.png|{{NES}} box art.
DQIV PS Box Art.png|[[Sony PlayStation|Playstation]] box art
DQIV_DS_Box.png|[[Nintendo DS]] box art.
</gallery></center>

===Miscellaneous===
<center><gallery>
Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IV.png|Symphonic Suite.
DQIV Famicom guide.png|Famicom guide.
DQIV V Jump guide.png|PlayStation guide.
DQIVPSArt.png|PlayStation art.
DQIV PS Group.jpg|PlayStation group.
File:Dragon Warrior IV logo.png|Logo of the cancelled localization of the psx remake.
DQIVCast.png|Cast.
DQIV_Cast battling monsters.png|
DQIV Into The Fray.png|
DQIV Camping.png|
DQIV_Group_cheering.png|
DQIVCharacters.png
DQIV Random Encounter.png|
Dragon Quest IV characters.png|
DQIV CD Theater 1.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV CD Theater 2.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV CD Theater 3.png|''CD Theater''.
DQIV Legend in the Dark.png|"Legend in the Dark" novel.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 1.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 2.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 3.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 4.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 5.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQ 4koma Gekijou 6.png|''4koma'' comics.
DQIV iOS Android.png|[[Cell phone]].
DQTCG DQIV Bosses card sleeve.jpg|''Bosses'' Trading Card Game sleeve.
</gallery></center>

==External links==
*[http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/nes/dw4/ RPG Classics shrine]
*[http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dw4nes/ Dragon's Den]
*[http://www.dqshrine.com/dq/dq4/ DQ Shrine]

==References==
<references/>

{{DQIV}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}

[[Category:Articles on Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Dragon Quest IV|*!]]
[[Category:NES games]]
[[Category:PlayStation games]]
[[Category:Nintendo DS games]]
[[Category:Android/iOS games]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Quest 04}}

Casino

2025-05-09T23:54:04Z

Dead Phoenix:

[[Image:DQVCasino.png|thumb|right|450px|The Fortuna casino in {{Dragon Quest V}}.]]
The '''Casino''' is a recurring mini-game area in the {{DQSeries}}, appearing in all mainline games starting with {{DQ4}}. While previous games had gambling elements, like [[tombola]] in {{II}} and the monster arena in {{III}}, {{IV}} was the first to feature a full-blown virtual casino.

==Description==
[[Image:DQIV_Bunny_Girl.png|right|thumb|160px|One of the "mascots".]]
The Casino is a gambling hall, usually underground, where the player can use their {{Gold}} to purchase casino [[token]]s, or coins, which can then be wagered on various games of chance. The only reward for doing well in these games is more [[token]]s, but after accruing large amounts of them, the player can cash them in for various special items, many of which cannot be obtained anywhere else and are usually among the most powerful in the game. Simply buying enough [[token]]s to purchase the desired items would be insanely expensive, basically necessitating high performance on the casino floor if one wishes to obtain the best prizes. Of course, all games are set in favor of the player losing, so many devise special tricks to increase their odds. [[Token]]s cannot be exchanged for [[gold]].

The Casino is known for its "mascots", the energetic, bunny-eared young women who promote the location and do the more secretarial work.

{{DQ9}} was the first main series game since {{DQ}} to not include a form of gambling.

==Games==
===Slot machine===
Insert 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 [[token]]s for a chance to earn multiples of that amount with each spin. The input to return on these machines are very small in {{Dragon Quest IV}}. This game is the least likely to give the player a high return.

The Slot Machines in {{Dragon Warrior IV}} {{NES}} and {{Dragon Quest IV}} {{DS}} has 3 rows bets up to 5 coins and a small return for each win.

However in {{Dragon Quest V}}, {{VI}}, and {{XI}}, there are 5 rows which increases the chance of getting 3 or more in a row. The player can choose from 3 different slot machines colored either green, blue, or red which determines the minimum bet they can place. The player can place up to 9 [[token]]s on green slot machines, 90 [[token]]s on blue slot machines, and 900 [[token]]s on red slot machines. These machines can give the player a high return if they win. In {{Dragon Quest VI}}, there is another type of slot machine that works identically to the ones in {{IV}}.

In {{Dragon Quest VIII}} the slot machines work largely the same as they did in {{IV}}, with the exception being that the player can bet [[token]]s on slot machines that allow higher bets.

===Video Poker===
This game is played just like video poker (Jokers Wild video poker to be exact). The player is first dealt five cards. Then the player decides which cards to hold and which to draw. After the draw (if any) the player receives a payout for the following winning hands. Unlike real-life Jokers Wild video poker, the minimum pay out is two pair or better as opposed to pair of Kings or better. Also, any kind of Royal Flush will win the jackpot; in real video poker you must have a "natural" (no wild cards) Royal Flush for the jackpot. Starting with {{Dragon Quest V}}, only the Royal Jelly Flush wins the jackpot.

'''Poker Hands'''
{|width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1" style="text-align:center"
|width="20%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Poker Hand'''
|width="55%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Requirements'''
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Odds'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Payout'''
|-
|'''Two Pair'''
|Having two pairs of the same cards. (e.g. Pair of 2s and Pair of 3s)
|15 to 1
|1 to 1
|-
|'''Three of a kind'''
|Having three of the same card. (e.g Three 4s)
|36 to 1
|1 to 1
|-
|'''Straight'''
|Having cards in successive order in any suit. (e.g 5c, 6d, 7h, 8s, 9c)
|237 to 1
|2 to 1
|-
|'''Flush'''
|Having any cards in the same suit. (e.g. 2s, 3s, 5s, 8s, Ks)
|468 to 1
|4 to 1
|-
|'''Full House'''
|Having three of a kind and a pair in the same hand. (e.g. Three 10s and Two Jacks)
|614 to 1
|10 to 1
|-
|'''Four of a Kind'''
|Having four of the same card. (e.g. Four Queens)
|4004 to 1
|20 to 1
|-
|'''Five of a Kind'''
|Having four of the same card plus the joker.
|22,101 to 1
|50 to 1
|-
|'''Straight Flush'''
|Having a straight in the same suit. (e.g. 5 to 9 in spades)
|71,839 to 1
|100 to 1
|-
|'''Royal Flush'''
|Having a straight flush with the 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace.
|649,020 to 1
|200 to 1
|-
|'''Slime Flush'''
|Having a royal flush in in the slime suit.
|1,296,600 to 1
|500 to 1
|}
Note: Because of the addition of the Joker that can become the highest card the player needs, the odds are slightly lower than in regular poker.

::'''Double or Nothing''': After winning the hand, the dealer will allow the player to go double or nothing, betting their winnings on the chance to double their winnings or lose everything. The game consists of guessing whether or not the face-down card will be higher or lower than the face-up card. Guessing correctly will double the winnings. Guessing incorrectly ends the game and the player leaves with nothing. If the card chosen is the same, it is a draw, and the player gets another chance to guess.

The {{NES}} version of {{Dragon Quest IV}}, {{Dragon Quest VI}}, and {{Dragon Quest XI}} instead have the player pick between four cards. The player must guess which of the four cards will be higher than the current face-up card.

::This game is played with a deck of 53 cards, including a Joker. The Joker is the highest and the four 2s are the lowest. Statistically, if the card is a 2, 3, or 4, the next card will be higher. Conversely, if the base card is an Ace, King or Queen, the next card will be lower. Should the Joker appear always pick lower. If the player understands statistics and has some luck, that player can rack up thousands of [[token]]s.

In the {{NES}} version of {{Dragon Warrior IV}}, the player can place up to 100 [[token]]s and get a high return if the player wins.

However in the [[Zenithia trilogy]] remakes, the player can only bet up to 10 [[token]]s and it is the least likely to give the player a high return.

In {{Dragon Quest XI}}, the player can bet up to 100 [[token]]s before the second act and up to 1000 after the second act. This gives the player a high return if they win.

===[[Monster Arena]]===
[[File:DQIII Romaria Casino.png|right|thumb|150px|{{Dragon Quest III}} Monster Arena]]
The [[Monster Arena]] has the player bet on one {{MFamilies}} out of a pool of 3-5 that will then battle each other. The odds are listed before the match and affect the payout, but not necessarily its outcome. Once the match begins, the battle is actually performed as it might happen on the field, opening up the possibility of misses and other events, such as the effects of particular moves. The player is initially limited to a bet of only 50 [[tokens at once, but can earn up to 10,000 [[token]]s in a single round if he continues to bet his winnings from previous rounds.

In {{Dragon Quest IV}} {{DS}} and {{Dragon Quest V}}, the [[Monster Arena] ] is the best way to win coins as it gives the player a high return if the player wins the bet.

===Lucky Panel===
Introduced in {{DQ7}}, the lucky panel is a matching game that allows the player to win items along with the usual [[token]]s. The game starts with the player revealing six cards. Doing so gives the player some knowledge of what is under that card. If the player matches a pair of cards before the game actually begins, they stay flipped. After the six cards are revealed, the player is given three chances to match all the cards. If the player can do so within the chances allotted, they win all three prizes in the game. There are 12 cards in the game.

*Two Astrological Aquarius signs
*Two Astrological Cancer signs
*Two Astrological Scorpio signs
*Two Astrological Sagittarius signs
*Two Cursive V cards
*Six prize cards, two for each prize
*Shuffle All Cards
*One Bonus Turn.

The player should avoid the Shuffle All Cards card. Flipping it will usually result in the player losing this game. The player should aim for the One Bonus Turn card as it will help the player win this game.

===Bingo===
Introduced in {{VIII}}, Bingo gives the player a bingo board with 24 set values plus a free space in the center. A machine randomly picks 10 numbers. Should the numbers form a five number line vertically, horizontally or diagonally, the player wins. The payout is higher the less numbers used to make Bingo.

===Roulette===
Introduced in {{Dragon Quest VIII}}, [http://www.onlinecasinocanadareviews.com/roulette.html Roulette] is equivalent to its real life counterpart, except that unlike a standard roulette wheel which has 00, 0, 1-36, the roulette wheel in this game consists of numbers 0-27 and no 00. A player puts a bet on a number in the hopes that a ball spinning on the roulette wheel lands on that particular number. They can also bet on the color, row, column, section, or corners. However, the payout becomes higher the less likely the odds are of the ball landing on a particular number.

==Appearances==
==={{DQ3}}===
There are [[Monster Arena]] rings in [[Romaria]], [[Isis]], [[Manoza]] and [[Cantlin]]. The {{Hero 3}} is limited to placing bets to win [[gold]]. No special prizes are available.

==={{DQ4}}===
The casino is located in the castle town of [[Endor]] in the basement of the [[inn]]. It has a [[Monster Arena]], slot machines, and a poker table. In {{DQ4 Chapter 2}}, [[Alena]] and her entourage can buy 1 coin for 10 {{Gold}} and play at the casino while they are in town for the Endor Tournament. In {{DQ4 Chapter 3}}, {{Torneko}} meets {{Ragnar}} there and learns from him that the casino was closed for renovations, and doesn't reopen until near the end of the chapter and he can buy 1 coin for 200 {{Gold}}. In {{DQ4 Chapter 5}}, the {{Hero 4}} discovers that {{Maya}} had blown all of her and {{Meena}}'s money. The player can buy 1 [[token]] for 20 {{Gold}}.

In the [[Cell phone]] remakes, some changes have been made in {{Dragon Quest IV}} {{DS}}. The Poker card game in the {{NES}} version allowed you to place up to 100 coins, the {{DS}} remake however only allows the player to place up to 10 coins. Some of the prizes have been replaced, The [[Liquid metal shield]] has been replaced with a [[Falcon blade]], A Spangled dress armor has been added to the prize list. A second casino opens once the [[Pioneer Town]] is fully developed. It offers a different set of prizes including [[Magical skirt]], [[Liquid metal helm]], [[Gospel ring]], than the [[Endor]] [[casino]], but does not have a [[Monster Arena]].
{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====Endor Casino Prizes ({{NES}} version)====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Magic water|Magic potion]]
|30
|Recovers some {{MP}} on use.
|-
|[[Prayer ring|Wizard's ring]]
|500
|Restores some {{MP}} upon use until it crumbles.
|-
|[[Staff of jubilation]]
|1,000
|33 {{Attack}}. An enemy who is struck by it smiles. Can only be equipped by [[Kiryl|Cristo]], [[Borya|Brey]], [[Maya Mahabala|Mara]] and [[Meena Mahabala|Nara]].
|-
|[[Ra's Mirror|Mirror of Ra]]
|2,500
|Reverts shapeshifters.
|-
|[[Meteorite bracer]]
|4,000
|Doubles {{Agility}}.
|-
|[[Liquid metal shield|Metal babble shield]]
|50,000
|60 {{Defence}}. When used in battle has the effect of the [[Snub|Fendspell]]. Can only be equipped by [[Kiryl|Cristo]], [[Borya|Brey]], [[Maya Mahabala|Mara]] and [[Meena Mahabala|Nara]].
|}
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====Endor Casino Prizes ([[Nintendo DS]] version)====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Magic water]]
|30
|Recovers some {{MP}} on use.
|-
|[[Prayer ring]]
|500
|5 {{Defense}}, restores some {{MP}} upon use until it crumbles.
|-
|[[Gold bracer]]
|1,000
|5 {{Defense}}.
|-
|[[Spangled dress]]
|2,500
|40 {{Defense}}. Can only be equipped by [[Alena]], {{Maya}}, or {{Meena}}.
|-
|[[Meteorite bracer]]
|10,000
|Doubles {{Agility}}.
|-
|[[Falcon blade]]
|65,000
|66 {{Attack}}, attacks twice per round.
|}
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====Pioneer Casino Prizes====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Kamikazee bracer]]
|500
|15 {{Defence}}, and casts [[Kamikazee]] if the wearer is defeated.
|-
|[[Magical skirt]]
|1,000
|45 {{Defence}}, protects against magical attacks. Can only be worn by female characters.
|-
|[[Thalian staff]]
|3,000
|33 attack
|-
|[[Ra's Mirror]]
|10,000
|Reverts shapeshifters.
|-
|[[Liquid metal helm]]
|100,000
|50 {{Defence}}, and protects against [[Confusion]], [[Paralysis]], and {{Sleep}}.
|-
|[[Gospel ring]]
|250,000
|50 {{Luck}}, avoids [[encounter]]s.
|}
|}

After crossing the [[Trans-Montane Tunnel]], The {{Hero 4}} receives a congratulations for crossing the tunnel for the 1,000th time (the number of times to cross varies). As a reward, The {{Hero 4}} receives 2,000 casino [[token]]s. In the [[Sony PlayStation]] and [[Nintendo DS]] Version, the number of [[token]]s awarded is 100.

The {{Hero 4}} will also receive 250,000 if [['The Big Book of Beasts']] is filled out with all of the enemies [[encounter]]ed.

In the {{NES}} version, it is highly recommended that the player goes to the Poker Card table and bets 100 coins and risk the double or nothing round bets to make more money. However this is risky as the player can lose money and may have to rest the game. Once they win money the player should save the game at the [[church]]. If playing this NES game on an emulator, the player can use a save state feature to win at the poker game.

In the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[Cell phone]] remakes, it is highly recommended that the player goes to the [[Monster Arena]] and bets up to 50 [[token]]s, they can place the bet on one {{MFamilies}} which often fights in 3 or 4 {{MFamilies}}s, the player has a 25 to 33 percent chance that the {{MFamilies}} they bet on will survive and win the fight. If the players {{MFamilies}}s wins the first round they can then choose to multiply their money and bet again on a {{MFamilies}}. However this is risky as the players {{MFamilies}} they bet on can die and lose the fight or if the player chooses to quit the round, sometimes the {{MFamilies}} battles will end in a tie if they use up too many turns and the player will get their money back and has to try again. If the player wins over 10,000 [[token]]s the {{MFamilies}} arena bet will end. Once they win money the player should save the game at the [[church]].

The Gospel ring accessory which turns off random encounters is actually a useless item in Dragon Quest IV since it isn't available until Chapter 6 and is often a useless item and isn't worth the 250,000 coins to get since the player is near the end of the game.

The player can make easy money by buying [[Prayer ring]]s for 500 [[token]]s and sell them for 2250 {{Gold}}. Later on, they can also buy [[Magical skirt]]s for 1000 [[token]]s and sell them for 7350 {{Gold}}.

==={{DQ5}}===
This installment has a casino in [[Fortuna]], in a highly decorated building at the center of town. It was the first casino to feature a slime race track.

In the remakes, a second casino is at the [[Pontoon and Ventuno|Ventuno]] Casino [[Ship]] ship near [[Pontoon and Ventuno|Pontoon]]. Aside from various games, both casinos also feature a {{T'n'T}} board in the lower level. The [[Fortuna]] casino features a [[Monster Arena]], while the [[Pontoon and Ventuno|Ventuno]] one has poker tables instead.

{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Elfin elixir]]
|300
|Recovers all {{MP}} on use.
|-
|[[Yggdrasil leaf]]
|1,000
|Revives one fallen ally.
|-
|[[Kamikazee bracer]]
|5,000
|Casts [[Kamikazee]] if the wearer is defeated.
|-
|[[Falcon knife earrings]]
|10,000
|35 {{Attack}}, attacks twice per round. Can only be equipped by female [[Human]]s or {{Slime}} companions.
|-
|[[Monster magnet]]
|20,000
|5 {{Defence}}, and increases the chance of a [[Monster recruitment|monster being recruited]]. Can only be equipped by the {{Hero 5}}.
|-
|[[Metal king sword]]
|50,000
|130 {{Attack}}.
|-
|[[Gringham whip]]
|250,000
|100 {{Attack}}, hits all enemies.
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|Prizes are available at both Fortuna & Ventuna casinos.
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|The Monster magnet was added to the [[Cell phone]] ports of the game as of July 5, 2019.
|}

==={{DQ6}}===
The game has three casinos, each with different prizes. They're found in:
*[[Port Haven]] - Stairway north of the port house.
*[[Turnscote]] - Center of the town.
*[[Greedmore Valley]] - Downstairs in the valley [[Inn]].

{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====Port Haven====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Magic water]]
|200
|Recovers some {{MP}} on use.
|-
|[[Silk tuxedo]]
|500
|10 {{Defence}} & 40 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Yggdrasil leaf]]
|1,000
|Revives one fallen ally.
|-
|[[Dragon shield]]
|2,000
|30 {{Defence}} & 25{Style}}.
|-
|[[Platinum mail]]
|3,500
|66 {{Defence}} & 51 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Kamikazee bracer]]
|5,000
|10 {{Style}} and casts [[Kamikazee]] if the wearer is defeated.
|}
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====Turnscote====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Silk tuxedo]]
|500
|10 {{Defence}} & 40 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Dragon shield]]
|2,000
|30 {{Defence}} & 25 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Platinum mail]]
|3,500
|66 {{Defence}} & 51 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Prayer ring]]
|5,000
|5 {{Defence}} & 22 {{Style}}, restores some {{MP}} upon use until it crumbles.
|-
|[[Falcon blade]]
|10,000
|67 {{Attack}} & 32 {{Style}}. Can attack twice per round with it.
|-
|[[Kerplunk bracer]]
|20,000
|10 {{Defence}} & 25 {{Style}}. Also casts [[Kerplunk]] if the wearer is defeated.
|}
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====Greedmore Valley====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Yggdrasil leaf]]
|1,000
|Revives one fallen ally.
|-
|[[Prayer ring]]
|5,000
|5 {{Defence}} & 22 {{Style}}, restores some {{MP}} upon use until it crumbles.
|-
|[[Falcon blade]]
|10,000
|67 {{Attack}} & 32 {{Style}}. Can attack twice per round with it.
|-
|[[Kerplunk bracer]]
|20,000
|10 {{Defence}} & 25 {{Style}}. Also casts [[Kerplunk]] if the wearer is defeated.
|-
|[[Metal king armour]]
|150,000
|115 {{Defence}} & 45 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Flail of destruction]]
|300,000
|125 {{Attack}} & 26 {{Style}}. Attacks all enemies.
|}
|}

It is highly recommended that the player place bets on the slot machine and bet up to 9 [[token]]s, 90 [[token]]s and 900 [[token]]s. This is also risky as the player can lose money and may have to rest the game. Once they win money, the player should save the game at the [[church]].

The player can make easy money at Port Haven by buying [[Silk tuxedo]] for 500 [[token]]s and sell it for 2625 {{Gold}}.

==={{DQ7}}===
{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" width="20%" |
====[[Pilgrim's Rest]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Trailblazing bandana]]
|100
| +5 {{Defence}}/+17 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Magic water]]
|200
|Restores a small amount of {{MP}}.
|-
|[[Fishnet stockings]]
|400
| +5 {{Defence}}/+10 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Magic vestment]]
|1,000
| +30 {{Defence}}/+20 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Prayer ring]]
|3,000
| +5 {{Defence}}/+3 {{Style}}, restores some {{MP}} upon use until it crumbles.
|-
|[[Bottlenose buckler]]
|5,000
| +28 {{Defence}}/+28 {{Style}}.
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|Prizes are available in both the past and present
|}
| valign="top" width="20%" |
====[[Buccanham]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Yggdrasil leaf]]
|1,000
| Revives one character.
|-
|{{Mysterious Fragment}}
|2,000
| ????
|-
|[[Monster Meadows#Enclosure Plans|Enclosure Plan]]
|5,000
| Upgrades [[Monster Meadows]].
|-
|[[Mercury's rapier]]
|10,000
| +65 {{Attack}}/+32 {{Style}}, swift strike twice against an enemy.
|-
|[[Sacred armour]]
|20,000
| +75 {{Defence}}/+55 {{Style}}, restores some {{HP}} once each turn.
|-
|[[Metal king helm]]
|50,000
| +60 {{Defence}}/+38 {{Style}}.
|}
| valign="top" width="20%" |
====[[The Haven]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Smart suit]]
|2,000
| +40 {{Defence}}/+47 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Meteorite bracer]]
|15,000
| x2 {{Agility}}/+5 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Metal king armour]]
|30,000
| +115 {{Defence}}/+45 {{Style}}.
|-
|[[Prism peacock]] [[Monster Heart|heart]]
|100,000
| Allows a character to change their {{Vocation}} to [[Prism peacock (vocation)|Prism peacock]]
|-
|[[Flail of destruction]]
|300,000
| +125 {{Attack}}/+26 {{Style}}, attacks all enemies.
|-
|[[Skimpy nightie]]
|500,000
| +73 {{Defence}}/+88 {{Style}}, 1/6 chance to stun enemies!
|}
|}

==={{DQ8}}===
This installment has casinos in both [[Baccarat]] and [[Pickham]]; the first one the player can access is in Pickham.

The casino in [[Baccarat]] has slot machines, roulette wheels, and a bingo machine operated by a [[healslime]].

{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" width="20%" |
====[[Pickham]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Magic water]]
|100
|Recovers some {{MP}} on use.
|-
|[[Silver platter]]
|500
|8 {{Defence}}, can only be equipped by {{Jessica}} and [[Red]].
|-
|[[Agility ring]]
|1,000
|{{Agility}} +15.
|-
|[[Titan belt]]
|1500
|{{Attack}} +10.
|-
|[[Rune staff]]
|3,000
|30 {{Attack}}, casts [[Kabuff]] on use.
|-
|[[Platinum headgear]]
|5,000
|30 {{Defence}}.
|}
| valign="top" width="20%" |
====[[Baccarat]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[Prayer ring]]
|1,000
|5 {{Defence}}, restores some {{MP}} upon use until it crumbles.
|-
|[[Spangled dress]]
|3000
|46 {{Defence}}, can only be worn by {{Jessica}} and [[Red]].
|-
|[[Saint's Ashes]]
|5,000
|For use in [[alchemy]].
|-
|[[Falcon blade]]
|10,000
|37 {{Attack}}, hits twice per round.
|-
|[[Gothic mitre]] ({{3DS}} version only)
|25,000
|36 {{Defence}}, reduces the chance of being afflicted with [[Snooze]], [[Whack]], [[Fuddle]], and [[Paralysis]] by 50%, can only be equipped by the {{Hero 8}}.
|-
|[[Liquid metal armour]]
|50,000
|101 {{Defence}}.
|-
|[[Gringham Whip]]
|200,000
|127 attack, hits all {{MFamilies}}s.
|}
|}

==={{DQ11}}===
There are two casino available in the game. The first is at [[Puerto Valor]], the second is in [[Octagonia]] after [[Booga]] is defeated in the second act. New prizes are available in [[Puerto Valor]] casino in the second act and for both casinos in the third act.
{| border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="100%"
| valign="top" width="30%" |
====[[Puerto Valor]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|[[List of fun-size forge recipe book locations in Dragon Quest XI|Down the Rabbithole]] forge manual
|500
|Creat [[Bunny ears]], [[Bunny suit]], [[Fishnet stockings]] with the [[Fun-Size Forge|Fun-size Forge]]
|-
|[[Mercury's bandana]]
|2,500
|{{Defence}} +23/24/25/27
|-
|[[White shield]]
|5,000
|{{Defence}} +24/25/27/29, Block +6%
|-
|[[Yggdrasil leaf]]
|5,000
|Revives one ally.
|-
|[[Infernails]]
|7,500
|{{Attack}} +27/31/35/39, [[Critical Hit]] chance +2%
|-
|[[Staff of sentencing]]
|7,500
|{{Attack}} +23/25/27/29, {{Magical Might}} +21/23/25/27, {{Magical Mending}} +10/11/11/12, [[Absorb Magic|MP Absorb]] +9%
|-
|[[Arriviste's vest]]
|10,000
|{{Defence}} +5/12/19/28, +10% [[gold]] obtained after battle, max +15 coins
|-
|[[Elevating vest]]
|10,000
|{{Defence}} +5/12/19/28, +10% [[Experience Points]], max +75 points
|-
|[[Spangled dress]]
|25,000
|{{Defence}} +46/48/51/54, {{Charm}} +39/42/45/48
|-
|[[Platinum sword]]
|50,000
|{{Attack}} +60/63/67/71, {{Charm}} +12/13/14/15
|-
|[[Lightning lance]]
|75,000
|{{Attack}} +85/90/95/101, {{Agility}} +10/11/12/13, [[Defend|Parry]] chance +2%
|-
|[[Platinum powersword]]
|100,000
|{{Attack}} +108/114/121/128, {{Charm}} +31/33/36/40, [[Defend|Parry]] chance +2%
|-
|[[List of fun-size forge recipe book locations in Dragon Quest XI|The Mothmask Propheties]] forge manual
|1,000
|Creat [[Dread dagger]], [[Papillon mask]] with [[Fun-Size Forge]], Act 2 onwards
|-
|[[Sainted soma]]
|30,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material, Act 2 onwards
|-
|[[Metal slime sword]]
|250,000
|{{Attack}} +84/87/91/95, Act 2 onwards
|-
|[[Liquid metal helm]]
|500,000
|{{Defence}} +49/51/53/57, +20% [[Fizzle]], [[Snooze]], & [[Whack]] protection, Act 2 onwards
|-
|[[Yggdrasil dew]]
|10,000
|Restores all {{HP}} to all allies , Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Fun-Size_Forge_materials|Agate of Evolution]]
|50,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material, Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Fun-Size_Forge_materials|Spectralite]]
|200,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material, Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[Devilry drinker]]
|800,000
|{{Defence}} +63/66/70/74, Block +9, -10% all elemental damage, Casts [[Magic Barrier]], Act 3 onwards
|}
| valign="top" width="30%" |

====[[Octagonia]]====
{|width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="1"
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Prize'''
|width="10%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''[[Token]]s'''
|width="75%" valign="top" style="background:#4682B4"|'''Information'''
|-
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Fun-Size_Forge_materials|Love potion]]
|100
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material
|-
|[[Sage's elixir]]
|1,000
|Restores at least 90 {{MP}}.
|-
|[[Bow tie]]
|3,000
|{{Defence}} +2, {{Charm}} +10/15/20/25
|-
|[[List of fun-size forge recipe book locations in Dragon Quest XI|Your Very Own Aegis of Illusions]] forge manual
|5,000
|Creat [[Ethereal shield]] with [[Fun-Size Forge]]
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Fun-Size_Forge_materials|Molten globules]]
|20,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Important_items|Cheat sheet]]
|30,000
|Counts symbols on Slime Quest machines to pinpoint results.
|-
|[[Mardi garb]]
|40,000
|{{Defence}} +53/55/58/61, {{Charm}} +100/115/130/150
|-
|[[Imp knife]]
|60,000
|{{Attack}} +74/77/80/83, 8% chance to [[Dazzle]] target
|-
|[[Scandalous swimsuit]]
|70,000
|{{Defence}} +1, {{Charm}} +100/115/130/150
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Fun-Size_Forge_materials|Fire ball]]
|80,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material
|-
|[[Peerless parade costume]]
|90,000
|{{Defence}} +55, {{Charm}} +150, Restores 5 {{HP}} every turn, Act 3 onwards.
|-
|[[Baumren's bell]]
|120,000
|Ride a Great Sabrecat. Act 3 onwards. {{Definitive Edition}} only
|-
|[[Twinkling tuxedo]]
|200,000
|{{Defence}} +67/69/72/75, {{Charm}} +62/65/68/71, 20% chance to [[Bounce|reflect spells]]
|-
|[[Shimmering dress]]
|200,000
|{{Defence}} +67/69/62/75, {{Charm}} +62/65/68/71, 20% chance to [[Bounce|reflect spells]]
|-
|[[Happy hat]]
|300,000
|{{Defence}} +31/32/33/35, {{Magical Might}} +25/26/27/29, {{Magical Mending}} +25/26/27/29, Restore 1/1/2/3 {{MP}} when walking
|-
|[[Gringham whip]]
|750,000
|{{Attack}} +96, {{Charm}} +22, hits all enemies.
|-
|[[Elfin elixir]]
|10,000
|Recovers all {{MP}} on use, Act 3 onwards.
|-
|[[Slime crown]]
|50,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material, Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[List of fun-size forge recipe book locations in Dragon Quest XI|Überswords Illustrated]] forge manual
|70,000
|Creat [[Über falcon blade]], [[Über miracle sword]] with [[Fun-Size Forge]], Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[Gold bar]]
|100,000
|[[Fun-Size Forge]] material, Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[List_of_items_in_Dragon_Quest_XI#Usable_items|Pep pip]]
|125,000
|One character becomes [[pep]]ped up , Act 3 onwards.
|-
|[[Hot bikini]]
|150,000
|{{Defence}} +1, {{Charm}} +150/160/180/300, Act 3 onwards
|-
|[[Metal king helm]]
|1,000,000
|{{Defence}} +63/66/70/74, +20% [[Fizzle]], [[Snooze]], & [[Whack]] resistance, Act 3 onwards
|}
|}

==See also==
*[[Bank]]
*[[Inn]]
*[[Church]]

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
DQIV_Casino_Token.png|{{Famicom}} art of a casino [[token]].
VII casino.jpg|[[Maribel Mayde]] concentrating at a casino in {{VII}}
DQ 4koma Gekijou 10.png|Casino on a manga cover.
DQ VIII Android Pickham Casino.jpg|[[Pickham]] casino from {{VIII}}. ([[Cell phone]])
DQ VIII Android Baccarat Casino 1.jpg|[[Baccarat]] casino during the [[Day-night cycle|day]] from {{VIII}}. ([[Cell phone]])
DQ VIII Android Baccarat Casino 2.jpg|[[Baccarat]] casino during the [[Day-night cycle|night]] from {{VIII}}. ([[Cell phone]])
</gallery></center>

{{Series_mechanics}}

[[Category:Locations]]
[[Category:Recurring elements|{{PAGENAME}}]]

Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line

2025-03-11T22:32:22Z

Dead Phoenix: /* Development */

{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox VG
|type = Main series games
|title=Luminaries of the Legendary Line
|image=[[File:DQII Logo.png|325px]][[File:DQII Laurel Wreath art.png|325px]]
|caption=
|developer=[[Chunsoft]]
|publisher=[[Enix]]
|designer = [[Yuji Horii]]
|artist=[[Akira Toriyama]]
|composer= [[Kōichi Sugiyama]]
|engine=
|released= '''Nintendo Entertainment System''' {{vgrelease|JP=January 26, 1987|NA=December 1990}}'''MSX''' {{vgrelease|JP=February 6, 1988}}'''MSX2''' {{vgrelease|JP=May 27, 1988}}'''Super Famicom''' {{vgrelease|JP=December 18, 1993}}'''Game Boy Color''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 23, 1999|NA=September 27, 2000}}'''Wii''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 15, 2011}}'''Android & iOS''' {{vgrelease|JP=July 26, 2014|NA=October 9,2014|EU=October 9,2014|AUS=October 9,2014}}'''Playstation 4 & 3DS''' {{vgrelease|JP=August 10, 2017}}'''Nintendo Switch''' {{vgrelease|JP=September 27, 2019|NA=September 27, 2019|EU=September 27, 2019}}
|genre=[[Wikipedia:Console role-playing game|Console role-playing game]]
|modes = [[Wikipedia:Single player|Single player]]
|ratings=
|platforms={{NES}}/{{Famicom}}, {{GBC}}, [[Wii]] (hybrid cartridge), [[MSX]], {{SFC}}, [[Cell phone]], {{PlayStation 4}}, [[Nintendo 3DS]], [[Nintendo Switch]],
|media=2-[[Wikipedia:megabit|megabit]] {{NES}} [[Wikipedia:Cartridge (electronics)|cartridge]] [[Wikipedia:Floppy disk|Floppy disk]] (MSX) GBC/SFC cartridges
|requirements=
|input=
|series=''[[Dragon Quest (series)|Dragon Quest]]''
}}
{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest II'''|ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々|Doragon Kuesuto Tsū Akuryo no Kamigami|literally meaning; "Pantheon of Evil Spirits"}} is a role-playing game and sequel to the original {{Dragon Quest}}. It was initially released for the {{Famicom}} in Japan on January 26, 1987. It would later be released in North America in 1990 and has been remade several times on different platforms, most notably in the compilation package of {{DQI&II}}.

==Plot==
''Dragon Quest II'' is set 100 years after {{DQ}}. The offspring of the original game's {{Hero 1}} have migrated from Alefgard to the continent of Torland, and there established three kingdoms: [[Midenhall]], [[Cannock]] and [[Moonbrooke]]. A century of peace in these three kingdoms is suddenly ended when the minions of the evil occultist [[Hargon]] destroys the castle of [[Moonbrooke]]. One lone guard, an injured survivor of the attack, makes his way towards the kingdom of [[Midenhall]]. There with his dying breath he informs the king of the dire circumstances. The King then commands his son, the Prince of [[Midenhall]] and a descendant of [[Erdrick]], to gather his cousins and defeat [[Hargon]] before the mad priest can accomplish his goals. The three cousins are collectively referred to as the [[Luminaries]], owing to their ancestry's legacy of bringing light to the world when it is turmoil.

Upon reaching [[Cannock]], the Prince of Midenhall is informed by the King that his son has already left for the [[Wellspring of the Hero]], a traditional place that is visited by warriors upon beginning their journeys. Inside the shrine there is a body of water said to bless pilgrims. Upon arriving, a sage explains that the player was too late, and the Prince has once again already left. The Prince continued to [[Midenhall]] to join the {{Hero 2}}, whom he doesn't know is also looking for him. Finally, the two meet at an [[inn]] located in [[Leftwyne]], and the Prince joins the {{Hero 2}}'s {{Party 2}} on his quest.

Together the two cousins set out northwest towards [[Gwaelin's Gate]] they pass underground and head south for [[Moonahan]]. In this village they meet a dog that seems peculiar to them. Upon reaching the ruins that remain of [[Moonbrooke]] they are informed by the spirits of those that died (including the King himself) that the Princess has been turned into a dog by Hargon and the only way to reverse the curse is to use [[Ra's Mirror]]. The two warriors search for this mirror and they find it in a swamp from which four bridges can be seen at once. Upon their return to [[Moonahan]] they utilize the mirror in front of the curious dog they met, and much to the surprise of the heroes, they see a beautiful girl in the reflection of the mirror. The Princess is restored from her beastly appearance and joins her two cousins on their quest to defeat [[Hargon]]. After exploring the [[Pillar of Winds]] to obtain the [[Windbreaker]], the [[Luminaries]] heads for a shrine west of [[Moonbrooke]] where they pass underground and then head northwest across fields, desert, and mountains to reach the [[Dragon's Horn]]: two tall towers, each fixated on one side of a river.

Scaling the southern tower to its peak, the [[Luminaries]] glides over the river below using the [[Windbreaker]], and land safely across the body of water. They continue on to the port city of [[Rippleport]], where they rescue a young girl from a pair of [[gremlin]]s. Quite relieved upon her return, her grandfather, as a token of his gratitude, offers that the three heroes to use his ship to aid in their voyage. Hearing legends of a [[Sunken Treasure]], the three set off into the northern sea, and find it glistening in the water. Upon returning it to [[Rippleport]], a man desperate to get out of debt offers them the [[Echo Flute]] in exchange for it.

The trio then sails east and land on the archipelago of [[Alefgard]]. They reach [[Tantegel]] only to discover that the King has locked himself away for fear of [[Hargon]]. They explore the remains of [[Dragonlord's Castle|Charlock Castle]] where they meet a [[Dragonlord's great-great-grandson|descendant of the Dragonlord]], who revels in his fore-bearer's infamy and considers Hargon to be an upstart needing to be dealt with. He reveals to the three young warriors that if they wish to defeat [[Hargon]] they must take [[5 Sigils|five sigils]] to the [[List of shrines and teleportals in Dragon Quest II#Rubiss Shrine|Rubiss Shrine]].

With this new information in hand the [[Luminaries]] sets sail south of [[Alefgard]] and discover a small island in the middle of the ocean on which a prominent lighthouse stands. As they explore the inside of the tower they witness a [[Gremlin]] vanish into a wall. Following it, they find a passage and are greeted by an old man who tells them to follow him. He guides them to a [[treasure chest]] and offers its contents to the [[Luminaries]]. However upon opening the {{chest}} they find it empty and the old man suddenly transforms into four gremlins that charge upon the unsuspecting trio. The cousins defeat the monsters and in doing so recover the [[5 Sigils#Locations|Star Sigil]], which one of the fiends was carrying.

The [[Luminaries]] travels to the island Kingdom of [[Dirkandor]] and wins the [[5 Sigils#Locations|Moon Sigil]] fighting in the arena for the entertainment of the King.

The cousins also find the [[5 Sigils#Locations|Sun Sigil]] hidden on the outskirts of the Fire Shrine.

The trio collect the [[Jailor's Key]] from southern city of [[Burrowell]] and with it are able to locate the thief [[Lagos]] hiding in his cell there. He gives them the [[Floodgate Key]] which allows them to finally access the [[Tower of the Moon]] where they acquire the [[Moonshard]]. The Moonshard grants access them access to the [[Sea Cave]] which contains the [[False Idol]], necessary for revealing the path to [[Rendarak]].

Along the way the [[Luminaries]] collects the [[5 Sigils#Locations|Water Sigil]] from [[Moonahan]] by defeating two jailed [[Grimlin]]s.

Taking the teleportal from [[Beran]] the [[Luminaries]] uses the False Idol to reveal the [[Cave to Rendarak]]. The bottom floor of the cave contains the 5th and final [[5 Sigils#Locations|Soul Sigil]]. The [[Luminaries]] exits the cave and heads to the [[Rubiss Shrine]] where they receive the [[Eye of Rubiss]]. Returning to the [[Cave to Rendarak]], the [[Luminaries]] endures a long and difficult struggle through the cave before emerging in snowy [[Rendarak]]. A lone shrine awaits them there where they make final preparations for their battle with [[Hargon]].

[[Hall of Hargon]] is disguised as a copy of [[Midenhall]] but using the Eye of Rubiss shatters the illusion. Using the [[False Idol]] reveals the staircase to proceed up the castle. The [[Luminaries]] meet and face [[Hargon]], finally defeating him. The celebration is cut short however, as before his defeat [[Hargon]] was able to successfully summon the God of Destruction [[Malroth]]. The [[Luminaries]] then ultimately defeats [[Malroth]] in the final battle, restoring peace to the world.

==Characters==
[[File:DQI and II SNES artwork.png|right|thumb|250px|The three Luminaries.]]
===Prince of Midenhall===
:''See main article: {{Prince of Midenhall}}''
The heir of the Kingdom of [[Midenhall]] is the classic warrior of the three [[Luminaries]], with the most impressive physical stats. He can equip all weapons and armour in the game, though he has no magic ability (he is the only protagonist in the series to lack magical aptitude). This is the character the player starts out with in the castle of [[Midenhall]], and his name is directly selected by the player.

===Prince of Cannock===
:''See main article: [[Prince of Cannock]]''
The prince of [[Cannock]] is closer to his [[Hero (Dragon Quest)|ancestor]] than the other [[Luminaries]]. He cannot use as wide a variety of weapons and armor as the prince of Midenhall but compensates for this with the ability with a unique assortment of spells. However, it should be noted that his magic is not as powerful as that wielded by the princess of [[Moonbrooke]]. Despite this, he can, like his cousin, equip the [[Erdrick's Sword]]. This character is hard to track down in the beginning of the game, but he will grow to be a great ally. In earlier releases, his name is generated at random based on the name of the prince of [[Midenhall]], although there is a cheat code to alter his name. As of the [[Cell phone]] release, his name is offered initially via a random generator when the {{Hero 2}} departs from [[Midenhall]], but the player can also decide to give the [[Prince of Cannock]] a name of their own choosing.

===Princess of Moonbrooke===
:''See main article: [[Princess of Moonbrooke]]''
The princess of [[Moonbrooke]] is the archetypal sorceress of the three [[Luminaries]]. Her armour and weapon selections are slim, but are incredibly potent. She shares some of the [[Prince of Cannock]]'s magic, but the bulk of her spells are exclusive to her. She is the first of the three main characters the player will see, shown being assaulted with her father in the game's cinematic intro. After this she will has been cursed and needs to be freed before she will be able to join her cousins. In earlier releases, her name is generated at random based on the name of the prince of [[Midenhall]], although there is a cheat code to alter her name. As of the [[Cell phone]] release, her name is offered initially via a random generator when the {{Hero 2}} departs from [[Midenhall]], but the player can also decide to give the [[Princess of Moonbrooke]] a name of their own choosing.

===Hargon===
:''See main article: [[Hargon]]''
[[Hargon]] is the wicked occultist that attacked [[Moonbrooke]], cursed its princess, and threatened to destroy the world by summoning the gods of evil. His defeat is the goal of the three heroes.

==Series additions==
{{Dragon Quest II}} offers a much wider array of spells and items, as well as a much larger world (256 by 256 tiles instead of 100 by 100) than its predecessor. After battle status ailments have been introduced as well, embodied in the new [[Bubble slime]] foe. Due to the limited size of the {{NES}}/{{Famicom}}'s cartridge ROM space at the time, the detailed battle backgrounds from the first game were replaced with a black background to make room for the increased number of monster sprites.

===Party system===
{{Dragon Quest II}} is noted for greatly expanding the game play from the previous title, such as featuring multiple heroes and enemies during battle in what is now known as a [[party]]. Each Luminary has a well defined range of abilities and weaknesses that would codify later characters and vocations, and the menagerie of monster encounters would follow suit. Character dynamics, extended strategies, and shuffling through equipment to better suit specific encounters all began with ''II''.

===Augmentative and debilitating spells===
Where as battle spells in the first game were limited to disabling foes and inflicting/restoring damage, the sequel introduced the concept of influencing a character or monster's ''stats'' through the use of [[Kabuff]] and [[Kasap]]. The theme of spending a turn buffing characters and weakening monsters would be greatly expanded upon in future titles, quickly becoming just as important as combating monsters directly.

===Transportation===
The humble [[Ship]] attained in [[Rippleport]] set the standard for expanding the reach of the player at the midway point of a game.

[[Teleportal]]s were introduced to allow for faster traveling between areas, and to serve as early previews of distant lands to highlight the greater scope of the game compared to it's predecessor. They have become a staple of the series ever since, appearing in every title as both convenience features and as elements of the story.

===[[Tombola]]===
Gambling also made its first appearance in the series, with several towns featuring medieval slot machines called the [[Tombola]] for the player to utilize at the cost of a [[tombola ticket]] given by merchants. Breakable keys have been removed, replaced by the [[Silver Key]], [[Golden Key]], and [[Jailor's Key]]. [[Church]]es have now been given actual function rather than cosmetic purpose, with [[priest]]s reviving fallen Luminaries and removing various ailments for a fee.

===Multiple save locations===
The game provides multiple locations for players to save their progress and also allows deletion and the moving of saved games. To save, find a king, minister, or wise man and talk to them to initiate the process--this save area will also be the [[Zoom]] location in most versions. As in the first game, the original Japanese version had a password system (or "[[Spell of Restoration]]") instead of a battery backup (or "Imperial Scrolls of Honor").

==Development==
Development on ''Dragon Quest II'' began in April 1986, a month before ''[[Dragon Quest]]'''s release. When approached by Enix producer [[Yukinobu Chida]] about a potential sequel, director [[Kōichi Nakamura]] decided on a December release on a whim; Nakamura came to regret this decision.

''Dragon Quest II'' used a 1 megabit cartridge, double the maximum storage space for the first game, allowing for major iterations on the combat system and graphics. The background tiles became more detailed and on-screen characters gained multi-directional sprites, akin to the first game's North American localization. The staff decided to expand the battle system by giving players access to a full party of heroes against groups of monsters, since they considered the one-on-one format of the first game to be monotonous<ref>いうまでもなく、初代『ドラゴンクエスト』は、ファミコンユーザーというRPG未経験者にむけた入門用ゲームであった。
このゲームを足がかりに、多くの人々にRPGの魅力を知ってもらい、その段階を経て、より高度なRPGに挑戦してもらおうという意図が、スタッフ一同にあった。
とすれば、次の段階としての『II』は、やはりパーティープレイでなくてはいけない。
なぜなら1対1の戦闘は理解しやすく入門用としてはもってこいだが、反面、どうしても戦闘が単調になってしまうという宿命にある。
戦闘が単調だと、レベルをあげるという作業は苦痛でしかない。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. Yuji Horii was worried that players would become confused by controlling too many characters at once, and to ease players into managing a party, wrote the scenario to have the player characters be recruited one by one<ref>というのも、『II』はパーティープレイの要素をとり入れたため、操作が『I』よりもめんどうになってしまっているし、キャラクターによって使えない武器や防具があるとか、装備の概念を理解しなくてはならないとか……。
パソコンのロールプレイングでは当たり前のことだけど、ファミコンユーザーがいったいどこまでついてこられるか？
ヘタをすると、めんどくさい！　と投げ出す子供が続出しないかと、かなり不安だったのだ。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>.

Despite Horii's ambitions, ''Dragon Quest II'' was still limited by the Famicom's memory. At the time, computer RPGs used single sprites to represent multiple monsters, but Horii wanted all individual monsters in an encounter shown on-screen; as a tradeoff, battles are displayed on a plain black screen instead of the first game's varied backgrounds<ref>パソコンゲームでは5人いても画面上では1人が代表して移動するなどのシステムがよくあるが、それはパソコンユーザーだから許されるのであって、ファミコンユーザーには許されないと判断したからだ。
モンスターにしても、8匹いるならそのすべてを見せ、やっつけるたびに1匹ずつ消してゆきたい。
1対1の戦いから、いきなりパーティープレイにしたわけである。せめて "見た目" でもそれがわかるようにしなければ、あまりに不親切というものだ。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. Since the Famicom could only display up to four characters on-screen, side by side, without causing sprite flickering, the Hero's party was limited to three characters, to allow the full party to be displayed when speaking to an NPC<ref>消える所をまわしてチラつかせるという方法もあるが、あまりチラつくとやっぱりしんどいであろう。
ということを考え、パーティーは3人とした。3人であれば、横に並んで町の人に話しかけても合計4人だから表示可能である。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. Those compromises, alongside a compression algorithm written by Koichi Nakamura, also helped limit the length of passwords.<ref>『I』では経験値を6万5千（16ビット）で切ってしまったが、レベル設定がかなりキツかったので、今回は24ビットあてることにした。
ゴールドは前回どおり16ビット。さらに持っているアイテムも覚えておかなければならない。
例えばアイテムが63種類あるとすれば、1人8つまで持てるとして、これに必要な入れ物は6×8＝48ビット。
そして4文字の名前に24ビット。
合計112ビットで、これが3人ぶんだから336ビット。復活の呪文に使用する文字は64種類（6ビット）だから単純計算すると、これだけで56文字になってしまう。しかも、これプラス、装備しているかどうかのフラグや、各種ストーリーのフラグ、そしてチェックサム（注1）などなど、とてつもなく長いものになってしまうだろう。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref><ref>Each player character has 24 bits dedicated to their experience points, 24 more bits for their four-character name, 48 bits for their inventory, and 16 bits for the party's gold. This brings the total of bits up to 112, roughly multiplied to 336 for each character, thus bloating the passwords to 56 characters before factoring in programming flags, like story events and items equipped.</ref>

The game's scenario began development in July 1986. Meetings were held to discuss what was possible within the Famicom's hardware, and the info was passed on to Nakamura and his team of five programmers<ref>システム、メモリマップが決定されると、いよいよ作業はシナリオとプログラムの分業態勢へと入ってゆく。ここに至ったのが企画をスタートさせてからおよそ2ヶ月後、去年の7月初旬頃だったろうか。
その時点を境にして、それまでの会議につぐ会議が一転し、シナリオに関するデータを作成してはプログラム担当の中村くんに渡すという作業が開始される。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. As in the first game, Horii and his assistant Hiroshi Miyaoka wrote a rough draft of the scenario, which was fleshed out as Akira Toriyama finalized the monster concepts provided by the developers. From the finalized art, Horii considered the nature of the monsters and began drawing a world map dividing the monsters by ecosystem, including castles, towns, dungeons, and more; the scenario was fleshed out to match this world map<ref>というわけで、シナリオづくりが始まった。
シナリオづくりのメインスタッフはボクとデューク宮岡くん。
まず、モンスターのラフコンテを作成する。これは本当にラフコンテで、モンスターデザインを担当する鳥山明氏にイメージを伝えるためのものである。そんなわけで、このときまだ、モンスターの正式名称も、強さなどのデータも決まっていない。
それらは後日、鳥山くんのほうから絵があがってきたとき、実際にモンスターの絵を見ながらイメージし作成することにした。
モンスターデザインを発注したあと、マップの作成に入る。
いうまでもなく、おおまかなストーリーはすでに頭の中にできあがっている。
そんなものいつつくったんだ？　と思うかも知れないけど、「おおまかのストーリー」というのは、いわゆる「あらすじ」のことで、これは映画やマンガのあらすじを考えるのと、ほぼ同様に頭のなかの作業である。これについての工程は省かせてもらった。
ドラマのあらすじをどういうふうに思いつくのか？　その方法論を説明しろといわれても、ちょっとむずかしいであろう。
また、そんな方法論など説明しなくても、誰でもお話のあらすじなど考えられると思う。
問題は、その「あらすじ」を、どういうふうにしてゲームのシナリオにしてゆくかなので、今回はそっちの部分をメインに書いてゆきたい。
話がそれた。
マップの作製である。
これは白地図みたいなもので、これに城や町、洞窟、塔などをかきくわえてゆく。
そして頭のなかにあるストーリーに合わせて、どの洞窟でなにが見つかるか？　あるいは、どんなイベントがあるか？　どんな情報が聞けるか？　などを書きくわえてゆく。
そのコンテができあがると、いよいよ本格的なマップの作製である。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>.

By November 1986, the development team began to doubt they could polish the game in time for the December deadline. As a result, ''Dragon Quest II'' was delayed until January 1987 while its balance and gameplay were ironed out.<ref>これが、ひと月のばした理由である。
つまり、この時点では、ゲームとしてのバランスがまだとれていなかったのだ。
もっとわかりやすくいうと、自分のキャラクターの強さとモンスター側の強さのバランスがペケだったというわけ。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. Playtesting had been done in an isolated environment, with encounters against single enemies run through a simulation program created by Nakamura. Those simulated battles did not consider player levels and equipment; when enemy groups were implemented, the team realized even early game encounters were more difficult than intended. To address this, battles in the Midenhall region were limited to three enemies at a time.<ref>これが、ひと月のばした理由である。
つまり、この時点では、ゲームとしてのバランスがまだとれていなかったのだ。
もっとわかりやすくいうと、自分のキャラクターの強さとモンスター側の強さのバランスがペケだったというわけ。
もちろん、プレイヤーのレベル設定やモンスターの強さの設定データは、いいかげんに作製したのではない。
中村くんのほうから先頭のシミュレータ（プレイヤーのデータ、モンスターのデータを入れて、実際に戦い、その結果が見られるプログラム）をもらい、それでいちいち確かめながら、プレイヤーのレベル設定やモンスターデータを作製していったのだった。
そこまでやってデータを作成したのに、実際にゲームとしてあがってきて遊んでみるとバランスがとれていなかった。それは何故か？
理由はふたつある。
まず、シミュレータは1回ごとの戦闘のシミュレーションで、それでもって毎回緊張感のある戦いを、というようなデータのつくり方をしてしまったため、実際にゲームになり移動しながら連続的に戦ってみると、非常にキツいものであったこと。
さらに、同じモンスターでも、出現匹数により予想以上の結果の違いがあったこと。
このふたつである。
このため、最初にできてきたものはとても遊べたものではなかったのだ。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. Even then, the early game was still considered too difficult, as the Prince of Midenhall's only healing options were [[medicinal herb]]s or walking back to an inn. As another compromise, Cannock was moved closer to the town of Leftwyne, with the region's topography being changed to guide the player northwest, allowing the player to recruit the Prince of Cannock sooner.<ref>というのも、1人めはファイター。いくらレベルが上がってもホイミ（体力回復）の呪文を覚えないので、そのつど薬草をつかったり宿屋に泊まったりしなければならない。つまり、遠出をすればするほどツラクなってくる。
というわけで、サマルトリアのお城の位置を変更する。
じつをいうと、最初、サマルトリア城は現在の湖の位置にあったのだった。しかし、そこは、宿屋のあるリリザの町からあまりに遠い。ここは仲間とふたりになってから来るようにしようファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. The original location of the castle became the Lake Cave, and development screenshots showing the castle on the lake were printed on the back of the LP of the game's soundtrack<ref>『ドラゴンクエストⅡ』のLPレコードが発売されていますが、なんとジャケットの裏に、湖に囲まれている城の写真が出ています。これが実は初期のサマルトリア城。ジャケットの撮影が比較的早めに行われたためジャケット写真は初期のバージョンのものになってしまったのでした。興味のあるキミはレコード屋さんで見てみてください）。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>, but altering the overworld like this lead to the monster data becoming imbalanced and readjustments for their strength and the strength of the equipment available up to that point were necessary<ref>
そんなわけでサマルトリア城をリリザの町に近づけたのはいいけど、それだけだと、せっかくの湖が何も意味をなさなくなってしまう。というか、こっち方面に来る必要がなくなってしまう。
せっかく地形までつくったのに、それはもったいない！
というわけで、元サマルトリア城の位置には洞窟を置いたのだった。
このことにより、モンスターの分布図の再構成、さらに元のサマルトリア城の位置を洞くつにしたため、アイテムのある場所の再考などの問題がおこってきたが、ゲームバランスをとるためだからと、再びそれらのデータを作りなおす。
さらに試してみて、モンスターデータやレベル設定、武器・防具の値段、効力を調整してゆく。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>.

Playtesting expanded to include the full development team within the one-month window, with feedback such as equipment being too expensive, levelling up taking too many experience points, and the introduction sequence taking too long being common. These critiques were sent directly to Horii who would judge whether the changes were merited or not<ref>
いうまでもなくRPGはバランスが命である。
そして、バランスをとるためには、実際にプレイしてみて、データを少し変更して、またプレイし、さらに変更してゆく、という方法しかない。
具体的にいうと、この時期から、スタッフ一同はもちろん、アルバイトのゲームモニターの人たちなど、かなりの人数が実際にプレイしてみるわけ。
そして、実際に遊んでみた感想、あるいは苦情などが、すべてボクのもとに届けられる「なかなかお金が貯まりません。もっと物価を下げてください」
「1回の戦闘に時間がかかります。もっと早めに勝負がつかないでしょうか？」
「もっとレベルが上がるのが早くてもいいのでは？　特に4から5あたりがキツイです」
「いや、レベルの上がりかたは今くらいでいいけど、あまり死なないようにしてください」
――などなど、各人各様の意見をいってくるのだった。
そういった意見に耳を傾け、さらにボク自身もプレイしてみる。そして、ここはマズかったという部分のデータを次々に変更してゆくわけ。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. Any changes deemed necessary were faxed to the programmers at Chunsoft, and altered beta cartridges would be distributed amongst the staff for further assessment. This back and forth process began as a four to five day cycle, but as the January deadline loomed the process was hastened to take place within a single day<ref>
それが出来上がると、すぐさま変更後のデータをファックスでチュンソフトに送る。
チュンソフトにいる中村くんたちは、ボクからの新しいデータが届くと、そのデータに差しかえて、新しい試作バージョンをつくりあげていく。
そして、それを再び、みんなに配るわけ。
もちろん、バランスどりは1回では終わらない。こういったことを何度も繰り返すのである。
はじめは4～5日周期であったが、やがて2～3日周期となり、1日周期となってゆく。
ここまでくると、試作バージョンには日付時間が書きこまれるようになってくる。
『12月8日午前4時バージョン』というふうにだ。
そうしないことには、どれが一番新しい変更後のバージョンかがわからなくなってしまうからだ。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. The development would be finished in the middle of December, with the latter results of this extended fine-tuning being the reduction of the fees for church services, changing the order in which spells were learned to be more useful quicker, and moving Ra's mirror from the [[Pillar of Winds]] to the swamp next to the ruined castle. In an interview with Famitsu magazine, Horii mused that while the game was not 100% complete, it was still over 90% of what he wanted out of the project and he could not force children to wait any longer to play the title <ref>というように、プレイしてみては、呪文を覚える順番を変更したり、モンスターの強さをかえたり、教会の値段を下げたりと、1ヵ月がまたたく間に過ぎ去っていた。
もはやタイムリミットである。
100パーセントとはいえないけど、90パーセント以上は理想に近いバランスになってきたと思う。
もっと時間をかければ100パーセントに近づかせることができるだろうが、これ以上、子供たちを待たせるわけにもいかない。
12月中旬、ついに最終バージョンが完成する。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>.

In a 2007 interview with ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' magazine for the 221st issue, Yuji Horii described the development cycle of ''Dragon Quest II'' as very rushed, due to tight deadlines and the game's greater scope compared to the first. Horii admitted that he developed ulcers from the sheer stress and was "inches away" from having a permanent hole in his stomach. The experience taught him to look at deadlines as more of a suggestion than a strict guideline<ref>''"As for difficulties during development, Dragon Quest II was a big challenge. We didn't have much time and there was so much to do. It gave me ulcers—literally! I was only "inches away" from having a permanent hole in my stomach! Now, to prevent any further internal injury, I don't pay much attention to dead-lines anymore. So I always find myself a little behind schedule."''</ref>.

===Cut content===
Content that was unable to be included in the game were cutscenes for important events, such as there being a view of the Plateau of Rendarak visible from the Lighthouse south of Alefgard, but there was simply no memory left in the cartridge. The only vestige of this idea is a blurry scan found in the game's instruction manual which depicts the dying Moonbrooke guard informing the King and Prince of Midenhall of Hargon's plan<ref>
最後になるが、メモリ等の制約で、泣く泣くボツになった事柄について書こうと思う。
まず残念だったのは、見せ場には紙芝居的に大きな絵を入れるという企画。
当初の予定では入るはずで、すでに絵のデータがあがっていたのに、最終的にはやっぱりメモリに余裕がなくなり、ボツになってしまったのだった。
たぶん、気づいている人は少ないとは思うが、『ドラクエⅡ』の説明書の物語のところに、それらの絵のうちの1枚だけが、ひっそりと写真になって載っている。
もちろんファミコンの画面写真であり、本当はカラーだ。
そして、シナリオ的にも、そういった1枚絵を利用するはずだった。
たとえば船の財宝、当初の設定では、大灯台の上からロンダルキアを一望すると、ロンダルキアの台地の絵が出て、さらにそのむこうの海の1ヵ所がキラキラと光っている。つまり船の財宝はそこにあり、財宝に関してそういった情報を人々に話させるシナリオにしていたが、大きな絵がカットされた時点で、シナリオも変更してしまったのだった。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref>. A cutscene depicting the sacking of Moonbrooke Castle was included with the North American version of the game in 1990, which was reincorporated into every other version of the game beginning with ''Dragon Quest I & II'' in 1993.

Features intended for the game that could not be implemented due to the memory limitations were saved for ''Dragon Quest III'', such [[scandalous swimsuit]] being available for purchase and changing the sprite for the Princess of Moonbrooke when equipped<ref>
しょーもないところでは“あぶないみずぎ”というアイデアもあった。
これは“ミンクのコート”と匹敵するもので、やたら値段が高くて、それを3人目の王女に買ってあげて着せると本当に画面上のキャラクターが“あぶない水着姿”にかわるというもの。
ただし、友だちからその話を聞いて、「えへへ、オレも買ってあげよう」とうれしがっても、キャラクターの名前によっては、買ってあげても、「イヤよ。こんなの着られないわよ！」と着てくれなかったりして……。ファミコン通信　'87年7月10日号　ドラゴンクエスト2ができるまで</ref> and the scenario of [[Olivia's Promontory]]<ref>“オリビアの岬”はIIでボツったものが復活!!　まったく同じじゃないけどIIでは“ローレライの岬”っていうイベント名だったんだ。前回はメモリーの都合でボツ。で、今回（ドラクエIIIで）めでたく登場したというわけ。「堀井雄二のドラゴンクエストQ＆A」『ドラゴンクエストIII　マスターズクラブ』JICC出版局,1988年</ref>. A plot point where the Prince of Cannock is cursed by Hargon and the two remaining heroes have to cure him with a Yggdrasil leaf was cut due to memory limitations, but was reinstated in the Super Famicom version.

Another cut scenario involved an alternate ending where the Prince of Cannock sacrifices himself to destroy Malroth, and the closing cutscene at Midenhall Castle ends with his sister stabbing the Prince of Midenhall, blaming him for her brother's death. This ending was cut due to Horii deeming it too depressing and was never repurposed for future versions of the game.<ref>それは、2番目の王子（サマルトリアの王子）が犠牲となって、最後の敵を倒すというものである。
目的は果たしたが、もはやサマルトリアの王子は戻らない。
彼の冥福を祈りながら、キミはムーンブルク王女と2人で帰路に……。
お城では人々が待ちかまえ、キミたちの偉業を心から称えてくれる。そして、一大セレモニーが開催される。
と、その時！
「お兄ちゃんの仇っ！」
駆け寄ってくる1人の少女。
気づくと、少女の持っていた短刀が、キミの胸に深々と刺さっていた、
少女は、いうまでもなく、サマルトリア王子の妹であった。
ボーゼンとする人々。
キミの身体は、やがて、ゆっくりと倒れていく。……幕。月刊LOGiN』1987年5月</ref>.

==Version Differences==
[[File:MSX nightmare.png|border|right|200px]]
 See: {{DQI&II}} for more detailed changes and improvements.

A version of the game was released for the MSX home computer on February 6 1988 with the MSX2 getting a version on May 27 of the same year. These versions are infamous for including the scandalous swimsuit cut from the Famicom version as armour for the Princess of Moonbrooke, which matches the [[mink mantle]] in defence and has a 1/8th chance to stun enemies each turn. There is also a special scene that plays when the Luminaries inspect the King of Alefgard's room and discover an adult magazine which depicts the Princess of Moonbrook wearing the scandalous swimsuit in a centerfold. The objectively poor quality of the image has lead to the scene becoming a meme amongst Japanese fans.

A version for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] was released in December of 1990, which included the scrapped opening cutscene. When the game begins, a lengthy cutscene detailing the siege of castle Moonbrooke is shown to the player, along with the last surviving guard making his way to castle Midenhall to warn its King.

Since its original release on the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System four remakes have appeared, with the first being on the compliation title {{DQI&II}} that was released on the {{Super Famicom}} in 1993. The second was a portable version of the same, released the on {{Game Boy Color}}, the third was for [[Cell phone]]s in Japan, and the most current being an iOS/Android release in the Japanese app store on June 26th, 2014 before being internationally released in the same year. All the remakes feature updated graphics and music as well as a few other new features, such as quick-saving on the world map, animated battles, and the automatic redirecting of attacks that target defeated monsters. Starting with the cell phone version, all three descendants of Erdrick are capable of attaining level 50, with the two magic user's stat growth and exp requirements being adjusted accordingly. Additionally, the [[Zoom]] spell was made consistent with later games by letting the player choose a select list of destinations to rather than the last place saved.

Due to spacial constraints of the [[Game Boy]] and {{Game Boy Color}}'s screen, the English release of {{Dragon Warrior I & II}} in 2000 reverted the localized names of Erdrick, Gwaelin, and others to a closer approximation of their Japanese counterparts. These changes would be undone by Plus Alpha in 2010 with their localization of {{DQ9}}, which elected to retain the {{NES}} names as a surprise for older fans. As of the 2014 iOS/Android re-release, while several of the names of characters and locations have retained their {{NES}} designations (or very slight edits of such, like Midenhall instead of Middenhall), other characters and locations have been given new translations that are closer to the meanings and puns of the original Japanese version. In addition, monsters, spells, and items have been updated to their modern naming conventions.

==Legacy==
[[Image:DQII_Trio_leaping.png|right|thumb|''Dragon Quest II'' was the first game to introduce the concept of a party to Japanese players, ''Ultima 3: Exodus'' being the first popular RPG to do so before in the US and Europe.|350px]]
''Dragon Quest II'' is widely recognized for improving upon the shortcomings of its predecessor, increasing the depth of battle and exploration considerably. Series director [[Yuji Horii]]'s writing is also seen as improving during the development of the game, no longer relying solely on fairy-tale archetypes to constitute the setting and characters.

==Credits==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Original Famicom version
! Role
! Staff
|----------
|Scenario writer
|Yuji Horii
|----------
|Character designer
|Akira Toriyama
|----------
|Music composer
|Koichi Sugiyama
|----------
|Scenario assistant
|[[Hiroshi Miyaoka]]
|----------
|Chief programmer
|Koichi Nakamura
|----------
| rowspan="5 |Programmers
|Yutaka Gyotoku
|-
|Togo Narita
|-
|Kiyotaka Kono
|-
|Masaaki Okano
|-
|Koji Yoshida
|----------
|Sound programmer
|Takenori Yamamori
|----------
|CG design
|Takashi Yasuno
|----------
|rowspan="2 |Assistant
|Rika Suzuki
|-
|Hirohide Yoshida
|----------
|Director
|Koichi Nakamura
|----------
|Producer
|Yukinobu Chida
|----------
|Publisher
|Yasuhiro Fukushima
|}
==Trivia==
*''Dragon Quest II'' was the first game in the series to feature pits and tower balconies from which the [[Luminaries]] can fall. (As always, they take no damage from this.)
*The scandalous swimsuit scene in the MSX version was referenced in the 2005 PC title ''La-Mulana'', which was made to pay tribute to the MSX and its library of games. The main character, Lemeza Kosugi, receives the "Provocative Bathing Suit" from the {{NPC}} Dracuets at the end of the game's bonus dungeon, the Hell Temple, with a graphic of him in the Bathing Suit flashing on screen. The reference was maintained in the 2011 remake.
*The MSX2 version of the game was the final ''Dragon Quest'' title released in the Showa era of Japan.

==Soundtrack==
[[Image:DQI and II_GameBoy_Art.png|border|right|350px]]
[[Kōichi Sugiyama]] composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. ''Dragon Quest II''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s symphonic suite was bundled with ''Dragon Quest I''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s symphonic suite and a disc of original compositions as ''Dragon Quest in Concert''. Here is the track listing of the ''Dragon Quest II'' portion of that release:
#Dragon Quest March (ドラゴンクエストマーチ/''Dragon Quest March'') (1:39)
#[[Only Lonely Boy]] (Love Song 探して/''Looking for the Love Song'') (2:42)
#Pastoral ~ Catastrophe (3:21)
#Château (王城/''Royal Castle'') (3:03)
#Town (街の賑わい/''Bustle of the Town'') (3:30)
#Fright in Dungeon ~ Devil's Town (恐怖の地下洞～魔の塔/''Fear Dungeon ~ Devil's Town'') (4:02)
#Requiem (レクイエム/''Requiem'') (2:09)
#Endless World (遥かなる旅路～広野を行く～果てしなき世界/''Distant Journey ~ Going in Plain ~ Endless World'') (5:43)
#Beyond the Waves (海原を行く/''Going on the Sea'') (2:13)
#Deathfight ~ Dead or Alive (戦い～死を賭して/''Fighting ~ Risking Death'') (3:56)
#[[wikipedia:My Road, My Journey|My Road, My Journey]] (この道わが旅/''My journey is This Road'') (4:10)

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
Dragon-Quest-II-japanese-box-art.jpg|{{Famicom}} box art
DQ II instruction manual cutscene screenshot.png|The scrapped cutscene shown in the Famicom instruction manual, printed in black & white
Dragon_Warrior_II_NES.png|{{NES}} box art
DQII Famicom guide.png|Famicom guide
Shousetsu Dragon Quest II.png|Novelization
DQII CD Theater.png|CD Theater
DQII The Gods of Evil novel.png|''The Gods of Evil'' novel part one
DQII The Gods of Evil novel 2.png|''The Gods of Evil'' novel part two
DQ 4koma Gekijou 11.png|''4koma'' comics
DQ 4koma Gekijou Extra 19.png|''4koma'' comics
DQII_Characters.png|Splash art of the cast for the Super Famicom remake
DQII iOS Android.png|iOS/Android
Famitsu April 17 1987 DQ II article part 1.jpg|Famitsu magazine article covering the game's development, published April 17 1987
Famitsu April 17 1987 DQ II article part 2.jpg
Famitsu April 17 1987 DQ II article part 3.jpg
Famitsu April 17 1987 DQ II article part 4.jpg
Famitsu April 17 1987 DQ II article part 5.jpg
Famitsu April 17 1987 DQ II article part 6.jpg
Amphibia S2 Episode 6.png|''Vagabondia Chronicles'', a fictional video game from ''Amphibia'' S2 Episode 6, made to resemble the Famicom box art to ''DQ II''
</gallery></center>
==References==
<references/>

{{DQII}}
{{Dragon Quest series}}

[[Category:Dragon Quest II|*!]]
[[Category:Articles on Wikipedia]]
[[Category:NES games]]
[[Category:Wii games]]
[[Category:Game Boy games]]
[[Category:SNES games]]
[[Category:Android/iOS games]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Quest 02: Luminaries of the Legendary Line}}