Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation: Difference between revisions

The flow of the game is as follows;  The {{Hero 3}} travels from his home country of [[Aliahan]] for [[Romaria]] to explore the world and acquire three [[key]] needed to open sealed teleportals throughout the game. During the {{Party 3}}'s travels, they will hear tale of six mystical orbs said to contain incredible power, and that these will be necessary in overcoming the fiend Baramos. After saving a young couple of the town of [[Baharata]] from the rogue [[Robbin' 'Ood]], the {{Hero 3}} receives [[Black pepper]], which he trades for a sailing [[ship]] at [[Portoga]]. With this ship, the {{Hero 3}} acquires the [[Ultimate Key]] and searches for the [[Six Orbs|six mystical orbs]] which are used to revive the legendary bird [[Ramia]]. [[Ramia]] takes the {{Hero 3}} to [[Baramos]]' castle, flying over the tall mountains of the Necrogond.  After a ferocious battle, the {{Hero 3}}'s celebration is cut off as [[Zoma]] attacks and opens the pit to the [[Alefgard|dark world]]. In the dark world, the {{Hero 3}} acquires the [[Sunstone]], the [[Staff of Rain]], and the [[Sacred amulet|Seal of Rubiss]]. These items are then exchanged for the [[Rainbow Drop]]. This item creates a bridge, which leads the {{Hero 3}} to [[Zoma]]'s [[Zoma's Citadel|castle]] for the final confrontation. After the archfiend is slain, the king of the dark world will give the highest honor to the player: the title of [[Erdrick]].

*Offensive spells are now separated from each other in terms of {{MFamilies}} resistance, meaning that an enemy immune to [[Woosh]] can still be damaged by [[Crack]]. Elemental spells are divided into Fire (Sizz, Frizz, and Bang), Ice, Wind, and Lightning.  

''Dragon Quest III'' began planning in January of 1987, shortly after the delayed launch of {{DQ2}}. Yuji Horii and other developers spent the planning period lodged in a hot spring resort in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone Hakone] (Kanagawa prefecture), with the intent of not only unwinding after the stressful production of ''DQII'', but also improving the group's concentration. [[Chunsoft]] was allowed to develop on two megabits of memory, double the storage size of the previous game.

The gameplay was given the priority during the lodging, with nearly all of the game's revolutionary systems were decided upon from the onset such as the day-night cycle, the vocations, and even the implementation of Alltrades Abbey to give players total control over their characters. The story was written in February and it was decided to make the game's world resemble that of Earth, with Yuji Horii believing that the familiar landscapes would make the game easier for players to navigate. March was spent traveling to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt Egypt] to conduct research owing to the globe-trotting theme of the title. Full-scale development began in late April of 1987<ref>Q:『ドラクエIII』のお仕事を始めたときから、今までの進行を教えてください。ゲームの内容の細かいことなんかは、いつどんな風にして決まるのか、マップなんかはどういう風にできるのか、詳しいことを教えてください。

The game's overworld, kingdoms, villages, and dungeons were designed by Horii and his assistant [[Hiroshi Miyaoka]]. Due to the significant increase in the scope of the game compared to the predecessor, this process took more than two months to complete and the dungeons were given special consideration during this period with approximately 70% of the content within the first draft being changed. This emphasis on fine-tuning the labyrinths was a deliberate attempt to avoid the same balancing pitfalls of ''Dragon Quest II'' and provide a smoother difficulty curve. Implementing the NPCs and writing their dialogue took place in July, along with programming their movements for the time of day and during events.  

What is likely the most infamous instance of the game's cut content was a scenario based on ''[[The Portopia Serial Murder Case]]'', where the party would rest at a village's inn and hear someone rustling through the Hero's belongings in the middle of the night. The next day the player would find that the [[ultimate key]] had been stolen and be unable to leave the village until it was recovered. The player would gather clues by speaking to the villagers in a manner similar to how Boss and Yasu conducted their investigation in ''Portopia'', but the strict memory limitations of the 2-megabit Famicom cartridge forced the event to be scrapped<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>

[[Koichi Nakamura]] was concurrently programming the game's battle systems based on the outlines decided in January, and placed a focus on the artificial intelligence used by monsters in addition to general balancing. For example, some monsters are aware of their MP pool and will not waste a turn trying to cast a spell they cannot afford, while the [[imp]]s are dumb and will try to cast powerful spells despite having no MP at all. Development shifted focus to battle balancing in September when Akira Toriyama completed the artwork for the monsters, with the team deciding the attack patterns and habitats of the beasts now that their designs were finalized by a professional<ref>9月には、鳥山くんのほうからモンスターの絵がすべて出来上がってきたので、攻撃パターンのデータ作成。 さらにモンスターの分布等をきめ、現在にいたります。</ref>.   

Upon being told that the game took place many years before the original ''Dragon Quest'', composer [[Koichi Sugiyama]] utilized a decidedly classical tone for the soundtrack to reflect it's placement in the series timeline<ref>田尻: そういう微調整みたいなことがあるんですか。

Development on the Super Famicom remake of ''Dragon Quest III'' began shortly after the release of ''Dragon Quest VI'' in 1995. The personality system was inspired by Yuji Horii's time working as a copywriter for ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_(Japanese_magazine) Seventeen]'', a quarterly magazine for teenage girls, wherein he developed personality tests for the readers<ref>ドラゴンクエストIII　そして伝説へ…　公式ガイドブック SE-MOOk guide book, page 223 ISBN-10:‎4757595395</ref>. Such a system gave the characters created at Patty's place more distinction, something lacking in the original 8-bit version where characters of the same vocation and level were the same, and had the added benefit of giving players more to work with when imagining how their characters would interact with one another.

Though Ortega was important to the game's story, memory restrictions meant that he was only mentioned by name before appearing near the end in Zoma's Citadel and even then he was represented by a mere pallet swap of the common [[hood]] monster. His story was elaborated upon through the addition of the game's opening cutscene, which depicted his departure from Aliahan and his apparent death against an unidentified monster at the summit of [[Mt. Necrogond]]. Additionally the [[joker's soaker]] item found in [[Mur]] was replaced with Ortega's helmet, giving players a stronger connection to their avatar's father. The open-ended nature of the game allowed determined players to retrieve the family heirloom very early in their adventure, which prevented the helmet from being made the best head protection in the game; a critique that would be [[Auroral Helm|rectified in the HD-2D remake]] decades later.

#Around the World (Around the World ~ Town ~ Jipang ~ Pyramid ~ Village) (6:48)

Like most {{Main Series}} games, ''III'' was renamed in its initial appearance in America to ''Dragon Warrior III''. The Priest character class was renamed "Pilgrim," while the priests at churches were renamed healers. The [[church]]es themselves were referred to as Houses of Healing and had their Christian crosses replaced with six-pointed stars. Finally, dead {{Party 3}} Members were depicted as ghosts rather than as coffins with crosses on the lid as they were in the Japanese version.

The Japan-only 1996 remake of ''III'' for the {{Super Famicom}} featured significantly updated graphics and sound quality, a new Thief character class, and an extra dungeon to explore and a [[Xenlon|hidden boss]] to defeat after the credits rolled, the first for a remake.  The {{Super Famicom}} version also included a [[List of personality types in Dragon Quest III|personality system]] for all members of the player's {{Party 3}} to influence their statistical growth, adding much more customization to the game.  This personality system would later be adopted by the {{DQMSeries}}, {{DQ10}}, and ''[[Dragon Quest: Monster Parade]]''.

The 16-bit version of ''III'' also added the board game-like minigame from {{DQ5}}, [[Treasures n' Trapdoors]]. The game was also originally slated to have a collectible [[Mini medal]] side quest, but this was cut due to cartridge space constraints. While later titles in the series would include this quest in their original releases, all remakes of ''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' have included an extensive mini medal quest. The later {{Game Boy Color}} version of the game, which saw release in America in 2001, was based on this version. The {{GBC}} edition would include minor balance tweaks, but is mostly recognized for the inclusion of [[Monster Medal]]s--gold, silver, and bronze tokens awarded when a particular {{MFamilies}} is the last defeated in battle. They do nothing themselves, but attaining all of them opens yet another [[bonus dungeon]] with a superboss to vanquish at the end.

In 2014, an enhanced port of the {{Super Famicom}} version was brought to [[Cell phone]]s. It retains most content from the {{Super Famicom}} version and some of the minor balance tweaks from the {{GBC}} release, but removes [[Treasures n' Trapdoors]], the [[Monster Medal]] feature, and its associated dungeon. This version was made available outside of Japan on December 4th, 2014 and featured a newly translated script in-line with the standards set by [[Plus Alpha]] that also does away with the lingering censorship of the {{GBC}} version. This version would later be re-released in Japan for the {{PlayStation 4}} and [[Nintendo 3DS]] on August 24th, 2017, and eventually for the [[Nintendo Switch]] worldwide on September 27th, 2019.

*There is now a more elaborate title picture, and the title BGM is changed to "Theme of Erdrick". The BGM for savegame selection is also changed; it is now the same as in {{DQ4}}.

*EXP and gold drops are increased 25%, so that characters can level faster.

*Merchants and Gadabouts can now gain {{MP}} when leveling; this is needed since they now gain some {{MP}}-consuming skills.

*Some weapon and armour shops have different items in stock. (EG, [[Manoza]] no longer sells dragonsbane swords.)

*The pyramid layout is slightly different.

*Portoga and [[Baharata]] now have weapon shops.

*After hatching [[Ramia|a certain feathered friend]], the [[merchant]] you left in Immigrant Town will be released from prison and return to Patty's Place.  The town itself will be ran by an unnamed resident, with the jail being removed and replaced by a new house.

*The shop keeper in the [[Super Secret Faerie Village]] will sell items to you if you take the form of a [[Slime]], whereas the {{NES}} version only allowed you to purchase items if you took the form of a dwarf.

*The location BGM is now remixed depending on the time of day.

*More of the music from the first ''Dragon Quest'' game is used when in the hidden world, including the music for the towns, caves and [[Tantegel|a familiar castle]].

*There is a second [[bonus dungeon]], the [[Ice Cave]]. It contains boss {{MFamilies}}s (including [[Boss troll]]s) and [[Mimic]]s as wandering {{MFamilies}}s, allowing the player to collect their [[Monster Medal]]s. There is an additional [[Gran Dragon|hidden boss]] who will challenge the {{Party 3}} to collect all the [[Monster Medal]]s, as well as offering them a [[Rubiss sword|new weapon]] if they defeat him. Unlike the first [[bonus dungeon]], the layout of this one is completely original.

*In the {{NES}} version, if you defeat [[Zoma]] without The {{Hero 3}} in your line up (Post-Game), then whoever you have at the front of your {{Party 3}} will be given the title of Erdrick, and treated as a Legendary Hero.  In this version, doing so causes The {{Hero 3}} to appear out of thin air as The King of [[Tantegel|the hidden world]] congratulates the {{Party 3}} during the ending and given the credit for defeating [[Zoma]].

*There is an experience glitch associated with playing T'n'T. If the player lands on a space which reduces his/her strength, it is common that the next battle fought will cause the character's experience to skyrocket. Often this leads to the character being Level 99 immediately. This glitch seems to be intentional, or at least acknowledged by the creators, as if you attempt to save at the King before the next battle, he says you have gained experience in "an unusual way" and "it will become clear to you in battle".

|Koichi Nakamura

*Akira Sakuma, the creator of the ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotar%C5%8D_Densetsu| Momotaro Densetsu]'' series and Yuji Horii's fellow ''Weekly Shonen Jump'' alumni, was personally given a copy of ''Dragon Quest III'' by Horii. When visiting Horii in his home, Sakuma was also the first non-development staff member to see Ramia's finalized design<ref>https://archive.ph/HFJyC</ref>.

Akira and Sasuke Toriyama playing III.png|Akira Toriyama and his son Sasuke playing the game

DQIII CD Theater.png|CD Theater

DQ3 HD2D Boxart US.jpg| US Boxart for the 2D-HD remake.

File:DW III logo & ortega sketches.jpg|Sketch of the NES titlescreen, by artist Hazuki Kurikara

Zenith dragon and DWIII logo concept art by Hazuki Kurikara.jpeg|The illustration of the Zenith Dragon used for the logo basis

Akira Sakuma DQ III letter.jpeg|Akira Sakuma's letter from Yuji Horii

Nintendo power issue1 DQIII.jpg|''Nintendo Power'' article