Casino
The Casino is a recurring mini-game in the Dragon Quest series.
Casinos appear in all games beginning with Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. While gambling in the Dragon Quest series began in Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, where merchants would give out tombola tickets for use similar to a slot machine, the full blown casino had its debut in the fourth title.
Description
The Casino is a gambling hall, usually underground, where the player can use their gold coins to purchase casino tokens, or coins, which can then be wagered on various games of chance. The only reward for doing well in these games is more tokens, 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 tokens 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. Tokens 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.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies was the first main series game since Dragon Quest to not include a form of gambling.
Games
Slot machine
Insert 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 tokens 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 tokens on green slot machines, 90 tokens on blue slot machines, and 900 tokens 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 tokens 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
| Poker Hand | Requirements | Odds | 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 tokens.
In the NES version of Dragon Warrior IV, the player can place up to 100 tokens and get a high return if the player wins.
However in the Zenithia Trilogy remakes, the player can only bet up to 10 tokens and it is the least likely to give the player a high return.
In Dragon Quest XI, the player can bet up to 100 tokens before the second act and up to 1000 after the second act. This gives the player a high return if they win.
Monster Arena
The Monster Arena has the player bet on one monster 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 tokens 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 Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, the lucky panel is a matching game that allows the player to win items along with the usual tokens. 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 Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, 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, 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
Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation
There are monster fight rings in Romaria, Isis, Manoza and Cantlin. The Hero is limited to placing bets to win gold. No special prizes are available.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
The casino is located in the castle town of Endor in the basement of the inn. It has a monster battle arena, slot machines, and a poker table. In 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 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 Chapter 5, the Hero discovers that Maya had blown all of her and Meena's money. The player can buy 1 token for 20 gold coins.
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 sress 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.
Endor Casino Prizes (NES version)
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Endor Casino Prizes (Nintendo DS version)
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Pioneer Casino Prizes
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After crossing the Trans-Montane Tunnel, The Hero receives a congratulations for crossing the tunnel for the 1,000th time (the number of times to cross varies). As a reward, The Hero receives 2,000 casino tokens. In the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo DS Version, the number of tokens awarded is 100.
The Hero will also receive 250,000 if 'The Big Book of Beasts' is filled out with all of the enemies encountered.
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.
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 tokens, they can place the bet on one monster which often fights in 3 or 4 monsters, the player has a 25 to 33 percent chance that the monster they bet on will survive and win the fight. If the players monsters wins the first round they can then choose to multiply their money and bet again on a monster. However this is risky as the players monster they bet on can die and lose the fight or if the player chooses to quit the round, sometimes the monster 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 coins the monster arena bet will end. Once they win money the player should save the game at the church.
The player can make easy money by buying Prayer rings for 500 tokes and sell them for 2250 gold coins. Later on, they can also buy Magical skirts for 1000 tokens and sell them for 7350 gold coins.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
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 Ventuno Casino Ship ship near 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 Ventuno one has poker tables instead.
| Prize | Tokens | 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 Humans or Slime companions. |
| Monster magnet | 20,000 | 5 Defence, and increases the chance of a monster being recruited. Can only be equipped by the Hero. |
| Metal king sword | 50,000 | 130 Attack. |
| Gringham whip | 250,000 | 100 Attack, hits all enemies. |
| Prizes are available at both Fortuna & Ventuna casinos. | ||
| The Monster magnet was added to the Cell phone ports of the game as of July 5, 2019. | ||
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
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.
Port Haven
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Turnscote
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Greedmore Valley
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It is highly recommended that the player place bets on the slot machine and bet up to 9 tokens, 90 tokens and 900 tokens. 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 tokens and sell it for 2625 gold coins.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
Pilgrim's Rest
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Buccanham
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The Haven
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Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
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.
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Pickham Casino Prizes
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Baccarat Casino Prizes
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See also
Gallery
Famicom art of a casino token.
Casino on a manga cover.
