Overture

The Overture is a recurring theme by Kōichi Sugiyama in the Dragon Quest series. It is often played in the opening titles of each game and is known by many as the Dragon Quest March. Today, it is as recognizable as the Prologue from the Final Fantasy games.

List of Appearances

Artwork portraying the Hero, the Princess of Moonbrooke, and the Prince of Cannock marching along; a representation of the Overture.

The Overture has appeared in the following games:

• Dragon Quest (all versions)
• Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line (all versions)
• Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation (all versions)
• Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (all versions)
• Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (all versions)
• Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (all versions)
• Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (all versions)
• Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (all versions)
• Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
• Dragon Quest X
• Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (all versions)
• Dragon Quest Builders series
• Dragon Quest Heroes series

Trivia

• Part of the Overture can be heard during "The Time of Decisive Battle," the final battle theme from Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.
• The Overture can also be found in the PC98 title the 4.6 Billion Year Story: Theory of Evolution. This is due in part by Sugiyama composing the music for that game as well. The location of the song's appearance is during a battle against a blue dinosaur named "Sugiyaman," named after Sugiyama himself.
• Kōichi Sugiyama himself claims that he composed the Overture in around five minutes.
• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the ending phrase of the Overture is heard as the official victory theme of the Dragon Quest series.
• Overture was one of the songs played during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Opening Ceremony's Parade of Nations. It lead off the parade as the athletes from Greece entered the stadium; however, the final bars of the song were reserved to play at the end of the parade when the Olympic motto Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together was projected onto the stadium field.

Videos

The original version of the Overture as seen in the NES version of Dragon Quest,.

The Overture as it appears in the NES version of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. (Note the different introduction.)

The Overture as heard in the opening of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. (Note how the introduction was changed once more.)

The Overture as heard in the Dragon Quest I Symphonic Suite. This version is the most complete including passages often omitted from game versions.