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'''Dragon Quest''' (ドラゴンクエスト ''Doragon Kuesto'') is a series of role-playing games made by [[Yūji Horii]], [[Akira Toriyama]], [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] and [[Square Enix]] (originally [[Enix]]) for a variety of video game platforms. 30 years after its debut, it is the all-time best-selling video game series in Japan, and enjoys increasing worldwide popularity through a stronger international marketing push with the merger of Enix and Square. | '''Dragon Quest''' (ドラゴンクエスト ''Doragon Kuesto'') is a series of role-playing games made by [[Yūji Horii]], [[Akira Toriyama]], [[Kōichi Sugiyama]] and [[Square Enix]] (originally [[Enix]]) for a variety of video game platforms. 30 years after its debut, it is the all-time best-selling video game series in Japan, and enjoys increasing worldwide popularity through a stronger international marketing push with the merger of Enix and Square. | ||
Each game in the main series of games it titled with the name ''Dragon Quest'' followed by a roman numeral. Since 1986, which marked the release of the original | Each game in the main series of games it titled with the name ''Dragon Quest'' followed by a roman numeral. Since 1986, which marked the release of the original {{DQ}}, ''Dragon Quest'' has so far featured 11 games within the main series, as well as several spin off games. It has also featured two animated productions. | ||
''Dragon Quest'' is often compared with the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series, created by SquareSoft. Although the ''Dragon Quest'' series started before ''[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_(series) Final Fantasy]'', it continues to release titles at a slower paces within the main series (11 versus 15 total games). The two competed for more or less the same market until the companies' merger in 2003, at which point ''Dragon Quest'' became the main financial pillar of the company amidst wavering popularity and unreliable sales of the ''Final Fantasy'' series. | ''Dragon Quest'' is often compared with the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series, created by SquareSoft. Although the ''Dragon Quest'' series started before ''[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_(series) Final Fantasy]'', it continues to release titles at a slower paces within the main series (11 versus 15 total games). The two competed for more or less the same market until the companies' merger in 2003, at which point ''Dragon Quest'' became the main financial pillar of the company amidst wavering popularity and unreliable sales of the ''Final Fantasy'' series. | ||
Installments of the series have appeared on MSX computers, Famicom/NES, Super Famicom/Super NES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Wii video game consoles, as well as on several models of mobile phone. As of February 2019, the ''Dragon Quest'' series has sold over [[Worldwide Dragon Quest Sales|78 million units worldwide]]. It is Square Enix's second most successful franchise after ''Final Fantasy'' and is one of the most popular video game franchises in Japan. | Installments of the series have appeared on MSX computers, {{Famicom}}/{{NES}}, {{Super Famicom}}/Super NES, {{Game Boy Color}}, Game Boy Advance, [[Nintendo DS]], {{PlayStation}}, {{PlayStation 2}} and Wii video game consoles, as well as on several models of mobile phone. As of February 2019, the ''Dragon Quest'' series has sold over [[Worldwide Dragon Quest Sales|78 million units worldwide]]. It is Square Enix's second most successful franchise after ''Final Fantasy'' and is one of the most popular video game franchises in Japan. | ||
==Common Themes== | ==Common Themes== | ||
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[[Image:DQIV_Fleeing.png|right|thumb|255px|Fleeing from enemies in ''Dragon Quest IV'']] | [[Image:DQIV_Fleeing.png|right|thumb|255px|Fleeing from enemies in ''Dragon Quest IV'']] | ||
However, ''Dragon Quest I-III and IV-VI'' can be considered related through their storytelling. ''II'' is a direct sequel to the original game, while ''III'' is a prequel that effectively makes a trilogy; ''IV, V, and VI'' each feature the [[Zenithia | However, ''Dragon Quest I-III and IV-VI'' can be considered related through their storytelling. ''II'' is a direct sequel to the original game, while ''III'' is a prequel that effectively makes a trilogy; ''IV, V, and VI'' each feature the [[Zenithia]] castle as an important plot element, and so fans have come to call them the "Zenithia Trilogy." However, [[Yūji Horii]] has stated that this second group was never intended to be related. | ||
Magic is frequently an important element, as both an in-battle ability of player-controlled characters and the cause of various world-shaking events. | Magic is frequently an important element, as both an in-battle ability of player-controlled characters and the cause of various world-shaking events. | ||
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In 1982, Enix sponsored a national video game programming contest, which brought much of the ''Dragon Quest'' team together, including Yūji Horii. The prize of the competition was a trip to the United States, and a visit to AppleFest '83 in San Francisco, where Horii discovered ''Wizardry''. Kōichi Nakamura and Yukinobu Chida, two other winners of the contest, along with Horii, released The Portopia Serial Murder Case for the Famicom for Enix. Sugiyama, already famous for jingles and pop songs, impressed with the group's work, sent a postcard to Enix, commenting on the software. In response, Enix asked him to write music for some of its games. The group then decided to make a console role-playing game, using a combination of ''Wizardry'' and ''Ultima''. ''Dragon Ball'' creator Akira Toriyama, who knew Horii through the manga magazine ''Shonen Jump'', was commissioned to illustrate the characters and monsters to separate the game from other RPGs of the time and the Dragon Quest "team" was born. | In 1982, Enix sponsored a national video game programming contest, which brought much of the ''Dragon Quest'' team together, including Yūji Horii. The prize of the competition was a trip to the United States, and a visit to AppleFest '83 in San Francisco, where Horii discovered ''Wizardry''. Kōichi Nakamura and Yukinobu Chida, two other winners of the contest, along with Horii, released The Portopia Serial Murder Case for the Famicom for Enix. Sugiyama, already famous for jingles and pop songs, impressed with the group's work, sent a postcard to Enix, commenting on the software. In response, Enix asked him to write music for some of its games. The group then decided to make a console role-playing game, using a combination of ''Wizardry'' and ''Ultima''. ''Dragon Ball'' creator Akira Toriyama, who knew Horii through the manga magazine ''Shonen Jump'', was commissioned to illustrate the characters and monsters to separate the game from other RPGs of the time and the Dragon Quest "team" was born. | ||
''Dragon Quest'' was created by Yūji Horii, who has been the scenario director since. The series monster and character designs, as well as box art, are done by famed ''Dragon Ball'' manga artist, Akira Toriyama. All of the music for the ''Dragon Quest'' series has been composed by Kōichi Sugiyama. ''Dragon Quest'' games have been developed by [[Chunsoft]], [[Heartbeat]], [[ArtePiazza]], and, starting with | ''Dragon Quest'' was created by Yūji Horii, who has been the scenario director since. The series monster and character designs, as well as box art, are done by famed ''Dragon Ball'' manga artist, Akira Toriyama. All of the music for the ''Dragon Quest'' series has been composed by Kōichi Sugiyama. ''Dragon Quest'' games have been developed by [[Chunsoft]], [[Heartbeat]], [[ArtePiazza]], and, starting with {{Dragon Quest VIII}}, [[Level-5]]. Horii's own company, [[Armor Project]], is in charge of the ''Dragon Quest'' games, which were published by Enix and, since [[Square Enix Merger|April 2003]] by Square Enix. While Toriyama is the series' character designer, the primary designs are first conceived by Horii, before being handed to Toriyama to re-draw under Horii's supervision. When Horii first created ''Dragon Quest'', most people doubted that a fantasy series with swords and dungeons instead of science fiction would become popular in Japan; but the series has become a phenomenon there. | ||
''Dragon Quest'' is not nearly as successful outside Japan, having been eclipsed primarily by ''Final Fantasy'' and possibly by other RPG series. Because of [[Enix America Corporation]]'s closure in the mid 1990's, the SNES versions of {{DQ5}} and {{DQ6}} were never officially released in North America. In Europe, none of the games have seen release prior to the spin-off ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters (series)|Dragon Warrior Monsters]]'' and then {{DQ8}}. With the merger of Square and Enix in 2003, the number of places in which ''Dragon Quest'' games are released has greatly increased. In May 2008, Square Enix announced localizations of the Nintendo DS remakes of | ''Dragon Quest'' is not nearly as successful outside Japan, having been eclipsed primarily by ''Final Fantasy'' and possibly by other RPG series. Because of [[Enix America Corporation]]'s closure in the mid 1990's, the SNES versions of {{DQ5}} and {{DQ6}} were never officially released in North America. In Europe, none of the games have seen release prior to the spin-off ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters (series)|Dragon Warrior Monsters]]'' and then {{DQ8}}. With the merger of Square and Enix in 2003, the number of places in which ''Dragon Quest'' games are released has greatly increased. In May 2008, Square Enix announced localizations of the Nintendo DS remakes of {{Dragon Quest IV}}, ''V'', and ''VI'', collectively called by Square Enix the [[List of Name Changes in the Zenithia Trilogy|Zenithia trilogy]], for North America and the PAL region. With this announcement, all the main games in the ''Dragon Quest'' series will now have seen release outside Japan at least once. | ||
The ninth installment, {{DQ9}}, was released in Japan for Nintendo DS in July 11, 2009. In North American it was released a year later in July 11, 2010 and a few days later in Europe on July 23 while Australia and New Zealand got the game the following month on August 10. | The ninth installment, {{DQ9}}, was released in Japan for Nintendo DS in July 11, 2009. In North American it was released a year later in July 11, 2010 and a few days later in Europe on July 23 while Australia and New Zealand got the game the following month on August 10. | ||
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The tenth installment of the main series, {{DQ10}}, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and it was released on August 2, 2012 only in Japan for the Wii, Wii U (2013), Microsoft Windows (2013), Android (2013), iOS (2013), Nintendo 3DS (2014), PlayStation 4 (2017) and Nintendo Switch (2017). | The tenth installment of the main series, {{DQ10}}, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and it was released on August 2, 2012 only in Japan for the Wii, Wii U (2013), Microsoft Windows (2013), Android (2013), iOS (2013), Nintendo 3DS (2014), PlayStation 4 (2017) and Nintendo Switch (2017). | ||
The eleventh installment of the series is Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, it was released in Japan on July 29, 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS and the | The eleventh installment of the series is ''[[Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age]]'', it was released in Japan on July 29, 2017 for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] and the {{PlayStation 4}}. During the release in Japan it was announced that an international version was going to be released in 2018, the date was later confirmed to be September 4, 2018 for North America and Europe. | ||
===Creation and Design=== | ===Creation and Design=== | ||
"At the time I first made ''Dragon Quest'', role-playing games on the computer were still very much in the realm of hardcore fans and not very accessible to other players. So I decided to create a system that was easy to understand and emotionally involving, and then placed my story within that framework." —Yūji Horii | "At the time I first made ''Dragon Quest'', role-playing games on the computer were still very much in the realm of hardcore fans and not very accessible to other players. So I decided to create a system that was easy to understand and emotionally involving, and then placed my story within that framework." —Yūji Horii | ||
Yūji Horii originally used the full-screen map of ''Ultima'' and the battle and stats oriented ''Wizardry'' screen to create the gameplay of ''Dragon Quest''. The first six ''Dragon Quest'' games' stories are divided into two trilogies. The first three games of the series tell the story of the legendary hero known as '''[[Erdrick|Roto]]''' (also known as '''Erdrick''' or '''Loto''' in the American NES and GBC versions, respectively). ''Dragon Quest IV'', ''V'', and ''VI'' are based around a castle in the sky called [[Zenithia]], and are referred to as ''The Tenku'' in Japan, meaning Heaven. The main series from {{DQ7}} on are independent of each other and stand alone. | Yūji Horii originally used the full-screen map of ''Ultima'' and the battle and stats oriented ''Wizardry'' screen to create the gameplay of ''Dragon Quest''. The first six ''Dragon Quest'' games' stories are divided into two trilogies. The first three games of the series tell the story of the legendary hero known as '''[[Erdrick|Roto]]''' (also known as '''Erdrick''' or '''Loto''' in the American {{NES}} and {{GBC}} versions, respectively). ''Dragon Quest IV'', ''V'', and ''VI'' are based around a castle in the sky called [[Zenithia]], and are referred to as ''The Tenku'' in Japan, meaning Heaven. The main series from {{DQ7}} on are independent of each other and stand alone. | ||
The typical ''Dragon Quest'' plot involves a certain villain to be defeated at the end of the game, usually one who threatens the world in some way. However, the plotline often consists of smaller stories involving different NPC's the player meets as the adventure goes on.[16] The games themselves feature a number of religious overtones—saving the game (in later games) and reviving characters who have died is performed by clergy in churches. Priests are often seen wandering around the overworld of | The typical ''Dragon Quest'' plot involves a certain villain to be defeated at the end of the game, usually one who threatens the world in some way. However, the plotline often consists of smaller stories involving different {{NPC}}'s the player meets as the adventure goes on.[16] The games themselves feature a number of religious overtones—saving the game (in later games) and reviving characters who have died is performed by clergy in churches. Priests are often seen wandering around the overworld of {{DQM}} and have the ability to heal. The final enemy in some of the ''Dragon Quest'' games is known as the Demon Lord. For instance, in {{Dragon Quest VII}}, the Demon Lord, known as [[Orgodemir]] in that particular game, is the final boss, and there is also a sidequest to battle [[The Almighty|God]] himself. The first four ''Dragon Warrior'' titles suffered from substantial censorship in their North American localizations, largely in keeping with Nintendo of America's content guidelines at the time, which placed severe restrictions on religious iconography and mature content. When these games were remade for the Game Boy Color, many of these censorships were taken out. Since {{Dragon Warrior VII}}, the games have been kept similar to their original versions when going through localization. | ||
===Name change=== | ===Name change=== | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{DQ}}<br /><small>''Dragon Quest''</small> | | {{DQ}}<br /><small>''Dragon Quest''</small> | ||
| | | {{Famicom}} (''1986''), [[MSX]] (''1986''), {{Super Famicom}} (''1993''), [[Game Boy]] Color (''1999''), [[Satellaview]] (''1998''), [[Cell phone]] (''2004''), Cell phones (''2014'') | ||
| Nintendo Entertainment System|NES (''1989''), Game Boy Color (''2000''), Cell phones (''2014'') | | Nintendo Entertainment System|NES (''1989''), Game Boy Color (''2000''), Cell phones (''2014'') | ||
| iOS/Android based phones (''2014'') | | iOS/Android based phones (''2014'') | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{DQ5}}<br /><small>''Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome''</small> | | {{DQ5}}<br /><small>''Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome''</small> | ||
| Super Famicom (''1992''), | | Super Famicom (''1992''), {{PlayStation 2}} (''2004''), Nintendo DS (''2008''), Cell phones (''2014'') | ||
| Super Nintendo (cancelled), Nintendo DS (''2009''), Cell phones (''2015'') | | Super Nintendo (cancelled), Nintendo DS (''2009''), Cell phones (''2015'') | ||
| Nintendo DS (''2009''), iOS/Android based phones (''2015'') | | Nintendo DS (''2009''), iOS/Android based phones (''2015'') | ||
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===Spin-offs=== | ===Spin-offs=== | ||
The franchise also includes several spin-off series, including | The franchise also includes several spin-off series, including {{DQM}} and ''[[Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest]]'', as well as arcade games like the Japanese game {{DQMBR}}. Several games in both the ''Mystery Dungeon'' and ''Itadaki Street'' series have characters from the ''Dragon Quest'' games. | ||
In 1993, Chunsoft created a Super Famicom game in Japan for | In 1993, Chunsoft created a Super Famicom game in Japan for {{Torneko}} (トルネコ, ''romanized as Torneco''), or Taloon, a fictional character first appearing in {{Dragon Quest IV}}. The game, titled ''[[Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon]]'' which loosely translates to ''Torneco's Great Adventure: Mysterious Dungeon'', was a roguelike which continued Torneko's story from {{Dragon Quest IV}}, where he wished to make his store grow even further by venturing into mysterious dungeons and getting more items for stock. It was very successful, both on namesake and quality. A direct sequel to ''Torneco no Daibouken'' came out in Japan and the United States in 2000 called ''[[Torneko: The Last Hope]]''. This game was very similar to the first, but it is considered much easier by comparison. It was received well enough in Japan to warrant a third direct sequel, on the PlayStation 2, titled ''[[Torneco no Daibouken 3: Fushigi no Dungeon]]''. Both the second and third Torneko games were also ported to the Game Boy Advance. Following the success of Torneko, many other ''Fushigi no Dungeon'' games were published by various companies (most of which developed by Chunsoft), among the best known are ''Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon'' and ''Nightmare of Druaga: Mysterious Dungeon''. | ||
Three spin-offs are played by physically swinging a controller using it as a sword to slash enemies among other things. | Three spin-offs are played by physically swinging a controller using it as a sword to slash enemies among other things. {{KDR is a stand alone game which comes with the a toy sword as the controller, and a toy shield containing the game's hardware. {{Dragon Quest Swords}} is an exclusive Wii title which uses the motion sensing abilities of the Wii Remote similarly. Finally, a card-based arcade game, known as {{DQMBR}} and developed by Level-5, was released exclusively in Japan. | ||
{| style="width:100%; height:100px; border:1px solid #E42E2E" border="1" | {| style="width:100%; height:100px; border:1px solid #E42E2E" border="1" | ||
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! width=25% | In the PAL region | ! width=25% | In the PAL region | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | {{Dragon Warrior Monsters}}<br /><small>''Dragon Quest Monsters''</small> | ||
| [[Game Boy]] Color (''1998''), [[Sony PlayStation]] (''2002''), [[Mobile game|Mobile phone]] (''2002'') | | [[Game Boy]] Color (''1998''), [[Sony PlayStation]] (''2002''), [[Mobile game|Mobile phone]] (''2002'') | ||
| Game Boy Color (''1999'') | | Game Boy Color (''1999'') | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| ''[[Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 3|Torneko no Daibōken 3: Fushigi no Dungeon]]'' | | ''[[Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 3|Torneko no Daibōken 3: Fushigi no Dungeon]]'' | ||
| | | {{PlayStation 2}} (''2002''), Game Boy Advance (''2004'') | ||
| not released | | not released | ||
| not released | | not released | ||
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| not released | | not released | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | {{DQHRS}}<br /><small>''Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 2: Daisensha to Shippo Dan''</small> | ||
| Nintendo DS (''2005'') | | Nintendo DS (''2005'') | ||
| Nintendo DS (''2006'') | | Nintendo DS (''2006'') | ||