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The first six Dragon Quest games' stories are divided into two [[Trilogy|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-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 ''[[Dragon Warrior VII|Dragon Quest VII]]'' on are independent of each other and stand alone.<ref>{{cite web | author=Matt Weiss | year=2002 | title=Dragon Warrior 7 review | url=http://www.gamecritics.com/review/dragonwarr7/main.php | work= | accessdate=September 23 | accessyear=2007}}</ref>
The first six Dragon Quest games' stories are divided into two [[Trilogy|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-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 ''[[Dragon Warrior VII|Dragon Quest VII]]'' on are independent of each other and stand alone.<ref>{{cite web | author=Matt Weiss | year=2002 | title=Dragon Warrior 7 review | url=http://www.gamecritics.com/review/dragonwarr7/main.php | work= | accessdate=September 23 | accessyear=2007}}</ref>


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. [[Bishop]]s are often seen wandering around the overworld of ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters|Dragon Warrior Monsters]]'' 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 Warrior VII]]'', the Demon Lord, known as Orgodemir in that particular game, is the final [[boss (video game)|boss]], and there is also a [[sidequest]] to battle God himself.<ref name="historyof" /> The first four ''Dragon Warrior'' titles suffered from substantial [[censorship]] in their North American localizations, largely in keeping with [[Nintendo|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.<ref>{{cite web | author=Shahed Ahmed | year=2000 | title=Enix Comments on DQ VII | url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps/rpg/dragonwarrior7/news_2643279.html | work= | accessdate=September 12 | accessyear=2007}}</ref> Since ''Dragon Warrior VII'', the games have been kept similar to their original versions when going through localization.<ref>{{cite web | author= | year=2001 | title=E3 2001 Interview | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/features/e32k1-enix/index.html | work= | accessdate=September 23 | accessyear=2007}}</ref>
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.<ref name="hgone">{{cite web | author=Kurt Kalata | year=2007 | title=Dragon Warrior/ Dragon Quest | url=http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dragonquest/dragonquest.htm | work= | accessdate=January 29 | accessyear=2008}}</ref> 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. [[Bishop]]s are often seen wandering around the overworld of ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters|Dragon Warrior Monsters]]'' 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 Warrior VII]]'', the Demon Lord, known as Orgodemir in that particular game, is the final [[boss (video game)|boss]], and there is also a [[sidequest]] to battle God himself.<ref name="historyof" /> The first four ''Dragon Warrior'' titles suffered from substantial [[censorship]] in their North American localizations, largely in keeping with [[Nintendo|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.<ref>{{cite web | author=Shahed Ahmed | year=2000 | title=Enix Comments on DQ VII | url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps/rpg/dragonwarrior7/news_2643279.html | work= | accessdate=September 12 | accessyear=2007}}</ref> Since ''Dragon Warrior VII'', the games have been kept similar to their original versions when going through localization.<ref>{{cite web | author= | year=2001 | title=E3 2001 Interview | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/features/e32k1-enix/index.html | work= | accessdate=September 23 | accessyear=2007}}</ref>


==Games==
==Games==
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===Gameplay===
===Gameplay===
[[Image:Dragon warrior 3 battle screen.gif|thumb|Typical battle from ''[[Dragon Warrior III]]'']]
[[Image:Dragon warrior 3 battle screen.gif|thumb|Typical battle from ''[[Dragon Warrior III]]'']]
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.<ref name="hgone">{{cite web | author=Kurt Kalata | year=2007 | title=Dragon Warrior/ Dragon Quest | url=http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dragonquest/dragonquest.htm | work= | accessdate=January 29 | accessyear=2008}}</ref> The game player's party walks into a town and buys weapons, armor, and items in order to defeat monsters easily. When the player's party is out of the town, the party is vulnerable to random monster attacks. When players encounter monsters, they have several options from which to choose through menus. The player can attack and defeat the enemy with weapons, magic, or items. The player can also attempt to run away from the fight. However, this option is not available during a [[boss (video game)|boss]] battle. After a player wins a battle by defeating all the monsters, the player's party members gain [[experience point]]s (EXP) in order to gain new levels. When a certain character gains a new level, the stats of the character are upgraded.<ref name="np7">Editors of Nintendo Power: ''Nintendo Power July - August, 1989; issue 7'' (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 39-50.</ref>
The game player's party walks into a town and buys weapons, armor, and items in order to defeat monsters easily. When the player's party is out of the town, the party is vulnerable to random monster attacks. When players encounter monsters, they have several options from which to choose through menus. The player can attack and defeat the enemy with weapons, magic, or items. The player can also attempt to run away from the fight. However, this option is not available during a [[boss (video game)|boss]] battle. After a player wins a battle by defeating all the monsters, the player's party members gain [[experience point]]s (EXP) in order to gain new levels. When a certain character gains a new level, the stats of the character are upgraded.<ref name="np7">Editors of Nintendo Power: ''Nintendo Power July - August, 1989; issue 7'' (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 39-50.</ref>


To save one's progress, the player must visit a Church (also known as a House of Healing in early North American versions) and talk to a priest or nun. In early versions of ''Dragon Quest'', the player must visit a king in order to save his or her progress<ref name="np7"/> (this does not include the first two ''Dragon Quest'' titles for the Famicom, which use a password system).<ref>{{cite web | author= | year=2001 | title=Dragon Quest history | url=http://www.woodus.com/den/general/history.php | work= | accessdate=September 12 | accessyear=2007}}</ref> If the player's party dies in battle, the group will lose half of their gold and the leader of the party warps back to the nearest church. The leader then needs to pay a priest to revive his/her party members. More recent games in the series have banks in many towns that allow the player to store gold, which prevents it from being lost when the party dies.
To save one's progress, the player must visit a Church (also known as a House of Healing in early North American versions) and talk to a priest or nun. In early versions of ''Dragon Quest'', the player must visit a king in order to save his or her progress<ref name="np7"/> (this does not include the first two ''Dragon Quest'' titles for the Famicom, which use a password system).<ref>{{cite web | author= | year=2001 | title=Dragon Quest history | url=http://www.woodus.com/den/general/history.php | work= | accessdate=September 12 | accessyear=2007}}</ref> If the player's party dies in battle, the group will lose half of their gold and the leader of the party warps back to the nearest church. The leader then needs to pay a priest to revive his/her party members. More recent games in the series have banks in many towns that allow the player to store gold, which prevents it from being lost when the party dies.

Revision as of 17:59, 22 October 2008

This article is about the series of video games. For the first game in the series, see Dragon Warrior. For the PlayStation 2 game, see Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. For other titles, see Dragon Quest (disambiguation).
File:Dragon quest logo.jpg

Dragon Quest (ドラゴンクエスト, Doragon Kuesuto), published as Dragon Warrior in North America until the 2005 release of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, is a series of role-playing games created by Yuuji Horii and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). 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 December 19, 2007, the Dragon Quest series has sold over 43 million units worldwide.[1] It is Square Enix's second most successful franchise and is arguably the most popular video game franchise in Japan.[2][3]

Dragon Quest's North American name was changed due to a trademark conflict with the role-playing game DragonQuest, which was published by veteran wargame publisher SPI in the 1980s until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987.[4] In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the US, making the Dragon Warrior name obsolete.

Development

History

In 1982, Enix sponsored a national video game programming contest, which brought much of the Dragon Quest team together, including Yuuji Horii.[5] The prize of the competition was a trip to America, and a visit to AppleFest '83 in San Francisco, where Horii discovered Wizardry.[6] Koichi 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.[7] In response, Enix asked him to write music for some of their games. The group then decided to make a console role-playing game, using a combination of Wizardry and Ultima. Akira Toriyama, who knew Horii through 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.[8][9]

Dragon Quest was created by Yuuji 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.[10] All of the music for the Dragon Quest series has been composed by Koichi Sugiyama.[5] Dragon Quest games have been developed by Chunsoft, Heartbeat, Artepiazza, and starting with Dragon Quest VIII, Level-5.[11] Horii's own company, Armor Project, is in charge of the Dragon Quest games, which were published by Enix and now 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.[12] 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.[13]

Dragon Quest is not nearly as successful outside Japan, having been eclipsed by Final Fantasy and other RPG series. Because of Enix America Corporation's closure in the mid 1990's, Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI were never officially released in North America. In Europe, none of the games have seen release prior to the spin-off Dragon Warrior Monsters then Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. With the merger of Square with Enix in 2003, the number of places that Dragon Quest games are released has greatly increased.[13] In May 2008, Square Enix announced localizations of the Nintendo DS remakes of Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI, known collectively as the Zenithia trilogy, for North America and the PAL region.[14][15] With this announcement, all the main games in the Dragon Quest series will now have seen release outside Japan at least once.

Creation and design

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 Roto (also known as Erdrick or Loto in the American NES and GBC versions, respectively). Dragon Quest IV-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 Dragon Quest VII on are independent of each other and stand alone.[16]

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.[17] 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. Bishops are often seen wandering around the overworld of Dragon Warrior Monsters 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 Warrior VII, the Demon Lord, known as Orgodemir in that particular game, is the final boss, and there is also a sidequest to battle God himself.[9] 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.[18] Since Dragon Warrior VII, the games have been kept similar to their original versions when going through localization.[19]

Games

Main series

Title
(followed by original title) 		Platforms of release
In Japan In North America In the PAL region
Dragon Warrior
Dragon Quest 		Famicom (1986), MSX (1986), Super Famicom (1993), Game Boy Color (1999), Satellaview (1998), Mobile phones (2004) NES (1989), Game Boy Color (2000) none
Dragon Warrior II
Dragon Quest II: Akuryo no Kamigami 		Famicom (1986), MSX (1986), Super Famicom (1993), Game Boy Color (1999), Mobile phones (2008) NES (1990), Game Boy Color (2000) none
Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e… 		Famicom (1988), MSX (1988), Super Famicom (1996), Game Boy Color (2000) NES (1991), Game Boy Color (2000) none
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi 		Famicom (1990), PlayStation (2001), Nintendo DS (2007) NES (1992), Nintendo DS (2008) Nintendo DS (2008)
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome 		Super Famicom (1992), PlayStation (2004), Nintendo DS (2008) Nintendo DS (TBA) Nintendo DS (TBA)
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie
Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi 		Super Famicom (1995), Nintendo DS (TBA) Nintendo DS (TBA) Nintendo DS (TBA)
Dragon Warrior VII
Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshi-tachi 		PlayStation (2000) PlayStation (2001) none
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi 		PlayStation 2 (2004) PlayStation 2 (2005) PlayStation 2 (2006)
Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito Nintendo DS (2009) ? ?

Spin-offs

The franchise also includes several spin-off series, including Dragon Quest Monsters and Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest, as well as arcade games like the Japanese game Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road.[20] Several games in both the Mystery Dungeon and Itadaki Street series have characters from the Dragon Quest games.

File:Torneko battle screen 1.png
The Torneko games use a roguelike battle system.

In 1993, Chunsoft created a Super Famicom game for Torneko, originally known as simply Taloon to American gamers, a fictional character first appearing in Dragon Warrior IV.[21] The game, titled Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon which loosely translates to Torneko'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 Torneko no Daibouken came out in Japan and the United States in 2000 called Torneko: The Last Hope (Torneko no Daibouken 2 in Japan). This game was very similar to the first, but it is considered much easier by comparison.[22] It was received well enough in Japan to warrant a third direct sequel, on the PlayStation 2, titled Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon 3. Both the second and third Torneko games have been 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.

Two spin-offs are played by physically swinging a controller using it as a sword to slash enemies among other things. Kenshin Dragon Quest is a stand alone game which comes with the a toy sword as the controller, and a toy shield containing the game's hardware.[23] 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 Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road and developed by Level-5, was released exclusively in Japan.[24]

Common elements

Gameplay

Typical battle from Dragon Warrior III

The game player's party walks into a town and buys weapons, armor, and items in order to defeat monsters easily. When the player's party is out of the town, the party is vulnerable to random monster attacks. When players encounter monsters, they have several options from which to choose through menus. The player can attack and defeat the enemy with weapons, magic, or items. The player can also attempt to run away from the fight. However, this option is not available during a boss battle. After a player wins a battle by defeating all the monsters, the player's party members gain experience points (EXP) in order to gain new levels. When a certain character gains a new level, the stats of the character are upgraded.[25]

To save one's progress, the player must visit a Church (also known as a House of Healing in early North American versions) and talk to a priest or nun. In early versions of Dragon Quest, the player must visit a king in order to save his or her progress[25] (this does not include the first two Dragon Quest titles for the Famicom, which use a password system).[26] If the player's party dies in battle, the group will lose half of their gold and the leader of the party warps back to the nearest church. The leader then needs to pay a priest to revive his/her party members. More recent games in the series have banks in many towns that allow the player to store gold, which prevents it from being lost when the party dies.

Dragon Warrior III, Dragon Quest VI, and Dragon Warrior VII feature several classes to choose for the party members.[9] Each of these installments possesses its own particular set of classes, typical classes include the Cleric / Priest / Pilgrim, Fighter, Hero, Jester / Goof-Off, Thief, Warrior / Soldier and Wizard / Mage[27][28]. Dragon Quest VI includes two monster classes[29], and Dragon Warrior VII includes dozens[30].

Monsters

File:Rockett.jpg
Rocket, a common slime monster starring in Dragon Quest Heroes.

The series features several recurring monsters, such as Slimes, Drackies, Shadows, Mummies, Trick Bags, and Dragons.[31][32][33] Many of the monsters have been designed by Akira Toriyama. Many of the Dragon Quest monsters have been featured in the Dragon Quest Monsters series of games, which allows the player to catch monsters and use them in battle. This idea is also used in Dragon Quest V, although humans fight in battle as well.

The official mascot of the Dragon Quest series is the Slime. A Slime is a small blob with a face, shaped like water droplet. It has appeared in every Dragon Quest game and it is usually one of the first monsters the player encounters.[34] The Slime's popularity has netted it two spin-offs: Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. They also make a significant showing in the Japanese manga and two-episode anime Dragon Half.

Loto/Erdrick

Template:Unencyclopedic Erdrick, also known as Roto in Japan or Loto in the North American localization of the Game Boy Color remakes of the first three games, is a legendary hero from the Dragon Quest series. The first three Dragon Quest games make up the "Erdrick trilogy," which are all connected to the legend of Erdrick. He is known in the game as the hero who freed Alefgard from darkness.[35] The name Erdrick was first mentioned in the English localization, Dragon Warrior in which the player is referred to as Erdrick's descendent.[36] Erdrick’s legend was completed with the 1991 release of Dragon Warrior III.

In Dragon Warrior, Erdrick was the ancestor of the Hero. The Hero follows in the footsteps of Erdrick to ultimately reach the Dragonlord's Castle and confront the Dragonlord. In Dragon Warrior II, the heroes are descendants of Erdrick, and also of the Hero from Dragon Warrior.[37][38] They explore the expanded world of Torland, including Alefgard as seen in the first game. At the end of Dragon Warrior III, the King of Alefgard bestows upon the Hero “the Order of Erdrick”, the country’s highest honor reserved only for true heroes. While this implies Erdrick is merely a title, it isn't possible to name the Hero Erdrick at the beginning of Dragon Warrior III. In Dragon Warrior III, the origins of the hero Erdrick are revealed; therefore, the chronological order of the first three games is Dragon Warrior III, Dragon Warrior I, and then Dragon Warrior II.[39] This chronology is further evidenced in the naming of the hero's weapon, armor and shield. After the events of Dragon Warrior III, the hero's armaments are renamed as the Erdrick (or Loto) Sword and Armor in Dragon Warrior I and Dragon Warrior II.

The Hero, originally known as Erdrick to many English-speaking players, is also known by two other names. In the original Japanese language games (Dragon Quest), Erdrick is known exclusively by the name Roto, which is also used by some import gamers. Another romanization of the name is Loto, which was used in place of Erdrick when Enix America, Inc. re-released Dragon Warrior I, Dragon Warrior II, and Dragon Warrior III on the Game Boy Color. This was most likely used because the Japanese character (ロ) is not strictly an R or an L sound, but lies somewhere in between. Therefore it is properly transliterated either way.

In the original Final Fantasy, Square parodies Dragon Warrior by displaying a grave for Erdrick in the town of Elfland.[40] In retaliation, Enix hid a Cid grave in Dragon Quest III. A parody of Erdrick's sword is wielded by Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy XII: it is referred to as the "Wyrmhero Blade" (In the Japanese version, it is called "Tolo Sword").

Zenithia

Template:Unencyclopedic Zenithia, also called Zenith Castle or simply Zenith, is the name of a fictional sky castle from the series. The first appearance is in Dragon Warrior IV, and the castle is one of several elements from Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI which suggest the three games are linked as a trilogy; this group is often called the Tenkū (Japanese for Heaven), or the Tenkū no Shiro (Castle in the Sky) trilogy.[41][42] Yuuji Horii explained that the trilogy was never intended: "Each Dragon Quest title represents a fresh start and a new story, so I don't see too much of a connection between the games in the series. I guess it could be said that the imagination of players has brought the titles together in a certain fashion."[43]

In Dragon Warrior IV, Zenithia can be accessed by climbing the Tower near Gottside (Azimuth in the DQ4DS release), which goes as far up to the sky. It is directly above the entrance to the world of darkness. In Dragon Quest V, Zenithia has fallen into a lake south of Elheaven. This happened when the Golden Orb, half of a set of magical orbs that supported the castle in the sky, fell from its place. Once recovered and returned to Master Dragon, Zenithia will rise again. This time, the castle can move freely around the sky. In Dragon Quest VI, Zenith Castle is sealed away by Demon Lord Durran, and a giant hole is left behind in its place in the Dream World. After the Dream World returns to its natural state, Zenith Castle is the only part of it that can still be seen floating above the real world. A castle in the Dragon Warrior III remakes for Super Famicom/Game Boy Color is also called Zenith, though the layout differs from the castle from the Tenku series.[44]

Square Enix has released the Celestial Sword (the Zenithian Sword) and Sword of Ramias as part of their Dragon Quest Legend Items series - miniature collectible toy replicas of artifacts from the Dragon Quest universe.

Music

File:Dragon quest complete cd box cover.jpg
Cover of Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest Complete CD-Box

Several albums of Dragon Quest music has been released since the original game was made, the first coming out in 1986, based on Dragon Quest's music.[45] Each of the Dragon Quest soundtracks have been composed and arranged by Koichi Sugiyama, who has also composed the music for the games. Since then, an album with the game's title and "Symphonic Suite" has been released for each game in the main series. Aside from the main series of soundtracks, other compilations of Dragon Quest music have been made, such as Dragon Quest Game Music Super Collection Vol. 1.[46] Many of the soundtracks songs are performed by the London Philharmonic, such as Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest Complete CD-Box.[47] With a few of the soundtracks, a second disc with the original game music is included, like with the original Dragon Quest VI soundtrack.[48]

In 2003, SME Visual Works released Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest Complete CD-Box, a box set featuring music from the first seven Dragon Quest games.[47] Each of the seven discs is broken up by where the music is played in the games. Disc one, for example, has the opening overture song from each of the Dragon Quest games, whereas disc six features all the battle songs.

Dragon Quest is such a cultural phenomenon in Japan that there are live-action ballets (being the first video game to inspire a ballet),[49][50] musical concerts, and audio CDs based on the Dragon Quest universe.[7] It was the first video game series to have its music performed live by an orchestra.[51] Since 1987, music from Dragon Quest has been performed annually in Japan in concert halls.[52]

Manga and anime

Additionally, Dragon Quest e no Michi ("The Road to Dragon Quest") is a manga book based on the creators of Dragon Quest published by Enix.[6] The one volume manga was produced by Ishimori Productions, a company famous for creating manga based on famous people and businesses. Released in 1990, the manga stars Yujii Hori, Koichi Nakamura (main programmer), Koichi Sugiyama, Akira Toriyama, and Yukinobu Chida (producer) and involves the creation of the series. The story shows that Horii and Yuji originally used the full-screen map of Ultima and the battle and stats oriented Wizardry screen to create the gameplay.[6]

Reception

Dragon Quest is often regarded as the most popular video game series in Japan.[2][3][54] All of the games in the main series as well as many spin-off games have sold over a million copies, some even selling over four million, and sell very quickly.[55] For instance, the remake of Dragon Quest V sold 1.3 million copies in Japan in its first two days, which is a very high number for a remake.[56] In 2006, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu readers voted on the hundred best video games of all time. Dragon Quest III came in third, Dragon Quest VIII came in fourth, Dragon Quest VII came in ninth, Dragon Quest V came in eleventh, Dragon Quest IV came in fourteenth, Dragon Quest II came in seventeenth, Dragon Quest came in thirtieth, and Dragon Quest VI came in thirty-fourth.[57]

The original Dragon Quest game is often claimed to be the birth of the console role-playing game, despite the fact that many others consider Final Fantasy "more important."[4] Dragon Warrior was listed on GameSpot's list of the 15 most influential games of all time, calling it the "most influential role-playing game of all time" and stated that nearly all RPGs today have roots in its gameplay.[58] The Dragon Quest series was recognized by Guinness World Records with six world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include, "Best Selling Role Playing Game on the Super Famicon", "Fastest Selling Game in Japan", and "First Video Game Series to Inspire a Ballet".[59]

Although the series is a phenomenon in Japan, the games never garnered as much attention in North America.[4] Although the first four games to come to America generally received good reviews, it was not until Dragon Warrior VII was released did Dragon Quest become critically acclaimed there.[4] One of the main aspects of the series that critics point out, either positively or negatively, is that the series "never strays from its classic roots".[54] Unlike other modern, complex RPGs, Dragon Quest retains the simple gameplay from the first game, which many critics find refreshing and nostalgic.[54][60][61] Other critics feel differently about the series, however, and claim that the story, characters, and gameplay have become boring and redundant over the years.[62][63]

Notes

  1. ^ "Press release: Relive the birth of a phenomenon with Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II" (Press release). Square Enix. 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  2. ^ a b Anoop Gantayat (2007). "Dragon Quest IX set for DS". Retrieved September 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Jon Lindermann (2007). "Dragon Quest IX preview". Retrieved September 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c d "The GameSpy Hall of Fame: Dragon Warrior". Gamespy. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b "The Designers Of Dragon Quest". IGN. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b c "The Road to Dragon Quest". 2001. Retrieved September 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b Ed Lewis (2004). "The Dragon Quest Symphony". IGN. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Nintendo Power volume 221. 2007. pp. 78–80.
  9. ^ a b c Philip Bloom (2006). "The History of Dragon Quest". Retrieved September 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Interview with Yuji Horina on DQ 0". 2005. Retrieved September 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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  14. ^ Dragon Quest | Square Enix
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  25. ^ a b Editors of Nintendo Power: Nintendo Power July - August, 1989; issue 7 (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 39-50.
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  27. ^ Dragon Warrior 3
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  37. ^ Enix Corporation Unveiled Secrets of Dragon Warrior II (in English) Enix America Corporation.
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  39. ^ Brad Shoemaker (2001). "Dragon Warrior III preview". Retrieved September 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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  58. ^ "GameSpot's 15 most influential". 2000. Retrieved September 18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  59. ^ "WEIRD AND WONDERFUL RECORDS". 2008. Retrieved September 17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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  63. ^ Sophie Chesire (2005). "Dragon Quest VIII review". Retrieved September 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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