Dragon Quest

• 1. Origins And Creation

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  In 1982, Enix sponsored a video game programming contest in Japan that brought together the team who would create Dragon Quest. The prize was a trip to the United States and a visit to AppleFest '83 in San Francisco. There, creator Yuji Horii discovered the Wizardry video game series. The contest winners Koichi Nakamura and Yukinobu Chida joined Horii to release The Portopia Serial Murder Case. Music composer Koichi Sugiyama sent a postcard to Enix praising their work. He then composed music for some of its games. The group decided to make a role-playing video game combining elements from Western RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima. Horii chose the Famicom because players could continue playing from a save point without spending more money. Akira Toriyama illustrated characters and monsters to separate the game from others of the time. Primary designs were conceived by Horii before being handed to Toriyama under his supervision.

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• 2. Main Series Evolution

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  The first three games tell the story of the legendary hero known as Roto or Erdrick. In Dragon Quest III, the King of Alefgard bestowed the Order of Erdrick upon the hero at the end of the game. Games four through six are based around a castle in the sky called Zenithia. In Dragon Quest IV, Zenithia can be accessed by climbing the tower above the entrance to the world of darkness. In Dragon Quest V, Zenithia has fallen into a lake south of Lofty Peak until the Golden Orb is returned. In Dragon Quest VI, Zenithia is sealed by Demon Lord Dhuran and remains floating above the real world when the Dream World returns to its natural state. Games from Dragon Quest VII onwards are stand-alone titles. In Dragon Quest XI, the player character is chosen by the world tree Yggdrasil to save Erdrea from Calasmos. After defeating Calasmos, Yggdrasil bestows him the title of Erdrick.

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• 3. Iconic Monsters And Characters

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  A small blue blob shaped like a water droplet with large round black eyes became the official mascot of the series. This creature appeared in every Dragon Quest game and is usually one of the first monsters players encounter. Series designer Yuji Horii cited it as an example of Toriyama's artistic power. A traveling merchant named Torneko Taloon first appears in Dragon Quest IV. His usual goal is to expand his shop inventory by procuring rare items while traversing dungeons. The character's popularity led to further appearances in subsequent mainline sequels and a starring role in 1993's Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon. Other video game appearances include two direct sequels to that game and the Itadaki Street series. A Healer monster called Healie can be recruited for the first chapter in Dragon Quest IV. Players can defeat and recruit monsters to fight in an arena in Dragon Quest VIII.

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• 4. Development Philosophy And Design

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  Horii play-tests games to ensure controls feel right including how fast a page opens or the way a door opens. He believes players should control the game unconsciously without needing to read a manual. Ryutaro Ichimura has worked on titles since Dragon Quest VIII implementing Horii's suggestions even when not obvious why they work. The games feature an overall upbeat feeling with a linear plot-line intended to ease the high learning curve RPGs have for unaccustomed players. No storyline path is made without some kind of reward to help players continue enjoying the game. Early character levels start players off with more hit points and substantially increasing growth at later levels. While the player never starts in a wholly non-linear way, they usually explore an open world following an early linear section. Horii designed battles to add tension by limiting save points and making punishment for death involve losing half gold before returning to the last save location.

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• 5. Global Localization History

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  The first six Dragon Quest stories were released under the title Dragon Warrior in North America to avoid trademark conflict with a pen-and-paper role-playing game published by Simulations Publications. That company went bankrupt in 1982 and was acquired by TSR Inc which continued publishing the line until 1987. Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the United States on the 23rd of July 2002. On the 8th of October 2003, Square Enix filed for a more comprehensive trademark. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King became the first game released outside Japan using the original name. All previous games had used the Dragon Warrior title. Enix closed its North American branch in the mid-1990s so Dragon Quest V and VI were not officially released there. Nintendo has been a major publisher outside Japan for main series games including publishing the first Dragon Quest game in North America. The ninth installment was released in Japan for Nintendo DS on the 11th of July 2009 and in North America on the 11th of July 2010.

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• 6. Spin-Off Expansions

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  The franchise includes several spin-off games including the Dragon Quest Monsters RPG. A Japanese arcade game called Monster Battle Road issues monster data cards through a slot on its front. The Mystery Dungeon and Itadaki Street series use characters from Dragon Quest games. In 1993 Chunsoft developed a SNES game featuring Torneko that continued his story as he attempted to make his store famous. The game sold enough copies in Japan to allow development of a second direct sequel on PlayStation 2. Another title featured Yangus who first appeared in Dragon Quest VIII following his adventures before meeting the Hero. Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below was released in Japan on the 26th of February 2015 and in North America and Europe in October 2015. Dragon Quest Builders for PS4 was released in 2016 with a sequel coming out on the 12th of July 2019 for Switch and PS4. An augmented reality game called Dragon Quest Walk was released for Android and iOS mobile phones in September 2019.

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• 7. Cultural Phenomenon In Japan

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  When Dragon Quest III was released in Japan over 300 schoolchildren were arrested for truancy while waiting in stores for the game to be released. The Japanese release of every Dragon Quest title continued on a Saturday until Dragon Quest X which came out on Thursday the 2nd of August 2012. A new eatery inspired by the series called Luida's Bar opened in Roppongi Minato Tokyo when Dragon Quest IX launched in January 2009. It provided a meeting location for fans styled like a Medieval public house with food directly inspired by items and monsters found in the games. A live-action television drama named Yūsha Yoshihiko initially aired in July 2011 with a sequel produced the following year. Since 1987 the series' music has been performed annually in concert halls throughout Japan. The first video game series to receive live-action ballet adaptations it also received musical concerts and audio CDs based on its universe. Lotto's Theme was selected for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and played as the first piece.

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