It’s Time For Dragon Quest’s Big Moment

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Dragon Quest is hugely popular in Japan and other Eastern countries, but it hasn’t achieved the same level of success in the West, often being eclipsed by its sister series, Final Fantasy, despite every main game (except the online one, Dragon Quest X) being released here. It feels like Dragon Quest hasn’t gotten the recognition it deserves, considering its long history and significant influence on the role-playing game genre. Each game builds on classic RPG elements while offering a charming and unique experience that appeals to a wide audience. With the recent release of the beautifully remastered Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, now is the perfect time to discover this fantastic series.

Dragon Quest’s importance stems from its place in the history of RPGs. The 1981 game Wizardry was a key early example of the “dungeon-crawler” – a genre where players create a team of heroes, equip them, and explore dangerous environments filled with monsters and treasure. Wizardry took the complex rules and calculations of tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and adapted them for video games, bringing that same sense of adventure to a new audience for the very first time.

After that, Ultima came along and really changed things up. It took the simpler rules we were starting to see in tabletop RPGs and added a huge, open world you could actually explore! Before, it was all about using your imagination and moving pieces on graph paper, but now it was a fully interactive experience on the computer. Wizardry and Ultima were some of the very first games that showed everyone what RPGs could be.

Yuji Horii, a developer at Enix, was inspired by the games Wizardry and Ultima to create his own role-playing game for the Nintendo Famicom. He took ideas from both – the overworld map style of Ultima and the stat-based combat of Wizardry – and adapted them to create a game specifically for Japanese players. This game, Dragon Quest, was first released in 1986.

Dragon Quest captivated Japanese players with a fantasy world reminiscent of classic sword and sorcery stories, but with a distinct visual style. This was largely thanks to Yuji Horii collaborating with Akira Toriyama, the renowned artist behind Dragon Ball, to design the characters and monsters. Toriyama’s work gave Dragon Quest a bright, whimsical look, setting it apart from the more serious and often grim style of Western fantasy games at the time.

Dragon Quest, originally known as Dragon Warrior in the US, puts you in the role of a hero descended from a legendary figure. You’re tasked with saving the world from the Dragonlord, a villain determined to gain absolute power. As the hero, you’ll explore a vast world, battling monsters to grow stronger and prepare for the final showdown. Battles are shown from a first-person view, where you choose your actions and watch them unfold. This unique battle style not only defined the Dragon Quest series, but also influenced countless other role-playing games.

Dragon Quest quickly became a huge hit in Japan. There was even talk that Square Enix deliberately avoided releasing new games on weekdays, fearing so many people would skip work or school just to play them.

Dragon Quest’s enduring popularity is partly due to its consistency. Unlike Final Fantasy, which has seen changes in development teams and style over the years, Dragon Quest has consistently involved its original creator, Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama, and composer Koichi Sugiyama. This consistent creative team has allowed Dragon Quest to maintain a unique identity and consistently high quality with each new game, while Final Fantasy entries have sometimes varied more significantly in terms of gameplay and appearance.

Dragon Quest games are well-suited for playing in stages, often telling stories over a long period. For instance, in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, the heroes embark on a journey, but the biggest threats don’t appear until near the end. This gives the game room to carefully introduce characters and their histories, and it also lets players enjoy all the smaller stories and moments the world has to offer at their own pace.

This series has significantly impacted other popular games. Most notably, it’s the reason the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series switched to a turn-based RPG system. While many believe Persona was the inspiration, the main character, Ichiban Kasuga, clarifies that Dragon Quest is his all-time favorite game and that he actually imagines every battle as turn-based, directly influencing the gameplay change.

One reason Dragon Quest hasn’t become as popular in Western countries is that, for many years, new games were mostly released on handheld consoles and mobile phones. While Final Fantasy consistently had major releases on home consoles after Square and Enix joined forces, Dragon Quest games IV through VI first appeared in North America on the Nintendo DS, Dragon Quest IX was only available on the DS, and Dragon Quest X never came to North America at all. For a long time, Dragon Quest VIII was the only core game in the series to be released on a home console after the merger.

The world of RPGs has evolved, and many players are now looking for the charm of classic games. Luckily, Square Enix seems to be responding to that demand. Over the past year, they’ve released beautifully updated versions of older Dragon Quest titles. Dragon Quest III, a fan favorite, got a complete makeover in a stunning 2D-HD style, similar to Octopath Traveler. Just last month, remakes of the original Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II, also in that style, were met with great reviews. They’re even working on a completely new game, Dragon Quest XII, with the original creator, Yuji Horii, leading the charge. And soon, fans can look forward to a full remake of Dragon Quest VII, now called ‘Dragon Quest VII Reimagined’.

The seventh game in the series is famous for being incredibly long, but many fans consider it to have the best story. Originally released on the PlayStation, it was later remade for the 3DS, but hasn’t been re-released on any other platforms. This reimagining aims to stay true to the original gameplay while adding helpful improvements. It also beautifully captures the art style of Toriyama, using high-resolution scans of physical dolls of the main characters to create the in-game models – a loving detail that’s rare for the series.

I know there are tons of great RPGs out there, but there’s just something special about Dragon Quest. I think it’s the way it keeps things classic – the beautiful art, the amazing music, and how it’s not overly complicated. It’s a really relaxing experience. In a world of super complex games, Dragon Quest fills a unique space. Honestly, if you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out on one of the best RPG series ever made. You should really give it a shot!

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2025-11-17 21:11