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, published as '''Dragon Warrior''' in North America until the 2005 release of '', is a series of role-playing games produced by Enix (now Square Enix). It is the thirteenth best-selling video game franchise in the world. Installments of the series have appeared on MSX computers, Famicom/NES, Super Famicom/Super NES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 video game consoles, as well as on several models of mobile phone. As of 2006, the ''Dragon Quest'' series has sold over 40 million units worldwide, as stated by Square Enix in the E3 conference. It is Square Enix's most successful franchise after ''Final Fantasy'', although Dragon Quest is more popular than Final Fantasy within Japan.
''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.^[1] In 2003, Square Enix registered the ''Dragon Quest'' trademark in the US, signalling the end of the ''Dragon Warrior'' moniker.

Contents

Overview

Outside Japan

Common elements

Gameplay

Monsters

Erdrick

Zenithia

Games

Main series

Spinoff series

Manga and anime

See also

Notes

External links

Overview

During the mid-1980s, ''Dragon Quest'' was created by Yuji Horii, who has been the scenario director since. The series monster and character designs were by famed ''Dragon Ball'' manga artist, Akira Toriyama. All of the music for the ''Dragon Quest'' series has been composed by Koichi Sugiyama.^[2]
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 refered to as the ''Tenku'' in Japan, meaning Heaven. The main series from ''Dragon Quest VII'' on are independent of each other and stand alone stories.
The games themselves feature a number of religious overtones: saving the game and reviving characters is always 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.
''Dragon Quest'' is such a cultural phenomenon in Japan that there are live-action ballets, musical concerts, and audio CDs based on the ''Dragon Quest'' universe.^[3] The London Philharmonic Orchestra has performed for several ''Dragon Quest'' music albums.^[4] It is the first video game series to have its music performed live by an orchestra. Since 1987, music from Dragon Quest has been performed annually in Japan in concert halls. In Japan, due to complaints of mass absenteeism from schools and places of work, Enix changed its policy of releasing new ''Dragon Quest'' games on weekdays.^[5]

Outside Japan

''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 except '' and ''Dragon Warrior Monsters'' have seen release. The lack of official localizations for ''Dragon Quest'' games has inspired many fan translation projects, even though they are technicially illegal.
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. Both graphics and text were edited, replacing coffins with ghosts, crucifixes with five-point stars, and "Priest" with "Healer," to name but a few. However, the graphics, sound and menus of ''Dragon Warrior'' and ''Dragon Warrior II'' were given an upgrade for their American release.
'' has been the second ''Dragon Quest'' game to be released in Europe (the first being Dragon Warrior Monsters published by Eidos Interactive), marketed as ''Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King''. Still, the series is one of Square Enix's flagship titles, and it is currently planning to release at least four upcoming titles in the series outside Japan.

Common elements

Gameplay

The ''Dragon Quest'' system is similar to the basis of the ''Ultima'' and ''Wizardry'' video game systems. The game player's party walks into a town and buys weapons/armors/items in order to defeat monsters easily. When the player's party is out of the town, the party is vulnerable to monster attacks. When the player encounters monsters, s/he has several options from which to choose. The player can attack and defeat the monster(s) with weapons, magic, or items. The player can also attempt to run away from a fight, however the option is not open 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 a new level. When a certain character gains a new level, the stats of the character are upgraded.^[6]
When the player's party dies in battle, they 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 his or her money; this will prevent it from being lost when the party dies.
To save a player'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 (this does not include the first two ''Dragon Quest'' titles for the Famicom, which use a password system).
''Dragon Warrior III'', ''Dragon Quest VI'', and ''Dragon Warrior VII'' feature several classes to choose for the party members. Typical classes include the fighter, paladin, and mage. Each installment possesses its particular set of classes.

Monsters

Rocket, a slime starring in ''Dragon Quest Heroes''.

The series features several recurring monsters.
The official mascot of the ''Dragon Quest'' series is the 'Slime'. A Slime is a small blob with a face, shaped like an onion or Hershey's Kiss. It has appeared in every ''Dragon Quest'' game and it is usually one of the first monsters the player encounters (usually the Blue Slime). There are several varieties of Slimes in the Slime family, including the King Slime which is formed by a group of Slimes merging into one. The Slime's popularity has netted it two spinoffs, ''Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest'' and ''. They also make a significant showing in the Japanese manga and two-episode anime Dragon Half.

Erdrick

'Erdrick', also known as 'Loto' or 'Roto' (Japansese: ロト), is a legendary hero from the ''Dragon Quest'' series. The first three Dragon Quest games make up the "Erdrick trilogy," which are all connected by the legend of Erdrick. He is known in the game as the hero who freed Alefgard from darkness.^[7] The name Erdrick was first mentioned in the English localization, ''Dragon Warrior'' in which the player is referred to as Erdrick's descendent.^[8] 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 Charlock Castle and confront the Dragonlord. In ''Dragon Warrior II'', the heroes are descendants of Erdrick, and also of the Hero from Dragon Warrior.^[9][10] 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 is possible to name the hero Erdrick at the beginning of ''Dragon Warrior III'', although an extra character is required after the “k”, such as an extra space, to prevent the game dialogue from displaying an ''enter your real name'' type of message. In ''Dragon Warrior III'', the origins of the hero Erdrick are revealed; therefore, the chronological order of the first three games is III, I, 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, II, and III on the Game Boy Color. This was most likely used because the Japanese language does not distinguish between L and R.
Several items that once belonged to the hero have Erdrick in their names. These are named after Loto in the Game Boy remakes. Erdrick’s Sword is the most powerful sword in ''Dragon Warrior''^[11] and ''Dragon Warrior III''.^[12] Other names for this sword include Sword of Erdrick (''Dragon Warrior II'')^[13] and Sword of Kings (''Dragon Warrior III.'')¹² Erdrick’s Armor is the most powerful armor in ''Dragon Warrior'',¹¹ which protects against the hit point damage from poison swamps and barriers. It is also known as Armor of Erdrick in ''Dragon Warrior II''¹³ and as Armor of Radiance in ''Dragon Warrior III''.¹² Erdrick’s Token is an object which proves the hero's lineage in ''Dragon Warrior'', which is found in a swamp south of Cantlin¹¹ (or Mercado in the Game Boy remake). The Helmet of Erdrick is worn by Erdrick when confronting Zoma. This item exists only in ''Dragon Warrior II'',¹¹¹³¹² and it is not a specific armor from ''Dragon Warrior III''. The Shield of Erdrick is used by Erdrick when confronting Zoma in ''Dragon Warrior II''.¹³ It is called the Shield of Heroes in ''Dragon Warrior III'',¹² and it does not appear in ''Dragon Warrior''.¹¹ Finally, Erdrick's Tablet is a message written in stone in a cave by Erdrick in ''Dragon Warrior III'' and left for the hero in ''Dragon Warrior''. It gives instructions on what items are needed to reach the Isle of Dragons, which is the location of Charlock Castle.^[14]
In the original ''Final Fantasy'', Square parodies Dragon Quest by displaying a grave for Erdrick in a certain town (in the American localization, the name on the gravestone is Link). 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

'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. 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.
In ''Dragon Warrior IV'', Zenithia can be accessed by climbing the Tower near Gottside, 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, it will make Zenithia 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 (it had been altered by Demon Lord Deathtamoor), Zenith Castle is the only part of it that can still be seen floating above the real world.
There exists a set of legendary weapons and armor hailing from Zenithia. Most commonly known as the Zenithian sword, armor, shield and helmet; only a hero of Zenithian descent can wear them. The entire set is required to be allowed entry into Zenithia in ''Dragon Warrior IV''. These are also known as the Celestial or Zenithian sword, armor, shield, and helmet in ''Dragon Quest V''. In ''Dragon Quest VI'', the sword is called the Sword of Ramias, the armor is the Armor of Orgo, the shield is the Shield of Sufieda, and the helmet is the Helm of Cevas. This renaming in Dragon Quest VI is because it is a prequel to IV and V, thus the chronological order for the Zenithian trilogy is VI, IV, V.
Inhabitants of the castle include:

★ 'Lucia'. She appears in the game ''Dragon Warrior IV'', as a Zenithian who has fallen to the world below and was unable to return to Zenithia. The party meets her at the top of the World Tree.

★ 'Master Dragon'. The ruler of Zenithia in ''Dragon Warrior IV''. He asks the party to defeat Necrosaro.

★ 'Pusan'. An enigmatic person who comes from the Castle of Zenithia. He appears in ''Dragon Quest V'', and he may be more than he seems at first.

★ 'King Zenith'. The ruler of Zenith Castle in ''Dragon Quest VI''. He is humanoid, unlike Master Dragon.

★ 'Doran'. A young dragon who is sent by Master Dragon to help the party in their fight against Necrosaro. He appears in ''Dragon Warrior IV''.

★ According to the games, at least once a woman from Zenithia has become involved in a relationship with a human, leaving offspring that is half-human, half-Zenithian.
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.

Games

Main series

★ '''Dragon Quest''' — NES & MSX (1986) (1989 in North America)

★
★ Released in North America as ''Dragon Warrior''

★
★ Remade for the Super Famicom (1993) and Game Boy Color (1999) as ''Dragon Quest I & II''.

★
★ Released for Satellaview (1998) and as a cellular phone game (2004) in Japan.

★ '''Dragon Quest II Akuryo no Kamigami''' — NES & MSX (1987) (1990 in North America)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "Pantheon of Evil Spirits"

★
★ Released in North America as ''Dragon Warrior II''

★
★ Remade for the Super Famicom (1993) and Game Boy Color (1999) as ''Dragon Quest I & II''.

★ '''Dragon Quest III Soshite Densetsu e…''' — NES (1988) (1991 in North America)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "And Into the Legend…"

★
★ Released in North America as ''Dragon Warrior III''

★
★ Remade for the Super Famicom (1996) and the Game Boy Color (2000).

★ '''Dragon Quest IV Michibikareshi Monotachi''' — NES (1990) (1992 in North America)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "The Guided Ones"

★
★ Released in North America as ''Dragon Warrior IV''

★
★ Remade for the PlayStation in Japan (2001).

★
★ Remake for the Nintendo DS in development.

★ '''Dragon Quest V Tenkū no Hanayome''' — Super Famicom (1992)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "Bride of Heaven"

★
★ Never released outside of Japan.

★
★ Remade for the PlayStation 2 (2004) in Japan.

★
★ Remake for the Nintendo DS in development.

★ '''Dragon Quest VI Maboroshi no Daichi''' — Super Famicom (1995)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "Land of Illusion"

★
★ Never released outside of Japan.

★
★ Remake for the Nintendo DS in development.

★ '''Dragon Quest VII Eden no Senshi-tachi''' — PlayStation (2000) (2001 in North America)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "Warriors of Eden"

★
★ Released in North America as ''Dragon Warrior VII''

★ '''' — PlayStation 2 (2004) (2005 in North America, 2006 in Europe)

★
★ Subtitle translates to "The Sky, the Ocean, the Earth, and the Cursed Princess"

★
★ Released in North America as ''Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King''

★
★ Released in PAL regions as ''Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King''.

★ '''Dragon Quest IX Hoshizora no Mamoribito'''

★
★ Subtitle translates to "Defenders of the Starry Sky"

★
★ In development for the Nintendo DS handheld system.[1]
At a press conference in Japan celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dragon Quest, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest IX is in development for the Nintendo DS handheld gaming system. The full title is reported to be 'Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Sky' (or ''Protectors of the Starry Sky'', depending on translation), and is the next main installment in the series by Level 5, not a spin-off or side quest. This will be the first installment of the series that will be exclusive to a handheld system rather than a home console. Notably, this would have also been the first installment to feature real-time combat as well as four player co-op over wi-fi, but it was later reported that the system had been changed back to a turn based format .

Spinoff series

The franchise also includes several spin-off series, including ''Dragon Quest Monsters'' and ''Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest''.
In 1993, Chunsoft created a Super Famicom game for Torneko Taloon, also known as simply Taloon to American gamers, a fictional character first appearing in ''Dragon Warrior IV''. The game, titled '' 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 ''. 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 ''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''. The most recent additions to the genre are ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' and ''Dragon Quest Yangus''.
Finally, two spinoffs 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 controller, a toy sword, 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.

Manga and anime

★ ''Dragon Quest: Abel Yuusha'' — loosely based on ''Dragon Quest III'', 43 episodes (known as ''Dragon Warrior'' in the United States with 13 dubbed episodes)

★ ''Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken'' — loosely based on ''Dragon Quest II'' and ''Dragon Quest III'', 37 volumes, 46 episodes, 3 movies

★ ''Dragon Quest: Emblem of Roto'' — takes place 100 years after ''Dragon Quest I'', 21 volumes, movie

★ ''Dragon Quest: Maboroshi no Daichi'' — based on Dragon Quest VI

★ ''Dragon Quest: '' — based on Dragon Quest V

★ ''Dragon Quest: Warriors of Eden'' — based on Dragon Quest VII

★ ''Dragon Quest: Princess Alena'' — based on Dragon Quest IV

See also

★ Slime Knights

★ ''Blue Dragon''

Notes

1. The GameSpy Hall of Fame: Dragon Warrior
2. The Designers Of Dragon Quest
3. The Dragon Quest Symphony
4. Dragon Quest III Symphonic Suite Review
5. Student Arrested In Dragon Quest Death Threat
6. Editors of Nintendo Power: ''Nintendo Power July - August, 1989; issue 7'' (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 39-50.
7. (1989) Nintendo, Enix Corporation ''Dragon Warrior Instruction Manual'' (in English).
8. Editors of Nintendo Power: ''Nintendo Power July - August, 1989; issue 7'' (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 40.
9. Enix Corporation ''Unveiled Secrets of Dragon Warrior II'' (in English) Enix America Corporation.
10. Editors of Nintendo Power: ''Nintendo Power September/October, 1990; issue 16'' (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 67.
11. (1989) Nintendo of America Inc., Tokuma Shoten U.S. Edition, Enix Corporation Licensed exclusively to Nintendo of America Inc., Nintendo Power Strategy Guide Published by Nintendo of America Inc. and Tokuma Shoten ''Dragon Warrior Strategy Guide'' (in English).
12. (1991) Enix Corporation ''Dragon Warrior III Map'' (in English) ENI-D3-US.
13. (1990) Nintendo, Enix America Corporation Licensed Nintendo of America Inc. ''Dragon Warrior II Map'' (in English) ENI-D2-US.
14. Editors of Nintendo Power: ''Nintendo Power September - October, 1989; issue 8'' (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 23.

External links

'Official Sites'

★ Official ''Dragon Quest'' website

★ Slime Knights - Official North American Fan Community

★ Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
'Fan Created Sites'

★ Dragon Quest Shrine

★ Dragon's Den