Dragon Quest (series)

The first series of Console RPGs.

Dragon Quest, formerly known as Dragon Warrior in North America, is a series of role playing games created by Enix, now Square-Enix. Installments of the series have appeared on the MSX, Famicom (NES), Super Famicom (Super Nintendo), Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Sony PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 video game consoles, as well as on several models of mobile phone. As of 2005, the Dragon Quest series has sold over 35 million units worldwide.

Dragon Quest's North American name change was necessitated 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. In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the US, signalling the end of the Dragon Warrior name.

During the mid-1980s, Dragon Quest was created by Enix employee, Yuji Horii. The series monster and character designs were by famed Dragon Ball manga artist, Akira Toriyama. Most of the music for the Dragon Quest series has been composed by Koichi Sugiyama. The series is extremely popular in Japan. It's so popular that, following the release of Dragon Quest III in 1988, the Japanese Diet passed a law forbidding the release of new installments of the Dragon Quest series on any day other than a Sunday or a holiday, to prevent children from skipping school to wait in line for the latest Dragon Quest title.

The unofficial mascot of the Dragon Quest series is a blue slime. The Dragon Quest's blue slime is shaped like a piece of garlic. The blue slime has appeared in every Dragon Quest game and it is usually the first monster you encounter. It can also combine with other slimes to become the Kingslime, a large blue slime with a crown.

The games themselves feature a number of religious overtones: bishops are often seen wandering around the overworld of Dragon Warrior Monsters and have the ability to heal. In Dragon Warrior VII, the Demon Lord, otherwise known as the Devil (known as Orgodemir in the game), is the final boss, and there is also a sidequest to fight 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. In fact, the world-famous London Philharmonic Orchestra has performed for several Dragon Quest music albums.

Flagship titles

 * Dragon Quest I ドラゴンクエスト Nintendo Famicom (1986)
 * Released as Dragon Warrior in North America. (1989)
 * Remade for the Nintendo Super Famicom (1993) and Game Boy Color (1999) as Dragon Quest I & II.
 * The Game Boy Color version was released in North America as Dragon Warrior I & II.
 * Released as cellular phone game (2004) and for Satellaview (1998).


 * Dragon Quest II ドラゴンクエスト２ Nintendo Famicom (1987)
 * Released as Dragon Warrior II in North America. (1990)
 * Remade for the Nintendo Super Famicom (1993) and Game Boy Color (1999) as Dragon Quest I & II.
 * The Game Boy Color version was released in North America as Dragon Warrior I & II.


 * Dragon Quest III ドラゴンクエスト３ Nintendo Famicom (1988)
 * Released as Dragon Warrior III in North America. (1991)
 * Remade for the Nintendo Super Famicom (1996) and Game Boy Color (2000)
 * The Game Boy Color version was released in North America as Dragon Warrior III.


 * Dragon Quest IV ドラゴンクエスト４ Nintendo Famicom (1991)
 * Released as Dragon Warrior IV in North America. (1992)
 * Remade for the Sony PlayStation (2001) and Nintendo DS (2007)
 * The Nintendo DS version was released in North America as Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (2008)


 * Dragon Quest V ドラゴンクエスト５ Nintendo Super Famicom (1992)
 * Never released in North America.
 * Remade for the Sony PlayStation 2 (2004) and Nintendo DS (2008)
 * The Nintendo DS version was released in North America as Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (2009)


 * Dragon Quest VI ドラゴンクエスト６ Nintendo Super Famicom (1995)
 * Never released in North America.
 * Remade for the Nintendo DS (2010)
 * The Nintendo DS version was announced for release in North America as Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie (TBA)


 * Dragon Quest VII ドラゴンクエスト７ Sony PlayStation (2000)
 * Released as Dragon Warrior VII in North America. (2001)


 * Dragon Quest VIII ドラゴンクエスト８ Sony PlayStation 2 (2004)
 * Released as Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King in North America. (2005)


 * Dragon Quest IX ドラゴンクエスト９ Nintendo DS (2009)
 * A North American release has not yet been announced.


 * Dragon Quest X ドラゴンクエスト１０ Wii (TBA)

Spin off series

 * Dragon Quest Monsters series
 * Kenshin Dragon Quest
 * Torneko no Daibouken
 * Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest
 * Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken