Editing Dragon Quest III (section)

== Reception ==
=== Sales ===
In Japan, ''Dragon Quest III'' sold over one million copies on the first day with almost 300 arrests for truancy among students absent from school to purchase the game.<ref name="keiser198806">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1988-JUn-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_097_1988_JUn#page/n7/mode/2up | title=One Million Sold in One Day | work=Compute! | date=June 1988 | accessdate=10 November 2013 | author=Keiser, Gregg | pages=7}}</ref> It is often mistakenly thought that in 1988 the game's success caused the [[Government of Japan|Japanese government]] to outlaw further releases of ''Dragon Quest'' games on school days. In truth, Enix themselves decided to hold off the release of future ''Dragon Quest'' games until weekends.<ref name="threat" />

The original Famicom/NES version of ''Dragon Quest III'' went on to sell 3.8 million copies total in Japan, and 95,000 units in the United States.<ref name="planetnint" /> In Japan, the Super Famicom remake sold 1.4 million units, with nearly 720,000 units sold in 1996 alone.<ref name="magicbox" /><ref name="magicboxbest" /> The Game Boy Color version sold a lower 604,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2001.<ref name="magicbox100" /> Together, with the sales of the remakes, ''Dragon Quest III'' is the most successful title in the series and one of the best selling role-playing games in Japan.<ref name="rpgfan" /> The combined sales of the Famicom/NES, Super Famicom and Game Boy Color versions add up to 5.899 million units.

As of November 2010, the Japan mobile phone version was downloaded more than 1,000,000 times.<ref name="4gamer" /> The Wii ''Dragon Quest Collection'' sold 403,953 copies in 2011.<ref name=salestrends/>

=== Critical reception ===
{{Video game reviews
| title = 
| GR = 87% (GBC)<ref name="rankings" /><br />78% (iOS)<ref>{{cite web|title=Dragon Quest III (iOS)|publisher=[[GameRankings]]|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/iphone/100042-dragon-quest-iii/index.html|accessdate=2014-01-08}}</ref>
| EGM = 32 of 40 (NES)<ref name="egm">{{citation|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=1993 Video Game Buyer's Guide|page=44}}</ref><br />7 of 10 (GBC)<ref name="rankings" />
| Fam = 38 of 40 (NES)<ref name="geimin">{{cite web|title=Famitsu Hall of Fame|url=http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/|work=Geimin|accessdate=7 February 2012}}</ref><br />36 of 40 (SNES)<ref name="geimin"/><br />30 of 40 (GBC)<ref name="famitsu" />
| GSpot = 7.6 of 10 (GBC)<ref name="brad" /><ref name="GameSpotReviews" />
| IGN = 10 of 10 (GBC)<ref name="IGNReview" />
| GamePro = 4 of 5 (GBC)
| NP = 4 of 5 (GBC)<ref name="rankings" />
}}

In Japan, ''[[Famitsu|Famicom Tsūshin]]'' (now ''Famitsu'') gave it a score of 38 out of 40, based on a panel of four reviewers giving it ratings of 9, 10, 10 and 9 out of 10. This made it their highest-rated game of the year and one of the magazine's two highest-rated games up until 1988, along with ''Dragon Quest II'', which also scored 38 out of 40.<ref name="geimin"/> The 1989 "All Soft Catalog" issue of ''Famicom Tsūshin'' awarded ''Dragon Quest III'' the Grand Prize for the [[List of video games considered the best|best game of all time]].<ref name=Famitsu1989>{{citation|magazine=[[Famitsu|Famicom Tsūshin]]|issue=All Soft Catalog '89|year=1989}}</ref> A survey conducted by the ''[[Famitsu]]'' magazine in early 2006 among its readers placed ''Dragon Quest III'' as the third most favorite game of all time, being preceded by only ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' and ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'',<ref name="alltime" /> and as the best game on the Famicom.<ref name="history" />

The North American release of ''Dragon Quest III'' did not meet nearly as much success. Considered an improvement over the first two games, ''Dragon Quest III'' "kept the same ugly graphical style and clumsy interface", according to Kurt Kalata of Gamasutra.<ref name="kurt" /> The North American release's poor sales are partly due to the fact that the game was released after the release of 16-bit gaming systems, making it seem archaic to gamers.<ref name="kurt" /> Critics found the new day/night system and the addition of an in-game bank praiseworthy.<ref name="kurt" /> ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' gave it a score of 32 out of 40, based on a panel of four reviewers giving it ratings of 8, 9, 8 and 7 out of 10.<ref name="egm"/>

Its reputation has risen in America since its release, primarily due to its gameplay innovations, leading Nintendo Power to list it as number 176 on their Top 200 Games list.<ref name="nintendoamer" /> [[IGN]] later listed it as the 96th best [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] game.<ref name="alltimeign"/> [[GamesRadar]] ranked it the 17th best NES game ever made. The staff chose it over the other ''Dragon Warrior'' titles due to its job system which they felt had depth and was influential to video games.<ref>{{cite web |title=Best NES Games of all time |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/best-nes-games-all-time/ |work=[[GamesRadar]] |date=2012-04-16 |accessdate=2013-12-05}}</ref>

The Game Boy Color remake received very good reviews from critics. [[GameSpot]] gave the Game Boy Color version a "good" 7.6/10, saying that "DWIII is a worthy port of its old NES ancestor, but its firm grounding in the RPG old-school means that only the hard-core need apply."<ref name="brad" /> [[Nintendo Power]] gave the remake a 4/5, while [[IGN]] gave the game a perfect 10/10.<ref name="IGNReview" />