Dragon Quest launches role-playing game on video console
A small revolution took place in 1986. Previously confined to microcomputers, role-playing games arrived on video game consoles, thanks to Dragon Quest. Having made its debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the game and its sequels are still being played on modern consoles such as the Switch and PlayStation 5.
Famous authors
The game was created by Yuji Horii. It was his first big success, and he has remained at the helm of each new episode of Dragon Quest, creating the storyline in particular.
More recognisable in the West, the graphics were supervised by a certain Akira Toriyama. He was already well known for his Dr Slump series, and had just launched his new series, Dragonball, which would become a worldwide success. That's why the illustrations in Dragon Quest are furiously reminiscent of the Dragonball universe... to the point where the uninitiated may be mistaken.
The music for the games was composed by Koichi Sugiyama, who has remained loyal to the series to this day.
A never-ending series
As you can see, Dragon Quest is old news... and it's still as contemporary as ever. The series is slowly making its way into its forties, and continues to enthrall fans of role-playing video games.
Chapter 12, entitled "Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate", is due for release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
The basic storyline of Dragon Quest
The story takes place in the heroic fantasy realm of Alefgard. A Ball of Light guarantees peace and prosperity, until the dastardly Dragonlord decides to seize it and Princess Laura, daughter of King Lorik of Alefgard. Dragonlord is a sorcerer with blue skin and yellow eyes, and his power allows him to control dragons, or even transform himself into a dragon. He commands the Green Dragon to kidnap and imprison Princess Laura.
The player takes on the role of a young warrior of the Roto lineage. He has no name, so the player can give him any name he likes.
To find the Ball of Light and the Princess, the hero must travel the world, confronting increasingly powerful monsters and collecting objects to build a bridge.
The basics of role-playing
In Dragon Quest we find the basic principles that characterise role-playing games. We have the main hero, who here can be named as the player wishes.
The game system works on a turn-by-turn basis. During a battle, the hero chooses an attack and executes it, reducing the enemy's hit points. Then it's the enemy's turn to attack, and so on.
The second Dragon Quest game, The Pantheon of Evil Spirits, came out in 1987 and took the system one step further: the player controls a group of characters. Battles become more interesting as each warrior brings his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and they often battle groups of monsters.
In the story of Dragon Quest II, the hero is the son of a descendant of the first hero, who was able to go off and create his own kingdom and divide it up between his heirs. When the evil sorcerer Hargon attacks the first kingdom, the hero has to gather together the descendants of the Roto line and fight him as a group: the hero, the Prince of Cannock (who casts fire spells) and the Princess of Moonbrook (who heals and casts attack spells), who is initially transformed into a dog and has to be returned to her human form.
Dragon Quest III was released in 1988 in Japan and in 1992 in North America on the NES. In Japan it is still considered one of the three most popular video games in history. The story serves as a prequel to the Roto saga. The game system allows the player to choose the gender of the characters to be played, and also to assign a class to the hero's companions (job system).
In the cinema and at ShopForGeek
In our geek shop, you can find figurines and albums adapted from the latest derivative of the game, Dragon Quest And the Adventure of Dai, released in 2023 on Switch, PS5, Xbox and Windows.