The game ditches the linear narrative of the first three titles in favor of a chapter-based story, where each of the main characters gets their own chapter and backstory. It’s the first game in Zenithian trilogy, which Square Enix continued with Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosenĭragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen was a groundbreaking title when it released in 1990. Dragon Quest VI isn’t a bad game, but it’s not quite as impressive as it was in 1995. It released internationally on the Nintendo DS alongside the other games in the Zenithian trilogy, and much like those games, it felt like too little too late. The game didn’t make its way out of Japan until 2011, a full 16 years after the game launched on the Super Famicom. It’s the last game in the Zenithian trilogy, and it includes the class system seen in Dragon Quest III. In addition to main classes, players can use hybrid classes by mastering combinations of the main classes (warrior and mage for the armamentalist class, for example). Rather than introducing a range of new concepts, the game offers minor adjustments to the mechanics seen in Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V. Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelationĭragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation is a refinement point for the series. Still, Dragon Quest III is easily the best out of the original trilogy. However, it’s still an NES-era RPG, so following the story is already difficult and even more so considering how bare the first two games are. It sets up Erdrick and provides some extra context to the first two games. Story-wise, Dragon Quest III would be a lot more interesting if the first two games had a little more meat. However, it introduced the class system to the series, allowing you to change up your playstyle with different characters, and it’s much more balanced than Dragon Quest II. If you want to see where Dragon Quest began, this is the game to start with. Like the first two games, The Seeds of Salvation is dated. Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvationĭragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation is a prequel to the first game, and it finishes out the Erdrick or Loto trilogy. An updated port on the Nintendo Switch brought some balance improvements, but Dragon Quest II remains one of the most uninteresting titles in the series. That leads to a lot of mindless grinding and a lot of pointless battles, drawing out the worst JRPGs have to offer. The original game is horribly unbalanced, with enemies getting more difficult faster than you can gain experience. Luminaries of the Legendary Line taught Square Enix an important lesson in JRPG design. The game added a party system, allowing you to create a party of heroes you like, but for the most part, it’s just more Dragon Quest. It was released only a year after the first title and featured few improvements. Most of the Dragon Quest games aren’t connected, but Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line is a proper sequel to the first game. Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line Although Akira Toriyama’s art still shines through, the game is boring and bland by today’s standards. Otherwise, it feels like an RPG released in 1986. It’s like a history lesson: Dense with game design elements that still apply today, but bogged down by a dated story and barebones mechanics.įor series mega-fans, Dragon Quest is a great romp down memory lane, and a concise one with its uncharacteristically short runtime. As the archetype of the JRPG genre, Dragon Quest spent its slim runtime introducing basic mechanics and leaning into the tropes that would define the series (and the genre) moving forward. Similar to Dragon Quest X, the original Dragon Quest just doesn’t stack up to modern offerings. That’s a shame, too, considering Dragon Quest X is one of the better mainline titles in the series. However, there aren’t many English-speaking players, and you’ll miss most of the story beats unless you know Japanese or are good at translating references. With a VPN and a little technical know-how, you can play Dragon Quest X outside of Japan. Square Enix has since removed the ban, but Dragon Quest X still hasn’t been localized for other regions, and you can’t buy or download it outside of Japan. For most of its life, Square Enix used an IP address ban system to keep the experience localized to Japan. It’s the first and only MMO in the main series, released in Japan in 2012. Dragon Quest X isn’t a bad game, but it’s a bit of a dud when it comes to ranking all of the mainline titles.
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