I will start with the preface that I am not a gamer nor do I deserve the moniker. I initially became interested in Dragon Quest when I was told about it by my students in Japan. My first experience with a video game was rather poor, but since it was with an American video game, I decided to fulfill my student’s request and play the first Dragon Quest game. Keep in mind, however, that my review will not make a comparison as I have no significant experience with any other game in Japan. I will, however, make a comparison to the one game I have a little experience with in America. I hope that it will be refreshing in that sense. Just as a warning, since I am treating this somewhat as a book review, the below content does contain spoilers.

My initial gripe with the video game I tried in the United States was that it emphasized the mechanical aspects of the game over the plot and tale. Instead of playing the game for enjoyment like I might read a book, I felt frustrated by having to learn a system in order to enjoy a game. This was back in 1999 and the game in question was called Ultima VII. It wasn’t because I wasn’t familiar with the D&D rules. I had been doing tabletop gaming for several years by then. However, I wasn’t interested in playing a simulated game of mastering those rules. I wanted a story.

When I played dragon quest, I got a story; a coming of age story that revolves around saving a princess and defeating Dracolord. The story itself flowed like a narrative. While playing the game, I was given background information on what had transpired (the princess getting kidnapped in the dead of night) and the King gave me a mission to save the princess and his kingdom from the evil clutches of Dracolord. It was then that the conflicts began. I worked my way through the kingdom trying to find a way to get to Dracolord’s castle but it was always beyond me. I tried to gather information, talk to people, and clear the land of monsters. It was after considerable travels that I was able to locate the three wise men who guarded the treasures of the previous hero. My struggles began as I worked to locate and secure the three treasures and save the princess as well. Once I saved the princess from an evil dragon the resolution of the struggle was in sight. After securing a route to Dracolord’s castle, I was able to climb to the top of his tower and slay him in fair combat thus ending his rule. The land was free of monsters and everything was safe again but there was a moral to the story. When the king asked me to take over the kingdom, it reminded me of the same offer that Dracolord presented before I killed him. I refused the king and went off to another land with the princess to live a happy life. The story has all of the components: situation, conflict, struggle, resolution, and moral.

Now the story itself may be similar to many other fairy tales but the fantasy forms only work because they are recognized. Trying to come up with new elements for every aspect of a story has a tendency to alienate your audience rather than provide something refreshing. In this sense, I enjoyed dragon quest because it reminded me of so many other stories and tales that I have heard and read. Ultima VII, by contrast, was unusual in establishing any connection or form that I could recognize. I just could not get drawn into the story. I believe that this is the principle reason why I enjoyed Dragon Quest more because it was able to engage me from the start (like how a well written essay engages a reader with only the first few sentences). But there is more to the game than just the story that I like.

I enjoyed the music of the game despite its limitations on the hardware I used to play the game. Specifically, the overture that played at the beginning of the game drew me into the music so fast that I found myself humming the tune long after I started. Sugiyama (the credited composer in the ending) is certainly quite brilliant in his ability to catch your attention and keep it (speaking from a semi-professional standpoint). I feel that the music added the necessary ambiance to the game without interfering with the events that took place. It also had the nice effect of making the story and characters larger than they seemed (which is a good thing for a story). Even with the story and music, it was the simplicity of the game that really brought out the charm.

Mechanically speaking, the rules of the game were quite simple yet elegant. You have a health pool and a magic pool which controls your life and spell casting respectively. You take turns in combat and are able to think through your options. Exploring the world is as simple as walking around finding towns and other places. By contrast, Ultima VII provided such complexity and options that I was unable to determine what I needed to do to proceed along the story. I feel that the rules of a game should operate the way a backstage crew works for a theatrical performance. It is important but it should remain unseen and deemphasized. Dragon Quest set the priority perfectly by providing the intuitive, simple rules and allowing the audience (the player) to focus on the story.

Overall, I enjoyed Dragon Quest and am looking forward to playing another game in the series. I am also looking forward to playing other Japanese games in general as I have heard that Dragon Quest is exemplary of the types of games that Japanese developers make. By providing a full narrative, creating an ambiance with music, and deemphasizing the mechanics, dragon quest has propelled me into a realm that I previously had a bad experience with, video games.

The Dragon Quest games aren't that great in my opinion. Yeah, they are somewhat famous for a few quality features, but overall it isn't my kind of game, really. Others might think otherwise, but this game isn't my game.

They have been getting better. Sentenials of the Starey skies. 9 is actually quite difficult. Not to mention it features multiplayer for the DS devices. The story for DQ 9 is actually one of the best I have played in a while for RPG. They started out small. But today they are really moving on. The DQ series is actually a favourate of mine. In nine, you can also finally costomise your character. It is really great. Give it a try. Now, I have to beat Corvus

I am actually playing the second Dragon quest now and I like the slightly increased complexity in plot and battle while still retaining its simplistic approach. I will not see Dragon quest nine for a bit due to it being the last game currently released (and I am playing them in order).

However, if I may be so bold. What exactly are the features that usually dissuade some gamers from not liking Dragon Quest? Is it the presentation or the art style? (I am asking no one in particular. Feel free to answer if you can.

Ostarion : If you're looking for a game that's heavily narrative-based, I'd highly recommend Chrono Trigger. It's lighthearted most of the time, but the characters are likeable, and the combat is quite engaging, though it's very different from DQ. Most of the rules, however, are easy to figure out, and it becomes quite natural after a while.