TheYungLink
Smash Lord
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2018
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(Post originally by Ryuumo The Zekenator before he deleted his account, left the site, and passed the thread down onto me)
Congratulations DQ fans,
The Hero(es) draw near. Command?
Under recommendation by Megadoomer a new social thread was created to celebrate the arrival of the Luminary, Erdrick (called Arusu by Sakurai, from an old drama CD in Japan), Solo, and Eight into the Smash Bros. So feel free to discuss your favorite heroes, games, etc.
Here is a short introduction to the heroes, there's light spoilers regarding the first hours of the games but the heavy spoilers are collapsed.
Important note regarding the characters
Unlike a lot of other popular JRPGs nowadays, the heroes in Dragon Quest are silent and while a lot of them have certain traits and personalities you have to fill a lot of details by yourself, which to the benefit of the series immerses the player into the world of Dragon Quest.
Eleven aka the Luminary
The main protagonist of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. A young man from the village of Cobblestone who on his 16th birthday finds that he bears the eponymous mark of the Luminary which means that he is destined to save the world of Erdrea from a great evil. Just shortly after starting his journey, he is accused by the King Carnelian of being the Darkspawn, an evil that is foretold to bring the destruction of the world, and imprisoned. In captivity he meets Erik, his first companion who helps him escape. Now persecuted, he must gather allies, evade the forces of King Carnelian and save Erdrea from the great evil that's...out there, somewhere.
Dragon Quest XI is unique in the series in that the player character is not told what, exactly, their journey entails, only that they must explore the world to figure it out. The Luminary knows he must save Erdrea, only not how, or even why. That's for you to find out!
DQXI can be found currently on PS4 and PC, with an additional version on 3DS which is not localized. The recently released Switch version contains various QoL improvements like the ability to speed up battles, orchestrated OST, content found in the 3DS version and also the ability to switch between HD mode and 16-bit mode at save points like churches (the aforementioned 3DS content is played entirely in the 16-bit mode). I personally consider the Nintendo Switch port to be the best starting point for anyone looking to get into the Dragon Quest series, the campaign is very hefty and the party members are some of the best and most fleshed out in all of Dragon Quest.
This is the original Luminary thread and the original creator was AustarusIV .
Arusu aka Erdrick
The hero of legend Erdrick who debuted on Dragon Quest III: The seeds of Salvation, here in his male version. He is the son of the legendary warrior Ortega, who on his 16th birthday (we can see a pattern here) is given the challenge by the King of Aliahan to defeat Baramos, whom Ortega attempted to fight but apparently perished. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is given the name "Arusu" by Masahiro Sakurai, which comes from an audio drama CD released in Japan (think of it like a pre-recorded radio show), so it's not official but is a suggestion by Sakurai for those who do not wish to refer to him as Erdrick or Three.
DQIII can be found in multiple systems. The most prominent are the NES version which was localized, the SNES remake which while not localized has been fan translated and is considered one of the best if not the best version of DQIII, the Game Boy Color version which localizes his name as Loto (his name in Japan) and is a pretty good port, and the Android / IOS versions [I, the thread owner, played the first three Dragon Quest games on Android and enjoyed myself perfectly fine - TheYungLink].
The most readily available and competent version of Dragon Quest III (as well as I and II) is the Nintendo Switch version that is available to purchase digitally on the Nintendo eShop. It is very similar the the Android / iOS versions, however you can play with physical buttons and an actual control stick / D-pad if touch controls were putting you off from checking the game out on smartphone. While the Nintendo Switch port of Dragon Quest III lacks the battle animations of the SNES version, it's highly recommended you take this opportunity to check out Dragon Quest III. It's one of the single most influential video games ever created, and is not only a great game that holds up today when engaging with it on its own merits, but is an overall must for anyone who considers themselves an RPG scholar.
The male version is playable but not the female version. For those curious, this is her design.
It looks similar to male Erdrick, most likely due to how, in the original NES game, the player was given a choice of gender but used the same sprite for both, unlike any of the other classes like Warriors, Mages, etc. which had distinct 8-bit sprites for each gender even back then. The design comes from the SNES remake whose similarity references this quirk from the original, and has reappeared in the Game Boy Color, smartphone, and Nintendo Switch versions.
Here is the original Erdrick thread originally created by GM_3826 and currently owned by Teeb147 . More pictures of female Erdrick are also found within.
Eight
Eight is the main protagonist of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. This young guard of the Kingdom of Trodain embarks on an adventure along King Trode and Princess Medea in pursuit of the fiendish Dhoulmagus, to lift a terrible curse that left the King Trode transformed into a troll, the princess Medea transformed into a horse, and the rest of the Kingdom transformed into plants. Across his journey he will find memorable allies such as the thief Yangus, Jessica the mage and the templar Angelo who will help stop Dhoulmagus to break the curse and return King Trode, the Princess and the Kingdom back to normal. Also, among his inseparable companions you can find Munchie, a mouse, whom you can see accompanied Eight into smash.
You can find DQVIII on the PS2 (which is the original version), Mobile and 3DS. PS2 version has better graphics and orchestrated OST in the west but the 3DS version has additional content like 2 new party members and an alternate epilogue.
Dragon Quest VIII is considered the Western fan favorite entry and is a great starting point for the series. The biggest reason for that is how the in-game graphics finally matched Akira Toriyama's vibrant art style in totality, using cel-shading techniques not unlike The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Though some enemy sprites did match Toriyama's art in previous games such as Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of a Forgotten Past, this time everything did. The result is nothing short of breathtaking. The game's popularity outside of Japan is what got Sakurai to ask that Eight be included as a skin for The Hero.
The original Eight thread can be found here and was created by Blue_Sword_Edge .
Solo
The male protagonist of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, or rather the protagonist of the 5th chapter of the game. The game is divided into 5 chapters from which the first four detail the adventures of your companions before meeting you, the legendary hero.
You can find DQIV on NES, PS2, DS and smartphone. The versions post NES tend to add more content to the game like an additional chapter which is a post-game dungeon with a new ally, and the party chat feature which allowed to talk with party members (which is only cut on the international DS version). The Android / iOS version is relatively competent if you're okay with touch controls, and is the only way to enjoy the party chat feature in English.
Dragon Quest IV is unique in the series. Aside from the already standout five chapter structure, this entry introduced distinct party members with their own extended story sequences to the Dragon Quest series for the first time (technically Dragon Quest II was first, but the Prince of Midenhall and Princess of Moonbrooke are barely characterized). As a result, the various party members are widely beloved by fans. Standouts include the tomboy martial artist Alena, traveling merchant Torneko, and avenging twin sisters Meena and Maya.
The male player character is playable but not the female player character. Like Dragon Quest III, the game allowed a choice of gender for the player character, however this time they each had a distinct design and 8-bit sprite from the very beginning. They even had a unique canon name for each! The male player character's name, as seen at the top of this entry, is Solo, while the female player character is named Sofia. For those curious, this is her design.
It's very distinct, as you can see. Fans of the series in Japan are very fond of it due to its unique design, not just from Solo but in general. You don't really see RPG heroes or heroines with such a striking look. My favorite part of it is her wild, curly hair.
(Sadly, Solo is the only one without a support thread made before the confirmation of The Hero)
Hopefully we get echoes of the female protagonists on the future, as Sofia and Femdrick have pretty cool designs. Either that, or somehow additional color slots get added as DLC to make room for them, such as how Wario in Brawl and Little Mac in Smash 4 had more color slots than other characters on the roster.
---
If you're interested in trying the games, I wrote a pretty good recommendation list that I will include within this post at a certain point. I wrote one a long time ago but it's slightly outdated and will include it here when I'm done tinkering with it. For now, though, here's a quick categorization of them in terms of "Should you start with this entry or that entry":
RECOMMENDED FOR FANS NEW TO DRAGON QUEST
Any additional info, threads or links that you might want me to add to this post, just let me know.
Edit: After not being on Smashboards for a very long time, I've updated the little recommendation section to finally include details on why those four games are the best places to start.
Congratulations DQ fans,
The Hero(es) draw near. Command?
Under recommendation by Megadoomer a new social thread was created to celebrate the arrival of the Luminary, Erdrick (called Arusu by Sakurai, from an old drama CD in Japan), Solo, and Eight into the Smash Bros. So feel free to discuss your favorite heroes, games, etc.
Here is a short introduction to the heroes, there's light spoilers regarding the first hours of the games but the heavy spoilers are collapsed.
Important note regarding the characters
Unlike a lot of other popular JRPGs nowadays, the heroes in Dragon Quest are silent and while a lot of them have certain traits and personalities you have to fill a lot of details by yourself, which to the benefit of the series immerses the player into the world of Dragon Quest.
Eleven aka the Luminary
The main protagonist of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. A young man from the village of Cobblestone who on his 16th birthday finds that he bears the eponymous mark of the Luminary which means that he is destined to save the world of Erdrea from a great evil. Just shortly after starting his journey, he is accused by the King Carnelian of being the Darkspawn, an evil that is foretold to bring the destruction of the world, and imprisoned. In captivity he meets Erik, his first companion who helps him escape. Now persecuted, he must gather allies, evade the forces of King Carnelian and save Erdrea from the great evil that's...out there, somewhere.
Dragon Quest XI is unique in the series in that the player character is not told what, exactly, their journey entails, only that they must explore the world to figure it out. The Luminary knows he must save Erdrea, only not how, or even why. That's for you to find out!
DQXI can be found currently on PS4 and PC, with an additional version on 3DS which is not localized. The recently released Switch version contains various QoL improvements like the ability to speed up battles, orchestrated OST, content found in the 3DS version and also the ability to switch between HD mode and 16-bit mode at save points like churches (the aforementioned 3DS content is played entirely in the 16-bit mode). I personally consider the Nintendo Switch port to be the best starting point for anyone looking to get into the Dragon Quest series, the campaign is very hefty and the party members are some of the best and most fleshed out in all of Dragon Quest.
This is the original Luminary thread and the original creator was AustarusIV .
Arusu aka Erdrick
The hero of legend Erdrick who debuted on Dragon Quest III: The seeds of Salvation, here in his male version. He is the son of the legendary warrior Ortega, who on his 16th birthday (we can see a pattern here) is given the challenge by the King of Aliahan to defeat Baramos, whom Ortega attempted to fight but apparently perished. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is given the name "Arusu" by Masahiro Sakurai, which comes from an audio drama CD released in Japan (think of it like a pre-recorded radio show), so it's not official but is a suggestion by Sakurai for those who do not wish to refer to him as Erdrick or Three.
Across his adventure he ends up traveling to the world of the original DQ games, Alefgard, where he obtains the title of Erdrick and becomes the legend referenced in both Dragon Quest I and II.
DQIII can be found in multiple systems. The most prominent are the NES version which was localized, the SNES remake which while not localized has been fan translated and is considered one of the best if not the best version of DQIII, the Game Boy Color version which localizes his name as Loto (his name in Japan) and is a pretty good port, and the Android / IOS versions [I, the thread owner, played the first three Dragon Quest games on Android and enjoyed myself perfectly fine - TheYungLink].
The most readily available and competent version of Dragon Quest III (as well as I and II) is the Nintendo Switch version that is available to purchase digitally on the Nintendo eShop. It is very similar the the Android / iOS versions, however you can play with physical buttons and an actual control stick / D-pad if touch controls were putting you off from checking the game out on smartphone. While the Nintendo Switch port of Dragon Quest III lacks the battle animations of the SNES version, it's highly recommended you take this opportunity to check out Dragon Quest III. It's one of the single most influential video games ever created, and is not only a great game that holds up today when engaging with it on its own merits, but is an overall must for anyone who considers themselves an RPG scholar.
The male version is playable but not the female version. For those curious, this is her design.
It looks similar to male Erdrick, most likely due to how, in the original NES game, the player was given a choice of gender but used the same sprite for both, unlike any of the other classes like Warriors, Mages, etc. which had distinct 8-bit sprites for each gender even back then. The design comes from the SNES remake whose similarity references this quirk from the original, and has reappeared in the Game Boy Color, smartphone, and Nintendo Switch versions.
Here is the original Erdrick thread originally created by GM_3826 and currently owned by Teeb147 . More pictures of female Erdrick are also found within.
Eight
Eight is the main protagonist of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. This young guard of the Kingdom of Trodain embarks on an adventure along King Trode and Princess Medea in pursuit of the fiendish Dhoulmagus, to lift a terrible curse that left the King Trode transformed into a troll, the princess Medea transformed into a horse, and the rest of the Kingdom transformed into plants. Across his journey he will find memorable allies such as the thief Yangus, Jessica the mage and the templar Angelo who will help stop Dhoulmagus to break the curse and return King Trode, the Princess and the Kingdom back to normal. Also, among his inseparable companions you can find Munchie, a mouse, whom you can see accompanied Eight into smash.
You can find DQVIII on the PS2 (which is the original version), Mobile and 3DS. PS2 version has better graphics and orchestrated OST in the west but the 3DS version has additional content like 2 new party members and an alternate epilogue.
Dragon Quest VIII is considered the Western fan favorite entry and is a great starting point for the series. The biggest reason for that is how the in-game graphics finally matched Akira Toriyama's vibrant art style in totality, using cel-shading techniques not unlike The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Though some enemy sprites did match Toriyama's art in previous games such as Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of a Forgotten Past, this time everything did. The result is nothing short of breathtaking. The game's popularity outside of Japan is what got Sakurai to ask that Eight be included as a skin for The Hero.
The original Eight thread can be found here and was created by Blue_Sword_Edge .
Solo
The male protagonist of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, or rather the protagonist of the 5th chapter of the game. The game is divided into 5 chapters from which the first four detail the adventures of your companions before meeting you, the legendary hero.
Your story starts in chapter 5 when your town is razed by monsters, now you must embark in an adventure, recruit your allies met in previous chapters and stop the monsters from destroying the humans.
You can find DQIV on NES, PS2, DS and smartphone. The versions post NES tend to add more content to the game like an additional chapter which is a post-game dungeon with a new ally, and the party chat feature which allowed to talk with party members (which is only cut on the international DS version). The Android / iOS version is relatively competent if you're okay with touch controls, and is the only way to enjoy the party chat feature in English.
Dragon Quest IV is unique in the series. Aside from the already standout five chapter structure, this entry introduced distinct party members with their own extended story sequences to the Dragon Quest series for the first time (technically Dragon Quest II was first, but the Prince of Midenhall and Princess of Moonbrooke are barely characterized). As a result, the various party members are widely beloved by fans. Standouts include the tomboy martial artist Alena, traveling merchant Torneko, and avenging twin sisters Meena and Maya.
The male player character is playable but not the female player character. Like Dragon Quest III, the game allowed a choice of gender for the player character, however this time they each had a distinct design and 8-bit sprite from the very beginning. They even had a unique canon name for each! The male player character's name, as seen at the top of this entry, is Solo, while the female player character is named Sofia. For those curious, this is her design.
It's very distinct, as you can see. Fans of the series in Japan are very fond of it due to its unique design, not just from Solo but in general. You don't really see RPG heroes or heroines with such a striking look. My favorite part of it is her wild, curly hair.
(Sadly, Solo is the only one without a support thread made before the confirmation of The Hero)
Hopefully we get echoes of the female protagonists on the future, as Sofia and Femdrick have pretty cool designs. Either that, or somehow additional color slots get added as DLC to make room for them, such as how Wario in Brawl and Little Mac in Smash 4 had more color slots than other characters on the roster.
---
If you're interested in trying the games, I wrote a pretty good recommendation list that I will include within this post at a certain point. I wrote one a long time ago but it's slightly outdated and will include it here when I'm done tinkering with it. For now, though, here's a quick categorization of them in terms of "Should you start with this entry or that entry":
RECOMMENDED FOR FANS NEW TO DRAGON QUEST
- Dragon Quest IV
- This game is split into multiple chapters, each of which gives a distinct character (or group of characters) time in the spotlight. The last chapter centers on the protagonist themselves, and is longer than all previous chapters combined because it revolves around them meeting them all to form a party. Many beloved Dragon Quest characters are in this game, like Alena, the martial artist princess, and Torneko, whose thing is "if you played as an RPG shopkeeper, what would that be like?". If you can stomach touch screen controls, the iOS and Android versions include a great feature called Party Chat, where, depending on the context (which can be entering a new screen, being finished talking with any NPC in the game, walking around on the overworld, etc.), each and every single party member besides the hero will have something completely unique to say. It's extremely thorough, and incredibly impressive in how much life it breathes into everyone. Otherwise, the Nintendo DS version is the recommended way to go.
- Dragon Quest V
- This is my personal favorite Dragon Quest game. It has my favorite story, which is about a child who travels the world with his father, and through different story events, grows up after a timeskip. The game really makes you feel like a child, then an adult, so it's a great coming-of-age story, all done with a silent protagonist which is really impressive. There's a unique mechanic where, at one point in the game, you gain the ability to recruit monsters into your party. This happens at random after some fights, and it's really fun to be able to recruit iconic Dragon Quest monsters like Slimes, Chimaeras, etc. and at one point you recruit a monster you befriended as a child. There's also a choice you get to make quite a ways into the game, where you can choose one of two (three in the remakes) women to marry, which at the time was a really involved choice compared to other games that came out in 1992. It's also not a difficult game, so it's very easy to recommend for new players. Unlike Dragon Quest IV, this game's Nintendo DS remake keeps the Party Chat feature, so you don't have to play the mobile versions of this game for that if you don't want to.
- Dragon Quest VIII
- This was the most popular Dragon Quest game in the west for a very long time until Dragon Quest XI. It's the first DQ game to feature fully 3D polygonal models of characters, and they do an incredible job of making Akira Toriyama's wonderful character designs come to life. The game concerns a lengthy, yet relatively simple plot. A boy travels with a cursed king, a transformed princess, and many party members met along the way to track down a serial killer magician who laid waste to the boy's kingdom, and is making other people miserable too. Wacky hijinks ensue as you go from location to location hoping to stop this man from doing further harm. This game has a simple, linear skill tree system, where focusing on a character's proficiency with a type of weapon will give them many bonuses and skills. This is the first fully 3D Dragon Quest game, meaning instead of an overhead view, there's a fully third-person camera with which to view the utterly beautiful landscapes. The Nintendo 3DS version has no random encounters and extra content, but it uses a MIDI soundtrack, and makes the colors a bit brighter. The original PS2 version has a fully orchestrated soundtrack which sounds beautiful, but it has random encounters and no portability or the extra content from the 3DS version.
- Dragon Quest XI
- Of all the Dragon Quest games, DQ11 is the one I would recommend the most. It's definitely the most modern, with even more beautiful graphics than DQ8, an even more involved skill tree than DQ8, and a myriad of settings you can turn on and off to make the game easier or harder. Dragon Quest XI feels like a big celebration of the entire Dragon Quest series, but newcomers can very easily enjoy this game without having to understand the many call-backs. This Dragon Quest game is really packed, with tons of side content and achievements to keep anyone busy, so you're definitely getting bang for your buck. The version for Nintendo Switch (given the notoriously long name of "Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition") is the best version, having even more features, like the ability to turn on the orchestrated soundtrack for the game, an extended sidequest referencing every single mainline Dragon Quest game before XI, and the ability to play the literal entirety of the game with cute 16-bit Super Nintendo-style graphics. However, this version is also out on other systems like the PS4, Xbox One, and Steam.
- Dragon Quest I
- Still holds up as an interesting and neat game, but it's so no-frills and basic that you have to engage with the game on its own merits, which you may or may not be willing to do. Although satisfying to finish, it's best played as a historical curiosity, as there is very little strategy to the game aside from leveling up and managing your limited inventory.
- Dragon Quest III
- Great game, but it becomes even better if you play I and II first, so you'll have to make a choice on either jumping straight into Erdrick's game or doing a 3-game commitment which not everyone will want to do
- Dragon Quest VI and Dragon Quest VII
- These two games are very fun, but they focus more on character building and mastery over story. There is a lot more to micro manage and it might be overwhelming to new players as a result. Also, Dragon Quest VII in particularly is infamously long. My playthrough of the more streamlined Nintendo 3DS version clocked in at around 120 hours, though that was admittedly in part due to me personally wanting to max out the potential of all or most of the classes in the game. You can probably beat Dragon Quest VII faster than I did if you strategize properly at, say, 80 or 90 hours, which is still a lot, but hey.
- Dragon Quest IX
- Like the other games on this list, Dragon Quest IX is a great game. Like VI and VII, it focuses on class building, but there's a different catch: the game was made with multiplayer in mind. Nintendo WiFi Connection, an internet service made for Nintendo DS and Wii games, shut down a few years ago. As a result, unless you know someone in close proximity to you IRL, there is no practical way to access the swathes of multiplayer-exclusive content made for the game anymore. Not that the game can't be played by yourself, but there is a lot you would be missing. Here's hoping for some kind of remake for Dragon Quest IX, it sounds like a great game that would do well today if they gave it a second life compatible with current internet services.
- Dragon Quest II
- One of the hardest entries in the series, this game has more of an air of danger than most other Dragon Quest games. The enemies are, on average, sturdier and harder-hitting, the adventure is longer than the (admittedly brisk) first game, and the dungeons are some of the most deadly. In particular, the Road the Rhone, the penultimate dungeon, is widely considered one of the hardest dungeons in the whole series. I liked the game, and the music was some of my favorite in all of Dragon Quest, but if you absolutely insist on trying this game first, be prepared for one hell of a fight.
- Dragon Quest X
- While Dragon Quest IX was a game with a strong multiplayer focus, Dragon Quest X is a straight-up MMO. This is already contentious, as many players (like me) avoid MMORPGs as it isn't the type of game for them (not everyone wants to play a game with a subscription model, etc.), but more importantly the game is impossible to play outside of Japan due to VPN shenanigans. As a result, it's less "I recommend against starting with this game" and more "lmao you can't EVEN start with this game". That said, Dragon Quest X Offline is coming out later, which will feature the in-game story from the MMORPG version.
Any additional info, threads or links that you might want me to add to this post, just let me know.
Edit: After not being on Smashboards for a very long time, I've updated the little recommendation section to finally include details on why those four games are the best places to start.
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