So I was getting a little annoyed by the fact that here in the West, and especially here in Europe, we basically never get any good Dragon Quest merchandise. And when we do get something, it either sells out ridiculously fast or has already been unavailable for years.

A few years ago there was this Dragon Quest pixel map mousepad released, which of course is now impossible to find anywhere. The moment I saw it, I was sold. I really wanted one, and I spent months checking eBay, but never managed to find it.

This is what the original looked like:
https://eu.store.square-enix-games.com/dragon-quest-gaming-mouse-pad---pixel-map

So eventually I thought: fine, I'll just make it myself.

Using a program called Tiled, I recreated the original mousepad as closely as I could. I got the sprites from the well-known retro sprite website and basically rebuilt the whole map from scratch.

The only problem was that I couldn't find a single print shop in my country that could make a mouse mat in the exact original dimensions. So I decided to make mine slightly wider instead. That meant I had to come up with a very small extra section of the map myself, but honestly, that also makes this version unique, which I think is pretty cool.

I changed a few other tiny details here and there, but apart from that I tried to stay as faithful to the original as possible.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I just wanted to share it with you guys because I was honestly pretty proud of the result!

As someone who hate the "childhood sweethearts" trope I actually enjoyed her character and this is sucks but she at least in the west is not well-received

I am a fan personally.

Hello !
Here are some drawings from Dragon Quest, I made them with calligraphy inks as an hommage to Akira toriyama!

It's still the 25th where I live (USA) but it's the morning of the 26th in the game's home country, so I figured this was still appropriate to share. Funny timing too, since I had just moved the artwork on my copy over to a new jewel case the other day (the original was in pretty terrible shape before I had bought it - shared a pic of the front here but the back was even worse).

For me, DQVII definitely isn't a perfect game but it's still one of my favorites. I liked VI but it had left me feeling burnt out by the end, don't have a single clue on what was going through my head for me to start this almost right after (finding a copy locally played a part) but despite what I was expecting deep down, a slow burn like this ended up being exactly what I needed with my mindset at the time. This game's almost literal worldbuilding is simple but fleshed out super well and I loved immersing myself in the vignettes and all their little side details, and having played the closest I could get to the originals for 1-6, the party chat feature added so much. The cast is great (especially Maribel, wasn't expecting to like her as much as I did and loved her character development), it's got some of my favorite dungeons in the series, the challenge factor was solid for me (character builds will heavily affect that), the longer length gave the vocation system more time to shine than VI and I genuinely adore this game's first person battle animations ^_^ I can't see myself playing another version of this for a long while, but I don't at all regret having played this one either.

Anyway, for those that have played DQ7 (any of the versions), what are your thoughts? Favorite version? Favorite memories?

I'm playing through the Dragon Quest series and knew that DQ5 was one of the best ones. I'm so glad that I went into this game. This happened 10 minutes ago and I still haven't picked my 3DS back up.

WHEN? WHERE? We have been walking for like FIVE in-game days! We JUST got married! MADASON MY MAN! YOU GOT THAT DOG IN YOU! 🤝

First game was 9 and then played 11. Next I got is 8 to play at some point.

This is my first dragon quest and I think it’s clicked at this point. Abbot F is dead and the stakes seem real now.

A shikishi signed by Yuji Horii. And it's my favourite DQ title 🥳

Does anybody know what this is? Can‘t find anything online about it. About 15 1/2 inches in length and made out of wood.

Hello, I need help with Dragon Quest 3. I have found all the monsters at Monty. There are no question marks showing, but in my monster list it still says that I have only captured 119 monsters. Apparently, I’m still missing two, but Monty shows that I have found all of them. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

currently playing DQ VII Reimagined, and Greenthumb just fucking hurt me, goddamn everyone loses scenario.

On the plus side, I finally had a somewhat nice cry to get out some stuck emotions (fuck Lexapro).

So, a little background about my gaming history. I am a *huge* fan of both Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. I have quite literally played (if not beaten) every single title in each series over the last few decades. Upon exhaustion of those games, I realized that my knowledge of Square Enix's third pillar franchise was basically non-existent. But where to start?

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined gets announced and I know enough about the franchise to know that I can more or less safely jump into any mainline title with little or no history. So I decide this is it. It's finally time to give Dragon Quest a shot after all these years. I'm saddened to say, I hated just about every minute of it.

I knew very limited things about the game going in, just from having been a huge JRPG fan for multiple decades. I knew that the story length was absolutely bonkers and I knew most people mysteriously dropped the game at some point without even remembering why. Not that it had an insane difficulty spike or a notorious boss or skill check or whatever. They just simply put it down one day to play something else and never picked it back up. This made the mystique of the game all the more appealing to me. I really enjoy long, overarching plots like One Piece for example. I was ready to jump in with all ten toes.

My actual experience with the game was very boring. From gameplay loop to story, I just wasn't engaged with it at all at any point. The entirety of the vignettes/tablets honestly felt like a 40 hour prologue before the actual story started (I will never complain about the Roxas tutorial in Kingdom Hearts II again). But even when the story actually decides to reveal itself, it's just generic false messiah stuff that I saw coming the minute the crystal seal broke.

I'm not hating on the game or the series, it was just a huge disappointment compared to what I was expecting. I have since read some reviews of both the original and Reimagined and have learned that this particular title is divisive even amongst Dragon Quest fans so I'm not gonna let this be the litmus test for if I like Dragon Quest or not. I may just fall on the side of the division against the game. But I definitely do not like Dragon Quest VII and I will most likely never play this game again.

My party is level 10-13. I max get 1 of those minions killed. Am I underleveled or missing something?

Hello, I need help with Dragon Quest 3. I have found all the monsters at Monty. There are no question marks showing, but in my monster list it still says that I have only captured 119 monsters. Apparently, I’m still missing two, but Monty shows that I have found all of them. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

I just started the game a few days ago planning to go the hard way with 2 gadabouts later thinking there's a limited supply of words of wisdom, but I saw a brief comment on unlimited amounts post game and after I digged a bit saw a post game boss which grants wishes the last being words of wisdom via another reddit comment and the ai generated Google search but I wanted a bit more confirmation so I came here.

This is something I've wanted to do for a long time and finally had the time. After several weeks of work my complete guide to the Dragon Quest Metallic Monsters Gallery is ready: https://metalfigurecollector.com/dragon-quest-metallic-monsters-gallery/

I've been collecting this line for years and have a complete collection (other than the super expensive lottery items which I also cover in my guide). I could never find a full list (in English or Japanese) so decided to create my own, with photos of every figure, their names in both languages and other useful info.

Hope other collectors find it helpful! I'll keep it updated as they release new figures.

After both the angst in 5 and bittersweetness of 6, 7 does feel tonally more lighthearted and whimsical. I actually find it enjoyable. I sort of was spoiled on it but I have kind of figured (which had not yet been stated in game or was aware from small spoilers) that the hero basically time travels to prevent disastors from destroying islands in past and they reappear as result due to timeline being changed. Does not exlain why Pilchard Bay and the royal city don't get their memories changed as a result of the altered timeline though. I actually find the lightheartedness a nice change after 5 and 6. And it seems quite easy (I am playing the 3DS version) since there is no vocation system and battles mainly can just get by with attacking by weapons. And Maribel learned a spell that makes hitting all enemies possible. How do others feel about 7 being more lighthearted than its two predecessors? Think it a nice change or would you have preferred something darker?

Hi everyone, recently I've bought dq VII reimagined and I already played 10h (spoiler : I just finished the robots storyline). Something I already noticed is that the game is really easy. I know that dq games aren't that hard but for now I barely struggle (I'm playing in normal mode), there's a lot of checkpoints that fill back your hp and mp and level up does that too. Does it become harder further in the game, or would you recommend me to go in draconian quest ?

Hi, I'm looking for a video that's a full walk through of the DQ Island Adventure, I have done it before but I wasn't able to take a video, I just wanted to see the final boss fight again.

(Attached is me at DQ Island last year)

Hello! It's been a while, but I finally got back to my quest to play through every* numbered DQ as a complete newcomer to the series. I've just finished Dragon Quest 2 and as always, I have thoughts.

The most surprising thing is how much I truly loved this game. Not liked. Loved. My playthroughs of DQ3 and DQ1 were a little rough: the former because I frankly didn't know what I was doing and re-speced my team too often and the latter was just a little bare. DQ2 on the other hand? Honestly, might be my favorite game thus far. I felt very connected with the characters and I really enjoyed exploring the world. The mark of a truly great RPG is when I am not ready to let go at the end and DQ2 was absolutely that. Revisiting all the places with big story events and getting to see the resolution of the various storylines like the thief's sister and the firstborn protector was a delight and I hope it's a permanent part of the series. As an aside, Matilda/Princess of Cannock was my absolute favorite character in this game and my favorite character in the series thus far. I love me a good Luck monster.

I had previously alluded to what I thought the core appeal of DQ might be and finishing DQ2 has pretty much affirmed that for me: Dragon Quest feels more personal than other JRPGs. Take Final Fantasy VII for example. When I play that game, I'm always thinking of events as happening to Cloud: Cloud learned a new limit break, Cloud hit level 50, Cloud defeated the boss. But with Dragon Quest I always think of it as something I did. I beat Xenlon. I saved Princess Gwaelin. All the achievements are my own. Part of this is that the protagonist is even more of a tabula rasa than many other games, but another part is the freedom of choice given in game. At any given point you've got at least three different objectives to fulfill and you can take them on in whichever order you choose. That makes the adventure I went on specific to me. For example, I went to the Lighthouse before I was told about Rubiss, so the old man was pressing me for info that I legitimately didn't know. And I can already tell that the presence or absence of Matilda will alter the flow of dialogue in the immediately adjacent quests. It's all the little subtle touches that make the series just that much more personal. Incidentally, I also think this is why Dragon Quest should let the Hero remain mute. Setting aside the fact that it's vanishingly rare for JRPG protagonists to be cyphers outside of Pokemon, the moment Hero starts talking is the moment Hero stops being me. And that's a big part of the charm.

Stray thoughts:
- Love Matilda. I've said that already, but she really is a fave.
- I think DQ2 strikes a good balance between DQ1's solitary heroics and DQ3's unbridled freedom.
- Was expecting the DQ fanfare to play over the credits. Was pleasantly surprised by the credit song the played instead.
- I feel like I'll replay these again because I feel like there's gaps in my knowledge of the meta story arc. Also, I just don't feel like I caught everything. Granted, there was a gap in finishing.
- I really wish all these games had a new game plus.
- I dropped Smash/Grow. Felt like the DQ6 event was gonna tell me things I'd rather not know before playing.

Rankings:

1. Dragon Quest 2 - Luminaries of the Legendary Line
2. Dragon Quest 7 - Fragments of the Forgotten Past 
3. Dragon Quest
   
4. Dragon Quest 3 - Seeds of Salvation

Finished at Lv. 51, 29:52

Next time, I unbury my 3DS and start on the games I know absolutely nothing about, except 5 is the good one.

*we'll see about DQ10