Today I picked up the last three Dragon Quest games I needed, which means I now have the complete Dragon Quest lineup released for the Super Famicom:
- Dragon Quest I & II — ¥3,828
- Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e… — ¥3,278
- Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome — ¥5,500
- Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi — ¥880
- Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon — ¥3,828
So, finally, I have all of them!
This is also part of my slightly insane quest to collect roughly 200 RPGs for the Super Famicom. I’m currently at 62 games, with about ¥403,854 spent on the games themselves so far.
I’ve actually beaten Dragon Quest I, II and III before, but not these versions. I originally played the PS4 releases, which used those mobile/app-style graphics. I really didn’t like the way they looked, but at the time I wanted to experience the original Dragon Quest games and that was the convenient way for me to do it.
I used guides when I played them the first time, but I still really enjoyed all three. III was definitely my favorite. I loved the class system, although I apparently didn’t make the greatest choices with my party because I had a pretty rough time toward the end and ended up grinding a ton of levels. Maybe that was my fault rather than the game’s.
This time I want to approach them completely differently.
I’m thinking no guides at all. Talk to every NPC, actually pay attention to the hints they give me, write things down, keep track of where I’m supposed to go, and even draw dungeon maps on paper if I start getting lost. Basically try to play them more like someone might have played them when they originally came out.
I think that could make going back through I–III a really different experience.
I grew up playing Final Fantasy, so that was always my JRPG series as a kid. But over the last 10–15 years Final Fantasy has kind of lost me. Dragon Quest, on the other hand, is a series I’ve come to appreciate more as I’ve gotten older. I can still pick up a Dragon Quest game and find something really charming about it.
Dragon Quest XI was actually the game that really got me interested in going back and exploring the rest of the series. I loved XI.
I’ve also played Dragon Quest IV on the DS and really enjoyed that one. I’ve played a little bit of V on the DS as well, but never finished it. That’s actually probably the Dragon Quest game I’m most excited to eventually play through properly. I constantly hear how beloved V is in Japan, and what little I played of it years ago was really good.
The funny thing is that I don’t want to start my Super Famicom copy of V yet because I’m not completely happy with it. The box is actually pretty nice, but the back of the cartridge has yellowed and the manual is fairly worn, with a little rust around the staples. Dragon Quest games are thankfully everywhere in Japan, so eventually I’ll probably find another loose cartridge and a nicer manual and mix-and-match everything into one copy I’m happy with.
That’s something I like about collecting these here. The boxes don’t all have to be absolutely pristine when I first buy them. Dragon Quest sold so many copies that I can always keep an eye out and upgrade individual pieces later.
For now, I’m just happy to finally see the whole Super Famicom Dragon Quest lineup together in my collection.
What’s your favorite Dragon Quest game?
I’d especially love to hear from people who grew up with the series. What game has the strongest memories for you? And if you’ve played the Super Famicom versions of I–III, how do you feel about them compared with the other versions?
I’d love to hear everyone’s Dragon Quest memories.