Dragon Quest: My top 9!*

Dragon Quest was the game series that started it all for me and JRPG's. Iconic music, sound effects and a certain graphical flare all rolled into one package. This is one series that I can honestly say that there isn't a bad game in the bunch. About that asterisk... There are actually 11 Dragon Quest games but 10 was a Japan only MMO and 11 hasn't released in the US yet. With that I have to exclude them for now.

Dragon Quest was first developed by Enix and Bird Studio (among others) with character designs by Akira Toriyama the creator of Dragon Ball, Sand Land and Dr. Slump. The series is divided by arcs, DQ 1,2 and 3 for example are about Erdrick (Loto) and his descendants. Each arc is three games (or a trilogy) that share an overall separate but related story. Each game in the series shares many different aspects like monsters and music. Each game in the series maintains a medieval ascetic as well.

Unlike the Final Fantasy series the setting hasn't been altered; that's what I like about it. The series is able to be creative without having to change settings every game. Don't let that fool you however; there is plenty of innovation as well. The combat system has evolved many times over since the first game in the series. The introduction of the tension system for example. Overall these games have captured my imagination without having to shoot my knights and wizards into outer space. They are very old school but the fun characters, imaginative monsters, and great stories will keep you hooked. With that said...

9) Dragon Quest 9 - This wasn't a bad game just over simplistic. This was a DS game and it was fairly short and easy compared to most other DQ titles. The worse part of this game however was that to get the most out it you had to be online. It was unique as you could play online or off; you could also get bonuses using the street pass. Every time you passed someone playing this game you got another guest in a special hotel you help build. This hotel will also every week get a special guest from a past game in the series when you go online. Unfortunately you will never get the full value out of this game now as they shut down the server several years ago. It's as I said not a bad game but feels like they used it as an experiment for their MMO DQ10.

8) Dragon Quest 5 - I really enjoyed this one but like 9 I kind of felt this game was a bit short. It was innovative at the time as you had multiple generations of a family fighting evil and you even got to choose who you'd marry. This was the first SNES DQ but it didn't really take much advantage of the bump in hardware as it looked like a cleaned up NES game.

7) Dragon Quest 6 - I don't have much experience with this title as it only released here in the US on the DS and I gave up on the DS before I really got to play it. I'd rank it lower or not at all but as I said DQ9 is basically a shadow of its former self and 5 just didn't push any real boundaries.

6) Dragon Quest 7 - This is a solid title in the series; it took me over 120 hours to complete it and loved every minute of it. I'd rank it higher but with the remaining games still left it would be hard to do so. This was the first game on Playstation and like 5 on the SNES they didn't push many limits on the hardware. The story has a super slow start but snow balls quite well.

5) Dragon Quest 2 - Like 7 I'd like to rank this higher but just can't. This game took the formula established in DQ and kicked it up a notch. This game was the first three member party system I ran into and it worked well. Each party member had their own name and abilities. Story was solid and the lore expanded nicely.

4) Dragon Quest - The game that started it all. I lost track of how many times I rented this game before I was finally able to get my own copy for free! Thanks Nintendo Power! With that said though; this game showed me what an JRPG is, was, and could be. It still needs a bit of polish but the story was engaging and it's world massive with lots to explore and do, it also had 2 endings. One of those endings is the basis for the Dragon Quest Builders story; I can't recommend that game enough.

3) Dragon Quest 4 - The first of the celestial arc. The first game in the series to offer a massive party system thanks to the wagon! All the characters had their own jobs, names, and unique appearences. Their sub-plots and chapters told a dynamic story that eventually comes together around the central hero. Also, it's the last game on the NES before jumping to the SNES with 5.

2) Dragon Quest 8 - This was another tough choice. This game was the first modern adaptation of the series and the only one on PS2. It also introduced voice acting and a very fitting cell shaded look that made the game pop with its signature art style. This game is probably the best example of a complete DQ experience and if you wanted to start somewhere I'd suggest here.

1) Dragon Quest 3 - Believe it or not this game is actually a prequel to DQ1. If you wanted to play the games in order you'd have to start here DQ 3>1>2. In this game you play as the legendary hero of DQ1 and 2 Erdrick (Loto) and traverse the world with your customized and up-gradable side kicks. You travel across the world to defeat the evil of Zoma only to eventually play out the events that made Erdrick a legend. I won't spoil it but the surprise at the end floored me.

There you have it, my top 9 Dragon Quest games. All the games were of course mainline titles and on their original platforms. Most of these have been remade often more than once but I encourage you to give them all a shot as they all are excellent games over all. I'd even recommend DQ9 as long as you remember you won't get it's full potential.

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