This is a fairly interesting series when looking at the series as a whole, and how it has developed. Many analysts have predicted from day 1 of the series that it was going to flop, and despite all of that, over its nearly 25 year history it has managed to grow and the peak of its popularity has not yet even been realized.
Dragon Quest 5 sold 2.8 million on SNES
Dragon Quest 6 sold 3.2 million on SNES
Dragon Quest 7 sold 4.3 million on PSX
Dragon Quest 8 sold 5 million on PS2
Dragon Quest 9 is destined to defeat them both: it had the second largest day 1 sales in Japan's history, only to be defeated by Final Fantasy 8; and it is currently sitting on 4 million copies sold in Japan alone according to Square Enix, and continues to sell well on a weekly basis.
Dragon Quest 1:
Going back to the very first Dragon Quest. It was a game based on European medieval tradition, and featured a single hero who was descended from the legendary hero Erdrick. It was initially dismissed by analysts due to these themes, and the feeling that a Science Fiction title would do much better (as that was what was generally popular at the time). Another major thing about this title was that it was simplified and straight forward; unlike other RPGs of its time period which were open and generally very complex in their execution. In 1986 Dragon Quest proved to Squash all of the predictions, and would become on of the most influential games in the history of videogames. While Dragon Quest may feel outdated today, it is still FAR more playable than other RPGs from before.
Dragon Quest 2:
This game was an advancement on Dragon Quest and didn't stray too far from the formula, but had some significant improvements. Graphics and animations were improved. This game was very well known for its soundtrack for years after its initial release. The biggest improvement was the addition of other party members, a princess and another prince. The game was considerably expanded from the first Dragon Quest which had only 5 towns and 5 dungeons. This game was a direct sequel of part 1 taking place 100 years later.
Dragon Quest 3
This game officially established the party system. It allowed the player to hire party members from a guild, I recall an exploit where you could hire party members, sell their equipment, kick them out, and hire new ones. There were also lots of monster arenas in this game, I found this to be very fun. The creators of the series have always called this one their favourite: it is a prequel to the first Dragon Quest title, and in this one the player actually plays as Erdrick. This game was also the final game of the Dragon Quest Trilogy. Erdrick apparently has his grave in Elf Town in Final Fantasy 1 =) This was a shot by Squaresoft at Enix; Enix retaliated in Dragon Quest 3 by creating Cid's grave =)
I would agree with the creators and say that Dragon Quest 3 is the definitive game of the entire series. This is the DQ game I played the most. It was also the highest selling game of the first 6 games with remakes excluded.
Dragon Quest 4:
A new trilogy was started here. This game more resembled the RPGs that would be seen through the SNES era and onward; it was probably the first of its kind. It had a more in depth story than the previous titles, and was separated into chapters based on different characters, five in total. This was my personal favourite DQ title for a very long time. I liked it more than FF4 back then, and I like its remake more than FF4's remake today; though both are great. This is the DQ game I have played the second most.
Torneko, the Merchant, was popular enough to get his own side-series of games which have so far appeared on SNES, PSX, GBA, and PS2. Remakes included, Dragon Quest 4 is the highest selling in the series, slightly edging out Dragon Quest 3.
Dragon Quest 5:
Takes place in the same world as the fourth, though the connections are not as clear as they were in the original trilogy. The obvious link here is the existence of Zenithia and their Goddess. This game follows the lifetime of the hero starting from the young age of 6, advancing through teen years. You get to choose a wife, and have a family with her. This game is not as light hearted as the fourth title, it is darker. The story is more in depth. I haven't yet finished this one, I am working on it and am liking it even more than 4 for a lot of things. I might be more likely to replay 4 because of its more light hearted nature though.
Dragon Quest 6:
This one deals a lot with a Dream World and a real world. In the real world you can change events in the dream world by effecting the real world person. In addition, a person who is good in the real world may end up being evil in the dream world. There is a DS remake of this one coming out soon, it was announced at this TGS with footage. The few people I know who have played it call either this one or five to be their favourite of the series. This is the final game in the Zenithia trilogy, I have very limited experience with it.
Dragon Quest 7:
This one takes place in a totally new world, it deals with time travel and changing the past to effect the future. I personally could not bring myself to come close to finishing this game as a University roommate spent a semester and 114 hours to complete the game. This game is much longer than the others in the series and perhaps the longest true RPG around.
Dragon Quest 8:
Everyone already knows it here. At 5 million copies, including 1.2 million outside of North America, this is the current series best seller. One tidbit about this one is that it was the first game in the series to use the "Dragon Quest" title here in North America, before that it was always known as "Dragon Warrior".
Dragon Quest 9:
I can't say a lot about this one. It has received very positive reviews so far and looks to be the most feature packed and overall best game available for the DS. It was the first game in Japan to feature voice acting (DQ8 actually did not have that in Japan), it is also the first game in the series to be initially released on a handheld, it has a multiplayer co-op feature, and also extensive open ended side-quests. Despite an early smear campaign on various sales websites such as amazon, the game has managed to sell, and continues to sell very well; its release has revitalized the DS hardware market in Japan which has exceeded the threshold seen with SNES, PSX, and PS2 in earlier generations.
Overall, it will be interesting to see where the series goes from here. There may be a day when this title takes the worldwide RPG sales crown away from Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy 12 sold 5.1 million, just slightly ahead of Dragon Quest 8, but maybe not more than what DQ9 will sell. Final Fantasy 13's sales will likely be considerably higher though, but that remains to be seen.
Dragon Quest 5 sold 2.8 million on SNES
Dragon Quest 6 sold 3.2 million on SNES
Dragon Quest 7 sold 4.3 million on PSX
Dragon Quest 8 sold 5 million on PS2
Dragon Quest 9 is destined to defeat them both: it had the second largest day 1 sales in Japan's history, only to be defeated by Final Fantasy 8; and it is currently sitting on 4 million copies sold in Japan alone according to Square Enix, and continues to sell well on a weekly basis.
Dragon Quest 1:
Going back to the very first Dragon Quest. It was a game based on European medieval tradition, and featured a single hero who was descended from the legendary hero Erdrick. It was initially dismissed by analysts due to these themes, and the feeling that a Science Fiction title would do much better (as that was what was generally popular at the time). Another major thing about this title was that it was simplified and straight forward; unlike other RPGs of its time period which were open and generally very complex in their execution. In 1986 Dragon Quest proved to Squash all of the predictions, and would become on of the most influential games in the history of videogames. While Dragon Quest may feel outdated today, it is still FAR more playable than other RPGs from before.
Dragon Quest 2:
This game was an advancement on Dragon Quest and didn't stray too far from the formula, but had some significant improvements. Graphics and animations were improved. This game was very well known for its soundtrack for years after its initial release. The biggest improvement was the addition of other party members, a princess and another prince. The game was considerably expanded from the first Dragon Quest which had only 5 towns and 5 dungeons. This game was a direct sequel of part 1 taking place 100 years later.
Dragon Quest 3
This game officially established the party system. It allowed the player to hire party members from a guild, I recall an exploit where you could hire party members, sell their equipment, kick them out, and hire new ones. There were also lots of monster arenas in this game, I found this to be very fun. The creators of the series have always called this one their favourite: it is a prequel to the first Dragon Quest title, and in this one the player actually plays as Erdrick. This game was also the final game of the Dragon Quest Trilogy. Erdrick apparently has his grave in Elf Town in Final Fantasy 1 =) This was a shot by Squaresoft at Enix; Enix retaliated in Dragon Quest 3 by creating Cid's grave =)
I would agree with the creators and say that Dragon Quest 3 is the definitive game of the entire series. This is the DQ game I played the most. It was also the highest selling game of the first 6 games with remakes excluded.
Dragon Quest 4:
A new trilogy was started here. This game more resembled the RPGs that would be seen through the SNES era and onward; it was probably the first of its kind. It had a more in depth story than the previous titles, and was separated into chapters based on different characters, five in total. This was my personal favourite DQ title for a very long time. I liked it more than FF4 back then, and I like its remake more than FF4's remake today; though both are great. This is the DQ game I have played the second most.
Torneko, the Merchant, was popular enough to get his own side-series of games which have so far appeared on SNES, PSX, GBA, and PS2. Remakes included, Dragon Quest 4 is the highest selling in the series, slightly edging out Dragon Quest 3.
Dragon Quest 5:
Takes place in the same world as the fourth, though the connections are not as clear as they were in the original trilogy. The obvious link here is the existence of Zenithia and their Goddess. This game follows the lifetime of the hero starting from the young age of 6, advancing through teen years. You get to choose a wife, and have a family with her. This game is not as light hearted as the fourth title, it is darker. The story is more in depth. I haven't yet finished this one, I am working on it and am liking it even more than 4 for a lot of things. I might be more likely to replay 4 because of its more light hearted nature though.
Dragon Quest 6:
This one deals a lot with a Dream World and a real world. In the real world you can change events in the dream world by effecting the real world person. In addition, a person who is good in the real world may end up being evil in the dream world. There is a DS remake of this one coming out soon, it was announced at this TGS with footage. The few people I know who have played it call either this one or five to be their favourite of the series. This is the final game in the Zenithia trilogy, I have very limited experience with it.
Dragon Quest 7:
This one takes place in a totally new world, it deals with time travel and changing the past to effect the future. I personally could not bring myself to come close to finishing this game as a University roommate spent a semester and 114 hours to complete the game. This game is much longer than the others in the series and perhaps the longest true RPG around.
Dragon Quest 8:
Everyone already knows it here. At 5 million copies, including 1.2 million outside of North America, this is the current series best seller. One tidbit about this one is that it was the first game in the series to use the "Dragon Quest" title here in North America, before that it was always known as "Dragon Warrior".
Dragon Quest 9:
I can't say a lot about this one. It has received very positive reviews so far and looks to be the most feature packed and overall best game available for the DS. It was the first game in Japan to feature voice acting (DQ8 actually did not have that in Japan), it is also the first game in the series to be initially released on a handheld, it has a multiplayer co-op feature, and also extensive open ended side-quests. Despite an early smear campaign on various sales websites such as amazon, the game has managed to sell, and continues to sell very well; its release has revitalized the DS hardware market in Japan which has exceeded the threshold seen with SNES, PSX, and PS2 in earlier generations.
Overall, it will be interesting to see where the series goes from here. There may be a day when this title takes the worldwide RPG sales crown away from Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy 12 sold 5.1 million, just slightly ahead of Dragon Quest 8, but maybe not more than what DQ9 will sell. Final Fantasy 13's sales will likely be considerably higher though, but that remains to be seen.
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
