Dragon Quest

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Dragon Quest
"Dragon Quest" 35th Anniversary Logo
ドラゴンクエスト Doragon Kuesuto Dragon Quest (prev. "Dragon Warrior")
Debut Game
Title	Dragon Quest
Release Date	27 May 1986 (JP)
Platform	Nintendo Famicom
Main Staff
Creator	Yūji Horii
Character Designs	Akira Toriyama
Music	Koichi Sugiyama
Publisher	Square Enix (prev. "Enix")
Developer(s)	ArtePiazza, Chunsoft, Heartbeat, Level-5, Square Enix
Additional Information
Additional games, manga, anime, film

Dragon Quest (often shortened to ドラクエ Dorakure in Japan, and initially released under the title "Dragon Warrior" in North America) is a Japanese role-playing video game series historically (and still regularly) featuring character designs by Akira Toriyama.

History

The original Dragon Quest grew out of ongoing video game coverage at Shueisha within the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump, with then-editor Kazuhiko Torishima pushing for development of a game that Shueisha themselves would not necessarily be directly responsible for, but could secure exclusive coverage of (notably above and beyond that of competitors CoroCoro Comics and Famicom Tsūshin / Famitsu). Torishima pitched a role-playing game to be headed by Yūji Horii of Enix, who he had become acquainted with by way of Monthly Playboy writer Akira Sakuma. Torishima then further pitched Akira Toriyama as character designer to capitalize on his ongoing success and further the connection between Shueisha and the game. Toriyama did not quite understand the concept at the time, but accepted due to Torishima's insistence (and penchant for following trends), as well as the promise of some side money. Torishima had told Horii that Toriyama wanted to do artwork for the game, which he later learned was only half-true, with Torishima orchestrating the whole relationship.

Character Design Process

Akira Toriyama does not write the stories, character dialog, etc. in the Dragon Quest video games or any of their supplemental media. Rather, Toriyama has historically been responsible for character designs of main characters and villains within the Dragon Quest video games, some of which he may first receive as rough concepts/designs from Yūji Horii himself.

Specifically with regard to the Slime — the now-iconic weak monster that Dragon Quest players will traditionally encounter as their first enemy — Horii explained that he took inspiration from an enemy in the Wizardy video game, doodled his own character design, and passed that along to Toriyama for a "final" version:

• 
  Original Slime design by Yūji Horii: "No fixed shape. A gelatinous, goopy monster. It attaches itself to people's faces, etc. and suffocates them."
• 
  Slime design by Akira Toriyama
• 
  Encountering a Slime in the original Japanese Nintendo Famicom edition of Dragon Quest

Toriyama enjoyed designing the minor characters and monsters more than the main characters and "final bosses", and in general approached the designs without much regard for how they would ultimately be adapted in-game:

When it’s ultimately going to be made into a video game, the character sprites will be small, so you can make the design illustrations relatively complex. It’s not like you’re going to draw it in a comic and develop it, and it’s not going to be drawn as animation, so you can ignore the “it would be a pain if I did it this way” aspect. You just have to give them a design with a feature that you can tell “it’s this character” even when they’re small.
— Akira Toriyama

Personal Fandom

Early on in the franchise's production, Toriyama was somewhat famous for losing himself in playing the games, and would regularly provide updates on his gameplay and work on the series in the comments published alongside chapters of Dragon Ball during its original serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Dragon Quest References in Serialization Comments

Weekly Jump Issue	Release Date	Corresponding Chapter	Original Japanese Text	Kanzenshuu English Translation
1986 #24	13 May 1986	Dragon Ball Chapter 74	ドラゴンクエストはやばい！仕事ができなくなるので奥さんにとりあげられた	Dragon Quest is dangerous! It got to the point where I couldn’t get any work done, so my wife finally took it away.
1987 #08	20 January 1987	Dragon Ball Chapter 108	ファミコンのドラゴンクエストⅡは面白すぎて仕事にならないので、しまっちゃいました！	Dragon Quest II on the Famicom is too much fun! Now I can’t get any work done!
1987 #41	08 September 1987	Dragon Ball Chapter 141	ドラゴンクエストⅢのモンスターをやっと全部かきおえた。ゲームはかなり面白そうだぞ！	I’ve finally finished drawing all the monsters for Dragon Quest III. The game looks like a lot of fun!
1988 #09	26 January 1988	Dragon Ball Chapter 159	休みは全部ドラクエⅢでつぶれてしまった。嬉しいやら、悲しいやら。でもとっても面白いよ	I spent my entire vacation playing Dragon Quest III. I’m happy, and sad. But it’s fun.
1989 #33	18 July 1989	Dragon Ball Chapter 223	ドラクエⅣのデモ画面を見ました！スケールの大きさ、面白さにビックリ！早くしたい！！	I saw a demo screen of Dragon Quest IV! I was amazed at its large scale and the fun of it! I want to play it soon!!
1989 #45	10 October 1989	Dragon Ball Chapter 245	なんと！！ドラクエⅣの見本版を借りて最後までやりました！！面白い！！期待通りの◎（にじゅうまる）です！！	Whoa!! I borrowed the demo version of Dragon Quest IV and played it to the end!! It’s fun!! A perfect 10, just as I anticipated!!
1992 #46	20 October 1992	Dragon Ball Chapter 395	仕事に追われ折角のＤＱＶも終わりまでやっていません。この誘惑を断つのは大変です	Hounded by work, I still haven’t made it all the way to the end of Dragon Quest V. It’s tough resisting this temptation.
1994 #43	27 September 1994	Dragon Ball Chapter 488	DQVIのラスボスのデザインが完成。我ながらなかなかすごい造形になったので期待してね。	The design for the final boss of Dragon Quest VI is complete. As far as I’m concerned, I think it took a pretty amazing shape, so look forward to it.
1994 #47	25 October 1994	Dragon Ball Chapter 492	ふっふっふ，ドラクエとクロノのパッケージイラストを描きあげたぞ！楽しみに待っててね。	Oh ho ho, I’ve finished drawing the box art for Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger! Look forward to it.

Dragon Quest Cameos in Dragon Ball

Akira Toriyama included several Dragon Quest character cameos during the preliminaries at the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budōkai in the Dragon Ball manga, with both these chapters and Dragon Quest II releasing that same year in 1987:

• 
  Killer Tiger, Orc, and Shaman, all originally from Dragon Quest II
• 
  Shaman and Cyclops, also from Dragon Quest II
• 
  Archdemon, also from Dragon Quest II
• 
  Shaman and Killer Tiger
• 
  Shaman

Additional References

Sandland

Akira Toriyama Involvement in Dragon Quest Works

Title Screen	Name	Format	Original Release Date	Original Platform	Role(s)	Notes
	ドラゴンクエスト Doragon Kuesuto Dragon Quest ("Dragon Warrior")	Video Game	27 May 1986	Nintendo Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's Super Famicom and Game Boy remakes
	ドラゴンクエストII Doragon Kuesuto Tsū Dragon Quest II ("Dragon Warrior II")	Video Game	26 January 1987	Nintendo Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's Super Famicom and Game Boy remakes
	ドラゴンクエストIII Doragon Kuesuto Surī Dragon Quest III ("Dragon Warrior III")	Video Game	10 February 1988	Nintendo Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's Super Famicom and Game Boy remakes
	ドラゴンクエスト ～勇者アベル伝説～ Doragon Kuesuto Yūsha Aberu Densetsu Dragon Quest: Legend of the Hero Abel ("Dragon Warrior")	Television Series	02 December 1989	Fuji TV	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストIV Doragon Kuesuto Fō Dragon Quest IV ("Dragon Warrior IV")	Video Game	11 February 1990	Nintendo Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's PlayStation remake
	ドラゴンクエストV Doragon Kuesuto Fuaibu Dragon Quest V	Video Game	27 September 1992	Nintendo Super Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's PlayStation 2 remake
	トルネコの大冒険 不思議のダンジョン Toruneko no Daibōken Fushigi no Danjon Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon	Video Game	19 September 1993	Nintendo Super Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストVI Doragon Kuesuto Shikusu Dragon Quest VI	Video Game	09 December 1995	Nintendo Super Famicom	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's Nintendo DS remake
	ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ テリーのワンダーランド Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu Terii no Wandārando Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland ("Dragon Warrior Monsters")	Video Game	25 September 1998	Nintendo Game Boy	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work on the game's (Dragon Quest Monsters 1+2) PlayStation remake and Nintendo 3DS remake (Terry's Wonderland 3D)
	ドラゴンクエストキャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険2 不思議のダンジョン Doragon Kuesuto Kyarakutāzu Torneko no Daibōken Tsū Fushigi no Danjon Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 2 – Mystery Dungeon ("World of Dragon Warrior: Torneko – The Last Hope")	Video Game	15 September 1999	Sony PlayStation	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストVII Doragon Kuesuto Sebun Dragon Quest VII ("Dragon Warrior VII")	Video Game	26 August 2000	Sony PlayStation	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's Nintendo 3DS remake
	ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ2 Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu Tsū Dragon Quest Monsters 2 ("Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure")	Video Game	09 March 2001	Nintendo Game Boy	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストキャラクターズ トルネコの大冒険3 不思議のダンジョン Doragon Kuesuto Kyarakutāzu Torneko no Daibōken Surii Fushigi no Danjon Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 3 – Mystery Dungeon	Video Game	31 October 2002	Sony PlayStation 2	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ キャラバンハート Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu Kyaraban Hāto Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart	Video Game	29 March 2003	Nintendo Game Boy Advance	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	剣神ドラゴンクエスト　甦りし伝説の剣 Kenshin Doragon Kuesto Yomigaerishi Densetsu no Ken Swordmaster Dragon Quest: Resurrection of the Legendary Sword	Video Game	19 September 2003	Standalone Television Game	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストVIII Doragon Kuesuto Eito Dragon Quest VIII	Video Game	27 November 2004	Sony PlayStation 2	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	Similar work for the game's Nintendo 3DS remake
	ラゴンクェスト　少年ヤンガスと不思議のダンジョン Shōnen Yangasu to Fushigi no Danjon Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon	Video Game	20 April 2006	Sony PlayStation 2	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ ジョーカー Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu Jōkā Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker	Video Game	28 December 2006	Nintendo DS	Character Designs Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストIX Doragon Kuesuto Nain Dragon Quest IX	Video Game	11 July 2009	Nintendo DS	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ ジョーカー2 Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu Jōkā Tsū Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2	Video Game	28 April 2010	Nintendo DS	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストX Doragon Kuesuto Ten Dragon Quest X	Video Game	02 August 2012	Nintendo Wii	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ Doragon Kuesuto Birudāzu Dragon Quest Builders	Video Game	28 January 2016	Sony Playstation 3 Sony PlayStation 4 Sony PlayStation Vita	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ ジョーカー3 Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu Jōkā Surī Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3	Video Game	24 March 2016	Nintendo 3DS	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストXI Doragon Kuesuto Erebun Dragon Quest XI	Video Game	28 July 2017	Sony PlayStation 4 Nintendo 3DS	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a
	ドラゴンクエストビルダーズ2 Doragon Kuesuto Birudāzu Tsū Dragon Quest Builders 2	Video Game	20 December 2018	Sony PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch	Character Designs, Promotional Artwork	n/a

External Links

• TBD