Top 5 Dragon Quest Games

If you prefer video format, here’s the video version of this list!

Dragon Quest was one of my first true loves in the JRPG genre. 2017 was the year I become a true fan, and I was luckily able to secure copies of many games before the prices skyrocketed.

There’s a meditative nature to DQ. These games aren’t usually cloaked with a fantastic story a la Final Fantasy. There’s no extra flare to the combat like the timing mechanic in Mario RPGs. There’s no flashy UI or menus like Persona. Hell, they’ve been mostly using the same menus and sound effects since the earliest entries on the NES/Famicom.

Do you have that friend who, even if you don’t see for a year, next time you see them it feels like you just saw them yesterday? That’s Dragon Quest. It is beautiful in its comfortable familiarity. And since we’re all finally enjoy the Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D remake, I thought it would be fun to go over my five favorite entries in the series, ranked from lower to higher favorite.

5. Dragon Quest XI

It’s kind of crazy that it took eleven entries for Dragon Quest to finally pop off in the West. But it makes sense that it was this one. JRPGs were starting to pick back up in popularity around this time. And Persona 5, which launched in the West in April of 2017, probably left many people wanting more.

DQXI is the most story heavy entry in the series. Unlike most Dragon Quest games, your party members aren’t just empty vessels. This game is much more about the characters and world. But it’s still what every Dragon Quest game should be- a total feast of gameplay.

Personally, my biggest gripe with the game is that it’s far too long. It took me about 60 hours to get the first and fake ending. It takes another 20-30 hours for the real ending. While a game like Persona 5 earns that playtime with its in depth story and amazing characters, this is still Dragon Quest we’re talking about. No DQ story is worthy of 100 hours. But hey, if you’re the type of person who isn’t here for the story and just wants a nice big RPG- look no further.

4. Dragon Quest III

Dragon Quest III is one of the most revered and respected games amongst Japanese gamers. In 2021, a poll showed that Japanese gamers voted it the #6 best game of all time. I have extensive experience with the Game Boy Color version, but I didn’t actually beat it until I found an English-patched ROM of the Super Famicom version. And as of 11/13/24, we have another remake of DQ3!

There’s something magical about the way this game just throws you into the world and says “go find your adventure”. I remember being equally lost as I was fascinated with the Super Famicom version. I tried imagining myself as a player back in 1988 when the game released on the original Famicom. It probably would’ve taken me a whole year to finish it, maybe more. This game predates map markers, clear directions and quality of life features. It necessitated keeping physical notes and maybe asking schoolmates/coworkers for advice. I think that spirit was sort of brought over to the new remake, because you can shut off the minimap and objective markers. It makes for a much more “open” feeling. But because the world is still based off the NES original, you’re technically never too far from your next objective.

If you really care about story and not feeling lost in your games, you’ll probably hate the older versions of Dragon Quest III. This new HD-2D version alleviates the lack of directions, but your party still remains soulless. You can mix and match your party with different classes, much like Final Fantasy I. This means that gameplay takes total priority.

It’s an oldschool JRPG all about exploration and grinding. You’ll only finish it if you truly love it. And thankfully, I do.

3. Dragon Quest IV

I remember being utterly blown away by the beginning of Dragon Quest IV. Essentially, you start four different stories from four different corners of the world, and eventually the four protagonists link up and the real game begins.

You can see where later games like Wild Arms took inspiration.

It brought many key elements to the franchise like mini medals, giving party members different strategies with the “Tactics” menu, and having a wagon behind the party which lets you change party formations. It was the last game to be released on the NES/Famicom, so it follows those older conventions.

It has one of the coolest Hero designs in the entire series too. Maybe I’m a little biased towards this game, because it was the first time I felt blown away by the series. I only had experience with DQI before playing IV. Regardless, I think it’s one of the best oldschool JRPGs in existence.

2. Dragon Quest VIII

Dragon Quest VIII did what XI did, except first and better. Better character designs, better music, and a much more respectable 55-60 hour runtime total. We also got voice acting for the first time in a mainline game- and it’s good!

This game sports the best music in the entire franchise. If you look at the timeline of DQ games, VIII is somewhere in the middle now. You can see it especially in the story; it’s much more story reliant that entries like III, IV and VI. But I don’t think it goes too far with it. It’s still all about letting the player have fun and total agency. I find it magical that Level 5 was somehow able to take the charm and feeling of the original NES games and bring them to the PlayStation 2. There’s something about the art direction that’s a tad bit better than XI as well. It looks perfectly anime, and the Akira Toriyama designs shine in a way they sometimes couldn’t in pixel art (Chrono Trigger was the peak of Toriyama’s style in pixel art)

Sorry, this isn’t meant to be a dig at XI. It’s just hard not to compare them when you realize that we still only have two fully 3D mainline Dragon Quest entries.

I genuinely adore the whimsical nature of the world and the quirky characters you come across, like a monster early on who has a speech problem. This game took a cue from DQVII, where it feels split up into smaller episodic stories, all connecting to the bigger plot. The first one you encounter is finding the crystal ball of a washed up fortune teller. It’s these cool little stories that make DQ VIII stand out. Also, being able to distribute skill points as you level up adds an extra layer of customization that feels right in Dragon Quest. Overall, VIII represents a perfect half-step between old and new.

And it’s only outdone by….

1. Dragon Quest V

Dragon Quest V is the game that made me realize JRPGs were my favorite genre of game.

The story technically starts just a few seconds before you are born. You start off as a baby, and then grow into a boy. As a boy you encounter a young girl and go on some playful adventures together- nothing serious. Then you grow into a teenager and things start to get a bit more serious. Eventually you end up as a fully grown adult with a child of his own. This game has a story I feel like I would see in a novel. It’s expansive and ambitious. It takes the emphasis on world exploration from III, but peppers in a truly grand tale. I won’t spoil it, but DQV does one thing in particular I find unique, even today.

This game was the second example of a monster collecting mechanic in RPGs, which helped lead to series like Pokémon and Digimon years later. Dragon Quest V wonderfully contextualizes every little bit of its world, characters and adventure. It’s still that grindy and obscure JRPG which started on the Famicom, but it’s brought to the next level here.

Remember the list I mentioned where DQIII ranked the 6th best game? DQV was ranked #2! And you know what? It deserves it.

-

Thank you for reading my Top 5 Dragon Quest list! If you’d like to watch the video version anyway- here’s a link!