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With 2021 marking the 35th anniversary of the first game’s release, there’s no better time rank the best and worst Dragon Quest games in the main series. Unfortunately, we could not include the Japan-only MMORPG Dragon Quest X in this ranking as its never been released in North America.ġ0. Ultimate, the series is finally getting the recognition it deserves around the world. But with the most recent game receiving widespread critical acclaim, and even a nod in Super Smash Bros. Unsurprisingly, a couple of games in the long-running series took more than a decade to see English language releases. that it was given away with subscriptions to Nintendo Power. While Dragon Quest has always been a huge hit in Japan, the original game sold so poorly in the U.S. Since then, the series has seen plenty of ups and downs. In fact, Final Fantasy probably wouldn’t exist if not for the massive success of Dragon Quest. While many of these game design innovations are attributed to Final Fantasy, which was released in North America first, the Japanese release of Dragon Quest actually beat Final Fantasy by a full year at a time when Square and Enix were still separate companies. Basic JRPG tropes like the overhead view, turn-based combat, and the medieval fantasy setting all got their start with the original Dragon Quest (then called Dragon Warrior in the West). Even if you’ve never played a Dragon Quest game, you’ve undoubtedly played other titles influenced by the series.
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