Dragon Questhas had so many chances to break out big-time in the West. Alas, it’s never quite panned out. Which isn’t to say the games don’t sell - the eighth and eleventh mainline titles have performed especially well - but on average, they make a fraction of the cash we continually see being spent on the series in Japan.
As a result, many Dragon Quest titles have had limited print runs. Which has, in turn, caused secondhand market prices to skyrocket, leaving fans’ wallets in disrepair should we wish to fork over the dough. Per our research, these are the most expensive entries of them all. If you’ve seen worse, let us know!
We’ve used a combination of PriceTracker.com, eBay, and further net-sleuthing to arrive at theaverage pricesyou’ll see cited here. If you find one of these gems for cheaper, don’t hesitate to snag ‘em!
In addition, we’re sticking to the English versions here. The games are generally significantly cheaper if you purchase their Japanese versions, seeing as a greater quantity of copies were printed there. Since we’re assuming most of our readers don’t speak Japanese, this is probably the best approach.
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Quest’s fourth through sixth games are all set at varying points in the timeline of a single setting: Zenhitia. This is a repeat of the same practice seen in the first through third, and it makes for a nicely gripping continuity. It doesn’t hurt that all three of these games are good.
Or rather, the fourth and fifth are excellent; the sixth is merely good. Dragon Quest VI has never enjoyed the same degree of adoration, as it has a somewhat awkward take on the job system, a story that isn’t quite as great, and fewer all-timers in its soundtrack. Don’t get us wrong; it’s worth a play. It’s just not on that same level.
Likely as a reflection of this stature, Realms of Revelation (known as Realms of Reverie in Europe and Australia) isn’t as in-demand. But that doesn’t mean it’ll come cheap. If you want the DS version, and you want it new, set aside around$80.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
Join young Auster and his friends, Prince Kiefer and Maribel, as they embark on a quest to restore long-forgotten lands. Use mystical stone tablets to travel back in time and come to the aid of troubled towns. Solve perplexing puzzles and face unique monsters in classic turn-based battles to shape the world’s past and present.
One thing we can tell you right now is that you’re going to be seeinga lotof handheld entries on this list. They’re largely linked to remakes bound for either the DS or its successor, the 3DS.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past had a one-two uphill battle in the West. The PlayStation game it remade was never big over here, leading to an especially limited run. The game itself is great, albeit pretty padded, boasting the largest single-player adventure in the series. The 3DS version is slightly truncated for pacing, yet still quite the behemoth.
New English copies of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past typically net around$90now.
To make matters worse, Dragon Quest VII’s 3D remake - unlike IV’s, V’s, VI’s, or VIII’s - does not have a mobile phone port outside of Japan. Ouch.
On the other hand, Dragon Quest VIII is held in high regard in the West, and it’s easily one of the better-selling entries internationally. Given its pedigree, we reckon the game’s 3DS port may have had a somewhat larger print run, but either way, the demand for it matches the PS2 original’s overseas reputation.
Dragon Quest VIII doesn’t quite match VII in length, but it’s still a 70-hour epic in its own right. It doesn’t have the job system that some entries (including VII) do, which leads to a more traditional battle experience. Dragon Quest VIII’s overworld theme ranks among the best ever made, by the way, so it’s a shame the orchestral soundtrack had to settle for something more synthetic on handheld hardware.
In any case, should you be on the lookout for this version, expect to shell out around$110for it brand-new, if not higher.
It’s at this point that we might do well to mention that, unless you strongly dislike the smartphone gaming experience, you’re better off getting the IV through VI remakes and VIII port on iOS or Android. They’re substantially cheaper, and IV on mobile restores the missing Party Chat feature, which was missing on DS.
So much of this game’s charm stems from Party Chat, which is where you’ll find over half its dialogue (!) and the vast majority of its most precious tidbits. But if Nintendo’s your Dragon Quest ride-or-die, or you simply don’t have a phone that can run this, you’ll be marching to the tune of$120on average.
For several of our entries, the actual titles in the West replaced ‘Quest’ with ‘Warrior’; this was standard practice up until the mid-2000s, as warrior must have sounded more appealing than quest for North American and European distributors… for whatever reason.
The first four ‘Dragon Warrior’ titles all launched on NES. The first game underperformed to such an extent here that it ended up being used as a free incentive to build Nintendo Power magazine subscriptions, but that didn’t stop II through IV from making the international trip - albeit at decreasing production numbers with each subsequent entry.
Dragon Quest III’s Western release, then, had a bit more availability than IV, a bit less than II, and comes with the stature of being heralded as the first full-blown classic chapter in the franchise. It’s been ported to a plethora of systems since, including a recent HD-2D remake that’s sold like gangbusters in Japan (and not so much abroad).
If you want DQIII in its original form, but still in English, you’re looking at around$130.
2Dragon Quest 5: Hand Of The Heavenly Bride (DS)
Dragon Quest V is outstanding. The multi-generational tale was spoken of in hushed whispers in the West for many years by those rare few who had played it in Japanese. When it finally arrived via its Nintendo DS remake… Well, it didn’t fly off the shelves, unsurprisingly. But it really should have.
We could sing DQV’s praises for paragraphs on-end, but that’s not really what this article is about, so we’ll move on. Owing to its sterling reputation, Hand of the Heavenly Bride will cost you a pretty penny if you want it on DS instead of mobile devices. Be on the lookout for the rare cheaper offerings, because, for the most part, you’ll be forking over about$150for the game.
1Dragon Quest 4 (NES)
Hey, look! The fourth game’s on this list twice. As we’ve previously established, the NES quartet of Dragon Quest games saw slimmer runs with each passing entry. This leaves poor Dragon Quest IV with a mere (well, “mere”) 80,000 or so copies ever sold in North America. Never mind Europe - DQIV on NES never actually launched there.
That winning combination of a positive reception and only so many copies to go around has caused the Nintendo original ‘Dragon Warrior IV’ to skyrocket in price. The odds of ever finding this one new are vanishingly small, so we’re not even going to bother searching for any “average” price points. Instead, we’ll cite the numbers we’ve seen for a pre-owned copy with case, and they’re eye-watering enough:$200.
