Dragon Quest (universe)

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Dragon Quest (universe)
Developer(s)	Square Enix Chunsoft Heartbeat ArtePiazza Level-5
Publisher(s)	Square Enix (formerly Enix) Nintendo
Designer(s)	Yuji Horii Koichi Nakamura
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
First installment	Dragon Quest (1986)
Latest installment	Dragon Quest Builders 2 (2018)
Article on Dragon Quest Wiki	Dragon Quest (universe)

The Dragon Quest universe (ドラゴンクエスト, Dragon Quest) refers to the Super Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties hailing from the series of role-playing games originally published by Enix, now Square Enix. The franchise is widely considered the quintessential Japanese RPG series, to the point of being a cultural phenomenon in the country; the series laid the foundation that would define the genre for generations to come, directly inspiring monumental titles including Final Fantasy, EarthBound, Pokémon, Fire Emblem, and Shin Megami Tensei (this includes its sub-series Persona).

Description

In 1982, Enix sponsored a video game programming contest in Japan which would bring much of the original Dragon Quest team together, including creator Yuji Horii. The prize was a trip to the United States and a visit to AppleFest '83 in San Francisco, where Horii discovered the Wizardry series of American role-playing games. Fellow contest winners Koichi Nakamura and Yukinobu Chida, working with Horii, released the Enix game The Portopia Serial Murder Case for NEC's PC-6001 in 1983; it was an instant success which set an early standard for non-traditional, open-ended gameplay. This style would influence many games after its release, including The Legend of Zelda and Enix's own Dragon Quest.

A few years later, Horii desired to introduce the concept of role-playing games to the wider Japanese video game audience, streamlining the experience to its purest form. To this end, his team began to develop an RPG that would combine elements from the American computer games Wizardry and Ultima. These series were popular among computer hobbyists in Japan, but were deemed too difficult and convoluted for the average player to enjoy. In order to make this game more accessible than the usual computer RPG of the time, it was designed to be more streamlined and fast-paced, with a greater focus on exploration, combat, and storytelling. Horii combined the full-screen map of Ultima with the battle and statistic-oriented Wizardry screens to create the core gameplay of Dragon Quest. He chose the Famicom because, unlike arcade games, players would not have to worry about spending more money upon defeat, and could continue playing from a save point. Noted mangaka Akira Toriyama, of Dragon Ball fame, was commissioned to illustrate the characters and monsters. Similarly, music composer Koichi Sugiyama, known for advertising jingles and pop songs, was hired to compose the game's soundtrack after he sent a postcard to Enix praising their previous work.

While Dragon Quest was in development, many doubted that a fantasy series with swords and sorcery would become popular in Japan, as the more predominant fantasy genre at the time was science fiction; however, the game became an overnight sensation upon its release in 1986, thanks to advertising in Toriyama's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. This ultimately led to Dragon Quest becoming a game that took the Japanese media by storm, and opened the door for a wider variety of genres for both Nintendo's console and the gaming industry as a whole. The team immediately began work on a sequel, and the Dragon Quest series quickly became a booming franchise spanning multiple forms of media, including spin-off games, novels, manga, anime, live music performances, and even a feature-length film.

Despite its overwhelming success in Japan, Dragon Quest was not released internationally until 1989, when Nintendo released it in North America (under the name Dragon Warrior, due to copyright conflicts). The first RPG to be released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, this version features improved graphics and a battery save feature instead of the password system of the original version. In late 1990, the official Nintendo Power magazine included free copies of the game as a subscription bonus; this move proved highly successful, as it attracted thousands of subscribers and ensured the success of the series in the West. Though it lags behind the Final Fantasy franchise internationally, Dragon Quest continues to see a steady release schedule and dedicated audience outside of Japan.

For later titles, many of the original team members retain their role in the series; Horii serves the role of scenario director, while Toriyama and Sugiyama continue to provide character design and music, respectively. Subsequent Dragon Quest games build on the formula introduced by the original. For Dragon Quest II, the developers introduced a party system with the player controlling three characters, another idea inspired by Wizardry; this would go on to become a standard gameplay element in the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest III introduced a class system, allowing characters to specialize in certain roles, while Dragon Quest IV introduced chapter-based progression and computer-controlled allies. Dragon Quest VIII was the first fully 3D rendered game in the series, and it included the ability to control the camera at any angle on the overworld. Remakes of the mainline entries have appeared on Nintendo’s handheld systems starting with Dragon Quest IV in 2007 up to Dragon Quest VI in 2010 for the Nintendo DS. The remakes of Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest VIII were released on the Nintendo 3DS in September 2016 and January 2017, respectively and feature redone textures, a retranslated script, and redubbed audio. The latest installment of the core series, Dragon Quest XI, was released in Japan in July 2017, and internationally in September 2018; an enhanced port for Nintendo Switch is set for a simultaneous worldwide release in September 2019.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The long-running series and progenitor of the RPG genre makes its Super Smash Bros. series debut as the second DLC franchise in the Fighters Pass and the second Square Enix property to be represented by a playable fighter after Final Fantasy. In addition to one newcomer, the series is represented by a stage with some minor cameos, eight music tracks, several Mii Fighter costumes, and several Spirits. All of the content from this franchise was released in the version 4.0.0 update on July 30th, 2019.

Fighter

• 72. Hero: As a single newcomer, four protagonists from across the Dragon Quest series join the roster as alternate character costumes of each other, all serving as the second newcomer from the Fighters Pass. The Luminary from Dragon Quest XI is the default, with Erdrick from Dragon Quest III, Solo from Dragon Quest IV, and Eight from Dragon Quest VIII appearing as alternate character costumes. In battle, he uses a sword and shield for standard attacks but amplifies his moveset using magic; he has a limited supply of magic points (MP) to cast a variety of spells ranging from Frizz, Zap, and Woosh, with even more spells available from a command selection menu. The Final Smash calls upon even more heroes from across the series to unleash Gigaslash. He was released alongside Yggdrasil's Altar, eight music tracks and the Dragon Quest series Spirits on July 30th, 2019 as part of Challenger Pack 2.

Stage

• Yggdrasil's Altar: based on the location of the same name from Dragon Quest XI, the stage is a platform flying over Erdrea, the geographical setting of Dragon Quest XI. The floating platform tours around the landscape to locations such as Haven’s Above and the Ruins of Dundrasil. Occasionally other platforms containing chests with items may appear. Slimes, blue ghosts, and the white whale-like creature Cetacea cameo in the background. The stage was released on July 30th, 2019 as part of Challenger Pack 2.

Music

Source Tracks

• "Adventure - DRAGON QUEST III": The overworld theme of Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation, which appears in the Hero's reveal trailer. The version in the trailer is taken from the Dragon Quest III Symphonic Suite by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, however, in-game, the song is a sequenced version taken from Theatrhythm Dragon Quest.
• "Fighting Spirits - DRAGON QUEST III": The main battle theme of Dragon Quest III. Sourced from Theatrhythm Dragon Quest.
• "Battle for the Glory - DRAGON QUEST IV": The main battle theme of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. Sourced from Theatrhythm Dragon Quest.
• "Wagon Wheel's March": The overworld theme of Dragon Quest IV. Sourced from Theatrhythm Dragon Quest.
• "War Cry": The main battle theme of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. Sourced from Theatrhythm Dragon Quest.
• "Marching through the Fields": The main overworld theme of Dragon Quest VIII. Sourced from Theatrhythm Dragon Quest.
• "The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination": The main overworld theme of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, sourced from the original, sequenced version.
• "Unflinchable Courage": The main battle theme of Dragon Quest XI, sourced from the original, sequenced version.

Victory fanfare

• "Victory! Hero": A rearrangement of the ending phrase of Overture, the recurring main theme of the series.

Other

• An extended orchestral version of Overture from the Dragon Quest III Symphonic Suite was used in the Hero's reveal trailer, but it is not selectable in-game.

Mii Fighter Costumes

• Erdrick (Swordfighter)
• Martial Artist (Brawler)
• Slime (Hat)
• Veronica (Swordfighter)

Spirits

• Hero (Dragon Quest XI S)
• Hero (Dragon Quest III)
• Hero (Dragon Quest IV)
• Hero (Dragon Quest VIII)
• Hero's Comrades
• Cetacea
• Slime
• King Slime
• Dracky
• Golem
• Great Sabrecub
• Great Sabrecat
• Liquid Metal Slime

Trivia

• This is the second character-based third-party universe from Square Enix, the first being Final Fantasy.
• Dragon Quest, EarthBound, Final Fantasy, and Persona are the only universes without playable characters from the first installment in their series in Super Smash Bros.
  • Notably, all four of these series are RPGs, and use different protagonists in all main games in the series.
• Characters from Dragon Quest previously crossed over with characters from the Final Fantasy series multiple times in the Itadaki Street series, starting with Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special for the PlayStation 2. The Itadaki Street series also hosted crossovers between Dragon Quest and the Mario series through Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street for Wii.
  • The Dragon Quest enemy Slime also appeared in Mario Sports Mix as a playable character.
• In the Famicom Disk System version of Zelda II, Dragon Quest was referenced through a tombstone for the legendary hero, Erdrick. The tomb was engraved with the message, "The hero Erdrick rests here." (ユウシャ ロト ココニネムル) The tombstone was removed in NES version of Zelda II.
  • The original Final Fantasy included a grave for Link, which was replaced in localization with a grave for Erdrick. Coincidentally, the developers for Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy later merged into Square Enix.
• The series was originally released as Dragon Warrior in the North American market, due to the regional trademark on "DragonQuest" being held by board game manufacturer TSR. In 2003, Square Enix registered the trademark on "Dragon Quest" in the United States, deeming the Dragon Warrior name obsolete. Dragon Quest VIII is the first installment of the series to be released with the Dragon Quest name in North America.
• Dragon Quest is one of five third-party series with primary representation in the Smash Bros. series to debut on a Nintendo console; the others are Mega Man, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, and Banjo-Kazooie.
  • All of these series debuted on the NES except for Banjo-Kazooie, which debuted on Nintendo 64.