by Sentence: The monumental tower of the Warman role-playing game 36 years ago, May 27, 1986 (Showa 61), was the day when the first NES software “Dragon Quest” was released.
“Dragon Quest” is an RPG released by Enix (at that time). It is the first in a series of national RPGs, boasting a recognition that even people who do not usually play games know, and even people who play games only when “Dragon Quest” comes out.
Action RPGs such as “Tower of Druaga” and “Hydlide Special” were already famous, but I think many people were conscious of RPG as a genre. After all, “Dragon Quest.” is one of the works that has dramatically spread the popularity of role-playing games in Japan, and it is also a work that has caused a big boom in RPGs in the home video game market.
The introductory article on “Dragon Quest” that was published in the magazine at that time often had the topic “What is a role-playing game?”, So that may have an effect. The scenario game design is Yuji Horii, the character design is Akira Toriyama, the music is Koichi Sugiyama, and the programming is Chunsoft, led by Koichi Nakamura.
Now I know that he is a gorgeous flat and low-headed member just by hearing his name, but the author, who was a kid at that time, said, “‘ Dragon ball and I have a “door door”! I only had an impression. However, I still can’t forget the shock of playing for the first time. Especially when I listened to the “Overture” on the title screen, I was so excited that I remember resetting it many times and listening only to the beginning repeatedly.
The beautiful and sad tunes of “Radatome Castle” are still firmly input as the image of the royal palace. Even the basics of RPGs, where you hear stories from villagers and get clues, are just fresh at the time. I think the user was absorbed in talking to the villagers, even though he strangely thought of the hero who always walked to the front.
Many users have strong humor and are memorable. The humorous lines such as “Last night was her pleasure” and “Let’s do her XX to her XX” are also impressive, so-called “Horii.” And above all, I think everyone was sick of the coolness of the battle screen. I was surprised at the effect the screen displayed, like drawing a circle at the time of encounter, and I listened to the music with a sense of urgency.
I was fascinated by Mr. Akira Toriyama’s monster reproduced vividly like an animation. I was. For many users who do not know PC games, command battles that are not actions are rare in the first place, and I think they just wandered around and repeated the battles. It is no exaggeration to say that the authors and others continued to defeat slime alone for 300 years. The battle situation displayed in the text is just a word of “wow.” Speaking of “Dragon Quest,” “Fukatsu no Jumon.”
Early cassettes didn’t have a backup feature, so it was essential to write down this password to continue playing. Of course, many tragedies were born because it is impossible to restart if even one letter is wrong. I used to make a special notebook for this and write it down, but one of his friends said that the TV screen could be printed out on thermal paper. I had a pretty high-tech TV at that time, and I remember being insanely jealous. I was jealous of the long Fukkatsu Jumon from “Dragon Quest II.” Since then, “Dragon Quest” has been made into a series. It has become a widespread social phenomenon that is often featured in the news.
The sequel “Dragon Quest II Evil Spirit Gods” was released on January 26, 1987, the following year. “Dragon Quest III and to the Legend …” was released on February 10, 1988, in an unthinkable span.
The three works are called “Lotto Trilogy” or “Lotto Series.” On May 27, last year (2021), on the 35th anniversary of the series’ birth, Square Enix delivered the “Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary Special Program”.
The latest series, “Dragon Quest XII Chosen Fate” and “Flame,” has been announced. We are waiting for further information, such as the release date and platform. In addition, on May 27, when this work was released, it was certified by the Japan Anniversary Association as “Dragon Quest Day.”
