History Trivia / DragonQuest

** For whatever reason, ''VII'' is the only game from 1-8 that is not available on mobile devices outside of Japan. The likely culprit is some kind of exclusively contract between Nintendo and Squareenix, as Nintendo took on publishing duties for the 3DS remake of VII.

** While the release of ''XI'' was met with great happiness from the fanbase, the news that the 3DS version will NOT be localized caused a great deal of consternation. The 3DS version has not only a completely different art style but some exclusive content as well. This also puts in doubt if the 3DS ports of I, II, and III will be released in the future. This is especially sad because every game from IV to IX can be played on a single 3DS system, missing those exact 4 games. Even worse, all the work that could have gone into a 3DS localization is being used for a PC port instead.

** While the release of ''XI'' was met with great happiness from the fanbase, the news that only the PS4 and NOT the 3DS version will be localized caused a great deal of consternation, as the 3DS version had not only a completely different art style, but some exclusive content as well. Which also puts in doubt if the 3Ds version of I, II, and III will be released on 3DS in the future, as they were in Japan. This is especially sad because every game from IV to IX can be played on a single 3DS system, missing those exact 4 games. Even worse, all the work that could have gone into a 3Ds localization is being used for a PC port.

*** In modern times, the VII and VIII remakes on the 3DS took ''3 years'' to release, thanks only to the publishing efforts of Nintendo. And ''XI'' on the switch is allegedly coming, but will arrive 'much later'.

** While the release of ''XI'' was met with great happiness from the fanbase, the news that only the PS4 version and NOT the 3Ds version will be localized caused a great deal of consternation, as the 3DS version had not only a completely different art style, but some exclusive content as well. Which also puts in doubt if the 3Ds version of I, II, and III will be released on 3DS in the future, as they were in Japan. This is especially sad because every game from IV to IX can be played on a single 3DS system, missing those exact 4 games.

** The series as a whole entered an age of this after the release of ''IX'', the remake of ''VI'', and ''Monsters: Joker 2'' in 2010-11. The West missed out on ''Dragon Quest X'', ''Slime Morimori 3'' and the remakes of ''Monsters Joker 2'', ''Monsters: Terry's Wonderland'', and ''Monsters: Cobi's Journey'' and ''Tara's Adventure''. The drought may be ending, since ''Dragon Quest Heroes'' and the remakes of ''VII'' and ''VIII'' all received Western releases in 2015-16, but for ages it looked like the ''VII'' and ''VIII'' remakes would miss the boat, too.
** And of course, people are/were extra sore about this, ''VII'' in particular, because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV'''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise.

** NetworkToTheRescue: Nintendo. They are the ones who are responsible for the western releases of ''IX'', ''Monsters: Joker 2'' and the remakes of ''VI'', ''VII'' and ''VIII''. Sometimes they even took on the responsibilities of translating and marketing the games themselves.

* BadExportForYou: ''Slow'' Export For You is generally why the games didn't have the same kind of thunderbolt impact in English-speaking territories as they did in Japan, particularly ''Dragon Quest III''. The Erdrick Trilogy was released in English three years after coming out in Japan, by which point domestic games, especially [=RPGs=], had progressed on their own in many ways, leaving the ''DQ'' games looking more primitive than they should have and easier to dismiss.
** As an example, ''III'' came out in early 1988 in Japan - roughly the same time as, say, ''VideoGame/UltimaV'' or ''[[VideoGame/GoldBox D&D: Pool of Radiance]]'', who both make for reasonably good comparative partners in terms of scope and technology. The English version came out in ''mid-1991'' - over a year after ''VideoGame/UltimaVI'' '''and''' ''VideoGame/WorldsOfUltimaTheSavageEmpire'', after basically ''the entire Gold Box series'' had come out, and barely months before ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' would land with its own kind of thunderbolt and ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' would introduce a much different way of playing an RPG. Never mind the fact that Square, at the time, got wise, and bumped ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' up to "II" and released it as soon as they could. ''Dragon Quest'' never contributed to the RPG conversation in America because it arrived far too late to the party to do so.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: A lot of the older Dragon Quest games, particularly the original trilogy, have been hit rather hard with this. About the only things the [[NoExportForYou US audience]] gets in that regards are mobile ports of the games, with any and all rereleases of the original games being Japan exclusives.

** And of course, people are/were extra sore about this, ''VII'' in particular, because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV'''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise.

** And of course, people are/were extra sore about this, ''VII'' in particular, because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV'''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise.
* OlderThanTheyThink:
** The ''Dragon Quest'' series was the first console RPG game. Due to bad localization timing, everybody outside of Japan thinks ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' came first.
** ''Dragon Quest V'' features monster catching and predated ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' by a good three years. However it's pretty undeniable that the ''Dragon Quest Monsters'' series was created due to ''Pokémon''.
** The concept of Psyching characters up to deal more damage actually started in ''Dragon Quest VII'', but it was only used via special moves, and there was only 1 level of tension. ''Dragon Quest VIII'' greatly expanded on the idea and now tension is a core part of all ''Dragon Quest'' games, including spin-offs.

** The series as a whole entered an age of this after the release of ''IX'', the remake of ''VI'', and ''Monsters: Joker 2'' in 2010-11. The West missed out on ''Dragon Quest X'', ''Slime Morimori 3'' and the remakes of ''Monsters Joker 2'', ''Monsters: Terry's Wonderland'', and ''Monsters: Cobi's Journey'' and ''Tara's Adventure''. The drought may be ending, since ''Dragon Quest Heroes'' and the remakes of ''VII'' and ''VIII'' all received Western releases in 2015-16, but for ages it looks like the ''VII'' and ''VIII'' remakes would miss the boat, too.

** The series as a whole entered an age of this after the release of ''IX'', the remake of ''VI'', and ''Monsters: Joker 2'' in 2010-11. The West missed out on ''Dragon Quest X'', ''Slime Morimori 3'' and the remakes of ''Monsters Joker 2'', ''Monsters: Terry's Wonderland'', and ''Monsters: Cobi's Journey'' and ''Tara's Adventure''. The drought may be ending, since ''Dragon Quest Heroes'' and the remakes of ''VII'' and ''VIII'' all received Western releases in 2015-16.
** And of course, people are extra sore about this because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV'''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise.

** The series as a whole entered an age of this after the release of ''IX'', the remake of ''VI'', and ''Monsters: Joker 2''. The West missed out on ''Dragon Quest X'', ''Slime Morimori 3'' and the remakes of ''Monsters Joker 2'', ''Monsters: Terry's Wonderland'', ''Monsters: Cobi's Journey'' and ''Tara's Adventure'', ''VII'', and ''VIII''. Aside from various mobile ports of older games, the upcoming ''Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below'' will be the first DQ game to travel overseas in a while.

** The DragonQuest series was the first console RPG game. Due to bad localization timing, everybody outside of Japan thinks FinalFantasy came first.
** DragonQuestV features monster catching and predated Pokemon by a good three years. However it's pretty undeniable that the DragonQuestMonsters series was created due to Pokemon.
** The concept of Psyching characters up to deal more damage actually started in DragonQuestVII, but it was only used via special moves, and there was only 1 level of tension. DragonQuestVIII greatly expanded on the idea and now tension is a core part of all DragonQuest games, including spin-offs.
* [[BadExportForYou Slow Export For You]]: This is generally why the games didn't have the same kind of thunderbolt impact in English-speaking territories as they did in Japan, particularly ''Dragon Quest III''. The Erdrick Trilogy was released in English three years after coming out in Japan, by which point domestic games, especially [=RPGs=], had progressed on their own in many ways, leaving the ''DQ'' games looking more primitive than they should have and easier to dismiss.
** As an example, ''III'' came out in early 1988 in Japan - roughly the same time as, say, ''VideoGame/UltimaV'' or ''[[VideoGame/GoldBox D&D: Pool of Radiance]]'', who both make for reasonably good comparative partners in terms of scope and technology. The English version came out in ''mid-1991'' - over a year after '''''VideoGame/UltimaVI''''' '''*and*''' ''[[VideoGame/WorldsOfUltimaTheSavageEmpire Savage Empire]]'', after basically ''the entire Gold Box series'' had come out, and barely months before ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' would land with its own kind of thunderbolt and ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' would introduce a much different way of playing an RPG. Never mind the fact that Square, at the time, got wise, and bumped ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' up to "II" and released it as soon as they could. ''Dragon Quest'' never contributed to the RPG conversation in America because it arrived far too late to the party to do so.

** The series as a whole entered an age of this after the release of ''IX'', the remake of ''VI'', and ''Monsters: Joker 2''. The West missed out on ''Dragon Quest X'' and the remakes of ''Monsters Joker 2'', ''Monsters: Terry's Wonderland'', ''Monsters: Cobi's Journey'' and ''Tara's Adventure'', ''VII'', and ''VIII''. Aside from various mobile ports of older games, the upcoming ''Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below'' will be the first DQ game to travel overseas in a while.

* NoExportForYou: The series as a whole has entered an age of this after ''IX''. ''Dragon Quest X'' and the ''Monsters'', ''Monsters 2'', ''VII'' and ''VIII'' remakes have all been seemingly passed-over for export out of Japan. Aside from various mobile ports of older games, the upcoming ''Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below'' will be the first DQ game to travel overseas in a while.
** And of course, people are extra sore about this because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV'''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise. And then, post-''Joker 2'' specifically, here we are again.

** And of course, people are extra sore about this because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise. And then, post-''Joker 2'' specifically, here we are again.

* NoExportForYou: The series as a whole has entered an age of this after IX. Dragon Quest X and the Monsters, Monsters 2, VII and VIII remakes have all not been brought outside of Japan. Aside from various mobile ports of older games, the upcoming ''Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below'' will be the first DQ game to travel overseas in a while.

** And of course, people are extra sore about this because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods. After ''Dragon Quest IV''s awful-because-it-was-years-late showing in 1992, the franchise entered a years-long period of missed or sporadic releases, with ''V'' & ''VI'' infamously left to molder and only sporadic releases of spinoffs happening, along with ''VII'' somehow making it over. It was only after ''VIII'', and in the lead-up to ''IX'', that the newly-formed Square Enix seemed to be interested in making a new push for the franchise.

** And of course, people are extra sore about this because this isn't even the franchise's ''first trip'' out into the woods.

** As an example, ''III'' came out in early 1988 in Japan - roughly the same time as, say, ''VideoGame/UltimaV'' or ''[[VideoGame/GoldBox D&D: Pool of Radiance]]'', who both make for reasonably good comparative partners in terms of scope and technology. The English version came out in ''mid-1991'' - over a year after '''''VideoGame/UltimaVI''''' '''*and*''' ''Savage Empire'', after basically ''the entire Gold Box series'' had come out, and barely months before ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' would land with its own kind of thunderbolt and ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' would introduce a much different way of playing an RPG. Never mind the fact that Square, at the time, got wise, and bumped ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' up to "II" and released it as soon as they could. ''Dragon Quest'' never contributed to the RPG conversation in America because it arrived far too late to the party to do so.

** As an example, ''III'' came out in early 1988 in Japan - roughly the same time as, say, ''VideoGame/UltimaV'' or ''[[VideoGame/GoldBox ''D&D: Pool of Radiance]]'', who both make for reasonably good comparative partners in terms of scope and technology. The English version came out in ''mid-1991'' - over a year after '''''VideoGame/UltimaVI''''' '''*and*''' ''Savage Empire'', after basically ''the entire Gold Box series'' had come out, and barely months before ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' would land with its own kind of thunderbolt and ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' would introduce a much different way of playing an RPG. Never mind the fact that Square, at the time, got wise, and bumped ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' up to "II" and released it as soon as they could. ''Dragon Quest'' never contributed to the RPG conversation in America because it arrived far too late to the party to do so.

* [[BadExportForYou Slow Export For You]]: This is generally why the games didn't have the same kind of thunderbolt impact in English-speaking territories as they did in Japan, particularly ''Dragon Quest III''. The Erdrick Trilogy was released in English three years after coming out in Japan, by which point domestic games, especially RPGs, had progressed on their own in many ways, leaving the ''DQ'' games looking more primitive than they should have and easier to dismiss.
** As an example, ''III'' came out in early 1988 in Japan - roughly the same time as, say, ''VideoGame/UltimaV'' or [[VideoGame/GoldBox ''D&D: Pool of Radiance]]'', who both make for reasonably good comparative partners in terms of scope and technology. The English version came out in ''mid-1991'' - over a year after '''''VideoGame/UltimaVI''''' '''*and*''' ''Savage Empire'', after basically ''the entire Gold Box series'' had come out, and barely months before ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' would land with its own kind of thunderbolt and ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' would introduce a much different way of playing an RPG. Never mind the fact that Square, at the time, got wise, and bumped ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' up to "II" and released it as soon as they could. ''Dragon Quest'' never contributed to the RPG conversation in America because it arrived far too late to the party to do so.

* NoExportForYou: The series as a whole has entered an age of this after IX. Dragon Quest X and the Monsters, Monsters 2, VII and VIII remakes have all not been brought outside of Japan. Aside from various mobile ports of older games, the upcoming ''Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below'' will be the first DQ game to travel overseas in a while.

* FountainOfExpies: The original Dragonlord from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI''. Both Hargon of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' and Zoma of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' are blue-skinned villains with black headgear... just like the Dragonlord.