History VideoGame / DragonQuest

The English localization of ''Dragon Quest VIII'' was notable for its solution to the [[KansaiRegionalAccent regional accent issue]]: many of the characters speak in British dialects rather than American ones. Similarly, the US releases of ''Dragon Quest IV'', ''V'', ''VI'' and ''IX'' on the DS and ''VII'' on the 3DS are using regional dialects -- there's a Russian town, a Scottish town, etc etc. The localizers also love to use [[HurricaneOfPuns puns]], something that's a bit of a bother to some fans, and [[NarmCharm another selling point]] to others. It's worth noting that the franchise was always punny in Japanese, it's just that puns don't translate well and prior to ''VIII'' the English versions mostly just discarded them entirely rather than trying to come up with equivalent English puns.

** ''Dragon Quest IX'' introduced the Teeny Sanguini, SurpriseCreepy incarnate. These cute little critters spend most of their time fluffing around in midair until they get hungry, revealing they have MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily. A Sanguini of some variety can often be found prominently featured in spin-offs.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', Grand Architect Zenus mixes and matches traits and actions from {{God}} and [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Zeus]], [[spoiler:and his daughter Celestria from Athena and Jesus Christ]]. Zenus, who shares the title of The Almighty with Numen, went so far as to create an entire race of WingedHumanoid servants named Celestrians to do his bidding and take care of humanity (in Japan, the Celestrians are out and out called angels)... but there are also two divine dragons in the setting (and a third mentioned in the lore) ''and'' a fairy who works aboard the divine ark (a flying golden locomotive of all things). One Celestrian in particular has an important part to play in the crisis afflicting the globe: [[spoiler:Corvus, a textbook example of the Lucifer archetype, was the greatest of all Celestrians but fell to earth and was sold into the hands of the Gittish empire, who experimented on him and drove him mad three hundred years ago--in the current day and age, he's become a fully FallenAngel and means to wipe out humankind entirely]].

** In the ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroes'' series, the Cyclops and Atlas tower over the player characters, who barely reach their ankles.

** The Sword of Loto is used as a quickhand reference to the original trilogy (sometimes just Rubiss' Crest). It and the rest of Erdrick's equipment appear in multiple games as a CallBack to the first.

* ManaPotion: Magic Water, Single Phial, and the more potent Elfin Elixir.

** ''Dragon Quest X'' and ''Dragon Quest XI'' keeps a repository of monster information as well.

* OneWingedAngel: It would actually be easier to list the final bosses that ''don't'' do this (to date, only Malroth in ''II'' and Zoma in ''III'' have no OneWingedAngel form). Dhoulmagus, [[TheEmperor King Godwyn]], [[EvilTwin Anlucia the Maluminary]], [[SinisterMinister Patriarch Orstov]], [[VillainousHarlequin Pujyu]], and [[FallenHero Jasper]] get special mentions for being [[spoiler:mid bosses]] that do this.

** DQ's infamous [[RunningGag Puff-Puff]], in which a party member is invited to get his face massaged with a woman's breasts ([[SexyDiscretionShot offscreen]]). While this was played straight in ''I'' and ''II'', ''Dragon Quest III'' set the trend for it to become a parody, where the pervy Puff-Puffee suffers a BaitAndSwitch resulting in something much less sexy than promised, though what kind of HilarityEnsues is unique to each game. ''XI'' has both straight and gag examples. The running gag even cameod in VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV during a brief crossover event.

** Robbin' [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Hood/'ood/'Ood]], the [[FanDisservice obscenely muscled and underdressed]] hoodlum with a hatchet from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', has made numerous appearances since his debut, almost always as a thief.

** ''DQVI'': Murdaw, one of the four lieutenants of [[BigBad Mortamor]] looks like a scaly, horned lizard.

** {{King|Mook}} slimes would look only like a big and chubby common slime if not for the [[CoolCrown colorful imperial crown sitting on its head]]. Some games even offer these slime-crowns as one of the king slime's {{Random Drop}}s. In ''VIII'', a king slime is found stuck in a well and only freed when its crown is removed and its FusionDance comes apart into a handful of common slimes.

** Maxi Malone of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesII'' is a platypunk bedecked with a mini-medal necklace and crown to distinguish him as the mini-medal collecting royal of the game.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Several heroes are royalty, among them ''II''[='s=] heirs to Midenhall, Cannock, and Moonbrooke; Tsarevna Alena of Zamoksva in ''IV''; the entire royal family of Gotha in ''V''; [[spoiler:the Prince of Somnia]] in ''VI''; Prince Kiefer of Estard ([[spoiler:and his descendant Aishe, though the family had long given up being royalty by her generation]]) in ''VII''; [[spoiler:the heir to Argonia]] and King Trode of Trodain in ''VIII''; [[spoiler:the new Demon King and former child of the kingdom of Tenton]] and Anlucia in ''X''; and the Prince of Dundrasil, [[spoiler:his grandfather the former King Robert (aka "Rab"), and Princess Jade of Heliodor]] in ''XI''.

* SmashMook: A wide variety of ''Dragon Quest'' monsters specialize in hitting hard rather than using magic spells or other skills; if they do have skills, it will be in order to hit harder. Chances are, if it looks big and strong, it ''hits'' big and strong. Common examples of the type include the golem, the troll, the cyclops, the living statue, and the gruffon.

** ''Dragon Quest XI'': Überkilling Machines get bumped up a level in difficulty in this entry. They're restricted to a couple of dungeons; but can attack twice, reflect spells, use rapidfire beams at random, and bring one of their allies back from death. If you face more than one and your levels are still low for the post-game, this may well be a total massacre.

* WorldTree: Since ''II'', world trees have been a part of the Dragon Quest lore in some shape or form in each game, most commonly their leaves serving as the series' revive item. Not all such trees are identified as Yggdrasil and Yggdrasil won't always drop leaves or other goodies, but some presence is almost guaranteed. World trees are especially prominent in ''IV'', ''VII'', ''IX'', ''XI'', and ''Heroes''.

*** Jia Lumina and Jialeone are defeated, the Jia Kut Clan's monster armies are banished via a joint effort from Astoltia's past Heroes, and Anlucia is freed from being a crystal statue, along with some Ogre soldiers. The Heavens can finally relax, right? Yes...but why is that Death Star-like Eye of Sauron looming in the sky?! And [[MeetTheNewBoss the true leader of the Jia Kut Clan has revealed himself?!]]

* TropeCodifier: Even beyond simply videogames or {{Eastern RPG}}s, ''Dragon Quest'' is the codifier for just about ''every'' StandardJapaneseFantasySetting trope. For example, the CuteSlimeMook has been hardwired into Japanese media as [[TheGoomba the weakest enemy]] in a fantasy setting, which works like ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'' bank on for its unique premise. Furthermore, ''Videogame/DragonQuestIII[='s=]'' Zoma codified the MaouTheDemonKing archetype, which has become a standard antagonist or BigBad in nearly every fantasy work.

* WhipItGood: Several characters throughout the series use it, usually mages. They can strike groups of enemies at once, but each successive hit inflicts less damage. The Gringham Whip is often the strongest available whip in the game as it hits all enemies for full damage.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Avaible via the ''[[https://archive.org/details/dragon-warrior-explorers-handbook Dragon Warrior Explorer's Handbook]]''. Apparently the {{DragonLord}} is just a guy in a cave that was really angry about the happiness of people. He discovers a dragon in the maze of networks connected to his gave and learns that he can control dragons. After stealing the Sphere of Light and Gwalein, Erdrick shows up. Yes THE Erdrick from {{VideoGame/DragonQuestIII}} who offers to kill the {{DragonLord}} but then vanishes "into the wilderness". Later the Descendant shows up and kicks off the story proper. This handbook was authorized by Nintendo of America and features the Gold Seal of Quality.

** In ''VII'' you get to fight ''God'' as a bonus boss, and very much ''can'' punch him out! ''III'' also has the Divinegon/Xenlon, a pseudo-deity dragon that hangs out in a tower in (more-or-less) Heaven, and has all kinds of nifty divine powers, who you can also beat into a bloody pulp and claim a reward from.

* DragonsUpTheYinYang: ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' introduced the boreal serpent and its variants, long, serpentine dragons of the eastern style, the first of their kind in a franchise that borrowed initially from western dragons. The most powerful variant of this type of monster is Xenlon, an OptionalBoss from the UpdatedRerelease of the same game who grants wishes. While Xenlon himself only rarely appears in the franchise, there are a variety of weapons and pieces of armor that make {{Call Back}}s to him.

* EvilLivingFlames: Dancing Flames, roughly humanoid creatures made of fire, are recurring monsters in the series. Likewise, Firespirits (introduced in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'') are said to be a physical manifestation of fire magic.

*** The falcon blade introduced by the second game turns the entire concept of the "ultimate" sword on its ear ([[UnbuiltTrope and at a quite early point in [=jRPG=] history, no less]]); TheGimmick of the weapon is that, despite its pitiful strength, it's so fast that it lets the user strike twice per turn, which after a certain level starts producing more damage than any other weapon can keep up with. It is in practice the ultimate weapon for the Prince of Cannock, though TheHero can technically wield it, too.
** The third game features a set of equipment reserved for TheHero consisting of the Auroral Armor, Ortega's Helmet (remakes only), Hero's Shield, and Sword of Kings, which together are his strongest weapons; female characters get access to the shimmering dress, which is even stronger defensively than the auroral armor and has numerous defensive qualities. {{Updated Rerelease}}s add the flail of destruction and Rubiss sword, which are a both at least as strong as the Sword of Kings.

* KillerRabbit: Subverted with the Imps; these small, googly-eyed baby demons can potentially cast deadly spells like Kaboom and Thwack, but they’re unable to successfully use them because they have no MP. So they just end up looking completely helpless whenever they try to cast them in battle.

* LeaningTowerOfMooks: One of the regular monsters of the series is the Slime Stack, which is a stack of 3 differently-colored Slimes - significantly tougher than the sum of its parts. Sometimes, 3 normal slimes will even jump together to form one in mid-battle! (And sometimes, 3 Metal Slimes will replicate the trick, forming a Metal Medley.)

* OneWingedAngel: It would actually be easier to list the final bosses that ''don't'' do this (to date, only Malroth in ''II'' and Zoma in ''III'' have no OneWingedAngel form). Dhoulmagus gets special mention for being a [[spoiler:mid boss]] that does this.

** ''Dragon Quest XI'' zig-zags this. [[BigBad Mordegon]] ''does'' have a rather impressive OneWingedAngel form as [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Mordragon]]. The TrueFinalBoss [[spoiler: Calasmus]] however doesn't transform at all.

** If you have a female character in ''III'', you can actually ''play'' as one by equipping the outfit--which turns out to be very effective armor. The sprite even changes! You can also recruit a female [[JokeCharacter Goof-Off/Jester]] as a party member, whose sprite ''is'' a playboy bunny.

* RandomEffectSpell: Chance/Hocus Pocus, across the series.

** Estark, ancient King of Hell in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'', took on new life in later games as an {{Optional|Boss}} {{Superboss}} and started the trend of {{Superboss}}es ''timing'' the player's efforts to defeat them. He even inspired (along with his mutant imitator [[spoiler:Psaro]]) the [=EvilMech=] series of monsters in ''DQVII''.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Several heroes are royalty, among them ''II''[='s=] heirs to Midenhall, Cannock, and Moonbrooke; Tsarevna Alena of Zamoksva in ''IV''; the entire royal family of Gotha in ''V''; [[spoiler:the Prince of Somnia]] in ''VI''; Prince Kiefer of Estard ([[spoiler:and his descendant Aishe, though the family had long given up being royalty by her generation]]) in ''VII''; [[spoiler:the heir to Argonia]] and King Trode of Trodain in ''VIII''; [[spoiler:the new Demon King and former child of the kingdom of Tenton]] in ''X''; and the Prince of Dundrasil, [[spoiler:his grandfather the former King Robert (aka "Rab"), and Princess Jade of Heliodor]] in ''XI''.

** While some pieces of equipment are designed to go with others, most are designed to stand on their own, and don't match anything at all. While it's impossible to see in the games, there exists official art of some characters wearing medleys of random equipment that look quite ridiculous.

** ''Dragon Quest X Offline'' (2022 JP; [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]], [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 PS5]], UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, PC) [[index]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI: Echoes of an Elusive Age'' (2017 JP, 2018 worldwide; '''[[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]]''', '''PC''', [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]])[[/index]]

** ''Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mystery Dungeon'' (2006; '''UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}}''')[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters'' series (1998-present; see that page for entries)[[/index]]

** ''Slime Morimori Dragon Quest: Shogeki no Shippo Dan''[[note]]"Shock Tail Team"[[/note]] (2003; UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance)[[index]]
** ''Slime Morimori Dragon Quest 2: Daisensha to Shippo Dan'',[[note]]"Great Tank and Tail Team"[[/note]] released internationally as ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesRocketSlime'' (2005 JP, 2006 US; '''UsefulNotes/NintendoDS''')[[/index]]
** ''Slime Morimori Dragon Quest 3: Daikaizoku to Shippo Dan''[[note]]"Great Pirate and Tail Team"[[/note]] (UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS)[[index]]
* ''Itadaki Street'' series; aka ''VideoGame/FortuneStreet'' in America and ''Boom Street'' in Europe (''Dragon Quest'' first appeared in the series in 2004; see that page for entries)

** ''Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Scanner'' (2016; '''Arcade''')
*** ''Dragon Quest: Scan Battlers'' (2017; '''Arcade''')

* ''VideoGame/{{Theatrhythm|FinalFantasy}} Dragon Quest'' (2015; [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]])[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestOfTheStars'' (2015 JP, 2020 worldwide; '''UsefulNotes/{{Android|Games}}''', '''UsefulNotes/{{i|OSGames}}OS''')

** ''Dragon Quest Heroes I & II'' (2017; UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch)[[index]]
* ''Videogame/DragonQuestBuilders'' (2016; UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 3}}, '''UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}}''', '''UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation Vita}}''', '''UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch''')

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestTreasures'' (2022 worldwide; '''UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch''')

*** ''Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai -- Xross Blade'' (2020; Arcade)
*** ''Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai -- A Hero's Bond'' (2021 worldwide; UsefulNotes/{{Android|Games}}, UsefulNotes/{{i|OSGames}}OS)[[index]]
*** ''Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai -- Infinity Strash'' (2023?; unspecified consoles)
* ''Anime/DragonQuestLegendOfTheHeroAbel'' (1989-1991 anime)[[/index]]

* ''Dragon Quest: Souten no Sora'' (2012-present manga): Based on ''Dragon Quest X''.[[index]]
* ''Anime/DragonQuestYourStory'' (2019 CGI movie): An AnimatedAdaptation of ''Dragon Quest V''.[[/index]]

* ''Dragon Quest Treasures'' (2022 worldwide; '''UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch''')

** In ''DQIV'', the level cap is 99, but players are likely to beat the game before they hit level 40. The game implicitly recognizes this in the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem original release]] by having every character learn all of their spells and abilities by then. Come [[UsefulNotes/NintendoDS the remake]], however, the hero now has a new spell at level 50, and a SecretCharacter can learn spells all the way up to level 60! Even with the BonusDungeon and new FinalBoss, however, players are quite capable of beating everything with levels in the low-to-mid 40's.

* ActuallyFourMooks: While older ''Dragon Quest'' titles have universally resorted to RandomEncounters, the jump to the Nintendo DS with ''Monsters Joker'' changed the trend to spawning overworld monsters. Most post-''Joker'' games made or remade in 3D use one monster in the overworld to represent the group you'll actually fight.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The English subtitles since ''VIII''; it's harder to notice with "Journey of the ''Cursed King''", but games since ''IX'' have been making it obvious. ''II'' through ''VII'' retroactively gained such subtitles with their DS and mobile releases.
*** The localisations of the games in general have been full of this since ''Dragon Quest VIII''

** By the start of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'', the Dragonlord has established his rule over Alefgard in no uncertain terms. The Dragonlord has stolen the [[CosmicKeystone Sphere of Light]], plunging the land into perpetual darkness; his castle looms atop an untouchable peak over the capital city of Tantegel; the land swarms with monsters, cutting towns off from one another and travellers off from their families and homes; poisonous swamps dot the landscape (that [[NoOntologicalInertia vanish]] only when the [[FisherKing Dragonlord]] is vanquished); and entire batallions of soldiers have been lost trying to rescue the kidnapped Princess Gwaelin.
** Despite the general reigh of peace in the heroes' home region in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'', it is revealed over the course of the game that the entire rest of the world was destroyed by the demon lord, and the main progression of the story consists of restoring the world piece by piece.

* AIRoulette: One of the givens of the series.
* AlchemyIsMagic: First appearing with ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', the Alchemy Pot has allowed players to create better items, weapons, and armors out of basic ingredients; in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesRocketSlime'' it first was given the persona of [[AbsentMindedProfessor the Great Krak Pot]]. (Later games also produce alchemized items instantly; ''Dragon Quest VIII'' required [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness items to "cook" for a period of time before you could obtain them]], though the 3DS remake now produce alchemized items instantly. Items that ''cook'' for a period of time is still present in ''Dragon Quest of the Stars''). ''Dragon Quest Builders'' has the entire construction system implied to be a form of this.

** The Sword of Erdrick (Loto), the IconicItem of the original trilogy, is the InfinityPlusOneSword of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' when used by TheHero, Erdrick's descendent. It returns in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'', where it can be used by the ''latter's'' descendant, but while it's just as powerful as it used to be, it is [[SoLastSeason nowhere near being the strongest weapon in the game]]. In one game set in the day of Erdrick himself, you can even use it under another name, [[spoiler:when it was called the Sword of Kings]]. It returns in ''IX'' as the Rusty Sword and in the 3DS remake of ''VIII'' as Ye Olde Sword of Erdrick, both of which can be refurbished to their former glory with alchemy.

* AreaOfEffect: One notable aspect of the series is that it comes in two forms. "Sizz" magic, wind magic, and many status spells (among others) affect a group of enemies, which all share the same species (though not all species of monsters will be in the same group in battle). Explosion magic, high-tier ice magic, and certain other spells instead affect all enemies, though their power is usually a bit weaker to compensate. (Your party is counted as one group, unfortunately.)
** Certain spin-offs ignore this, however, usually due to the lower amount of enemy monsters.

* BaitAndSwitch: The Puff-Puff RunningGag has been one of these since ''III'' -- you think you're going to be visiting MarshmallowHeaven, but it turns out to be something else entirely. (In ''I'' and ''II'', and in some places in ''XI'', Puff-Puff was played straight and you actually did get what was promised, though the primitive graphics and/or a SexyDiscretionShot meant the player never saw it.)
* BarelyThereSwimwear: The recurring Dangerous Bikini (and its other fanservice costume 'cousins'), which have various characters in-game commenting on it, and [[VirtualPaperDoll visibly changes the appearance]] of female characters wearing it.

* BlackMage: Excusing for the moment the fact that almost all characters count, the Mage class in ''Dragon Quest III'', ''VI'', and ''IX'' all specialize in offensive spells. Ashlynn from ''Dragon Quest VI'' and Jessica Albert from ''Dragon Quest VIII'' count.

* BlowYouAway: The "Whoosh" series, which summons tornadoes to attack a group of enemies.

** The mainline series as whole prides itself in its traditional gameplay and the fact that it is supposed to be played by audiences of all ages, at least in Japan. But as the years passed, Japan's rating board for video games, CERO, has gotten more strict in its guideless for what a game accessible for children should have to maintain its CERO A rating, and it turns out ''Dragon Quest'' groomed certain classic designs for female wear that didn’t quite fit with CERO's new policies for a CERO A anymore. With that, Square-Enix started revising some female wear designs, as they see the mainline series should never escape its most accessible possible rating so all audiences can enjoy the games; the re-release for ''Dragon Quest VIII'' on the Nintendo 3DS was the forefront on how certain pieces of female wear got revised to be a little bit less revealing and has stuck for mainline titles ever since with ''Dragon Quest XI''. Examples include the ever famous Female Soldier design getting shorts underneath her cod armor piece, the Divine Bustier getting some fabric covering the once bare thighs between the leggings and the skirt, and some other cases where more pieces of fabric were added to older designs. Sexuality wasn’t removed altogether, it still is quite present in the series, only that it is being measured with more attention to keep the mainline series always accessible to all ages.

** Torneko Taloon from ''Dragon Quest IV'' starred in a series of ''Mystery Dungeon'' spin-offs made by Chunsoft (who would go on to make ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'').

* CharacterClassSystem: Vocations, introduced in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII''. Once your character gains access to Alltrades Abbey (the Dharma Temple in Japan and old English translations), the abbot can appoint you to your chosen vocation, to make AnAdventurerIsYou. Most if not all of the classes fall into the standard FantasyCharacterClasses--classic choices include Warrior, Mage, Martial Artist, and Priest. Every game with vocations also has at least one PrestigeClass that must be unlocked--the classic example is the Sage, a FusionDance of Priest and Mage.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: A rare example of this working ''for'' the player. In most mainline games after ''IV'', party members that are assigned tactics [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules make their move based on the situation at the time when they act]], whereas ones that follow orders have their actions chosen before the turn begins in most games in the series. This means a healer assigned with tactics can be much more efficient by healing someone within the same turn they were attacked, for example.

** While {{God}} has been referred to in previous games, ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' features a cosmic conflict in which the Almighty himself was a major player. Demon King Orgodemir, BigBad of the game, is a mish-mash of {{Satan}} and the demiurge of Gnostic cosmology (his name is even a near-perfect anagram of ''demiourgos''); there are also four elemental spirits, the Almighty's "children" who inherited a portion of his power when he disappeared. The Almighty himself appears [[spoiler:both as an {{Optional|Boss}} {{Superboss}} in the post-game and]] in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters Joker 2'' under the name [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numen Numen]].

* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: ''III'' begins on your hero's sixteenth birthday with the king officially assigning you to pick up where your DisappearedDad left off. ''IV'' also has the hero's journey begin at sixteen (actually eighteen), though [[DoomedHometown that wasn't what your]] [[HiddenElfVillage Hidden Village]] ''[[DoomedHometown planned]]''... Played with in ''V'', as horrible things started happening to the hero when he was '''six''', but he didn't really start fighting back until he was sixteen. ''XI'' starts at the hero's 16th birthday and things quickly go down from there.

* DegradedBoss: It's not unheard of for boss monsters to return in later games as powerful {{underground monkey}}s, such as Belial and Pazuzu, two of Hargon's generals from II.

* DubNameChange: ''Dragon Quest'' has had several different dubbing teams over the years, which can make it a headache to chart continuity and repetition between games that's perfectly obvious [[LostInTranslation in the original Japanese]].

** The original ''DQIII'' introduced Fighters and Monks -strong hitters with high defense and low speed-, as well as Clerics, Wizards and Sages -physically fragile wielders of powerful magic-; and the SNES remake introduced Thieves -low defense, fantastic speed and evasion-, completing the class triangle. Next games in the series usually included the three classes, or characters fitting each archetype.

* FunetikAksent: The remakes of ''IV'', ''V'', and ''VII'' use several different dialects for characters from different regions of the world. ''VIII'' did it first, though.
** Actually, ''all'' of them had this in the original Japanese script, as characters from different towns would speak in different Japanese regional accents. ''DQVIII'' was the first to do this for the English translation as well.

* ItemCrafting: Many of the games have this in the form of Alchemy. ''XI'' replaces alchemy with forging.
* JackOfAllTrades: The second game avoided the tendency of [=RPGs=] to make the main character fit this role, instead giving it to the second party member out of the three -- i.e. the MagicKnight to the hero's purely physical attack and the princess's SquishyWizard.
** Additionally, the hero in each game ''may'' be a jack-of-all-trades by the end of the game, but he's almost always a healer type, assuming there's no job system. While he can and does get the most damaging spells in the game (Zap, Kazap, and (sigh) Kazapple), they are prohibitively expensive, and his physical power and healing spells are always more useful.

* JustAddWater: Alchemy in ''VIII'' and ''IX'' and breeding/synthesis in the ''Monsters'' series. Averted in ''X'' and ''XI'', where forging involves a minigame that's a bit more elaborate.

** Divinegon in the ''DQ III'' remakes (and Grand Dragon, exclusive to the GBC remake). Both bosses can be challenged multiple times, and will require excessive LevelGrinding to defeat. Very, very few people have even fought Grand Dragon anyways, as it involves a massive spiked brick wall of a CollectionSidequest (see entry below). Defeating Grand Dragon rewards you with the game's InfinityPlusOneSword that all classes can equip.

** Torneko Taloon from ''Dragon Quest IV'' starred in a series of ''Mystery Dungeon'' games made by Chunsoft (who would go on to make ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'').

** The classic hunt for Mini-Medals, which you can trade away to specific [=NPCs=] for cool stuff.
** Required to gain access to ''Dragon Quest III'' GBC remake's second half of a BonusDungeon and ultimately BonusBoss Grand Dragon. The sidequest spans throughout the entire game, as it involves collecting [[RandomDrop randomly dropped medals]] from almost every monster in the game, ''including bosses''. Doubles as a GuideDangIt, as there are a few monsters whose encounter rate is so low that one may never run into said monster during a regular playthrough. Oh, and did I already mention that those medals randomly drop?

** While the early franchise referred to a plain, Christian-esque {{God}}, many overtly Christian elements were {{Bowdleriz|ation}}ed out in the earlies Western releases, resulting in even more quasi-Christianity. In ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuestIII Dragon Warrior III]]'', for example, anything that even looked like a cross was edited out, priests were renamed healers or (if playable) pilgrims, and dead party members were rendered as ghosts instead of cross-marked coffins.

** Holy Water generally will repel weaker monsters, and certain characters can learn spells to simulate its effects. Tiptoe/Padfoot can also be learned by the thief-class characters in some games that will lower the encounter rate instead of outright preventing them.

** This anticipates later games, where the magic options have expanded. Fire, Ice, and Wind spells are generally a lower-tier than lightning spells (which are not only more powerful and learned later in the game, but generally reserved for the hero).

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' features a CorruptChurch with major institutions built at major holy sites around the world, one of which features an enormous statue of a goddess. The Western release of the game, however, extrapolates from various in-game goddess artifacts to create "[[AscendedExtra the Goddess]]", depicted as the direct object of the church's worship; the Goddess would go on to be implemented as a kind of franchise-wide female stand-in for {{God}} in the West, being swapped in even in remakes of other games localized after ''VIII''.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', Grand Architect Zenus mixes and matches traits and actions from {{God}} and Zeus, [[spoiler:and his daughter Celestria from Athena and Jesus Christ]]. Zenus, who shares the title of The Almighty with Numen, went so far as to create an entire race of WingedHumanoid servants named Celestrians to do his bidding and take care of humanity (in Japan, the Celestrians are out and out called angels)... but there are also two divine dragons in the setting (and a third mentioned in the lore) ''and'' a fairy who works aboard the divine ark (a flying golden locomotive of all things). One Celestrian in particular has an important part to play in the crisis afflicting the globe: [[spoiler:Corvus, a textbook example of the Lucifer archetype, was the greatest of all Celestrians but fell to earth and was sold into the hands of the Gittish empire, who experimented on him and drove him mad three hundred years ago--in the current day and age, he's become a fully FallenAngel and means to wipe out humankind entirely]].

* CrystalDragonJesus: The Catholic motif for the churches, priests, and nuns.
** In ''DQ V'', the Dragon King is an ''actual'' CrystalDragonJesus, a PhysicalGod [[spoiler:who sometimes takes the form of a human.]]
** Also, the gender of the deity was changed -- the original games had him addressed directly as "God" or "the Lord", but in the remakes they worship a Goddess instead. Presumably this was to avoid offending people. In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', the deity is male again, and referred to as "The Almighty". [[spoiler:However, at the end of the game his daughter takes over the role so it switches over to a Goddess again.]] The reason for the change is unknown, except perhaps the fact that God actually ''appears'' in the game (and is very much male). The Almighty ''also'' appears in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' as a BonusBoss and is male in that game as well; and in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonstersJoker2'', his English name is the rather appropriate Numen (look it up).

* AnAdventurerIsYou: Dragon Quest vocation and various individual player characters that inherit from them fit specific archetypal niches.

** The Mountaincleaver of ''III'' is a weapon passed down in the family of a man named Simão. The party uses it as a PlotCouponThatDoesSomething, opening the Maw of the Necrogond by throwing the mountaincleaver into a volcano.

* DragonsUpTheYinYang: ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' introduced the boreal serpent and its variants, long, serpentine dragons of the eastern style, the first of their kind in a franchise that borrowed initially from western dragons. The most powerful variant of this type of monster is Xenlon, an OptionalBoss from the UpdatedRerelease of the same game who grants wishes.

** The Sword of Erdrick (Loto), the IconicItem of the original trilogy, is the IninityPlusOneSword of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' when used by TheHero, Erdrick's descendent. It returns in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'', where it can be used by the ''latter's'' descendant, but while it's just as powerful as it used to be, it is [[SoLastSeason nowhere near being the strongest weapon in the game]]. In one game set in the day of Erdrick himself, you can even use it under another name, [[spoiler:when it was called the Sword of Kings]]. It returns in ''IX'' as the Rusty Sword and in the 3DS remake of ''VIII'' as Ye Olde Sword of Erdrick, both of which can be refurbished to their former glory with alchemy.
** The Mountaincleaver of ''III'' is a weapon passed down in the family of a man named Simão. The party uses it as a PlotCouponThatDoesSomething, opening the Maw of the Necrogond by throwing the mountaincleaver into a volcano.

* AncestralWeapon: Erdrick/Loto's Sword is the most powerful weapon in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI''. The sword is also in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'', but it is [[SoLastSeason nowhere near being the strongest weapon in the game]].
** It appears that this sword is most likely [[spoiler:the King's Sword from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', judging by the official art, how the sword was obtained, and the fact that the game's hero ''is'' Erdrick/Loto]].
** It makes a sneaky appearance in ''IX'', as well, right before the last boss, as the "[[spoiler:Rusty Blade]]". Fixing it -- easily done if you [[GuideDangIt know how]] (or if you've done the DLC quests that include the recipes) -- makes said last boss... still NintendoHard.

* CharacterClassSystem: Any game with the Dharma Temple (that's "Alltrades Abbey" for anyone who got their start after the NES era) has a "Vocation" system. Classic choices include Warrior, Mage, Martial Artist, and Priest (and we'll toss in Thief from the remake of ''III''). Every game also has at least one PrestigeClass, premised on being the combination of two basic classes (for example, the Sage is based on Mage and Priest).

** Parties of adventurers will be subject to CompetitiveBalance, and a few games even have an explicit CharacterClassSystem.

** Peggy Sue, the horse of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' [[spoiler:is in reality the mythical flying Pegasus]].