History Videogame / DragonQuestIII

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Sword of Kings, in both gameplay and story. The original [[note]]Made in [[VideoGame/DragonQuestXI]] [[/note]] was actually stolen and destroyed by Zoma, but it took him ''three years'' to do it. Even if he slept, that's a lot of effort for one of the series' strongest villains, especially when the sword wasn't even new like the copy you eventually get.

''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' (originally named ''Dragon Warrior III'' in its initial North American release on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) rounds out the original ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' trilogy by casting the player as the child of the hero Ortega, who... didn't quite finish his grand journey to slay the evil Baramos. So, [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday now that you're sixteen]], everyone expects you to [[TakeUpMySword pick up where your dad left off]] and get to slaying the villain! Thankfully, you're not expected to do this alone: [[YouAllMeetInAnInn The local tavern serves as an excellent adventurers' hub]], where you can recruit a number of loyal party members, ranging from Warriors to Mages and even Gadabouts.

The game has had a substantial release history. First released for the Famicom in 1988, it was ported to the North American NES in early 1992 (read: after the SNES), which is part of the reason why it wasn't as influential in the west. It received a substantial [[VideoGameRemake remake]] in '96 for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] which never got exported. It was then ported to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in late 2000, with the Anglo world getting a release some months later. Finally, the Super Famicom version got ported to Japanese feature phones in 2009, which wasn't released elsewhere due to differences in phone capacity at the time; however, this version was ported again to [=iOS=] and Android smartphones in 2014, and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2019, with an English option to boot, to much acclaim. On May 26, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration to celebrate the franchise's 35th Anniversary]], it was announced that this game would get a remake that's part of the "[[SpritePolygonMix HD-2D]]" series (the same series consisting of ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', ''VideoGame/TriangleStrategy'', and ''VideoGame/LiveALive''), with a planned worldwide release on home consoles.

''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' (originally named ''Dragon Warrior III'' in its initial North American release on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) rounds out the original ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' trilogy by casting the player as the child of the hero Ortega, who... didn't quite finish his grand journey to slay the evil Baramos. So, [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday now that you're sixteen]], everyone expects you to [[TakeUpMySword pick up where your dad left off]] and get to slaying the villain! Thankfully, you're not expected to do this alone: [[YouAllMeetInAnInn The local tavern serves as an excellent adventurers' hub]], where you can recruit a number of loyal party members, ranging from warriors to mages and even gadabouts.

* BareFistedMonk: Martial artists. This makes them a very good pick, because you don't have to get them weapons for the most part. Most weapons actually ''decrease'' their attack power.

* BoringButPractical: With a variety of character classes that can lead to dozens, if not hundreds, of party compositions most players (especially beginners) will typically go with the combination of a Warrior, a Priest, and a Mage and stick with them, likely switching one to a Sage when they find a Words of Wisdom. This is such a common team that it became a MythologyGag in future entries in the series such as Videogame/DragonQuestXI.

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: One paid off from two games before, in fact. In the first town in ''Dragon Quest I'', an NPC will offhandedly mention that, legend has it, the hero Erdrick/Loto was from another world. Two games later, and sure enough...]]

* CuteBruiser: Female martial artists are twin [[GirlishPigtails pig-tailed]], big-eyed badasses.
* CuteWitch: Female mages are the epitome of this.

* DubNameChange: Most towns, but only very few people. The most significant being the title of Loto / Erdrick.

* FakeKing: [[spoiler: The king of Manoza was kidnapped and replaced by a [=BossTroll=] using the Mirror of Ra to take his form.]]

* FranchiseCodifier: The game was not only the TropeCodifier for the EasternRPG genre, but also solidified the direction combat in the series would take. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' was a simple game where you controlled one MagicKnight fighting against one monster at the time while ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' experimented with the idea of multiple combatants, with the party leader being a MagicallyIneptFighter with the other party members being a MagicKnight and a SquishyWizard, who are both capable of [[TheRedMage offensive and support magic.]] ''Dragon Quest III'' solidified the combat roles of characters by introducing a JobSystem, having classes (or rather [[CallAHitPointASmeerp Vocations]]) with the main character being the MagicKnight "Hero" class along with providing iconic vocations such as the [[MightyGlacier strong but slow]] Warrior, [[WhiteMage support magic focused]] Priest, [[BlackMage attack magic specialist]] Mage and [[FragileSpeedster fast but fragile]] Martial Artist. Even entries of ''Dragon Quest'' without the JobSystem have characters fulfil roles based on the established vocations.

* HelloInsertNameHere: Not just TheHero, but everyone you create / recruit as well. Though the Hero ''does'' have a canon name; it's [[spoiler: Loto / Erdrick in the flesh, the fabled legendary hero from the first and second installments of the series, though the finale reveals it is a title, instead of a name]].

* IconicOutfit: All of the classes, but particularly the hero's. If they aren't exact in games, they'll at least resemble them. They're mentioned in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', as equipment used by an ancient [class] of old. ([[PlayerPunch Which kind of stings if you played III when it first came out.]]). Played with as RuleOfFunny in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' onward, as the "Pod" / Pip and "Foo" / Conk families of monsters are tiny critters who dress like the default set of heroes in III, but are so tiny that they use leaves and hollowed nuts as armor, and use rocks and sticks as weapons.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Sword of Kings, in both gameplay and story. The original [[note]] Made in [[VideoGame/DragonQuestXI]] [[/note]] was actually stolen and destroyed by Zoma, but it took him ''three years'' to do it. Even if he slept, that's a lot of effort for one of the series' strongest villains, especially when the sword wasn't even new like the copy you eventually get.

** The Hero is a straight example of the type. Class changing a mage or priest into a fighting class can also yield a MagicKnight.

* ManaDrain: There's the traditional version of this as a spell and a weapon version that [[EquivalentExchange powers up by draining the wielder's MP]]. The latter is surprisingly useful in areas that prevent casting spells.

* {{Orochi}}: Eating sacrificial young women in [[{{Wutai}} Jipang]].

* PlantMooks: Funghouls, Morphean Mushrooms, and Mushroom Mages are mushroom-themed monsters. They often use Sweet Breath, which [[Forced Sleep forces you to go to sleep for awhile]].

ScaryScorpions: Overlapping with WickedWasps, the Waspion monster family makes its series debut.

* HumanSacrifice: [[{{Wutai}} Jipang]] is terrorized by {{Orochi}}, who demands a regular sacrifice of young maidens. Upon confronting the beast, you learn [[spoiler: that Jipang's leader, Pimiko, is actually Orochi, explaining her attitude.]]
* IAmWho: [[spoiler: Loto / Erdrick, that's who!]]

* {{Irony}}: You buy the zombiesbane from a ghost merchant who doesn't realize he's passed on (but only in the Famicom/NES version).

* PlayerMooks: The first Dragon Quest game to have these. Sadly no one ever sings of their heroism along with Erdrick / Loto's.

* RetroactiveLegacy: The Hero is eventually revealed to be [[spoiler: Erdrick, the legendary champion whom the heroes of ''Dragon Quest I'' and ''Dragon Quest II'' are descended from.]]
* TheReveal: One of the most ''epic'' reveals in the history of videogaming, and the one that cemented the game's place in the zeitgeist (especially in Japan): [[spoiler: In the last quarter of the game, the world you travel to is the one with the kingdom of Alefgard on it. The player character is none other than Erdrick / Loto, and you play out the events that precede the rest of the trilogy.]]
* ReviveKillsZombie: [[spoiler: After using the Sphere of Light, healing spells work wonders against Zoma. So do [[CherryTapping medicinal herbs]]. (250 damage a pop!)]]

* SamusIsAGirl: Depending on your choice in the GBC remake, it is possible to discover that [[spoiler:Erdrick/Loto]] was a girl.

* JobSystem: One of the earliest knowns example to the RPG genre. Save for the hero, characters aren't locked to one class or archetype for the entirety of the game as once they reach level 20 they can switch to a new class. While it knocks them back to level one, they keep half their stats and any skills or spells learned beforehand which makes getting them up to speed not so tedious. With enough patience and foresight it's possible to create anything from a versatile MagicKnight to a JackOfAllTrades support character to a LightningBruiser with no real weaknesses.

** There's also Mountaincleaver (or Sword of Gaia), which you spend most of the game trying to track down and recover from a man named Simão, who's had it in his family for some time. However, the weapon itself is [[spoiler: terrible for when you finally get it, outclassed by other weapons, and really more of a key than a weapon, as you throw it into a volcano to get access to the second to last dungeon and sixth orb]].

* BettingMiniGame: The monster arenas.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: The Polish description for the game on the Google Play store has the blurb "Dostosuj swoją drużynę i wyrusz na wyprawę, by zabić arcyprzyjaciela", which translates to "Set up your team and embark on a quest to kill the archfriend". That's the complete opposite of the intended translation for "archfiend", which is "arcywróg".

** One particularly irritating example: [[spoiler: Having to let the RecurringBoss Robbin' 'Ood go (twice) after beating him]]. Can't kill him off when he's still got problems to cause, right?
** Another example occurs when the King of Romaria offers his throne to you. He simply will not take no for an answer. In the remake, he does give up if you tell him no five times.

* CatScare: In Jipang, [[spoiler: checking the pots in one basement causes you to discover ''a human head''. …Which turns out to be attached to the still very much alive body of a young girl hiding out in there to avoid being sacrificed]].

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: One personality defining scenario involves a selfish queen misleading the king for her own profit. The faerie queen is a vengeful witch fond of DisproportionateRetribution. And later on, you discover [[spoiler: Jipang's leader, Pimiko, is actually Orochi]].

* HeroicMime: Once again, our hero.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Abacuses, in versions after NES. In the remix, the best abacus is one of the best weapons in the game!

* IntrepidMerchant: [[ShapedLikeItself Merchants.]]

* JackOfAllStats: TheHero—and, surprisingly, merchants qualify for this early on, with well-balanced stats that can out-Jack the hero during the early game.

* MetalSlime: Both Metal and Liquid Metal Slimes return, though there's also the Hardy Hand which, unlike later games, isn't one here.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: Baramos doesn't seem to actually ''do'' much besides wait in his castle for you to show up and kick his ass.
** Neither does Zoma after his introduction, but this is justified in that he has essentially already won dominion over Alefgard, and does not consider the Hero a big enough threat to go out and eliminate, even when the party arrives right at his throne. Only once the Sphere of Light is used to break Zoma's Cloth of Darkness, does he understand the danger the Party presents.
* {{Orichalcum}}: The Sword of Kings is made of the metal.

* PlantMook: Funghouls, Morphean Mushrooms, and Mushroom Mages make their first appearance.
* PlayboyBunny: Worn by all female gadabouts. ''Naturally''.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: DubNameChange aside, there's still some disjointment between proper spellings of a few towns: The biggest being Sioux / Soo, Jipang / Zipangu, and Assaram / Ashalam / Asham. The last of which gets a few raised eyebrows.
* SquishyWizard: [[ShapedLikeItself Mages]]. Priests have a few elements of this, but are better about growing out of it.

* TrapDoor: Playing Treasures n' Trapdoors? Watch for the spaces that might have these.

* WolverineClaws: One of the very few weapons beneficial to martial artists.

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler:Baramos has a boss. You find this out during a Fake Ending after exploring literally the entire world, spending 40+ hours to do so. It comes out of complete left field and cemented Dragon Quest III's status as a legendary RPG in Japan—40+ hours was already incredibly long for a NES era RPG, and then it opens up an ''entire second world map.'' A very familiar one at that, which led to an even bigger, more awesome revelation of just who the player character was.]]

** There's also Mountaincleaver (or Sword of Gaia), which you spend most of the game trying to track down and recover from a man named Simão, who's had it in his family for some time. However, the weapon itself is [[spoiler: terrible for when you finally get it, outclassed by other weapons, and really more of a key than a weapon, as you throw it into a volcano to get access to the second last dungeon and sixth orb]].

* CutsceneIncompetence: The Hero comes across their [[spoiler:long-lost father Ortega]] in the depths of Zoma's Castle. [[spoiler:Ortega]] is fighting a battle against a powerful monster, and seems to be holding his own, but finally runs out of MP for healing and dies. Neither the Hero nor their party considers joining the battle, providing the needed healing, or using one of their spells or items to bring him back to life after he dies.

** In the GBC VideoGameRemake, every monster randomly drops a medal; first Bronze, then Silver, then Gold. Getting enough of them gives you access to {{Bonus Dungeon}}s. Getting ''all'' of them makes the Grandragon [[spoiler: fall asleep. Wait, [[AntiClimax what?]]]]

** This may also explain why the sword is so much weaker in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI''. Any villains left hiding away, and possibly Dragonlord himself, have been trying to break it, but could only weaken it. They eventually gave up and just buried it in some obscure spot in Dragonlord's castle.

* MagicCompass: The Sailor's Thigh Bone is used as one to locate the GhostShip.

* MagicalLand: [[spoiler: Turns out Alefgard, later to become Torland, is this of the AnotherDimension sort. The Goddess Rubiss actually created said world herself, a Tantegel NPC making mention of people coming from Ailahan meaning that the Hero's world was one that had already existed before it, to boot. [[CrapsackWorld Then Zoma and demons happened.]]]]

* MetalSlime: The Hardy Hands make their debut in the GBC remake's Ice Cave bonus dungeon.

* MythologyGag: In the mobile phone/Switch version, the inhabitants of [[spoiler: Alefgard]] speak in YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe, an homage to the original English translation of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI''.

* PersonalityPowers: The remakes add one-word descriptions of all of your party members: '[[WideEyedIdealist Lout]]', '[[DumbMuscle Thug]]', 'Crybaby', '[[TheSmartGuy Wit]]', '{{Tomboy}}', '[[AllMenArePerverts Lothario]] / [[RuleOfSexy Vamp]]', and so on. This actually has an effect on how their stats grow when they level up…

* RandomDrop: ''Monster Medals'' in the GBC remake. There are random items as well, approaching the ludicrous -— for example, elevating shoes have an impossibly low chance to drop off a [[MetalSlime Liquid Metal Slime]].

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Most of kings are clever enough to realize that helping the Hero and their party is paramount to the world's continued existence. Generally, if a ruler is not helping you or giving you tips, it is a safe assumption that they are some monster impersonating the real authority figure.
* ReforgedBlade: It's revealed that Zoma destroyed the legendary Sword of Kings because it was a threat to him. If one picks up the the pieces of Orichalcum left from the shattering and sell it to the Ultimate Blacksmith, he'll reforge it.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: DubNameChange aside, there's still some disjointment between proper spellings of a few towns: The biggest being Sioux / Soo, Jipang / Zipangu, and Assaram / Ashalam. The last of which gets a few raised eyebrows.

''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' (originally named ''Dragon Warrior III'' in its initial North American release on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) rounds out the original ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' trilogy by casting the player as the child of the hero Ortega, who... didn't quite finish his grand journey to slay the evil Baramos. So, [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday now that you're sixteen]], everyone expects you to [[TakeUpMySword pick up where your dad left off]] and get to slaying the villain! Thankfully, you're not expected to do this alone: [[YouAllMeetInAnInn The local tavern serves as an excellent adventurers' hub]], where you can recruit a number of loyal party members, ranging from warriors to mages and even gadabouts.

** Anything that curses you when equipped. Unlike most ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' games, they don't have any uses as items either.

* TheRez: Persistence is your typical 'magical' reservation.

* WhipItGood: One of the best weapons in non-NES versions, actually. Though they tend to have lower attack power compared to regular weapons, whips allow your regular attacks to target whole groups of enemies.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The world map is loosely based on that of the real world, with many cities corresponding to actual nations. In addition to [[{{Wutai}} Japan analogue]] Jipang, there's Isis (a desert kingdom, complete with pyramid, pretty clearly based on ancient Egypt), Romaria (Rome), Skyfell Tower located in the area corresponding to France which was originally called the Tower of Champagne in the NES version, Portoga (a seafaring trading kingdom based on medieval Portugal), Asham (Baghdad), Baharata (ancient India), the northern island of "Greenlad", Edina (named after Edinburgh but based on England), and the village of Persistence (nomads based on various native American tribes). The continent that the hero grows up on is the only entirely fictional landmass in the game world; it looks sort of like Antarctica if it was shrunk a bit and moved between Australia and South America.

* SuperOCD: A requirement of any player who tries to assemble a full set of the bronze, silver and gold monster medals.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The golden claws. Far worse in the original game, where it causes an enemy fight ''every step of the game.'' In [[UpdatedRerelease subsequent versions of the game]], this only happens while you are in the pyramid; exiting the pyramid breaks the curse. Also in the original, this was the only additional claw the martial artist could use other than the standard.

''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' (originally named ''Dragon Warrior III'' in its initial North American release on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) rounds out the original ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' trilogy by casting the player as the child of the hero Ortega, who... didn't ''quite'' finish his grand journey to slay the evil Baramos. So, [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday now that you're sixteen]], everyone expects you to [[TakeUpMySword pick up where he left off]] and get to slaying the villain! Thankfully, you're not expected to do this alone: [[YouAllMeetInAnInn The local tavern]] serves as an excellent adventurers' hub, where you can [[PlayerMooks recruit]] a number of loyal party members, ranging from warriors to mages and even gadabouts.

''III'' was a mega hit in Japan; so much so that people were actually mugged on the street for their copies, something which just didn't happen with video games back then. The insane amount of hype surrounding it wasn't totally unfounded: Though ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' introduced the concept of multiple-character parties to most gamers of the time, it was restrictive to the point that some people complained directly to {{Creator/Enix}} themselves. In response to that outcry, ''Dragon Quest III'' invented the JobSystem (which would recur in various ''Dragon Quest'' entries), allowing you to customize your party to some degree. You could also pick everyone's gender, meaning that if you wanted [[AmazonBrigade to compose a team of amazons]], nothing was stopping you, and female characters even got to enjoy a few benefits denied to their male counterparts.

And thus, at this juncture, it needs to be emphasized, especially for our younger readers: ''Dragon Quest III'' is quite possibly '''''THE''''' single most influential and important Japanese game of all time. Its vast popularity meant it was [[FollowTheLeader endlessly-imitated]] or served as inspiration for other games and their mechanics, either to improve on or challenge parts of the design tenets it laid out. The influence of the game on the [[EasternRPG JRPG]], and subsequently the overall gaming industry, in Japan cannot be overstated. It still has an outsized place in the Japanese cultural zeitgeist: When non-video game media references a JRPG, 99% of the time, it'll be ''Dragon Quest III'' (and the remaining 1% will be another game in the series!). Of course, other video games directly reference it all the time. The only games that can be argued to command remotely the same mindshare, both in game industry influence and cultural presence, are the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Bros.]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', and more recently, ''VideoGame/PuzzleAndDragons''—and even then, the latter two owe more than a little to ''Dragon Quest''.

In short, this is a historically-significant game, and if you're interested in the evolution of video games, you should probably be familiar with it.

The game has had a substantial release history. First released for the Famicom in 1988, it was ported to the North American NES in early 1992 (read: a year after the SNES), which is part of the reason why it wasn't as influential in the west. It received a substantial [[VideoGameRemake remake]] in '96 for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] which never got exported. It was then ported to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in late 2000, with the Anglo world getting a release some months later. Finally, the Super Famicom version got ported to Japanese feature phones in 2009, which wasn't released elsewhere due to differences in phone capacity at the time; however, this version was ported again to [=iOS=] and Android smartphones in 2014, and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2019, with an English option to boot, to much acclaim. On May 26, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration to celebrate the franchise's 35th Anniversary]], it was announced that this game would get a remake that's part of the "[[SpritePolygonMix HD-2D]]" series (the same series consisting of ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', ''VideoGame/TriangleStrategy'', and ''VideoGame/LiveALive''), with a planned worldwide release on home consoles.

The game has had a substantial release history. First released for the Famicom in 1988, it was ported to the North American NES in early 1992, which is part of the reason why it wasn't as influential in the west. It received a substantial [[VideoGameRemake remake]] in '96 for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] which never got exported. It was then ported to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in late 2000, with the Anglo world getting a release some months later. Finally, the Super Famicom version got ported to Japanese feature phones in 2009, which wasn't released elsewhere due to differences in phone capacity at the time; however, this version was ported again to [=iOS=] and Android smartphones in 2014, and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2019, with an English option to boot, to much acclaim. On May 26, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration to celebrate the franchise's 35th Anniversary]], it was announced that this game would get a remake that's part of the "[[SpritePolygonMix HD-2D]]" series (the same series consisting of ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', ''VideoGame/TriangleStrategy'', and ''VideoGame/LiveALive''), with a planned worldwide release on home consoles.

** ForcedTransformation: The hero finds themselves turned into a monster and thrown into the middle of a town. Do they avoid unnecessary deaths and escape as quickly as possible, or [[FaceMonsterTurn slaughter]] [[KillEmAll everyone in sight]]?

''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' (originally named ''Dragon Warrior III'' in its initial North American release on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) rounds out the original ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' trilogy by casting the player as the child of the hero Ortega, who…didn't quite finish his grand journey to slay the evil Baramos. So, [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday now that you're sixteen]], everyone expects you to [[TakeUpMySword pick up where he left off]] and get to slaying the villain! Thankfully, you're not expected to do this alone: [[YouAllMeetInAnInn The local tavern]] serves as an excellent adventurers' hub, where you can [[PlayerMooks recruit]] a number of loyal party members, ranging from warriors to mages and even gadabouts.

''III'' was a mega hit in Japan; so much so that people were actually mugged on the street for their copies, something which just didn't happen with video games back then. The insane amount of hype surrounding it wasn't totally unfounded: Though ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' introduced the concept of multiple-character parties to most gamers of the time, it was restrictive to the point that some people complained directly to {{Creator/Enix}} themselves. In response to that outcry, ''Dragon Quest III'' invented the JobSystem (which would recur in various ''Dragon Quest'' entries), allowing you to customize your party to some degree. You could also pick everyone's gender, meaning that if you wanted [[AmazonBrigade to compose a team of amazons]], nothing was stopping you...and female characters got to enjoy a few benefits denied to their male counterparts.

** BalefulPolymorph: The hero finds themselves turned into a monster and thrown into the middle of a town. Do they avoid unnecessary deaths and escape as quickly as possible, or [[FaceMonsterTurn slaughter]] [[KillEmAll everyone in sight]]?

''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'' (originally named ''Dragon Warrior III'' in its initial North American release on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]) rounds out the original ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' trilogy by casting the player as the child of the hero Ortega, who…didn't quite finish his grand journey to slay the evil Baramos. So, [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday now that you're sixteen]], everyone expects you to [[TakeUpMySword pick up where he left off]] and get to slaying the villain! Thankfully, you're not expected to do this alone: [[YouAllMeetInAnInn The local tavern]] serves as an excellent adventurers' hub, where you can [[PlayerMooks recruit]] a number of loyal party members, ranging from warriors to wizards and even jesters.

* TheDragon: In addition to [[spoiler: Baramos, the BigBad Zoma]] has three of them. King Hydra, [[spoiler: Baramos]] Bomus, and [[spoiler: Baramos]] Gonus.

* EncounterBait: In the remakes, Jesters can learn the Whistle ability, which instantly triggers a random encounter.
* EncounterRepellant: Thieves can learn the Tiptoe / Padfoot skill, which lowers the chance of triggering a Random Encounter. Unfortunately, it also raises the chance of being surprise-attacked when an encounter does trigger.

* FighterMageThief: The original game 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.
* FireIceLightning: The series has the Sizz (Fire), Crack (Ice) and Zap (Lightning) families of spells. The latter is exclusive to the Hero. Fire Spells were already available in the original ''DQI'', and ''DQIII'' was the game which introduced Ice and Lightning magic.

* HealingHands: The main reason for bringing Priests along, though TheHero also gains considerable talent in this area, with the expensive [=HealUsAll=] spell as one of the final spells the Hero learns.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Sword of Kings, in both gameplay and story. The original was actually stolen and destroyed by Zoma, but it took him ''three years'' to do it. Even if he slept, that's a lot of effort for one of the series' strongest villains, especially when the sword wasn't even new like the copy you eventually get.

* MightyGlacier: Soldiers. Powerful and durable, but very, very slow.
* MinigameZone: The game includes Pachisi Tracks -a man-sized board game- and Monster Betting Arenas.

* NonIndicativeName: You would think Infernos is a fire based spell but is actually a wind spell. Later releases would change this to Whoosh.

** Neither does Zoma after his introduction, but this is justified in that he has essentially already won dominion over Alefgard, and does not consider the Hero a big enough threat to go out and eliminate, even when the party arrives right at his throne. Only once the Sphere of Light is used to break Zoma's Barrier, does he understand the danger the Party presents.
* {{Orichalcum}}: The Sword of Kings is made of the metal "Oricon".

* RandomizedTransformation: Staff of Change, aka Mod Rod, has the power to alter the physical form of the wielder, or an entire party's worth of people in one cast. However, you have no control over what form you take, so if you're looking for a specific effect, you're stuck spamming it.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Several important villains are reptile-like: Orochi, the man-eating monster found in the island of Jipang, is a flame-breathing, five-headed, green-scaled dragon. Baramos looks like a wingless, fat ''Pteranodon''. And [[spoiler:Ortega]] gets killed by a Hydra.

* TrapDoor: Playing the Pachisi tracks? Watch for the spaces that might have these.

* TruthInTelevision: Seems a little silly that a King is willing to trade a ship for some pepper, right? However, pepper in the past was once extremely valuable (even more valuable than gold)! That's because in the old days, pepper was a type of spice and could only be found in the Far East. For people whose only mean of seasoning was salt, pepper because a valuable commoditity.
* UpdatedRerelease: The remakes on the Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, recent modern smartphones and the Switch. All are chock full of extra goodies from ''IV'', ''V'', and ''VI'' (though the GBC version has a few features the other don't).

The game has had a substantial release history. First released for the Famicom in 1988, it was ported to the North American NES in early 1992, which is part of the reason why it wasn't as influential in the west. It received a substantial [[VideoGameRemake remake]] in '96 for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] which never got exported. It was then ported to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor in late 2000, with the Anglo world getting a release some months later. Finally, the Super Famicom version got ported to Japanese feature phones in 2009, which wasn't released elsewhere due to differences in phone capacity at the time; however, this version was ported again to [=iOS=] and Android smartphones in 2014, and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2019, with an English option to boot, to much acclaim. On May 26, 2021, [[MilestoneCelebration to celebrate the franchise's 35th Anniversary]], it was announced that this game would get a remake that's part of the "[[SpritePolygonMix HD-2D]]" series (the same series consisting of ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' and ''VideoGame/TriangleStrategy''), with a planned worldwide release on home consoles.

* PrestigeClass: The sage class. Only accessible by changing to that class at Alltrades Abbey (and only then by using a special one-use scroll, or invoking the gadabout's MagikarpPower), they learn ''all'' the mage and priest spells. ''And'' have a better selection of weapons and armor than the other spellcaster classes (though their stat growth is a little anemic).

* RandomDrop: ''Monster Medals'' in the GBC remake. There are random items as well, approaching the ludicrous—for example, elevating shoes, which have an impossibly low chance to drop off a metal slime.