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* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The "Superdragon" at the end of the Japanese version. This was changed in the English release to the Dragonlord's OneWingedAngel form, which was considered [[{{Woolseyism}} such a good change]] that every subsequent appearance of the character on both sides of the pond, including all the {{Mon}} games where he's recruitable, has used this version.
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Moved \"Remade for the Export\" to the Trivia tab.
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!!This game is the TropeNamer for:
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!!This game is has the TropeNamer TropeNamers for:
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* BoringReturnJourney: The game does not conclude with the defeat of the BigBad. You complete the game by returning to visit the king. You can go anywhere you like before doing this, including visiting towns to receive thanks from all the people you've saved. While getting to the BigBad involves thousands of random battles, after his defeat, there are none to be found, even in the dungeons, since apparently defeating the boss results in the elimination of all his {{Mook}}s.
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* BoringReturnJourney: The game does not conclude with the defeat of the BigBad. You complete the game by returning to visit the king. You can go anywhere you like before doing this, including visiting towns to receive thanks from all the people you've saved. While getting to the BigBad involves thousands of random battles, after his defeat, there are none to be found, even in the dungeons, since apparently defeating the boss results in the elimination of all his {{Mook}}s.{{Mooks}}.
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* MetalSlime: The TropeNamer, also the Goldman/Gold Golem.
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* MetalSlime: The TropeNamer, {{Trope Namer|s}}, also the Goldman/Gold Golem.
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* RemadeForTheExport: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
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That One Boss is meaningless. Rewrite.
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** Worst news: Guess who can surprise you, use sleep on the first turn, and continually wail on you before you can even act? ThatOneBoss, that's who.
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** Worst news: Guess who can surprise you, use The Ax Knight, which guards your armor, tends to cast sleep on and constantly attack while you are sleeping. This alone shows that the first turn, and continually wail on you before you can even act? ThatOneBoss, that's who.status effect is very dangerous.
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Added Rescue Romance example.
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* RescueRomance: The princess falls in love with the hero the moment he comes in to save her. Eventually, [[ButThouMust he has no choice]] but to reciprocate.
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Added The Power Of Love example: the \"love\" item that acts as GPS
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* ThePowerOfLove: Once the hero has rescued the princess, he can take his love with her wherever he goes, and use it like a GPS. This comes in handy for finding one particular quest item.
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** In fact, people have run thousands of simulations on emulators, and determined that the Dragonlord is completely impossible to defeat at level 17 or below in the NES version, since you absolutely ''must'' have Healmore to stand a chance against the dragon.
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** In fact, people have run thousands of simulations on emulators, and determined that the Dragonlord is completely impossible to defeat at level 17 or below in the NES version, since you absolutely ''must'' have Healmore to stand a chance against the dragon.Dragonlord's dragon form.
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** The Japanese version is even more explicit: "It sounded like you had fun last night."
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** LightEmUp (Radiant, learned at level 9)
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Yeah, that's pretty much it. It barely rises above the level of ExcusePlot, but considering it was essentially the first to even try to on a console (it was originally made in 1986), it was incredibly groundbreaking at the time. Essentially the first console {{RPG}}. Especially as Nintendo ''gave away copies'' to people who made subscriptions to ''NintendoPower''. The console RPG craze began because Nintendo had [[ItWillNeverCatchOn so little faith in the genre's appeal to Western audiences]] that they were giving away cartridges to bolster magazine sales. And it worked - this was pretty much the first RPG Westerners ever played, and it seems a lot of people liked it.
to:
Yeah, that's pretty much it. It barely rises above the level of ExcusePlot, but considering it was essentially the first to even try to on a console (it was originally made in 1986), it was incredibly groundbreaking at the time. Essentially the first console {{RPG}}. Especially as Nintendo ''gave away copies'' to people who made subscriptions to ''NintendoPower''. The console RPG craze began because Nintendo had [[ItWillNeverCatchOn so little faith in the genre's appeal to Western audiences]] that they were giving away cartridges to bolster magazine sales. And it worked - this was pretty much the first console RPG Westerners a lot of people ever played, and it seems a lot of people liked it.
it.
In Japan, meanwhile... well, it simply began ''everything''. It was there in the right time and place to get millions of people playing it, being a simple enough game for a child to play but long and difficult enough for even an adult to appreciate. It influenced ''every single RPG produced in Japan'' in its wake, effectively without exception.
In Japan, meanwhile... well, it simply began ''everything''. It was there in the right time and place to get millions of people playing it, being a simple enough game for a child to play but long and difficult enough for even an adult to appreciate. It influenced ''every single RPG produced in Japan'' in its wake, effectively without exception.
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Warrior]]'' in the US when it was first brought over) is the story of the descendant of Loto (or Erdrick, in the
The first in the groundbreaking ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragonoriginal English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord, who is threatening the kingdom.
The first in the groundbreaking ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragonoriginal English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord, who is threatening the kingdom.
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The first in the groundbreaking ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragon Warrior]]'' in the US when it was first brought over) is the story of the descendant of Loto (or Erdrick, in the original English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord/Dracolord, who is threatening the kingdom.
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The first in the groundbreaking ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle
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* HeroicMime: Averted, but only at the very end of the game, till then it’s played straight.
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* HeroicMime: Averted, but only Subverted at the very end of the game, till then it’s played straight.game.
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* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted! The good news: Yuji Horii was (and more than likely still is) a fan of Wizardry and Ultima, both of which had useful status spells. Mute/Stopspell and Sleep were two very handy spells taken from them. The bad news? Your enemies can also use them.
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* [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish Surprisingly Good Shakespearean]]
* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted! The good news: Yuji Horii was (and more than likely still is) a fan of Wizardry andUltima, {{Ultima}}, both of which had useful status spells. Mute/Stopspell and Sleep were two very handy spells taken from them. The bad news? Your enemies can also use them.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted! The good news: Yuji Horii was (and more than likely still is) a fan of Wizardry and
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** StandardStatusEffects (Sleep, learned at level 7, and actually useful for once)
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** StandardStatusEffects (Sleep, learned at level 7, [[UselessUsefulSpell and actually useful for once)once]])
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* NeverSayDie: Averted, which is surprising for its era. ''''Thou art dead''''
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* RegionalBonus: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
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* RegionalBonus: RemadeForTheExport: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
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** You also can run into a character named Howard, who is named after Nester's partner in the comic.
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* FisherKing: Defeat the Dragonlord, and not only do all of the other monsters disappear from the game, but the HP-draining swamps will be replaced by fields of flowers.
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* FisherKing: Defeat the Dragonlord, and not only do all of the other monsters disappear from the game, but the HP-draining poisonous swamps will be replaced by fields of flowers.
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* FisherKing: Defeat the Dragonlord, and not only do all of the other monsters disappear from the game, but the HP-draining swamps will be replaced by fields of flowers.
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The first in the groundbreaking ''DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragon Warrior]]'' in the US when it was first brought over) is the story of the descendant of Loto (or Erdrick, in the original English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord/Dracolord, who is threatening the kingdom.
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The first in the groundbreaking ''DragonQuest'' ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragon Warrior]]'' in the US when it was first brought over) is the story of the descendant of Loto (or Erdrick, in the original English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord/Dracolord, who is threatening the kingdom.
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* MarketBasedTitle: The original release and the Game Boy Color re-release were titled ''Dragon Warrior'' due to [[DungeonsAndDragons TSR]] holding the trademark to ''Dragon Quest''. Since SquareEnix has subsequently acquired the trademark from them, any future release would bear the ''DQ'' name.
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* MarketBasedTitle: The original release and the Game Boy Color re-release were titled ''Dragon Warrior'' due to [[DungeonsAndDragons [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons TSR]] holding the trademark to ''Dragon Quest''. Since SquareEnix has subsequently acquired the trademark from them, any future release would bear the ''DQ'' name.
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* NiceJobBreakingItHero: We learn in ''DragonQuestIII'' that the Golem was created by one of Cantlin's/Mercado's townspeople to protect the town. Oops.
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* NiceJobBreakingItHero: We learn in ''DragonQuestIII'' ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' that the Golem was created by one of Cantlin's/Mercado's townspeople to protect the town. Oops.
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[[GameplayAndStorySegregation In terms of stats, all of it blows away Loto's age-old gear]].
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http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dragon_Quest_2191.jpg
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* ButThouMust: Both the classic (the TropeNamer, in fact) and a subversion immediately: [[spoiler: If you accept the Dragonlord's offer to rule together, you get a NonstandardGameOver]].
** In a more "meta" sense, the first example comes from the fact that you have to waste your magic key on the door (the king presumably locked) to continue. And, despite being the poster child for the trope, you actually DON'T (!) have to save the princess.
** The line itself comes from talking to the princess after you save her. She asks: "Dost thou love me?" The answer to saying no is: "But thou must," and her asking again until you pick yes.
** In a more "meta" sense, the first example comes from the fact that you have to waste your magic key on the door (the king presumably locked) to continue. And, despite being the poster child for the trope, you actually DON'T (!) have to save the princess.
** The line itself comes from talking to the princess after you save her. She asks: "Dost thou love me?" The answer to saying no is: "But thou must," and her asking again until you pick yes.
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* ButThouMust: Both the classic (the TropeNamer, in fact) and a subversion immediately: [[spoiler: If you accept the Dragonlord's offer to rule together, you get a NonstandardGameOver]].
** In a more "meta" sense, the first example comes from the fact that you have to waste your magic key on the door (the king presumably locked) to continue. And, despite being the poster child for the trope, you actually DON'T (!) have to save the princess.
**The line itself comes from talking to the princess after you save her. She asks: "Dost thou love me?" The answer to saying no is: "But thou must," and her asking again until you pick yes.
** In a more "meta" sense, the first example comes from the fact that you have to waste your magic key on the door (the king presumably locked) to continue. And, despite being the poster child for the trope, you actually DON'T (!) have to save the princess.
**
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* ConvenientQuesting: Averted. You can pretty much go anywhere as soon as you start the game.
** However, every time you cross a bridge, the monsters tend to become much more dangerous.
* CoolBoat: Averted. If the first example of the hero's origins is considered, the boat was probably destroyed. Even if the second was considered, the Dragonlord is still a flying dragon who breaths fire. The hero would be a sitting duck in a boat. That said, he does get a "cool bridge" [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows MADE OF RAINBOWS]]
** Don't laugh. At least not at Kenshin Hero's, because [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKNPDDal4es&feature=related he'll use it to kick your ass with pizazz.]]
** However, every time you cross a bridge, the monsters tend to become much more dangerous.
* CoolBoat: Averted. If the first example of the hero's origins is considered, the boat was probably destroyed. Even if the second was considered, the Dragonlord is still a flying dragon who breaths fire. The hero would be a sitting duck in a boat. That said, he does get a "cool bridge" [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows MADE OF RAINBOWS]]
** Don't laugh. At least not at Kenshin Hero's, because [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKNPDDal4es&feature=related he'll use it to kick your ass with pizazz.]]
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** It did its job too well. He kept monsters out, but he prevented anyone, even if they were good, from getting in. It's a wonder the town didn't starve to death. Also note that it has been asleep, so it wasn't even doing its job properly. So in this case, it was a good thing the hero broke it. Nice job.
*** Even after the golem was gone, the town still had some of the best weapons and armor. The people were fine.
*** Even after the golem was gone, the town still had some of the best weapons and armor. The people were fine.
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** In the epilogue of ''DragonQuestIII'', Loto is stated to only leave his Sword and Armor. Maybe Loto kept the Shield for himself? Due to the DependingOnTheWriter example above, some figure that he just didn't manage to find it before he left Torland, or being born in Alefgard, it was outside of his reach. As for the helmet, it's likely the same one Ortega and Loto had, but because it was originally Ortega's it was just too old and battered to make a difference outside of appearance.
*** The real mouse here is all the good gear being sold [[DragonQuestIII a century or so ago]]. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In terms of stats, all of it blows away Loto's age-old gear]].
*** The real mouse here is all the good gear being sold [[DragonQuestIII a century or so ago]]. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In terms of stats, all of it blows away Loto's age-old gear]].
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*** The real mouse here is all the good gear being sold [[DragonQuestIII a century or so ago]].
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** The line itself comes from talking to the princess after you save her. She asks: "Dost thou love me?" The answer to saying no is: "But thou must," and her asking again until you pick yes.
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* EasterEgg: In the original NES version, there are many references to people looking for 'Nester', until you eventually find him and he asks if anyone has been searching for him. Nester was the name of a comic strip character in Nintendo Power magazine.
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* DragonTheirFeet: In the Japanese version, the Dragonlord's pet superdragon showed up after you killed him.
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** In fact, people have run thousands of simulations on emulators, and determined that the Dragonlord is completely impossible to defeat at level 17 or below in the NES version. So much for that LowLevelRun.
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** In fact, people have run thousands of simulations on emulators, and determined that the Dragonlord is completely impossible to defeat at level 17 or below in the NES version. So much for that LowLevelRun.version, since you absolutely ''must'' have Healmore to stand a chance against the dragon.
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* PALBonus: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
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* RegionalBonus: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
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* AwesomeYetPractical: Hurtmore, which can take huge chunks of health out of anything that isn't immune to magic. Once you get it, grinding goes quite a bit faster.
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http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dragon_Quest_2191.jpg
The first in the groundbreaking ''DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragon Warrior]]'' in the US when it was first brought over) is the story of the descendant of Loto (or Erdrick, in the original English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord/Dracolord, who is threatening the kingdom.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. It barely rises above the level of ExcusePlot, but considering it was essentially the first to even try to on a console (it was originally made in 1986), it was incredibly groundbreaking at the time. Essentially the first console {{RPG}}. Especially as Nintendo ''gave away copies'' to people who made subscriptions to ''NintendoPower''. The console RPG craze began because Nintendo had [[ItWillNeverCatchOn so little faith in the genre's appeal to Western audiences]] that they were giving away cartridges to bolster magazine sales. And it worked - this was pretty much the first RPG Westerners ever played, and it seems a lot of people liked it.
----
!!This game is the TropeNamer for:
* ButThouMust
* MetalSlime
!!It also provides examples of:
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The [[http://dunmancalling.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dragon_warrior_box_us.jpg American box art]] depicts the same scene as the Japanese box- the blue-and-red hero, the Green Dragon, and a castle- but with realistically proportioned characters and a broader color palette.
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Cursed/Death Necklace and the Cursed Belt. Oddly enough, if you don't equip them, shopkeepers pay good money for them. Considering how early you can acquire them, it's reasonable to repeatedly enter the (low-leveled) dungeon to acquire more belts to sell for lots of cash.
* BoringReturnJourney: The game does not conclude with the defeat of the BigBad. You complete the game by returning to visit the king. You can go anywhere you like before doing this, including visiting towns to receive thanks from all the people you've saved. While getting to the BigBad involves thousands of random battles, after his defeat, there are none to be found, even in the dungeons, since apparently defeating the boss results in the elimination of all his {{Mook}}s.
* ButThouMust: Both the classic (the TropeNamer, in fact) and a subversion immediately: [[spoiler: If you accept the Dragonlord's offer to rule together, you get a NonstandardGameOver]].
** In a more "meta" sense, the first example comes from the fact that you have to waste your magic key on the door (the king presumably locked) to continue. And, despite being the poster child for the trope, you actually DON'T (!) have to save the princess.
* TheChosenOne: You play as the descendant of your country's legendary hero.
* ConvenientQuesting: Averted. You can pretty much go anywhere as soon as you start the game.
** However, every time you cross a bridge, the monsters tend to become much more dangerous.
* CoolBoat: Averted. If the first example of the hero's origins is considered, the boat was probably destroyed. Even if the second was considered, the Dragonlord is still a flying dragon who breaths fire. The hero would be a sitting duck in a boat. That said, he does get a "cool bridge" [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows MADE OF RAINBOWS]]
** Don't laugh. At least not at Kenshin Hero's, because [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKNPDDal4es&feature=related he'll use it to kick your ass with pizazz.]]
* DependingOnTheWriter: The hero is either from a small village in Torland who washed up on the shores of Alefgard (Alfregard in the GBC version) ''or'' an Alefgard native who had been training for the day he might be able to fight. Either way, he was already aware of his lineage, despite not having any way to prove it until he found his ancestor's seal in a perilous poison swamp. [[HilariousInHindsight You'd think they'd keep family trees]]. At least ''his'' descendants actually had his gear as family treasures.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: If you are carrying the princess with you to Charlock Castle and talk to the Dragonlord, he actually thanks you for saving him the trouble of having her transported there.
* DubNameChange: Loto was renamed Erdrick, Lars was renamed Lorik, Dracolord was renamed as the Dragonlord, and Lora was renamed Gwaelin.
* EvilSorcerer: The Dragonlord.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The basic damage spell is called Hurt. The stronger version is called Hurtmore.
** You are on a quest to slay a dragon/a warrior who slays dragons.
* FlamingSword: The second most powerful weapon you can wield. The best one is [[InfinityPlusOneSword Erdrick's sword]].
* ForcedLevelGrinding: If there wasn't any in this game, you'd likely be able to beat it in half an hour.
** In fact, people have run thousands of simulations on emulators, and determined that the Dragonlord is completely impossible to defeat at level 17 or below in the NES version. So much for that LowLevelRun.
** Though in a tool-assisted run (manipulating luck beyond reasonable means), [[http://tasvideos.org/1482M.html the game can be completed at level 7]].
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In the first town, you can meet up with an ardent female admirer who will "tag along." If you spend a night while she's with you, the dialog strongly suggests you and the admirer had a night of wild sex. This can also happen while you are escorting Princess Lora.
-->'''Innkeeper''': Good morning. You were up late!
** In the GBC version, you can actually spend the night at the inn with ''both of them'' in tow and the above message will occur. Talk about Pimpin'.
* [[TheDragon The (Green) Dragon]]
* GuideDangIt: Your name actually affects your base stats and stat growth.
* HeroicMime: Averted, but only at the very end of the game, till then it’s played straight.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: There's two of them in this one, but for different categories. The FlamingSword is your sword version, with a +28 boost to your attack and has a special action when used as an item. The magic armor is your armor version, with a +24 boost to your armor and gives you a HealingFactor of one HitPoint regained every four steps. And what could be better than that?
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Erdrick's Sword and Armor, that's what! They give you a +40 Attack bonus and a +28 bonus to armor, respectively. The armor quadruples the rate of your HealingFactor to one HitPoint healed every step, while the sword was just plain [[CoolSword cool]] in addition to being powerful.
* LevelGrinding: Sweet merciful God, so much in the NES version...
* MagicKnight: You, obviously. This game established all three traditions of making the player character a MagicKnight, tying when you learn spells to your level and learning Heal at level 3 as your first spell. The spells are...
** HealingHands (Heal and Healmore, learned at levels 3 and 17, respectively)
** PlayingWithFire (Hurt and Hurtmore (Firebal and Firebane in the GBC version), learned at levels 4 and 19, respectively)
** StandardStatusEffects (Sleep, learned at level 7, and actually useful for once)
** LightEmUp (Radiant, learned at level 9)
** AntiMagic (Stopspell, learned at level 10)
** {{Teleportation}} (Outside and Return, learned at levels 12 and 13, respectively. Outside simply teleports you out of whatever cave you're in, while Return takes you all the way back to the town where you start the game.)
** There's also a spell called Repel which lowers the rate of RandomEncounters learned at level 15.
* MarketBasedTitle: The original release and the Game Boy Color re-release were titled ''Dragon Warrior'' due to [[DungeonsAndDragons TSR]] holding the trademark to ''Dragon Quest''. Since SquareEnix has subsequently acquired the trademark from them, any future release would bear the ''DQ'' name.
* MascotMook: Slimes (though several others, including wyverns/chimerae and drakees/drackys give them a run for their money).
* MetalSlime: The TropeNamer, also the Goldman/Gold Golem.
* MoneySpider: That the Goldman/Gold Golem gives a lot of wealth upon defeat makes sense. That it's [[FridgeLogic all in coinage does not.]] Everything else also drops coins.
* MultipleEndings: There's one [[NonstandardGameOver bad ending]] ([[spoiler: Try to join the Dragonlord.]]) and [[OlderThanTheyThink three good endings]]: save the princess and return her to the King before defeating the Dragonlord, return the princess after defeating the Dragonlord, or don't save the princess. The (minimalist) end game cut scene varies a bit for each ending. In the last one, [[CuttingOffTheBranches the hero travels off to faroff lands alone]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: We learn in ''DragonQuestIII'' that the Golem was created by one of Cantlin's/Mercado's townspeople to protect the town. Oops.
** It did its job too well. He kept monsters out, but he prevented anyone, even if they were good, from getting in. It's a wonder the town didn't starve to death. Also note that it has been asleep, so it wasn't even doing its job properly. So in this case, it was a good thing the hero broke it. Nice job.
*** Even after the golem was gone, the town still had some of the best weapons and armor. The people were fine.
* NoOntologicalInertia: The second the final boss is defeated random encounters vanish and the poisonous swamps are replaced with pretty flowers.
* NonstandardGameOver: [[spoiler: If you accept the Dragonlord's offer to rule together in the NES version, you get a badly translated speech, the text turns your-HP-are-low red, and the game freezes. This was changed in the remakes.]]
* OneWingedAngel: "The Dragonlord hath revealed his true self!"
** Originally this was a case of DragonTheirFeet. In the Japanese version, this was the Dragonlord's Superdragon pet that attacks you after he goes down rather quickly. However, it seems that the writers went "[[AscendedFanon Sure, Why Not?]]" and later depictions has this as being one of his forms.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Dragonlord pretty much just sits in his castle all game and waits for you to come and kick his arse.
* PALBonus: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
* PaletteSwap: Only the Dragonlord gets an exclusive sprite in-battle.
* RecurringRiff: Many of the game's tunes (most prominently, the main theme and the level up theme) are used in all the subsequent installments, with the main theme gaining a new intro in ''IV'' and another new intro in ''IX''. The game over theme has begun to make a comeback in more recent games as well after ''II'' and several installments after it used longer and more complex game over tracks.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted! The good news: Yuji Horii was (and more than likely still is) a fan of Wizardry and Ultima, both of which had useful status spells. Mute/Stopspell and Sleep were two very handy spells taken from them. The bad news? Your enemies can also use them.
** Worst news: Guess who can surprise you, use sleep on the first turn, and continually wail on you before you can even act? ThatOneBoss, that's who.
** With frequent abuse of save states and a generous amount of patience, the Sleep spell can make any battle a guaranteed victory. No enemy is completely immune to the Sleep spell, so if you cast it enough times, it will eventually stick. Moreover, unlike in most [=RPGs=], a successful physical attack will not awaken the target. Whether or not they awaken is randomly determined ''each turn''. So, you can {{Save Scum|ming}} your way to victory by saving state before selecting your command each turn, ensuring that you will (eventually) put the enemy to sleep and they will not ever wake up. Through this method, you can beat the game as soon as you get this spell.
* WeCanRuleTogether: The Dragonlord makes this offer to you when you confront him. Most players just select no and get on with the battle, but if you accept, you get a NonstandardGameOver (except in the SNES version where he wakes up in a town near the Big Bad's castle, where the innkeeper says that he had a Bad Dream).
** The Dragonlord then says "ICanRuleAlone," though; the very next thing you see is red text.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Where's Loto's Shield (i.e. the Shield of Heroes)? The absence of his helmet was understandable, since it was just an iron mask, but the shield was a special magical talisman like the sword and armor.
** In the epilogue of ''DragonQuestIII'', Loto is stated to only leave his Sword and Armor. Maybe Loto kept the Shield for himself? Due to the DependingOnTheWriter example above, some figure that he just didn't manage to find it before he left Torland, or being born in Alefgard, it was outside of his reach. As for the helmet, it's likely the same one Ortega and Loto had, but because it was originally Ortega's it was just too old and battered to make a difference outside of appearance.
*** The real mouse here is all the good gear being sold [[DragonQuestIII a century or so ago]]. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In terms of stats, all of it blows away Loto's age-old gear]].
* WithThisHerring
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Dropped in the GameBoyColor remake, though.
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The first in the groundbreaking ''DragonQuest'' series, ''Dragon Quest I'' (called ''[[MarketBasedTitle Dragon Warrior]]'' in the US when it was first brought over) is the story of the descendant of Loto (or Erdrick, in the original English rerelease), who has been summoned by the king of Alefgard to rescue his daughter and defeat the Dragonlord/Dracolord, who is threatening the kingdom.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. It barely rises above the level of ExcusePlot, but considering it was essentially the first to even try to on a console (it was originally made in 1986), it was incredibly groundbreaking at the time. Essentially the first console {{RPG}}. Especially as Nintendo ''gave away copies'' to people who made subscriptions to ''NintendoPower''. The console RPG craze began because Nintendo had [[ItWillNeverCatchOn so little faith in the genre's appeal to Western audiences]] that they were giving away cartridges to bolster magazine sales. And it worked - this was pretty much the first RPG Westerners ever played, and it seems a lot of people liked it.
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!!This game is the TropeNamer for:
* ButThouMust
* MetalSlime
!!It also provides examples of:
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The [[http://dunmancalling.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dragon_warrior_box_us.jpg American box art]] depicts the same scene as the Japanese box- the blue-and-red hero, the Green Dragon, and a castle- but with realistically proportioned characters and a broader color palette.
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Cursed/Death Necklace and the Cursed Belt. Oddly enough, if you don't equip them, shopkeepers pay good money for them. Considering how early you can acquire them, it's reasonable to repeatedly enter the (low-leveled) dungeon to acquire more belts to sell for lots of cash.
* BoringReturnJourney: The game does not conclude with the defeat of the BigBad. You complete the game by returning to visit the king. You can go anywhere you like before doing this, including visiting towns to receive thanks from all the people you've saved. While getting to the BigBad involves thousands of random battles, after his defeat, there are none to be found, even in the dungeons, since apparently defeating the boss results in the elimination of all his {{Mook}}s.
* ButThouMust: Both the classic (the TropeNamer, in fact) and a subversion immediately: [[spoiler: If you accept the Dragonlord's offer to rule together, you get a NonstandardGameOver]].
** In a more "meta" sense, the first example comes from the fact that you have to waste your magic key on the door (the king presumably locked) to continue. And, despite being the poster child for the trope, you actually DON'T (!) have to save the princess.
* TheChosenOne: You play as the descendant of your country's legendary hero.
* ConvenientQuesting: Averted. You can pretty much go anywhere as soon as you start the game.
** However, every time you cross a bridge, the monsters tend to become much more dangerous.
* CoolBoat: Averted. If the first example of the hero's origins is considered, the boat was probably destroyed. Even if the second was considered, the Dragonlord is still a flying dragon who breaths fire. The hero would be a sitting duck in a boat. That said, he does get a "cool bridge" [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows MADE OF RAINBOWS]]
** Don't laugh. At least not at Kenshin Hero's, because [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKNPDDal4es&feature=related he'll use it to kick your ass with pizazz.]]
* DependingOnTheWriter: The hero is either from a small village in Torland who washed up on the shores of Alefgard (Alfregard in the GBC version) ''or'' an Alefgard native who had been training for the day he might be able to fight. Either way, he was already aware of his lineage, despite not having any way to prove it until he found his ancestor's seal in a perilous poison swamp. [[HilariousInHindsight You'd think they'd keep family trees]]. At least ''his'' descendants actually had his gear as family treasures.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: If you are carrying the princess with you to Charlock Castle and talk to the Dragonlord, he actually thanks you for saving him the trouble of having her transported there.
* DubNameChange: Loto was renamed Erdrick, Lars was renamed Lorik, Dracolord was renamed as the Dragonlord, and Lora was renamed Gwaelin.
* EvilSorcerer: The Dragonlord.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The basic damage spell is called Hurt. The stronger version is called Hurtmore.
** You are on a quest to slay a dragon/a warrior who slays dragons.
* FlamingSword: The second most powerful weapon you can wield. The best one is [[InfinityPlusOneSword Erdrick's sword]].
* ForcedLevelGrinding: If there wasn't any in this game, you'd likely be able to beat it in half an hour.
** In fact, people have run thousands of simulations on emulators, and determined that the Dragonlord is completely impossible to defeat at level 17 or below in the NES version. So much for that LowLevelRun.
** Though in a tool-assisted run (manipulating luck beyond reasonable means), [[http://tasvideos.org/1482M.html the game can be completed at level 7]].
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In the first town, you can meet up with an ardent female admirer who will "tag along." If you spend a night while she's with you, the dialog strongly suggests you and the admirer had a night of wild sex. This can also happen while you are escorting Princess Lora.
-->'''Innkeeper''': Good morning. You were up late!
** In the GBC version, you can actually spend the night at the inn with ''both of them'' in tow and the above message will occur. Talk about Pimpin'.
* [[TheDragon The (Green) Dragon]]
* GuideDangIt: Your name actually affects your base stats and stat growth.
* HeroicMime: Averted, but only at the very end of the game, till then it’s played straight.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: There's two of them in this one, but for different categories. The FlamingSword is your sword version, with a +28 boost to your attack and has a special action when used as an item. The magic armor is your armor version, with a +24 boost to your armor and gives you a HealingFactor of one HitPoint regained every four steps. And what could be better than that?
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Erdrick's Sword and Armor, that's what! They give you a +40 Attack bonus and a +28 bonus to armor, respectively. The armor quadruples the rate of your HealingFactor to one HitPoint healed every step, while the sword was just plain [[CoolSword cool]] in addition to being powerful.
* LevelGrinding: Sweet merciful God, so much in the NES version...
* MagicKnight: You, obviously. This game established all three traditions of making the player character a MagicKnight, tying when you learn spells to your level and learning Heal at level 3 as your first spell. The spells are...
** HealingHands (Heal and Healmore, learned at levels 3 and 17, respectively)
** PlayingWithFire (Hurt and Hurtmore (Firebal and Firebane in the GBC version), learned at levels 4 and 19, respectively)
** StandardStatusEffects (Sleep, learned at level 7, and actually useful for once)
** LightEmUp (Radiant, learned at level 9)
** AntiMagic (Stopspell, learned at level 10)
** {{Teleportation}} (Outside and Return, learned at levels 12 and 13, respectively. Outside simply teleports you out of whatever cave you're in, while Return takes you all the way back to the town where you start the game.)
** There's also a spell called Repel which lowers the rate of RandomEncounters learned at level 15.
* MarketBasedTitle: The original release and the Game Boy Color re-release were titled ''Dragon Warrior'' due to [[DungeonsAndDragons TSR]] holding the trademark to ''Dragon Quest''. Since SquareEnix has subsequently acquired the trademark from them, any future release would bear the ''DQ'' name.
* MascotMook: Slimes (though several others, including wyverns/chimerae and drakees/drackys give them a run for their money).
* MetalSlime: The TropeNamer, also the Goldman/Gold Golem.
* MoneySpider: That the Goldman/Gold Golem gives a lot of wealth upon defeat makes sense. That it's [[FridgeLogic all in coinage does not.]] Everything else also drops coins.
* MultipleEndings: There's one [[NonstandardGameOver bad ending]] ([[spoiler: Try to join the Dragonlord.]]) and [[OlderThanTheyThink three good endings]]: save the princess and return her to the King before defeating the Dragonlord, return the princess after defeating the Dragonlord, or don't save the princess. The (minimalist) end game cut scene varies a bit for each ending. In the last one, [[CuttingOffTheBranches the hero travels off to faroff lands alone]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: We learn in ''DragonQuestIII'' that the Golem was created by one of Cantlin's/Mercado's townspeople to protect the town. Oops.
** It did its job too well. He kept monsters out, but he prevented anyone, even if they were good, from getting in. It's a wonder the town didn't starve to death. Also note that it has been asleep, so it wasn't even doing its job properly. So in this case, it was a good thing the hero broke it. Nice job.
*** Even after the golem was gone, the town still had some of the best weapons and armor. The people were fine.
* NoOntologicalInertia: The second the final boss is defeated random encounters vanish and the poisonous swamps are replaced with pretty flowers.
* NonstandardGameOver: [[spoiler: If you accept the Dragonlord's offer to rule together in the NES version, you get a badly translated speech, the text turns your-HP-are-low red, and the game freezes. This was changed in the remakes.]]
* OneWingedAngel: "The Dragonlord hath revealed his true self!"
** Originally this was a case of DragonTheirFeet. In the Japanese version, this was the Dragonlord's Superdragon pet that attacks you after he goes down rather quickly. However, it seems that the writers went "[[AscendedFanon Sure, Why Not?]]" and later depictions has this as being one of his forms.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Dragonlord pretty much just sits in his castle all game and waits for you to come and kick his arse.
* PALBonus: The US version of the game received a graphical facelift as well as a battery-backed save instead of a 20-character long password system used in the JP version (speakers of that language could only save their game this way on the MSX port).
* PaletteSwap: Only the Dragonlord gets an exclusive sprite in-battle.
* RecurringRiff: Many of the game's tunes (most prominently, the main theme and the level up theme) are used in all the subsequent installments, with the main theme gaining a new intro in ''IV'' and another new intro in ''IX''. The game over theme has begun to make a comeback in more recent games as well after ''II'' and several installments after it used longer and more complex game over tracks.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted! The good news: Yuji Horii was (and more than likely still is) a fan of Wizardry and Ultima, both of which had useful status spells. Mute/Stopspell and Sleep were two very handy spells taken from them. The bad news? Your enemies can also use them.
** Worst news: Guess who can surprise you, use sleep on the first turn, and continually wail on you before you can even act? ThatOneBoss, that's who.
** With frequent abuse of save states and a generous amount of patience, the Sleep spell can make any battle a guaranteed victory. No enemy is completely immune to the Sleep spell, so if you cast it enough times, it will eventually stick. Moreover, unlike in most [=RPGs=], a successful physical attack will not awaken the target. Whether or not they awaken is randomly determined ''each turn''. So, you can {{Save Scum|ming}} your way to victory by saving state before selecting your command each turn, ensuring that you will (eventually) put the enemy to sleep and they will not ever wake up. Through this method, you can beat the game as soon as you get this spell.
* WeCanRuleTogether: The Dragonlord makes this offer to you when you confront him. Most players just select no and get on with the battle, but if you accept, you get a NonstandardGameOver (except in the SNES version where he wakes up in a town near the Big Bad's castle, where the innkeeper says that he had a Bad Dream).
** The Dragonlord then says "ICanRuleAlone," though; the very next thing you see is red text.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Where's Loto's Shield (i.e. the Shield of Heroes)? The absence of his helmet was understandable, since it was just an iron mask, but the shield was a special magical talisman like the sword and armor.
** In the epilogue of ''DragonQuestIII'', Loto is stated to only leave his Sword and Armor. Maybe Loto kept the Shield for himself? Due to the DependingOnTheWriter example above, some figure that he just didn't manage to find it before he left Torland, or being born in Alefgard, it was outside of his reach. As for the helmet, it's likely the same one Ortega and Loto had, but because it was originally Ortega's it was just too old and battered to make a difference outside of appearance.
*** The real mouse here is all the good gear being sold [[DragonQuestIII a century or so ago]]. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In terms of stats, all of it blows away Loto's age-old gear]].
* WithThisHerring
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Dropped in the GameBoyColor remake, though.
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