Dragon Quest series

[Lawlshark]

I feel like a noob but I've seen this series mentioned quite a few times but I have never played any of the games! I'm curious if they are worth playing and if so where should I start?

I literally no know nothing about the series. Thanks all!

[Spuuky]

I feel like a noob but I've seen this series mentioned quite a few times but I have never played any of the games! I'm curious if they are worth playing and if so where should I start?

I literally no know nothing about the series. Thanks all!

If you have fortitude and patience, start with the first game.

If you're a gamer with more modern sensibilities and dislike "old" feeling games, start with 8.

If you're going to play just a couple and want to experience only the best, start with 4 or 5.

They are all worth playing.

[Fynn]

Shameless plug time!

Dragon Quest I review

Dragon Quest II review

Dragon Quest III review

I think it's a pretty neat series, but it's best to try it when you know that you're getting in the earliest JRPGs ever. So don't go expecting any mind-blowing stories or anything. They're still really cool adventures.

[Lawlshark]

Great! So am I right in assuming the stories aren't related? Like many of the Final Fantasy games?

[Fynn]

They are for I to III, and there's a loose relationship between IV, V and VI.

[Spuuky]

They are barely related even for the ones that are technically "related."

[Fynn]

The Erdrick trilogy is pretty tightly related though

[Spuuky]

It really isn't, you could very easily play DQ2 and never have any idea it was related to 1 or 3, and both other games work completely fine as standalone games.

[Wolf Kanno]

Yeah but you lose out on how much of a big deal it is when you meet the Dragonlord's Grandson or revisit Alefgard in DQII if you have never played the other games. I also feel that the buildup of DQIII is kind of missed by the player if you don't have the first two games to bolster up how much of a big deal Loto/Erdrick is. Yes you could play them out of order but I feel you lose out by doing so.

It's not so much the games are story connected as much as they are connected by myth and legend, because often the series has a later game turns out to be the legend spoken of in earlier games and so forth. The first three games just a have a tighter narrative since the party members tend to be blood related to the hero Loto/Erdrick and the land of Alefgard. The second "trilogy" is mostly connected because they all share a location of Zenith and the hero's Zenithian Gear. In both stories cases though, the games are spread out over hundreds of years from each other.

As for the OP's question: DQVIII was pretty much created to be a gateway entry for the series so it's not a bad choice, IX isn't a bad choice either. The first four games tend to feel a bit bare bones if you're used to more modern RPG fare but they are all pretty solid if a bit basic.

[Lawlshark]

Yeah but you lose out on how much of a big deal it is when you meet the Dragonlord's Grandson or revisit Alefgard in DQII if you have never played the other games. I also feel that the buildup of DQIII is kind of missed by the player if you don't have the first two games to bolster up how much of a big deal Loto/Erdrick is. Yes you could play them out of order but I feel you lose out by doing so.

It's not so much the games are story connected as much as they are connected by myth and legend, because often the series has a later game turns out to be the legend spoken of in earlier games and so forth. The first three games just a have a tighter narrative since the party members tend to be blood related to the hero Loto/Erdrick and the land of Alefgard. The second "trilogy" is mostly connected because they all share a location of Zenith and the hero's Zenithian Gear. In both stories cases though, the games are spread out over hundreds of years from each other.

As for the OP's question: DQVIII was pretty much created to be a gateway entry for the series so it's not a bad choice, IX isn't a bad choice either. The first four games tend to feel a bit bare bones if you're used to more modern RPG fare but they are all pretty solid if a bit basic.

Great info. I might check out VIII to see if he series is something I'd like to get into. I've been playing a lot of early RPGs and could use something a little more modern I think. I really appreciate all of the feedback from everyone!