Thread by @AlexRochonVA

THREAD: As a naive Westerner, I looked up Dragon Quest III for info about its popularity.

In short: Nintendo was not kidding about how massive its impact was on the cultural zeitgeist of Japan, and it cannot be understated how it changed gaming forever. Some highlights: (1/?)

You can thank Dragon Quest III for introducing and/or popularizing all of the following of gameplay mechanics that are now considered standards in RPGs or elsewhere:

-Job systems.
-Selectable genders.
-Silent RPG protagonists.

(2/?)

If I talked about all the common story beats in video games that Dragon Quest III made commonplace, we’d be here all day.

-Entire, separate world maps revealed to the player late in game. Think the Underworld in Final Fantasy IV or Kanto in Pokemon Gold and Silver.

(3/?)

-A bigger villain revealed after defeating what you thought was the main antagagonisg or final boss. Moments like the surprise final battle with Blue in Pokemon Gen 1, or hell, Kefka usurping the Emperor to become the final boss in Final Fantasy VI owe everything to DQIII.

(4/?)

People actually got their copies of Dragon Quest III *robbed* when it came out. There was simply nothing else like it at the time and people desperately wanted a slice of that pie.

(5/?)

Nowadays, all of the things that Dragon Quest III introduced are commonplace; things often taken for granted and seen as general tropes.

And yet somehow, Final Fantasy IV, which took loads of influence from DQIII, was released BEFORE DQIII in the USA!

(6/?)

Is it any wonder that Dragon Quest never really took off in America? By 1992, when Dragon Quest III was released in the US, Final Fantasy I and IV had already been released there, and were seen as the face of JRPGs. By then, it was already dated.

(7/?)

And yet in Japan, it was and is rightly recognized as a phenomenon.

The same way you and I fawn over our memories of how Banjo-Kazooie revolutionized 3D platformers, Dragon Quest III was monumental for so many new gamers.

(8/9)

The Dragon Quest III Hero’s reveal as a character in Smash Bros may as well have been equivalent to Goku for those who remember what that game did for the industry, Toriyama art style and all.

Remember that when hoes get mad.

(9/9)

From everything I’ve read, Dragon Quest III is like the John Wick of video games. I could relay more stories about how pervasive its influence was back in the day, but I feel like they’d just end up being watered down.