Why RPG Developers Should Ripoff the Original Dragon Quest

Really liked this video (and others you made)

My DREAM GAME is an dungeon rpg like etrian odyssey with a few twists and modernizations. But that is massively hard and requires skill

If i were to pursue that goal, i would do a lot of mini rpgs first, each focusing on different aspects of the final game: a lot of prototypes.

And the first one will be what you mentioned in this video: single party member, rpg barebones

I liked this vidwo

man that motivated me so much. Might do my own game one day

I prefer the NES graphics to this version. The style just looks weird and the character art looks like a different style compared to say the chests

Funny how you're showing footage of a version of Dragon Quest 1 in which items on the floor, originally discovered through clues and hints from townsfolk, are now just highlighted by a huge sparkle. That's like 1/4th of your DQ1 playthrough taken away.

i do love me some dragon quest so i am going to make a ghost hunting dragon quest style game

Merci.

I like to design modular systems, even if I can't make them myself, so that one system can serve multiple purposes, which is GOLD for making games like this.
For example, in the last game I created, the same dialogue system was used as a turn-based combat system, only with health variants for both the main character and the enemies being attached to certain dialogues playing. That way, you just had to select the dialogue from the box and the damage would be done (with an added variance in damage).
The enemy would just play a random attack from a list and deal damage based on a similar variance.

As someone who’s gotten into Dragon Quest in the last few years, I think developing an RPG without drawing from DQ’s lessons is like developing an FPS while never playing Doom. There’s a tightness, elegance and perfectly-dialed friction that frankly any genre can learn from. There could be a video like this for every Dragon Quest installment

What a fantastically motivating video. Thank you for this. It was just what I needed today.

Yeah, despite being one of the most influential franchises the first entry does not have many rip offs. Most console RPGs at the time ripped off Dragon Quest II, III or IV. The only decent ones are Momotaro Densetsu and Glory of Heracles I.

Great video 🎉

Love your rebranding of the joys of rpg ambiguity

What can be achieved in small titles like dq1 as well is that each location can serve a unique role with minimal overlap. Shrines as signposts for key-item progression, a mere 3(!) caves on the overworld, 2 of which are optional. Only two real dungeons. 5 towns, 3 of which you can visit within the first 20 minutes of play. It is so incredibly terse that the entire negative connotation of rpgs being tedious sounds insane to apply. Beyond that the game is generous too. Level ups very quickly and significantly grow your stats and each new spell is a game changer. New area too scary? One level up and a single piece of armor later and you're completely fine. It's snappy in pace but still presents the feeling of overcome real barriers rather than gliding along a stat curve so smooth you can't feel it by having these sharp steps in power.

Great take here. As a new UE5 guy I love this idea to make a small rpg maker like game to start in the big boy UE5 good way for me to learn about all the stuff it can do.

Yeah, Im going to have to heavilly disgree with you're take on emrgent storytelling. the fact is emergent storytelling is complete crapshoot at actually telling a story, because no matter much time and effert you put in or how well made it actually is, if its possible for a player to just completly miss the vast majority of said story on acident, than thats very bad. Emergent storytelling is best used to sumplent an actuall story , Either through random events or via worldbuilding stuff, so as to flesh out the world and keep repated playthroughs fresh.

Now, If you not if you're not trying to tell a specific story, but intead crate asandbox for others to maker thier own storys. than emergent story telling is great. but even than its still a bit of a crapshoot.

the thing is, moat developers got into making an rpg because they have a story to tell

My favorite old DQ game is actually DQ2. A real sense of exploration for the first time in those days. Tough as nails, but extremely rewarding. There's a lot of nuance in the game for it being so simple. Part of the fun of the game is figuring out little things that instantly progress the story, like using the Mirror of Ra to turn the princess from a dog back to a human. Nothing flashy or developed. You've turned her human, she's part of the party now.

My first finished game project was in fact an RPG. RPG making software is a lot more varied and more newbie-friendly than broader generalized game development systems. If I ever find a platformer game engine as user-friendly as various RPG Makers have been, I will make a platformer because that's my third-most-loved genre after console style RPG and action roguelite.

The NPC who removes curses isn't from a different town on the other side of the map, he resides in the village immediately adjacent to Tantegel Castle (whether the version calls it Tantegel or Brecconary). You're also a lot more likely to find the cursed necklace long before the cursed belt.

For me, trying to balance the stat lines of items and come up with a meaningful list of different spells/skills is one of the fun parts of making an RPG. I like drawing characters, but I'm not really fond of writing complicated plots and don't get very emotional over game stories nor do I have strong desires to instill them. I like really basic stories; "You're the cool looking hero guy, this is the big ugly bad guy, he's stolen your girlfriend/potential future girlfriend you haven't met yet, go beat him up" or "you're the team of cool looking hero guys, this is the big ugly bad guy, he's stolen the four Elemental Egg McGuffins that keep the world from imploding and is trying to implode the world, go collect the treasures until you're strong enough to beat him".

The ideal kind of spell, class, enemy, and equipment balance I'd want to make is one where a randomizer mode would lead to interesting gameplay videos with only a few late game things truly obsoleting the earlier ones. I'm almost addicted to giving players options that have drawbacks, and many such options. Late game equipment has bigger drawbacks your higher level heroes can compensate for better, giving better rewards while being more risky. Midgame full of overall equal (on paper) options with different benefits and different drawbacks shuffled around.

I love this video because It explains why I love DQ so much!

I’d love to see a video like this of the original Legend of Zelda.

The points made in the video are what I look for in an RPG myself. And why I'm less interested in cinematic driven games. Even Dragon Quest XI. Dragon Quest VIII was a modern RPG which still allowed the player to explore like a classic RPG. Yeah, there were some cutscenes. But usually just when you first meet a key NPC and then after completing a major quest for that NPC. In between, the game expected you to go find clues by talking to other NPCs, exploring towns/the world and doing side quests. Basically, what old DQ games I-VII also did. The inclusion of quest bubbles and icons on the map with Dragon Quest IX, as well as linear zones and objectives, was a step backwards in my opinion. Dragon Quest XI kept these and felt more like a Final Fantasy game like X or XII. Still better than those FF games in my opinion, but less free and open like earlier DQ games.

Thank you for explaining exactly why the original Dragon Quest is so genius. The simplicity of its design is rarely to its detriment and I think it's a wonderful gateway for Turn Based RPGs!

came back to this vid for more inspiration from my game lol, this is legit one of my favorites vids ever honestly !!

I was actually inspired to come up with an RPG after seeing HPRShredder's video on 3D Worldrunner. Really surprised Square didn't use it or JJ: Tobidase Daisakusen Part II as their starting point, so decided to come up with one of my own. Anyway, I made a violin and viola duet medley of the songs from this game called Dragon Questing which you can find on my channel. The second tune might sneak by if you're not paying attention, since it's the "stay at the inn" song that lasts all of two seconds. Check it out if you have the time.

DQ was the first RPG I played on a console, Dragon Warrior rather. I used to rent 1-4 on a regular basis, crossing my fingers that my save would be intact. Between that and CRPGs it was a golden age…every series was different but revolved around similar mechanics.

WHAT THIS IS REALLY AMAZINGI. %REALLY=RALLY.

Love your channel. Been a web focused dev for years but interested in jumping into to game dev for hobby purposes. Dq is one of my fave series and loved this breakdown and scope overview.

I don't think Dragon Quest is a 5 hour game. Maybe ported versions are as they're made easier, but I think the OG is closer to 20 hours due to lots of grinding & figuring out where to go next & such (although maybe I'm just bad, it took me ~25 hours to beat Dragon Warrior). I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure DQ1 monsters do have variance in HP, even if you do the same damage to the same monster type the monster won't always die. Maybe I'm thinking of DW2 or 3 though.

Good advice I think that would be a good decision by a newer game developer to start out more basic.

Dragon Warrior (calling it that bc I was bequeathed an NES cartridge from my mom) is probably one of the only RPG games I've ever played where I actually bothered with status effect spells like sleep, because the 1-on-1 combat meant that using those spells was actually worth it and not just a waste of mana and a turn. Actually, something similar happened with spells in general in the game- while in something like Final Fantasy (ESPECIALLY FF1, which I also have on the NES) I found I basically never used my mages outside of boss fights because I was trying to conserve my spell slots for those boss fights, so every spell used on the trek to them was a spell wasted- but in Dragon Warrior, after realizing there was no point trying to conserve MP between towns and inn trips, I let myself use spells in casual fights and the gameplay immediately clicked into place for me.

found this video years ago and it's the reason I subbed to this channel, and I just found it again because I was looking for a video breaking down the gameplay/mechanics of dragon quest 1 because I was planning to rip it off for my attempt at an RPG :V

2 years later a sequel to this video featuring dungeon encounters would be interesting

The switch remake is so ugly. 🤢

You should have used any other version for this video.

But great video regardless.

This video is hilarious, because my first game will be based on DQ1 and when first mentioning classic games you show Wizardry, which is the inspiration of my first concept for a game

Great insight!

Wait so what happens if you die while cursed?

Nothing is outdated, everything is relevant.

im making a platformer rpg

I'm confident the cursed belt was created by those slimes. The way they look at you. It's like "that belt came out of by backhole, and not you have it on you. and you can't take it off."

i hate floating markers, but i also don't like the lack of guidance for certain quests like the belt mentioned. games that provide a skill or tech that provide short term/short distance visual guidance, an in game npc/resource that can be referenced for info, or dialogue changes from usually predictable npcs that are based on starting a side quests are the way to go imo.

>puts on cursed belt
>push reset button
>quest complete

Dragon Quest is such a well-designed, concise game that too many people underestimate. It does have its flaws that mainly boil down to the game being too simple for its own good, but its attention to detail and anti-frustration features are something even most modern RPGs could learn from.

I mostly agree and I'm making a SNES inspired JRPG because retro games are easier to make for one person. But it's also a trap to fall in, because when you copy such a game, your game will offer nothing new to the player. You will end up making a fun game but everyone has already played similar games for 100s of hours when you release. I'm not against it but remember to make it fresh.

Well on my way to make a DQ 1 clone to learn how to make JRPG then.

5 hours? That's a remake you talking about. Original one was impossoblyblong

might sound crazy but i would love to see from software remake the first dragon quest

I absolutely agree with your 1st and 2nd points here, especially 2nd point. Most people and new game devs don't understand or can empathize with how difficult completing an rpg is, and it's quite misleading to expect a solo game dev can pull off a triple A standard game, which needed medium to large teams with more hardware capacities. The 2nd point is essential for solo game devs, as time/energy/attention is limited, and if you want a high quality rpg game, high quality any game or any project you do have to lower expectations and consider niching down.

FF7 remake is not rpg its action adventure

Im playing that game now on iOS. Because it’s the 1st it’s a microcosm of all other DQ’s. It’s nicely done for how old it is. Gameplay 1st always!

That footage looked a lot like an RPG Maker game to me. Is Dragon Quest the model for RPG Maker?