DRAGON QUEST: Eternal Legacy Collection

DRAGON QUEST: Eternal Legacy Collection

DRAGON QUEST

The one that started it all! You’re the descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick, and it’s up to you to save the kingdom of Alefgard from the evil Dragonlord. Simple, right? For its time, this game was groundbreaking, introducing turn based combat and an open world to explore at your own pace. But let’s be real, it’s barebones by today’s standards. Grinding is a must, the world feels small, and good luck figuring out where to go without a guide.

DRAGON QUEST II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line

The second entry expands everything: three party members, a bigger world, and more story. You play as the descendants of the first hero, teaming up to take down the wicked Hargon. The scope is ambitious, but man, it's unbalanced. The difficulty spikes are brutal, and the final dungeon is a nightmare without a map. Still, the sense of adventure is stronger here, and the multiple characters add much-needed depth. It’s a flawed but important step forward for the series.

But hold up, these aren't the crusty NES versions you might expect. Instead, I'm delivering the SNES remakes. Why? Because they're massive upgrades: The first game got a full visual overhaul with way prettier spritework, a proper battery save with no more password nonsense, and rebalanced EXP curves so grinding doesn't feel like torture. The SNES version also adds the iconic Pachisi Track minigame, while the sequel fixes the original's brutal late game difficulty, enemy stats are tweaked, and the infamous "you can get softlocked if you don’t grind enough" issue is gone. Plus, it adds a new intro cutscene and QoL stuff like quicker menus.

DRAGON QUEST III: The Seeds of Salvation

Now we’re talking! DRAGON QUEST III is where the series truly found its footing. You create your own party of adventurers (hello, class system!) and embark on a globe trotting quest to defeat the dark fiend Baramos. The job system is fantastic, the world is huge, and the twist connecting it to the first two games is legendary. This one still holds up today, and many fans consider it the best of the Erdrick trilogy.

The SNES remake of Dragon Quest III was already a huge upgrade over the NES original: better graphics, an orchestrated soundtrack, the Pachisi Track minigame, and QoL improvements like faster battles. This collection uses Rod Mérida’s 2021 bugfix patch, which fixes game breaking glitches that could corrupt saves or make items vanish from your bag, restores missing ending narration (two whole paragraphs that were lost in prior translations), cleans up typos and text errors, and makes the Crown Jewel scenario actually make sense since the original translations had some confusing dialogue. Basically, this is the most stable, complete, and polished English version of the SNES DRAGON QUEST III ever released.

BUGFIXES PATCH
Released	2021
Updated	2022
Author	Rod Mérida

DRAGON QUEST IV: Chapters of the Chosen

DRAGON QUEST IV shakes things up with a unique storytelling approach: you play through separate chapters focusing on different characters before they all unite in the final act. It’s like an RPG anthology, and it works surprisingly well. The AI controlled party members in the original version are… questionable (thankfully, the remake fix this), but the charm and variety make up for it. Psaro the Manslayer is also one of the best villains in the series. A true classic. The remake usually had party chat (character banter) cut from the Western release, but here, it’s fully translated and included. Also, the AI party members from the NES version are optional now.

DRAGON QUEST V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

DRAGON QUEST V is a masterpiece. You follow the hero’s entire life, from childhood to adulthood, and even get to choose your wife. The monster recruitment system is a blast, and the story is one of the most emotional in the series. It’s a rollercoaster of highs and lows, and it proves that this series isn’t just about saving the world, it’s about personal journeys too. The remake adds the Bianca’s Wedding Dress sidequest and tweaks monster recruitment rates to be less brutal. The PS2 version’s 3D models? Nah, this keeps the charming DS spritework.

DRAGON QUEST VI: Realms of Revelation

DRAGON QUEST VI is a mixed bag. The dual world mechanic is cool, but the pacing is all over the place. One minute you’re cruising along, the next you’re lost with no clue what to do. The class system returns from DRAGON QUEST III, but it feels less polished here. Still, the characters are great, and the dream world vs. real world twist is neat. It’s not the best, but it’s got its moments. Also, the remake fixes the infamous job leveling slowdown glitch from the original version and rebalances the final boss. Also, the Dream World map is clearer, so no more getting lost for hours!

DRAGON QUEST VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

This one’s a beast, like, 100+ hours long. DRAGON QUEST VII is slow as fuck at the start, but if you stick with it, you’re rewarded with an epic time traveling adventure where you restore lost islands piece by piece. The vignette style storytelling is hit or miss, but the job system is deep, and the payoff is worth it. Just… maybe keep a walkthrough handy.

The 3DS remake is already a huge upgrade with faster pacing and better graphics, but I’ve readded the PS1 soundtrack as an option because that orchestral score slaps. Also, the shard hunting tablet dungeons are now less cryptic. Thank you, in game hints!

DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

This is the first DRAGON QUEST in real 3D. The celshaded graphics still look gorgeous, the voice acting is solid, and the open world feels alive. The story is straightforward but engaging, and the combat is peak classic DRAGON QUEST. Plus, Morrie’s Monster Arena is stupidly addictive. This is many fans’ favorite for a reason, it’s just that good.

Also, the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VIII was already the best way to play this masterpiece, but in this collection, I’ve gone a step further by integrating two essential fan patches that fix its biggest flaws and restore what should’ve been there from the start. Thanks to my friend Aqua Tuba!

The restoration patch brings back what was lost, this version had some censorship in the West, Jessica’s magic bikini armor was altered, the bunny suit and dancer outfits were toned down. This patch fully reverses those changes, bringing back the original designs with even small details, like the dancer’s skirt physics and high tension animations, have been tweaked to match the PS2 version. Also, some NPCs had minor visual changes in localization, this patch ensures everything looks as intended.

Also, this version replaced the PS2’s lush orchestral soundtrack with synthesized MIDI tracks, likely due to file size limits. This patch restores the full orchestral score, making battles, cutscenes, and overworld exploration sound way more epic.

DRAGON QUEST IX: Sentinels of Starry Skies

DRAGON QUEST IX went full on multiplayer, letting you team up with friends for dungeon crawling. The class system is fantastic, and the loot driven gameplay makes it super replayable. The story is lighter than usual, but the postgame content is insane. A must-play if you love customization and coop, even if the online is long dead.  

DRAGON QUEST X: Awakening of the Five Tribes

Ah, the MMORPG. Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: Yes, DRAGON QUEST X is included in this collection, but no, you can’t play it right now. When I set out to make the Eternal Legacy Collection, I wanted every mainline game in this series represented, and that includes this MMO. The problem? The 3DS servers officially shut down last year, and while the fanrun Pretendo Network is working on restoring online functionality for legacy games, DRAGON QUEST X isn’t supported yet.  

What this means for you is that the game is fully downloadable in this collection, but with no real gameplay at all. I designed this colection to preserve these games forever, so I included it for archival purposes, even if it’s currently in a dormant state. I know it’s a bummer to include a game you can’t play but trust me, I wish I just could do something about it and make it work. If Pretendo ever gets DRAGON QUEST X working, I’ll push an update on this immediately.

DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age 

The latest mainline entry, in this collection at least, this is a love letter to the series, with callbacks to past games, gorgeous visuals even if they're chibi compared to its other releases, and a story that balances epic stakes with heartfelt moments. But here's the bitter thing: it’s Japanese-only. A dedicated guy was working on an English patch, but progress has stalled indefinitely. If the fanproject ever revives, I’ll update immediately once again. Until then, think of this as a museum piece: flawed, fascinating, and full of untapped potential.