Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest, titled Dragon Warrior when initially localized to North America, is a 1986 role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released in Japan in May 1986 and by Nintendo in North America in August 1989. It is the first game in the Dragon Quest video game series. Dragon Quest has been ported and remade for several video game platforms. As of 2019, it has been ported to MSX, MSX2, PC-9801, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, mobile phones, and Nintendo Switch. The player controls the hero character who is charged with saving the Kingdom of Alefgard and rescuing its princess from the evil Dragonlord. Dragon Quest's story became the second part in a trilogy, with several spinoff anime and manga series.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1986
- Developer
- Chunsoft
- Platforms
- 5 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 1 January 1986 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Chunsoft |
| Publisher | Enix, Square Enix |
| Platforms | Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Steam Deck |
| Genres | Role-Playing |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q2313869, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Dragon Quest? How long to beat it
Total play time for Dragon Quest is about 11 hours to do everything, and around 9.1 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 9.1h | 374 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 10.3h | 214 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 11h | 199 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Dragon Quest sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Dragon Quest lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 38ahead of 2% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 43ahead of 83% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Dragon Quest
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Dragon Quest appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Dragon Quest qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Dragon Quest
What platforms is Dragon Quest on?
Dragon Quest is available on Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Steam Deck. It first released in 1986.
Who made Dragon Quest?
Dragon Quest was developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix, Square Enix.
How long does it take to beat Dragon Quest?
about 9.1 hours for the main story, 10.3 hours with the main extras, 11 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.