One of the most revered and fabled JRPGs in history has just reached a major milestone. Square Enix has announced that the Dragon Quest franchise has now sold more than 88 million copies worldwide, and while that number isn’t quite as impressive as the company’s other well-known series, that’s still an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. It also speaks to the volume of the fan base, who turns out in droves every time they release a new entry, especially in Japan, who allegedly shuts down business whenever a new iteration launches.
Interestingly enough, the reveal came from Square Enix’s press release that highlighted Final Fantasy XVI reaching more than three million players since it launched just a few weeks ago. In fact, the company doesn’t even mention Dragon Quest until the very end in the “About Square Enix” section which is usually reserved for a quick tidbit on the company in general. Ironically, the reveal that 180 million copies of Final Fantasy also came in this little section, making it for a very interesting way to celebrate two massive milestones.
This might be hard to believe but the Dragon Quest franchise actually predates Final Fantasy be a little more than one year. Created by the legendary Yuji Horii, the very first entry released in 1986, and was revolutionary at the time. It introduced several features and mechanics that have become mainstays within the RPG and JRPG genre. The art style of the entire franchise is also done by Dragon Ball creator and manga legend Akira Toriyama. Toriyama contributes his playful and trademark art style to the series to this day. The company is currently working on the long-awaited Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, which just got a logo update earlier this year.