Dragon Quest (videogame)/Locations

This is a compilation of locations that appear in Dragon Quest.

Tantegel
Tantegel, named Radatome 「ラダトーム」 in Japanese, is the starting point of Dragon Quest. It is made up of a castle and a town and is located in the middle of Alefgard, on the waterfront of a large inland sea. This is the castle capital that rules Alefgard and is also the home of the famous Princess Gwaelin. The royal family that has ruled this castle for generations is said to have the whole of Alefgard under their control. The castle is often threatened by invading monsters, as the Dragonlord's Castle is just a stone's throw away across the strait. Nearby the castle is a lively castle town that accompanies Tantegel Castle. There is a weapon and armour shop, an item shop, an inn, an old man who can lift curses, and a holy water shop which requires a key. The protagonist was adopted and raised by a blacksmith and his wife who live in this town. When Dragon Warrior was created, the town was named Brecconary but was eventually paired with the castle and named Tantegel in later versions.

Rimuldar
Rimuldar, with the same name 「リムルダール」 in Japanese, is a town situated in middle of a lake on an island called Rimuldar Island and is located in the southeast continent of Alefgard. It can be reached by going south through Quagmire Cave. This is one of only three locksmith shops in the DQ1 world. There is no item shop and in fact, the inhabitants don't even know what an "item shop" is. But there is a puff-puff girl in the inn, and you can get her to do it for you if you pay 100 gold. The town is a sister city to Beran from Dragon Quest II because of the similarities in topography.

Galenholm
Galenholm, previously localised as Garinham in Dragon Warrior and named Garai's Town 「ガライの町」 in Japanese, is a town located in the northwest of Alefgard. The town was founded by a bard named Galen after he arrived at this place after a long journey and founded the town. This is the first town you will visit after leaving Tantegel. The town was once devastated by a demon that was disguised as a traveler, and as a result, the town is cold towards strangers. It is the first town that the main character Alef arrives in after setting off on his journey, and, in the DQ1 novel, he meets a beautiful girl with flaxen hair called Cecile 「セシール」 (Princess Gwaelin) at the inn.

Kol
Kol, previously localised as Same and named Maira 「マイラ」 in Japanese. It is a village surrounded by forest (Kol's Forest) located in the northeat of Alefgard. It has already disappeared by the time of DQ2 and Caravan Heart. This is the original hot spring village in the Dragon Quest series. The quality, temperature and volume of the springs are unknown, but they are said to be good for rheumatism. According to the Super Famicom DQ1 and DQ2 Official Guidebook, in the past, fairies lived deep in the forest and played flutes to bring happiness to the village people.

Damdara
Damdara, previously localised as Hauksness and named Domdora 「ドムドーラ」 in Japanese, is a desert town located in the southwest. The name of this desert area is "Damdara Desert" in the FC version of DQ1's "Instruction Manual". Originally a grassland town, it was turned into a desert by a natural disaster 200 years ago when the Dragonlord appeared. The town was also the birthplace of the hero Alef 15 years ago, but was destroyed by a dragon army led by a demon knight who came to kill him.

Cantlin
Cantlin, previously localised as Mercado and Melchidor and named Melkid 「メルキド」 in Japanese, is a fortified city located in the southern central region of Alefgard. This is an invincible fortress surrounded by a strong castle and guarded by a Golem. For some reason, the Golem attacks not only the monsters but also the protagonist, so if you try to enter the town, you will be forced to encounter it before. It was originally built as a castle, but is now set up as a town. The inn has been turned into a luxurious hotel, and the mayor is staying in a suite, but the manager kicks him out, saying "He doesn't save the world at all, unlike the heroes", and lets the hero stay there instead. In the novel, it used to be the largest commercial city in Alefgard. Its specialties are mushroom soup and steamed black chicken with garlic.

Craggy Cave
Craggy Cave, previously localised as Rocky Cave and named Rocky Mountain Cave 「岩山の洞窟」 in Japanese, is located north of Damdara and is a simple dungeon with two levels. It is a dungeon that is not required to clear but you can get a cursed item from inside. For the former reason, it is often forgotten, and there is no mention of it in the dialogue of the townspeople. In later versions, one of the items found in the cave becomes an important item and is guarded by a sorcerer.

Erdrick's Cave
Erdrick's Cave, localised as Loto's Cave 「ロトの洞窟」 in the GBC version and also named this in Japanese, is a dungeon that is located northwest of Tantegel. Although it is a multi-layered dungeon, there are no monster encounters. The official guidebook says that this is a tutorial dungeon that teaches players how to use the torch. In addition, the same book explains why there are no monsters here: "Is Erdrick's holy power at work ......?" which explains why there are no monsters in the cave. Inside there is a stone tablet with the some text on it, but it is not written by Erdrick. The tablet can be obtained as an item, however it has no use. In the novel version, in ancient Mithraic cuneiform, the words of Erdrick, based on the prophecy of the spirit Rubiss, are inscribed on the walls. The ghost of Galen appears here and provides information.

Quagmire Cave
Quarmire Cave, previously localised as Swamp Cave and still named Swamp Cave 「沼地の洞窟」 in Japanese, is a cave that connects the regions of Kol and Rimuldar at the bottom of the sea. It is a strait tunnel. It was dug when Alefgard was ruled by Zoma, a demon king of a bygone era, and it eventually became more efficient to cross the sea by ship, so it was abandoned. At first, the entrance is blocked by a rock and you can't get in. But if you have the Warrior's Ring, the rock blocking the entrance will disappear and passage will be granted.

Sanctum
The Sanctum, previously localised as Sacred Shrine and named Holy Shrine 「聖なるほこら」 in Japanese, is a shrine located in the southeast of Alefgard. There is a Priest who is waiting for a true hero to come. It appears as an uninhabited limestone cave. By placing the Sunstone and the Staff of Rain on the stone slab, on which the name of Rubiss is written, the Rainbow Drop appears. It is a sacred place that keeps evil away, and is the only place in Alefgard that where flowers and apples still grow. In the novel version, the main character Alef leaves Princess Gwaelin here, who was accompanying him, and heads for the final battle.

Dragonlord's Castle
The Dragonlord's Castle, previously localised as Charlock Castle and named the Dragon King's Castle 「竜王の城」 in Japanese, is the residence of Dragonlord and the final dungeon in DQ1. It is surrounded by a poisonous swamp, and in the SFC remake it is built on a hill & remains on a hill in later versions. You can see it from Tantegel right after the start of the game, but it's an isolated island and there are no ships in DQ1, so you'll have to travel a long way to get there. There was originally a temple of Rubiss on the site of the Dragonlord's Castle, and after it collapsed, it became the Dragonlord's Castle. Before that, Zoma's castle was built there, so it's not clear why he would build a temple in such a place. In the novel version of DQ1, the underground palace is described as having a moat filled with lava instead of water, and the defeated Dragonlord fell into the lava with the Erdrick's Sword stuck in him.