Dragon Quest (videogame)/Characters

This is a compilation of all of the characters that are associated with Dragon Quest.

The Hero
Alef, the Hero 「勇者」(Brave in Japanese) and named Alef (the Brave)「アレフ」 in Japanese, is the protagonist 「主人公」 of the first game in the Dragon Quest series, Dragon Quest. He is 15 years old and he was born in Damdara. His appearance is depicted as wearing a visored helmet with bull-like horns on either side. His armour is blue. He is a descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick, who has set out to defeat the Dragonlord who brought darkness to the land of Alefgard. According to the back of the MSX version package, he is not only a descendant, but also a reincarnation of Erdrick. His parents are completely unknown, and other than his origins as a descendant of Erdrick, he is a man full of mysteries. As he travels alone, he can equip all of the weapons and armour that appear in the game. It's hard to say how good or bad he is because there is no one to compare him to in the game as he is a solo party member. In the novel version of DQ1 titled Novel Dragon Quest, while his village, Damdara, was being destroyed by dragons, he was transported to a rocky mountain near Tantegel using Chimeara Wings, which were brought to him by the great spirit Rubiss. His name, which was given to him by his parents, means "wind" or "earth" in the ancient Alefgardian language. In the novel, he is accompanied by his comrade Garcilla.

King Lorik XVI
King Lorik XVI, named King Lars XVI 「ラルス16世」 in Japanese, is the current king of Tantegel, who has ruled the land of Alefgard for generations. He is the father of Princess Gwaelin and his wife, the queen, is deceased. According to the official guidebook of DQ3, he is a descendant of King Lorik I, who appears in DQ3. In the official illustration, he is portrayed as a dignified figure with a large body, a magnificent beard, a crown, a tin staff and has a stern face. In the past, after the success of the heroic Erdrick, the world had been at peace for a long time, but unfortunately, during his reign, the existence of a threat to the world again, the Dragonlord, emerged. His beloved daughter, Gwaelin, was kidnapped by demons, and he says he is too old to fight, but if he were younger, perhaps he would have been willing to go to fight himself similar to kings in medieval European history. According to a soldier, he is a person who doesn't show his feelings very much. In the DQ1 novel, Novel Dragon Quest, he recognizes Alef, the hero who is chosen by the Sunstone, as a descendant of Erdrick, and gives him a treasured sword and gold. The amount is at least 5000 gold, which is very different from the game. His wife, the queen, was killed by a Dark Skeleton that tried to kill Princess Gwaelin when she was seven days old. He was separated from Gwaelin after she was kidnapped. It is said that the Dragonlord appeared in 1348 of the Alefgardian calendar during the reign of his ancestor, Lorik VIII, but the reign of Lorik XVI was about 200 years after the reign of Lorik VIII, which means that the average reign of the kings from VIII to XVI was about 25 years. However, the reign of Lorik I and the year of Zoma's appearance was 823 A.D., so the average reign of a king between the 1st and 8th reigns was almost 80 years, but there is no explanation for the difference length of reigns.

Princess Gwaelin
Princess Gwaelin, named Princess Lora 「ローラ姫」 in Japanese and in the English Game Boy Color version, is a princess and heroine from the first Dragon Quest. She is the only daughter of King Lorik XVI, the princess of Tantegel. She is also the ancestor of the descendants of Erdrick in DQ2. About six months before the Hero begins his journey, she was taken away from Tantegel Castle by the minions of the Dragonlord and trapped in Quagmire Cave south of Kol. Her first illustration which appeared in magazine adverts showed her in a white dress and with purple hair, despite her in-game appearance showing her with brown hair. In the novel version of DQ1, Novel Dragon Quest, she was attacked on the seventh night after she was born, and her nanny ran away with her, but when the soldiers caught up with her, Gwaelin escaped, leaving her nanny behind. She was sent to a couple of innkeepers in Galenholm, who named her Cecil and raised her as their own daughter. At the age of 15, Alef, a boy with the blood of Erdrick, comes to Galenholm and the two meet. In the short time they are together, they grow fond of each other, but Alef leaves the town to fight the Dragonlord. The next time Alef visits Galenholm, the inn is attacked by the Dragonlord's minions, Gwaelin's adoptive parents are killed and she is kidnapped.

Dragonlord
The Dragonlord, the Dragon King 「竜王」or 「りゅうおう」 in Japanese, is the final boss of the first Dragon Quest game. He is the chief of the Dragon Clan and resides in the Dragonlord's Castle on an island, where he plans to conquer Alefgard. He also has two forms: in his first form, he wears a purple dressing gown, wields a staff and has a pendant, and looks like a mage. He has a distinctive head that stretches out from side to side, perhaps inspired by dragon horns. It is unclear whether this is a headgear, a hairstyle, or somehing similar. But in his second form, he is a large purple dragon. He is the one who stole the Sphere of Light and sent Alefgard into a state of peril. King Lorik tells the Hero that the Dragonlord is the devil incarnate. According to the inhabitants of Cantlin, his claws can tear through iron, and the flames he spits out can melt rocks. The first form does not breathe fire, suggesting that there was a fierce warrior somewhere in the world who tried hunting down the Dragonlord in his second form.

Erdrick
Erdrick, Loto or Roto「ロト」 in Japanese, is the title of the legendary Hero who once saved the world in Dragon Quest III. He is an ancestor of the Hero from the first Dragon Quest and does not make a physical appearance in the game, despite there being a lot of references to him. There is Erdrick's Cave located to the north-west of Tantegel Castle that is named after Erdrick that houses a stone tablet that has a message from Erdrick written on it, although it was not written by Erdrick himself. There are several items that contain the title Erdrick too, such as Erdrick's Sword and Erdrick's Armour, which are powerful pieces of equipment that have been passed down the ancestory of Erdrick for generations. There is also the Mark of Erdrick which is used to prove that its bearer has the blood of Erdrick. As well as King Lorik, there are several sages and other NPCs who discuss the title Erdrick, Erdrick himself and even check the Hero for proof — the Mark of Erdrick — that he is Erdrick's descendant.

Rubiss
The Great Spirit Rubiss, The Spirit Rubiss「精霊ルビス」 in Japanese, is the Goddess in first Dragon Quest. She is not mentioned in the original version of DQ1, but she was introduced in Dragon Quest III and she is mentioned in the DQ1 remakes by two Sages: one in Sanctum and the other in Cantlin. In the Satellaview version of DQ1, BS Dragon Quest, Rubiss appears disguised as an old woman. During the broadcast, Rubiss awakens the power of Erdrick and gives blessings to the Hero such as Critical Hits in battle and full recovery of HP and MP. In the ending of this version, the old man reveals themselves as Rubiss and calls herself "The One Who Travels Through Time". This event varies depending on the game's ending. In the novel version, Novel Dragon Quest, she is called "Rubiss the Spirit Goddess", but only her name appears. A white bird, said to be her messenger, appeared and gave the Chimaera Wings to Manuel, a clown from Kol, telling him to give them to the baby born in Damdara. In addition, the sage who delivered a map to Damdara was told to do so by a spririt, and the sage who delivered the Dieamend was told to do so by the god Mithras. It's unclear if there was a reason for the division of responsibilities between the deities, or if the deities simply didn't cooperate with each other.

Minor Characters
A list of the minor characters that appear in or are associated with Dragon Quest.
 * Galen, previously localised as Garin and named Garai 「ガライ」 in Japanese, is the deceased founder of the Galenholm and is buried in Galen's Grave.
 * Magog, previously localised as Wynn and Yukinov and named Yukinov 「ゆきのふ」 in Japanese, was the former owner of an equipment store in Damdara. He himself seems to have died, but his own grandchildren and the grandchildren of his friends have told him stories about him.
 * Old Man of Tantegel Castle, 「ラダトーム城の老人」 in Japanese, is a nameless NPC who can be located in the southwest on the ground floor in Tantegel Castle. He stays in the same position and restores the MP of the Hero when the Hero talks to him.
 * Nester, Kim Kou 「キムこう」 in Japanese, is a character that appears in Cantlin and only appears in the EFC, NES, MSX & MSX2 versions of DQ1. He was called Nester as a reference to a Nintendo Power comic called Howard & Nester. In Japanese, his real name is Hatsu Kimura, and he is a member of Jump's NES Shinken gaming section.
 * Howard, Yoshirim 「よしりーん」 in Japanese, is an old man who lives in an inn in Rimuldar. He only appears in the EFC, NES, MSX & MSX2 versions of DQ1 and was replaced by Roderick in remakes. He was called Howard as a reference to a Nintendo Power comic called Howard & Nester. In Japanese, it is unknown who he is named after, but it is assumed to be Koji Yoshida (who worked also on DQ2) with the nickname "YOSHILIM".
 * Miyaou, 「みやおう」 in Japanese and an unnamed character in the English version, is a warrior in Galenholm who, along with Yuutei, is looking for Nester. His true identity is that of King Miya (real name: Hiroshi Miyaoka), a member of Jump's "NES Shinken" video game article section.
 * Yuutei, 「ゆうてい」 in Japanese and an unnamed character in the English version, is a warrior in Kol who, along with Miyaou, is looking for Nester. He is named after Yuji Horii, the creator of Dragon Quest.
 * Orwick, Chun 「ちゅん」 in Japanese, is a man in Rimuldar. He is trying to find his girlfriend in the north-east of Rimuldar, but she's waiting for him in the south-west, opposite to him. While he does not serve any story purpose, he exists to help newcomers to RPGs know that they can walk in outside areas of towns. He is replaced by Roderick in the remakes.
 * Clare, previously localised as Cleo and named Clare「クレア」 in Japanese, is a woman who lives in the village of Kol. She seems to have been left behind by her husband, who told her that he is going to find a Magic Key. Her husband is in the town of Rimuldar, and he can't find the key after all and is running out of money to travel back to the village.
 * Enid, previously localised as Nina and named Nana「ナナ」 in Japanese, is a woman in Rimuldar. She is waiting for Roderick, her boyfriend, in the northeast of the town. But her careless boyfriend is waiting for her at the opposite end of town. This is a replacement of Orwick and his girlfriend, and this time the boyfriend and girlfriend have swapped places.
 * Roderick, previously localised as Rogo and named Rocco「ロッコ」 in Japanese, is a man in Rimuldar who seems to be from Kol. He is waiting for his girlfriend Enid in the southwest of the city, but she's waiting for him in the northeast. As well as replacing Orwick from the original version, he also takes on the role of Howard from the original version too. He also has a lot more personality than both of the characters he replaced.
 * Mahetta, named Mtskheta 「ムツヘタ」 in Japanese, is the name of the prophet who appears only in the Famicom version of the instruction manual. "One day, a descendant of the valiant Erdrick shall come forth to defeat the Dragonlord," he prophesises. However, this prophet does not appear at all in the main game. He does appear in Dragon Quest Builders, though.
 * Aura, translated from 「アウラ」 in Japanese, is a God of light mentioned in the instruction manual of Famicom version of DQ1 and DQ2. She seems to be a very important person, but she doesn't appear in the game at all, nor is she mentioned.