It would not be an exaggeration to say that the late, greatAkira Toriyamaleft an indelible mark on the collective history of pop culture.
Not only did he give us the likes of Dragon Ball andChrono Trigger, but his character design work on theDragon Questseries has cemented it as one of the most beloved JRPG franchises of all time.
Dragon Quest: Every Mainline Game, Ranked
The Dragon Quest franchise has given us some of the best RPG titles, and here we have ranked every game from the series.
The monsters of Dragon Quest, in particular, exemplify some of Toriyama’s very best work.
From classic fantasy staples to the utterly bizarre, Toriyama’s monsters seamlessly combine whimsy and menace, with a pinch of wacky madness for good measure.
There have been hundreds of excellent monsters throughout the franchise, but these in particular really captured our hearts.
10Zombie Gladiator
You Wouldn’t Want To Meet This Thing
Some of the best Dragon Quest monsters have that innate cartoonish vibe the series is known for while still managing to be overtly threatening.
Take, for instance, the four-armed Zombie Gladiator. It’s undeniably goofy with its pig nose, sleepy eyes, and gaping maw.
However, its broad stature and four different weapons remind you that no matter how goofy it looks, it’s a real monster, and it’s gunning for you.
There’s a reason this thing makes appearances as minibosses in some Dragon Quest games: it’s a tough customer.
9Bongo Drongo
A Genie And His Toothy Drum
Some of Toriyama’s mysterious and magical characters have similar design points, such as wiggly antennae on top of their heads.
Dragon Ball’s Majin Buu is a good example of this, and we see it again with the otherworldly Bongo Drongo.
Originally introduced in Dragon Quest 11, this beefy genie-looking thing floats around with a massive, living wooden drum strapped to its tummy.
Outside of combat, you can sometimes see Bongo Drongos and their offshoots giving lively drumming performances to nearby monsters.
8Weartiger
Lethal Feety Pajamas
In Dungeons and Dragons, a Weretiger is a human who has been partially polymorphed into a humanoid tiger hybrid.
Dragon Quest’s Weartiger, however, is not that, at least not as far as we can tell.
A Weartiger is some manner of humanoid creature clad in tiger-striped feety pajamas.
Whether that’s an actual tiger pelt or just something this creature made for itself, we can’t say.
But real or fake, it fights with all the ferocity you’d expect from a tiger. Or a Weretiger, for that matter.
7Sham Hatwitch
A Warthog In A Witch Hat
Traditional JRPG monster design dictates that, if you want to take a normal creature and make it magical, there are a few ways you could do it.
This includes giving it wild, spiky hair or having its body crackle with magical energies.
The Sham Hatwitch, however, opts for a different concept: take a warthog and put a witch hat on it.
It’s rather brilliant in its simplicity, and no less magical than any other spellcaster you may encounter in a Dragon Quest game.
We do have to wonder who’s in charge here, though: the warthog or the hat.
A Surprisingly Thoughtful Design
The Golem is another mainstay of sword and sorcery settings.
Typically, a Golem is just an animated pile of nondescript stone or mud, raised from the ground.
Interestingly, though, Dragon Quest’s Golem is made up of a detailed arrangement of stone or metal bricks.
In addition to streamlining its design and making it look more macho and imposing, it also implies that someone laid those bricks.
As Golems are usually man-made, this is a novel way to portray their creation.
5Eggsoskeleton
Sunny Side Up
Besides designing characters and monsters, Toriyama also had a well-known penchant for creating fantastical machines and vehicles.
You can see a lot of this kind of work in productions like Chrono Trigger and Sand Land.
Dragon Quest: 10 Most Iconic Moments In The Franchise
The Dragon Quest franchise has showcased many epic moments over the years. This list covers the most iconic from throughout the franchise.
One concept that Toriyama seemed to return to a lot was thebipedal walking mech, which manifests in Dragon Quest as the Eggsoskeleton.
This mysterious egg-shaped mechanoid delivers powerful jumps and kicks with its spring-loaded legs.
As we learned in Dragon Quest 11, it can actually be hollowed out and used for convenient transportation.
4Dancing Devil
The Sweatpants Really Sell It
Old-school devils and demons show up in quite a few of Toriyama’s works, with red skin, horns, a tail, and so on.
This includes both big, imposing devils and little grunts. Dragon Quest’s Dancing Devil falls into the latter category.
These dancing fiends bounce and flounce around the field, constantly trying to drag opponents into their rhythm.
Fun fact, the original Japanese name for the Dancing Devil was “Bikkuri Satan,” or “Surprise Satan.”
Goodness knows if a random devil in sweatpants tried to get you to dance, it’d be pretty surprising.
3Killing Machine
Exactly What It Sounds Like
Toriyama was a big fan of theMobile Suit Gundam franchise, occasionally spoofing it in his manga and incorporating some of its concepts into his mechanical monsters.
you’re able to see one such similarity in Dragon Quest’s Killing Machine, which has a glowing red eye resembling those of the Zaku mobile suits.
Rather than guns and heat axes, though, the Killing Machine employs simpler weaponry, including a crossbow and a saber.
It’s still frighteningly efficient, though, bounding after prey with its four articulated legs.
The Original Gaming Mimic
The concept of living trapped chests,better known as Mimics, has been floating around fantasy fiction as far back as the 1970s.
However, the Mimic that really sold the idea in video games specifically was the Cannibox, originally introduced in Dragon Quest 3 in 1988.
Another simple, yet effective design, the Cannibox looks like any old treasure chest.
When you try to open it, though, the lid sprouts teeth, eyes open from within, and a giant tongue comes lolling out.
It’s the Cannibox that has given us a healthy skepticism of treasure chests in every JRPG since.
The Perfect Mascot
There’s a particular art tocreating a mascot. You need something that’s simple enough to easily reproduce, yet distinct enough to be recognizable at a glance.
The classic blue Slime, introduced all the way back in the original Dragon Quest, might just be one of the most perfect mascots ever devised.
Its bulbous, teardrop shape gives it a distinctive silhouette, and its buggy eyes and red smile are simple enough that even a child could draw them accurately.
Anyone who’s even passingly familiar with Dragon Quest can clock a Slime on sight, which makes it great for both advertising new games and creating all kinds of real-life promotional items.
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10 Best Dragon Quest Spinoff Games
Dragon Quest is a storied franchise with some great spinoff games. This list breaks down the best DQ spinoff games.
