Dragon Quest is considered by many to be a forefather of turn-based RPGs. In the decades since its initial release the game has seen several remakes, remasters, and adaptations. In that time there have been just as many efforts to translate Dragon Quest into English.
I'm a hobbyist translator and student of communication. I love to think about the process of creating art and expression, particularly within text-based mediums. And I have a bit of an affection for the Dragon Quest series.
Since each translation of Dragon Quest was developed by different teams, I wanted to explore the philosophies driving these translations, and maybe to figure out if any one has produced a perfect translation (spoilers: probably not).
In order to research this article I played through or watched let's play content of every mainline remake of Dragon Quest (sorry, no Builders this time!). I also spoke with the talented Nob Ogasawara about his experience translating Dragon Quest for the GBC (more on that throughout the article!).
I’ll be examining the original NES Dragon Warrior, SFC Dragon Quest, Gameboy Color Dragon Warrior, and modern (post-DQVIII) Dragon Quest. The article will mostly focus on comparing translation decisions made in each game and providing context with relevant Japanese Dragon Quest releases.
The journey ahead is quite long. Command?
| ▶ | Continue | Spell | |
| Run | Item |
Apologies to everyone who has been directed to this article and found a gallery of dead links m(_ _;)m
I have re-hosted the images. It may still only be temporary. Perhaps one day cohost will offer self-hosting systems for in-line images that doesn't involve having countless draft posts.
Thank you for your patience.
