can i play this as my first Dragon Quest game?

[BooQueefius]

title, during the pandemic i got into the Yakuza games with like a dragon and was looking at this and look really fun but do i have to play the other 10 games first to understand wtf will be going on ty ty

[Koby]

Yes it's perfectly fine to play this as your first.

[BooQueefius]

Originally posted by Koby:

Yes it's perfectly fine to play this as your first.

Thanks

[ShockedHearts]

yes. it can be nice to play the first 3 before hand but not important. this game has references to all the previous games but is a stand alone title :)

[ehs03y3ol]

This game justifies the 'origin' of all the stories from other Dragon Quest series. So if you want to follow chronologically (that you don't need to do it for any of the games of DQ series), this game is the best way to start.

[copperzinc]

Originally posted by ehs03y3ol:

This game justifies the 'origin' of all the stories from other Dragon Quest series. So if you want to follow chronologically (that you don't need to do it for any of the games of DQ series), this game is the best way to start.

Yes this.
Maybe a better title would be "Dragon Quest: Origins". :P

[HisShadowX]

Originally posted by BooQueefius:

title, during the pandemic i got into the Yakuza games with like a dragon and was looking at this and look really fun but do i have to play the other 10 games first to understand wtf will be going on ty ty

Like a Dragon was an AWESOME game! I felt like I was playing Persona 5. I played this on my Switch for years and yes this is a great game. If you like Like a Dragon get Persona 5 Royal Edition

[Arsene Lupin]

There are very, very few game series out there that 'require' you to play play prior games to understand/appreciate what they're doing. Like... any game that doesn't stand well enough on its own isn't gonna be worth playing in the first place.

[Chummy 8]

Like a Dragon is pretty much Yakuza: Dragon Quest. If you liked that game, you'll love DQ11.

DQ11 was also my first DQ and I loved it.

[Sir Czexican]

Yes.
As far as I know every mainline Dragon Quest game is a standalone game like the Final Fantasy or Zelda games.

[Koby]

Originally posted by Jura Dumas:

Yes.
As far as I know every mainline Dragon Quest game is a standalone game like the Final Fantasy or Zelda games.

Well they're all certainly playable without playing others... but I wouldn't say they're all completely standalone like FF.

DQ 1-3 tell a story together and is considered a trilogy of it's own: https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Erdrick_trilogy

DQ 4-6 is also another trilogy: https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Zenithia_trilogy

[Legato Bluesummers]

The references are extremely vague though, it's not like there's is a direct continuity between any of them including ones we know are set in the same universe. DQ can be played in any order. 3 and 5 are considered two of the best 2D games, 8 and 11 are very similar in presentation and tone. 7 and 9 are longer and grindier but offer a lot more customization and hardcore fans tend to choose these as their favorites. I think all of them are good except 10 which I've never played. Hopefully we get the offline version of 10 in the west since it was an MMO (still going apparently).

[ehs03y3ol]

Care, Dragon Quest has a big relation between world, universes and spinoffs. But not big references between them. You might enjoy better understanding them fully. But there's no need for. Still I insist, that DQXI is the best way to start on it.

[Diliskar]

Honestly, I feel like this is a good one to start with as your first DQ game.
Partly bcs its, in my opinion, a bit "easier" compared to the old NDS ones for example.
A bit because the game overall guides you more, theres less you need to explore, as the game guides you to locations already. (Old games you had to look through varies of towns yourself to get to next location / story part etc).
On the other hand, it also offers the better looking 3D graphics incase youre no fan of the old graphics (even tho 2D mode will always be best)

[0wnz0r]

this series is like final fantasy. theres more connection... unlike final fantasy, its always the same world i think. theres a lotta cool references for series fans... but u dont need to ever play any other game to enjoy any single game in this series.

its my first DQ, n im in love. highly recommend, its a great place to jump into this franchise n it mite even make u wanna play older games.

i always knew about this franchise n was sorta familiar... but now that i finally jumped in to play, i wanna check out older games. especially 8, that game seems universally loved, n i still got a 3ds.

[Arsene Lupin]

Originally posted by 0wnz0r:

unlike final fantasy, its always the same world i think.... but now that i finally jumped in to play, i wanna check out older games. especially 8, that game seems universally loved, n i still got a 3ds.

Nah, just like Final Fantasy, every game has a different setting, but there are occasional exceptions. But basically after the first three games, every entry is totally separate (geographically) from the others.

Anyway, definitely take advantage of that 3DS! Dragon Quest VIII is fantastic, but also try and grab the NDS games if you can.