The Dragon Quest series is often considered one of the very first console RPGs, and it popularized the genre in Japan. The original game has been cited by some as one of the most influential role-playing games of all-time, as all RPGs that followed after the original game's release utilized its mechanics in some way. The core gameplay of the series has remained unchanged since its inception, and it's a testament to the series' great design and classic mechanics.
The Game Developers Conference will be hosted in San Francisco next month, and the conference has made a number of announcements heading into its event. Most notably, it has listed Dragon Quest creator, Yuji Horii, as the recipient of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. The Dragon Quest series has been around for decades, with the first game released in 1986.
Yuji Horii has been the lead designer on the Dragon Quest series from the beginning, and he has also lent his hand in writing some of the games' stories. While not as well-known here in the West until the wildly successful Dragon Quest 11, the series is one of the biggest role-playing franchises in Japan alongside Final Fantasy and the Tales series. Horii also helped write the scenario for the classic RPG Chrono Trigger, often cited as one of the best RPGs in video game history. As of 2021, the Dragon Quest series has sold over 83 million units worldwide.
Apart from Dragon Quest, Yuji Horii also wrote one of the first visual novels in video game history, Portopia Serial Murder Case, in 1983. This visual novel was an inspiration for multiple future video creators including Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, and Nintendo's head of the Zelda series, Eiji Aonuma. With all of these achievements on his resume, Horii's selection for the Lifetime Achievement Award is well-earned. He joins other influential video game creators like Will Wright, Todd Howard, Warren Spector, as well as fellow Japanese developers like Shigeru Miyamoto, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Gunpei Yokoi.
Yuji Horii's work on the Dragon Quest series continues to this day, and he has already been listed as a scenario writer and lead designer on the upcoming Dragon Quest 12. This iteration will be the last time he will be credited alongside longtime collaborator Koichi Sugiyama, after Sugiyama's passing in 2021.
While it has yet to be seen if Dragon Quest's popularity in the West will continue past Dragon Quest 11, it has been helped along by the inclusion of Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. One thing is for sure: the man behind the origins of the modern RPG deserves the credit that is being given to him.
Source: GDC
