Why is Dragon Quest Not Popular in the West?

by B.J. Keeton | Dragon Quest FM, Video Games

There are a lot of reasons why the Dragon Quest series hasn’t really become popular in the West. In this week’s episode, we dive into a few of the reasons that this fantastic and influential JRPG series never made the splash that other franchises like Final Fantasy did.

Maybe it was the lateness of the original localization. After all, Nintendo did have publishing issues and ended up giving away free copies with Nintendo Power subscriptions. Was it the art for the original games that made gamers dissociate the Toriyama-style game art from the Dungeons & Dragons-style boxes?

Heck, even the timing of DQ games in relation to the life-cycle of the consoles played a big part. DQXI is one of the few DQ games that released mid-life-cycle, and it took off like wildfire! (At least for a DQ game.)

We discuss all this and more in this episode of Dragon Quest FM. Give it a listen, and let us know your opinions on why Dragon Quest isn’t popular in the West!

Listen, Stream, or Subscribe! to DQFM

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts

B.J. Keeton

B.J. is a geek, gamer, podcaster, and livestreamer. He has been the co-host of the Geek to Geek podcast since 2016, and he helped start the Geek to Geek Media Network. His biggest pet peeve is when someone spells Wookiee with only one E. One time, he told his friends he liked vegetables maybe more than he did Star Wars, and they made him put a dollar in the jar. That should tell you everything you need to know about him. Find him on Twitter as @professorbeej or on Discord as @professorbeej#1337.