How long it takes to beat all Mainline Dragon Quest games

Important takeaways

• Dragon Quest titles range from 9 to 123 hours to complete, with additional side content in each.
• Longer gameplay due to factors such as exploration, party system and world maps.
• Mainline Dragon Quest games offer unique features and engaging stories that demand time investment.

Dragon Quest is one of the most, if not the most, influential JRPG franchise in history. The mainline series has passed double digits and many spin-offs span wildly different genres.

The main series of games use familiar JRPG mechanics, so it's no surprise that these can take weeks, or over a month, of players' time to accomplish everything there is to do. However, some of the previous titles can be completed in their entirety in a single day.

The following times are courtesy of HowLongToBeat and refer to the completion of the main story.

1 Dragon Quest

9 hours

Players looking to beat the first game in this iconic series can expect it to take them an average of 9 hours to get through the main story. But like every other game in the franchise, there's more to it than just finishing the main story.

While not a huge jump in time, the game gives players an extra hour or two with minimal side content. This can include playing optional dungeons, interacting with all NPCs, and collecting all in-game items.

2 Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries Of The Legendary Line

16.5 hours

The second game sees a significant jump in time, from 9 hours to 16.5 average completion time. This is also considered one of the most difficult Dragon Quest games to play, which may be a contributing factor to such hope. Another factor is that the world map is larger than that of the first game and would introduce a ship.

Having a ship has been in all the main lines Dragon Quest the game since it was introduced Dragon Quest 2and helps add a new level of depth to exploring maps. When fans combine all of these factors, it's easy to see why this title might take longer. However, players still only have 1 to 2 hours of extra content to explore outside of the main story.

3 Dragon Quest 3: Seeds of Salvation

28 hours

Many fans of Dragon Quest franchise has “that game” that holds a special place in their hearts. One of the more popular choices is Dragon Quest 3which is part of the Erdrick Trilogy. The game would allow for a customizable party system, allowing players to explore many party compositions of varying strength.

The game would once again introduce a larger world map, encourage exploration by going off-path, and add more side quests. This also increases the time it takes to clear all the extra content by about 5 extra hours.

4 Dragon Quest 4: Chapters Of The Chosen

27 hours

The fourth entry is actually a bit shorter than the third, and this can be credited for making the story much easier to follow. While the third game wanted players to go off and explore, Dragon Quest 4 gave players a much more structured story. If the game had taken the same approach as Dragon Quest 3players could have received a significant spike in completion time.

Dragon Quest 4 contains quite a lot of extra material, with players needing around 43 hours to complete everything there is to do throughout the game. This may not be double the amount of time it takes to complete the story, but it's still a significant increase.

5 Dragon Quest 5: Hand Of The Heavenly Bride

30.5 hours

Another one of the most loved posts of all Dragon Quest is Dragon Quest 5. This game is hailed by many fans as the best in the franchise and it is Dragon Quest which introduced the concept of monsters joining your party. This is seen by many as the precursor to the monster taming subgenre of games.

The story is a complete masterpiece, telling a multi-generational story that takes players through almost the entire life of the main character. Players will also choose who they want to be their spouse, and this can effectively add replay value to alternative outcomes. Even without replaying the game, completing side content can push players to a 49.5 hour game.

6 Dragon Quest 6: Realms Of Revelation

40.5 hours

• Developer: Heartbeat
• Platforms: Super Famicom, Nintendo DS, iOS, Android
• Drop: 9 December 1995

Dragon Quest 6 added a dual world system and one of the biggest focuses on exploration the franchise has seen, pushing the time by 10 hours compared to its predecessor. There are tons of cities to visit, dungeons to complete and encourages grinding to max out professions.

Just like others Dragon Quest game, players will have plenty of extras to do but will also encounter puzzles that are a cut above any of the previous games. This adds approximately 26.5 additional hours of content for players to complete.

7 Dragon Quest 7: Fragments Of The Forgotten Past

78 hours

Dragon Quest 7 is a beast of a game and is considerably longer than Dragon Quest 6 with over 37 hours. The game has a huge amount of content for players to tackle throughout the main story of the game, the use of time travel mechanics similar to that of its predecessor's dual worlds, and one of the most complex and in-depth class systems.

The game is not for the faint of heart when it comes to completionists, as they will find themselves investing around 157 hours of their time. From clearing optional dungeons, optional bosses and looking for hidden secrets, players have good reason to explore every corner and take notes.

8 Dragon Quest 8: Journey Of The Cursed King

61 hours

Dragon Quest 8 shrinks its length to 61 hours, mostly due to a much more linear story and significantly less focus on exploring every corner of the game world. Dragon Quest 7 saw players collect vital fragments to progress, with no such feature holding players back Dragon Quest 8.

There's also a much simpler class system that speeds things up and has fewer complex puzzles. This is a much shorter deal, but one that many fans consider a contender for the best Dragon Quest game. In terms of content outside of the main story path, many players get around 114 hours of gameplay from this entry in the franchise.

9 Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies

48 hours

Lose even more time, Dragon Quest 9 players only have a 48-hour estimate for their main story completion time. There is a much more straightforward story and a fairly small map compared to other games. The game added a focus on multiplayer functionality and being able to play parts in shorter sittings – reducing the overall game length.

It offers more replayability thanks to procedural systems like its dungeons and treasures – this allows for more sandboxing with friends. Completionists will want to avoid trying to do everything there is to do Dragon Quest 9as such a task would likely take them over 740 hours.

10 Dragon Quest 10: Rise Of The Five Tribes

123 hours

• Developer: Square Enix
• Platforms: Wii, Wii U, Windows, Android, iOS, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
• Drop: August 2, 2012

Dragon Quest 10 is the first and only MMO version of the game, and as such sees a monstrously high spike when played as such. The game released an offline version, and playing the game without any other players can make things a lot shorter, but that's not how you get the most out of an MMO.

Players interested in this game should research the process to set it up for English regions, as it is not provided locally, and to ensure they have some friends willing to join them on the expected 123-hour journey.

11 Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes Of An Elusive Age – Definitive Edition

57.5 hours

Dragon Quest 11 was originally released on the 3DS console, but only in Japan. It would later be released on various other platforms with many improvements, including being available in western regions. The definitive way to enjoy this game is through Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition — which will take 57.5 hours to get to the end of the final act.

Players who press to explore and complete each side quest will be able to push this game to the 130 hour mark. Players who plan to bin every main line Dragon Quest the game has a rather arduous task ahead of it, but one that is time well spent.

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Dragon Quest
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