How Long It Takes To Beat Every Mainline Dragon Quest Game

Key Takeaways

• Dragon Quest titles range from 9 to 123 hours to complete, with added side content in each.
• Longer game time due to factors like exploration, party systems, and world maps.
• Mainline Dragon Quest games offer unique features and engaging narratives requiring time investment.

Dragon Quest is one of the most, if not the most, influential JRPG franchises in history. The mainline series has gone past the double digits and numerous spin-offs span vastly different genres.

The mainline series of games make use of familiar JRPG mechanics, so it is no surprise that these can take weeks, or over a month, of players’ time when it comes to accomplishing everything there is to do. However, some of the earlier titles can be completed in their entirety in a single day.

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

1 Dragon Quest

9 Hours

Players looking to knock the first game in this iconic series can expect it to take them 9 hours to make it through the main story on average. However, just like every other game in the franchise, there is more than just finishing the main story.

Though not a massive jump in time, the game provides players with an extra hour or two of minimal side content. This can include playing optional dungeons, interacting with all NPCs, and collecting every item in the game.

2 Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries Of The Legendary Line

16.5 Hours

The second game sees a sizable jump in time, from 9 hours to 16.5 average completion time. This is also regarded as one of the hardest Dragon Quest games to play, which might be a contributing factor for such a jump. Another factor is that the world map is larger than that of the first game and would introduce having a ship.

Having a ship has been present in every mainline Dragon Quest game since its introduction in Dragon Quest 2, and helps add a new degree of depth for exploring maps. When fans combine all of these factors, it’s easy to see why this title can take longer. However, players will still only have 1 to 2 hours worth of additional content to explore outside that of the main story.

3 Dragon Quest 3: The Seeds Of Salvation

28 Hours

Many fans of the Dragon Quest franchise have “that one game” which holds a special place in their hearts. One of the more popular choices is Dragon Quest 3, which is part of the Erdrick Trilogy. The game would allow for a customizable party system, which lets players explore numerous party compositions with varying potency.

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

4 Dragon Quest 4: Chapters Of The Chosen

27 Hours

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

Dragon Quest 4 does feature quite a lot of additional material, with players needing around 43 hours to accomplish everything there is to do throughout the game. This might not be double the amount of time to complete the story, but it is still a hefty increase.

5 Dragon Quest 5: Hand Of The Heavenly Bride

30.5 Hours

Another one of the most beloved entries in all of Dragon Quest is Dragon Quest 5. This game is heralded by many fans as being the best in the franchise and is the Dragon Quest that introduced the concept of monsters joining your party. This is seen by many as the precursor to the monster-taming subgenre of games.

The narrative is an utter masterpiece, which tells a multi-generational story that takes players through almost the entire life of the protagonist. Players will also choose who they wish to be their spouse, and this can effectively add replay value for alternate outcomes. Even without replaying the game, completion of 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
• Release: December 9, 1995

Dragon Quest 6 added a dual-world system and one of the biggest focuses on exploration the game franchise has seen, pushing the time up by 10 hours over its predecessor. There are plenty of towns to visit, dungeons to complete, and encourages grinding to max out vocations.

Just like other Dragon Quest games, players will have plenty of extras to do but will also face puzzles that are a cut above any of the past games. This adds around 26.5 additional hours worth 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 by over 37 hours. The game features an enormous 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 seeking out hidden secrets, players have good reason to explore every corner and keep notes.

8 Dragon Quest 8: Journey Of The Cursed King

61 Hours

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

There is also a much simpler class system in place that speeds up things and has fewer complex puzzles. This is a much shorter affair, but one that many fans regard as a candidate for the best Dragon Quest game. In terms of content outside the main story route, many players get around 114 hours of playtime from this entry in the franchise.

9 Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies

48 Hours

Dropping even more time, Dragon Quest 9 has players only getting a 48-hour estimate for their completion time of the main story. There is a much more straightforward narrative and a rather small map compared to other games. The game added a focus on multiplayer functionality and being able to play parts in shorter sittings — cutting down on total game length.

It does offer more replayability thanks to procedural systems such as its dungeons and treasures — this allows for more sandboxing with friends. Completionists will want to steer clear of trying to do everything there is to do in Dragon Quest 9, as 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
• Release: 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 is not how one gets the most out of an MMO.

Players interested in this game should look into the process of setting it up for English regions, as it is not provided locally, and to ensure they have some friends wanting to come along for the expected 123-hour ride.

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 accessible 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 on to explore and complete every side task will be able to push this game to the 130-hour mark. Players who plan on binging every mainline Dragon Quest game have quite an arduous task ahead of them, but one that is time well spent.

Metal Slime farming
is a brilliant option for any
Dragon Quest
game to gain a massive amount of experience in a short amount of time. This can help speed along players’ progress.