Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (ドラゴンクエストVI 幻の大地 Doragon Kuesuto Shikkusu Maboroshi no Daichi?, "Dragon Quest VI: Land of Illusion"), Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie in Europe, is am RPG developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix (now Square Enix) for the Super Famicom as a part of the Dragon Quest series and as the last Dragon Quest game in the Zenithia trilogy. It was released on December 9, 1995, in Japan, developed by Heartbeat; whereas the previous Dragon Quest games were developed by Chunsoft. In July 2007, Square Enix announced a series of remakes of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation for the Nintendo DS, making this the first time the game in question got released on other consoles and overseas. Like its predecessor, Dragon Quest VI was a Japan-only release as the larger ROMs needed for English dialog were cost-prohibitive (the game was already 32 megabits in size, the limit for SNES ROMs without using bank switching). In addition, the game's release occurred very late into the SNES's lifespan, by which time Enix had dropped support for the console outside Japan. The title was finally released overseas for the Nintendo DS in North America on February 14, 2011, and in Europe on May 20, 2011. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan on June 10, 2015, and worldwide in English on June 24, 2015.
As the sixth installment to the Dragon Quest series, the graphics and gameplay remain close to the other games, with minor additions and upgrades. The graphics were vastly improved from Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, which was also for the SNES, but had rather unimpressive graphics due to being an early game on the console. Navigation remains largely unchanged from the previous games and the turn-based battles are still in first-person. The class system from Dragon Quest III returns, with minor adjustments. The large cartridge ROM used by the game resulted in an extremely high price of 11,970 yen (about 137 dollars), Dragon Quest VI sold 3.2 million copies in Japan, becoming the best selling game of 1995. The DS version sold an additional one million copies by March 2010.
The story follows the traditional Dragon Quest "Hero" on a quest to save the world. In this particular installment, the heroes also have to endure the personal struggle of amnesia, as many of the main characters do not initially remember who they are. After completing a series of quests, the player learns that in addition to a Real World, there is also a Dream World, made up of people's dreams, and that there is a great evil that wants to conquer both. The Hero and his new party work together to save both worlds from the ever-growing threat.
Plot
The world of Dragon Quest VI is split into two halves; the Dream World, and the Real World. These two worlds were segregated from one another; the Dream World itself was crafted entirely from the dreams of all those who lived in the Real World, and so, no one could ever cross from one to the other.
However, this all changed with the onset of Murdaw the Dread Fiend. He and his army arose near the kingdom of Somnia, and have been assailing the fair nation ever since. As they did so, the lines between the Dream World and Real World have become increasingly blurred. We do not yet know why this is, or what this means for the denizens of both worlds. However, our protagonists do know this; Murdaw must be stopped. He must not be allowed to continue his rampage.
And so, our story begins with three righteous heroes sitting around a campfire. They have crossed the threshold of fate; they are about to storm Murdaw's castle, and the events that follow...may just change the course of history...
Table of Contents
- A new mission
- Port Haven
- Lucid Grotto (VS. Bloodcreeper)
- Somnia (Real World)
- Amor (VS. Grrrgoyle)
- Moonmirror Tower (VS. 3x Corpsickles)
- All About Vocations
- Scrimsley (6th Party Member)
- Job Class Grinding
- Arkbolt
- Wayfarer's Pass
- Aridea (VS. Jamirus)
- Howcastle (VS. the Tests)
- Clearvale
- Item collection: Part 1
- Castle Swanstone (VS. Spiegel)
- The Ultimate Key
- Item collection: Part 2
- Helm of Sebath (VS. Man-at-Arms)
- Sword of Ramias
- Item collection: Part 3
- Seabed Shrine (VS. Gracos)
- Armour of Orgo
- Shield of Valora
- Stormsgate Citadel (VS. Boss Gauntlet)
- Pillar of Pegasus (VS. Mortamor's Minions)
- Item collection: Part 4
- Despairia
- Greedmore Valley
- Gallows Moor (VS. Blackmar)
- Prison of Sorrow (VS. Belleau & Cabot)
- Mortamor's Dreadlair
- Epilogue