Why Are The Dragon Quest Games On DS And 3DS So Expensive?

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Why are the Dragon Quest games on DS and 3DS so expensive?

• Thread starter AaronMT
• Start date Jun 13, 2022

• Discussion
• Gaming Forum

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AaronMT

Member Oct 27, 2017 9,614 Toronto I entirely missed out on the Dragon Quest DS and 3DS games from years past. I was just looking at the prices on eBay and they are wild. In particular I am looking for DQ4/5/6 remakes. Is the DS the only way to play those particular classics?

brinstar

Member Oct 25, 2017 13,158 they're on mobile as well

DanarchyReigns

Member Oct 25, 2017 37,943 High demand + below average print run. You could play the iOS/Android ports but... yeah..

jman0625

One Winged Uncle Works at Nintendo

Member Dec 18, 2017 868 IV is definitive on Mobile, the DS version is missing Party Chat so you miss like 70% of the story.

Liam Allen-Miller

Member Nov 2, 2017 9,481 Shibuya They didn't get massive print runs and Dragon Quest had always been a popular niche back then. The mobile versions are legit great across the board if you want to play 'em legit!

Dale Copper

Member Apr 12, 2018 25,438 Not big print runs

Atom

Member Jul 25, 2021 16,218 Play them on mobile! They're really good ports. Very comfortable one handed and have quick save etc for short play sessions. I have English copies of 7 8 and 9 but in the end just got Japanese copies of 4 5 6 7 8 9 and 11 and have stuck to that mostly. That said I wouldn't be surprised if we got some basic ports/collections down the road. Though DQ doesn't seem to rerelease titles nearly as conveniently as FF ones come out.

Captain of Outer Space

Come Sale Away With Me

Member Oct 28, 2017 16,095 Nintendo's the publisher for VII, VIII, and IX.

DanteMenethil

Member Oct 25, 2017 9,468

jman0625 said: IV is definitive on Mobile, the DS version is missing Party Chat so you miss like 70% of the story. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

What do you mean you miss 70% of the story, the original version didnt even have party chat lmao

Nax

Hero of Bowerstone

Member Oct 10, 2018 7,543 Idk. But I remember 4 and 5 being on sale many years ago on Black Friday for like $10. Ah, to have known the future.

Gyro Zeppeli

Member Oct 27, 2017 5,289 Happy that I own those. Never getting rid of them. (but for the right price..)

brannigan

Member Nov 24, 2017 7,257 4 5 and 6 are good ports on mobile.

entrydenied

The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 9,242

DanteMenethil said: What do you mean you miss 70% of the story, the original version didnt even have party chat lmao Click to expand... Click to shrink...

The Japanese version of DQ4 for the DS had party chat SQ E cheapened out and didn't localised the chat.

DanteMenethil

Member Oct 25, 2017 9,468

entrydenied said: The Japanese version of DQ4 for the DS had party chat SQ E cheapened out and didn't localised the chat. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

I said the original version

Deleted member 34949

Account closed at user request

Banned Nov 30, 2017 19,101 I spent a small fortune buying 4/5/6/8 these earlier this year, and they're probably only going to get more absurd in price. I've heard good things about the mobile versions of 4/5/6, though.

TeenageFBI

One Winged Slayer

Member Oct 25, 2017 11,841

jman0625 said: IV is definitive on Mobile, the DS version is missing Party Chat so you miss like 70% of the story. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Does the iOS version have controller support? edit: iOS reviews indicate that controller support is missing or just really poor. Cloud saves seem to be broken, and the game only runs in portrait mode. I'd really like to see that party chat, but not enough to overlook all of that stuff. Last edited: Jun 13, 2022

entrydenied

The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 9,242

DanteMenethil said: I said the original version Click to expand... Click to shrink...

It doesn't change the fact that party chat added a lot of context and personality to the characters. The mobile version having party chat makes it the definitive version of the game compared to the original NES version and the DS version. Square should have translated these in the first place.

nogoodnamesleft

Member Oct 25, 2017 8,902 99% of the time the answer to this question is Demand outstripping supply due to low print run

DanteMenethil

Member Oct 25, 2017 9,468

entrydenied said: It doesn't change the fact that party chat added a lot of context and personality to the characters. The mobile version having party chat makes it the definitive version of the game compared to the original NES version and the DS version. Square should have translated these in the first place. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Thats not my point. My point is that you dont miss 70% of something that was never here in the first place.

EllipsisBreak

One Winged Slayer

Member Aug 6, 2019 2,345 From Wikipedia, on the subject of Dragon Quest V (DS):

The Nintendo DS remake of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride was the seventh best-selling game of Japan in 2008, selling 1,176,082 copies that year. The game went on to sell 1.35 million copies worldwide by 2009, including 1.22 million in Japan, 70,000 in Europe, and 60,000 in North America. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

That just speaks for itself, doesn't it. Dragon Quest is a huge series in Japan, but in other regions, it was overshadowed by other games and didn't sell well. The result is a long running, high quality series of games that have a very strong reputation, yet don't have a whole lot of copies in the wild. These are the conditions that collector's items emerge from.

Nolbertos

Banned Dec 9, 2017 4,072 Nintendo paid to publish all the DQ games on there systems hence the small print run. Chances of VII and VIII 3DS remakes releasing outside of Nintendo systems are low for now, unless SE is willing to publish DQ out West on there dime. For now, SE is happy with digital versions of the games.

xir

Member Oct 27, 2017 17,162 Los Angeles, CA Look at historical data on price charting. Covid

Asklepios

Member Oct 28, 2017 1,557 United Kingdom I hate playing games on my phone but the iOS ports of all the DQ games are really good. They work in portrait and it's a single finger control. In fact the teeny stylus controls from 2010 on the DS hasn't aged well at all, making the mobile ports objectively superior. IIRC DQ6 on iOS is an upgrade over the DS with more features like party chat.

entrydenied

The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 9,242

DanteMenethil said: Thats not my point. My point is that you dont miss 70% of something that was never here in the first place. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

The OP is asking about the DS and 3DS versions of these days. He is not asking about the NES version. Just because it wasn't in the original doesn't mean it isn't important to the overall experience, which is why many consider the mobile version to be the definitive version if you want to choose between getting the game on the DS or on mobile. It's like telling someone to just go play the first Resident Evil when they ask which platform should they get the RE1 remakes on because they won't miss anything anyway since the features were not in the PS1 version.

MrNewVegas

Member Oct 27, 2017 11,854 To think, the DS games got a reprint too!

Atom

Member Jul 25, 2021 16,218

entrydenied said: The OP is asking about the DS and 3DS versions of these days. He is not asking about the NES version. Just because it wasn't in the original doesn't mean it isn't important to the overall experience, which is why many consider the mobile version to be the definitive version if you want to choose between getting the game on the DS or on mobile. It's like telling someone to just go play the first Resident Evil when they ask which platform should they get the RE1 remakes on because they won't miss anything anyway since the features were not in the PS1 version. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

I don't think the poster you're replying to claimed that this version isn't definitive nor that party chat isn't important to the experience. I think it's literally a dispute about the claim that 70% of the story is missing, which I'm inclined to agree with. 70% of the characterization, detail, and flavor text, sure, but the core story is the same regardless and you'll get that whichever version of the game you play. Last edited: Jun 14, 2022

erekiddo

Electric

Member Oct 25, 2017 1,385 The Nintendo DS market is pretty bad overall. Prices on even low tier stuff is way higher than it should be. These are more popular games so the prices are worse.

Mad Gamer 64

Member Nov 6, 2017 773 I bought 4, 5, and 6 on a buy two get one free sale at Gamestop back in the day for like $25 total. Not gonna sell them but it is at least a little tempting

kurahador

Member Oct 28, 2017 20,906 Low print and being published by Nintendo made it even worse as S-E usually tend to overprinted their stuff. Sold my sealed DQVI in 2020 and bought myself a switch.

B.K.

Member Oct 31, 2017 19,173 Almost no one cares about Dragon Quest in the West, so they didn't print many copies.

DanteMenethil

Member Oct 25, 2017 9,468

entrydenied said: The OP is asking about the DS and 3DS versions of these days. He is not asking about the NES version. Just because it wasn't in the original doesn't mean it isn't important to the overall experience, which is why many consider the mobile version to be the definitive version if you want to choose between getting the game on the DS or on mobile. It's like telling someone to just go play the first Resident Evil when they ask which platform should they get the RE1 remakes on because they won't miss anything anyway since the features were not in the PS1 version. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Why are you talking about what the OP is asking, I was responding to jman0625, not the op. And if you think youre missing 70% of the story because you dont have party chat more power to you but it is a very silly take.

Rapscallion

Member Oct 25, 2017 2,950 I have IV factory sealed. Didn't intend it that way, just never got around to playing it. Pretty sure I at least have VII and IX as well, though those I did play.

entrydenied

The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 9,242

Atom said: I don't think the poster you're replying to claimed that this version isn't definitive nor that party chat isn't important to the experience. I think it's literally a dispute about the claim that 70% of the story is missing, which I'm inclined to agree with. 70% of the characterization, detail, and flavor text, sure, but the core story is the same regardless and you'll get that whichever version of the game you play. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

DanteMenethil said: Why are you talking about what the OP is asking, I was responding to jman0625, not the op. And if you think youre missing 70% of the story because you dont have party chat more power to you but it is a very silly take. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

I would argue that the party chat added a lot of characterisation that provided more motivation and context to why the characters are doing certain things and I consider that to be part of the story. I'm not arguing whether it constitutes as 70% of the story or not (it's definitely not that much) but story feels emptier and sparse without hearing the thoughts and conversations of your party members. To me these are very important factors in improves DQ stories. I'm sorry that I misread DanteMenethil

Dolce

Member Oct 25, 2017 14,901 not large print runs, because demand was low. each game had less and less. what new copies exist are eventually all bought up. people looking to get it later are faced with "huh, i can't find this game" which in turn raises the "RARE GAME" alert to scalpers i mean collectors, so more and more people are holding onto copies not to play, but just to have because it's rare. people buy up copies to re-sell.

WeWereGiants

Member Nov 8, 2017 570 I wanted to play DQ8 recently so I ordered a copy on EBay at a highly reasonable price and it came in it's original seal! Now I don't have the heart to open it

Josh5890

I'm Your Favorite Poster's Favorite Poster

The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 27,519 Part of the problem is that 4 through 9 are not available on modern consoles. If Square ported them, the prices of the DS/3DS cartridges would drop. It wouldn't be a collapse or anything, but it would be a noticeable drop.

Mr. RPG

Member Oct 25, 2017 5,245 I remember when they were like $30 new on Amazon. I should have bought some as an investment. Thankfully I still have my original copies.

Mr. RPG

Member Oct 25, 2017 5,245

WeWereGiants said: I wanted to play DQ8 recently so I ordered a copy on EBay at a highly reasonable price and it came in it's original seal! Now I don't have the heart to open it Click to expand... Click to shrink...

I've bought and opened some sealed games that are much older than DQ8 3DS in the last few years. It's fine. lol It's the best version of 8. It's definitely worth playing.

cw_sasuke

Member Oct 27, 2017 32,885 You are talking about up to 15 year old physical JRPGs in a popular series - why would you expect them to be cheap in 22, when they havent produced new copies in years ? Thats not even factoring in the pandemic.

Lilyth

Banned Sep 13, 2019 1,194

jman0625 said: IV is definitive on Mobile, the DS version is missing Party Chat so you miss like 70% of the story. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

You can hack the rom though to enable it:

GitHub - concreted/dqiv-nds-en-script-patcher: Dragon Quest IV (NDS) English + Party Chat Script Patcher for Japan ROM

Dragon Quest IV (NDS) English + Party Chat Script Patcher for Japan ROM - concreted/dqiv-nds-en-script-patcher github.com

Nali

Member Oct 25, 2017 4,344 The relative success of XI in the west seems like it drove up demand, above and beyond the overall rise in retro game prices in recent years. The cheap supply that was floating around at the time got snapped up within a couple years.

WeWereGiants

Member Nov 8, 2017 570

Mr. RPG said: I've bought and opened some sealed games that are much older than DQ8 3DS in the last few years. It's fine. lol It's the best version of 8. It's definitely worth playing. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

I think I will because I love DQ8 but part of me wishes it never came sealed haha

Toothdrinker

Member Dec 16, 2021 158 I picked up the DS version of V for about £25 a little before the pandemic. Price charting now has it going for £140, which is frankly nuts. It is fantastic, mind.

B. Spaceman

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account

Banned Oct 29, 2017 2,296 Spain To think I bought IV for like 5 or 10 euros... this was a long time ago, though, like in 2011 or something. And V is one of the few rare games I own. VI I bought it when it was new, fearing that it would suffer the same fate as V. The same thing happens to the DS Castlevania games, Order of Ecclesia is impossible to buy nowadays.

JorSneezy

Member Oct 17, 2019 568 Mine are still in the plastic. Sounds like they should be staying that way.

Fuzzy

Completely non-threatening

The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 20,709 Toronto

AaronMT said: Is the DS the only way to play those particular classics? Click to expand... Click to shrink...

This thread's OP may interest you.

A Guide for Getting Into Dragon Quest

A Guide for Getting Into Dragon Quest With the imminent release of Dragon Quest XI (which is a huge deal - it's been a full 8 years since we got Dragon Quest IX), I figured now would be a fantastic time to provide some advice about "getting into" the series. This post was originally much... www.resetera.com

jman0625

One Winged Uncle Works at Nintendo

Member Dec 18, 2017 868

DanteMenethil said: What do you mean you miss 70% of the story, the original version didnt even have party chat lmao Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Yeah, while it's not exactly the main plot of the story itself, 99% of the character development and flavor text defining the world is locked behind Party chat. It gives the characters infinitely more... character

TheAggroCraig

This guy are sick of the One Winged Slayer

Member Nov 6, 2017 8,223 These sat around stores for years, it wasn't really until the retro game bubble hit the GBA/DS where all of these shot up in price. At least the 3DS ones can still be bought digitally (for now).

FrostweaveBandage

Unshakable Resolve

Member Sep 27, 2019 11,600 I think it's just like the original games - low print and high retention for such popular titles means they're hard to find second hand. I think my original copies of the NES games cost $50 second hand, and that was 25 years ago. You must log in or register to reply here. Share: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email Share Link

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