Dragon Quest VI

The sixth Dragon Quest game, and the third part of the loosely-connected Zenithian trilogy. The evil demon king Murdaw has terrorized your world for too long... while many other adventurers have challenged him and failed, never to return, you and your faithful companions are determined to succeed! Bravely, you storm his castle, charging straight for his throne room unimpeded...

...And then are swiftly defeated. To Murdaw, the three of you are nothing more than irritating flies; all you can do is watch helplessly as he dispatches your companions, then turns his attention towards you...

Then you wake up. Safe in your isolated mountaintop village, where the most exciting thing happening lately is the approaching festival honoring the mountain spirits...

But surely you don't expect things to stay peaceful, right? A simple errand quickly snowballs into your stumbling across a strange phenomenon, and before long you find yourself exploring both the Real World and the Phantom World, discovering the secrets binding them together... and gathering companions, some of whom seem strangely familiar...

Our heroes include:

Has been updated for a DS re-release, Realms of Revelation, also known as Realms of Reverie for its European release. Like Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, this is the first official English translation (it was released in English in February 2011).

Tropes used in Dragon Quest VI include:
  • Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The wells in this game can get ridiculous. Some have houses in them with their own well next to them. Somnia Castle's well is a dungeon cavern accessible by boat!
  • Affably Evil: Dhuran.
  • All Just a Dream: Subverted. The opening sequence looks like All Just a Dream, but later the player learns that it's the other way around (but both the events that happen before and after 'waking up' are 'realities' in their own respective rights as the dreams couldn't be any further from being irrelevant).
  • Already Done for You: Early on, Terry completes a quest and earns the reward, and tells you straight-out that your efforts were a waste of time. Later on, this is reversed when you find the Legendary Sword, he arrives afterwards and shoves past you to grab it first... then realizes that the blade is rusted, laughs, hands it over, and apologises for wasting your time.
  • Anti-Grinding: Jobs go up in rank by fighting battles, but if you're overleveled compared to the monsters in the area, those fights don't count.
  • Beef Gate: The Somnia Castle well dungeon can be partially accessed before you get full access to it, back when you are about 10-15 levels too weak for it.
  • Bittersweet Ending:
    • Murdraw and Mortamor are defeated, but the Dream World and its inhabitants are cut off from the Real World, as the link between the two worlds was created by the Big Bad as part of his plans. Ashlynn, unlike the other Dream World protagonists, never got a real world body, so that includes her. The game ends with her giving a tearful farewell to the Hero as she is erased from the real world... though a scene after the credits gives a spot of hope, as Ashlynn and King Zenith witness the birth of the Zenith Dragon.
    • Even worse, those who have played the other games in the "Zenithian Trilogy" know that Mortamor's death is only a temporary victory, as it leads to a power vacuum that is ultimately filled by Estark, Aamon and Nimzo.
  • Broken Bridge: To almost artistic levels thanks to the use of interlocking "no-go" terrain for the boat (land, bridges and reefs) and for the bed/carpet (forests, hills and mountains). The interlocking rings of access after the first part of the game must've taken a lot of effort to design.
  • Call Back: As in Dragon Quest III, there is an old man at the Shrine of Dharma/Alltrades Abbey who wants to turn into a little girl.
  • Can't Drop the Hero: Strangely, this applies to Ashlynn as well as the Hero, despite the fact that all events involving her are optional, and, like even the Hero, it is optional to have her in the main party of four. This may be a failed attempt to avoid the player being Strangled by the Red String.
  • Chekhov's Boomerang: The Dream Dew and the Mirror of Ra.
  • Continuity Cameo: The bonus dungeon includes cameos from Dragon Quest IV and Dragon Quest V; the DS version lets you take your pick between those and a Monster Town. Funnily enough, the Dragon Quest IV cameos include both Solo and Sofia, and the Dragon Quest V cameos include all three possible versions of Parry and Madchen.
  • Cool Boat: How about a floating island, with a full bar?
  • Cool Ship:
    • Or how about a FLYING BED?
    • Also a Shout-Out to Little Nemo.
  • Copy Protection: Playing an unpatched pirate copy results in the opening dream sequence looping over and over infinitely.
  • Crapsack World: The Dread Realm/Dark World, so much so that literally just being there smacks you with a massive stat penalty until a certain event.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: You vs. Murdaw at the start of the game. Also, Nokturnus vs. Mortamor if you can beat Nokturnus in under 20 turns.
  • Cut and Paste Environments: The bonus dungeon.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Nokturnus, the Bonus Boss, has not one, but two moves that ignore Defending Champion.
  • Deal with the Devil: Terry ultimately sells his soul to become the strongest swordsman. Then you beat him up.
  • Demon Lords and Archdevils
  • Despair Event Horizon: Mortamor wields this as a weapon, pushing victims past this point. Later in the game, you discover a whole village of them: Despairia.
  • Disc One Final Dungeon: Murdaw's Keep, of course. Murdaw's defeat comes about fifteen hours into the game, before you're even introduced to the job system so lovingly detailed in the manual.
  • Do Not Call Me Paul: Captain Blade of the Somnian army really does not like his original name "Rusty".
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: Captain Rusty's punishment for (correctly) vouching for your identity is to be sent to the front line, an act tantamount to a death sentence; and Ella's apparent final fate is to be sold as a slave, in a world where slavery equals certain death, and the Mayor outright states that nearly every single traveling merchant (such as the one who "bought" Ella) has been picked off by the rapidly increasing monster attacks. Subverted on both counts: If you return to Port Haven after defeating Murdaw, you'll find that Ella has returned and is reunited with Johan, while the mayor that sold her has left the town in grief over his mistake; and Rusty turns up again in the dread realm, having been abducted there instead of killed (or rather, his dream world "Blade" persona does, but it suggests Rusty may still be alive).
  • Dub Name Change:
    • Hassan became Carver, Mireyu became Milly, Chamoro is Nevan, and Barbara is now Ashlynn. Further, Mudo is now Murdaw, Deathtamoor becomes Mortamor, Dark Dream is Nokturnus, and the kingdom of Reidock becomes Somnia (Terry is still Terry, and Amos is still Amos though).
    • Minor characters now also have their names changed, mostly to botanical themes or Punny Names.
    • Most strikingly, puff-puff also received this. It is not a Bowdlerization; the context is still there, unlike in Dragon Quest IV DS, but after two decades of just transliterating it, they gave it a new name: pattycake. The Gadabout's level 4 skill, Puff-Puff, kept its name, however.
    • The Spanish translation also changes a lot of names, with the most notably being Terry's rename to Norris, likely because he can use Roundhouse Kick.
  • Electric Jellyfish: The Man O' War enemies (which are clearly just Palette Swapped Healslimes) produce electricity from their tentacles during their attack animations.
  • Elemental Punch: The Flame Slash, Lightning Slash, Kacrackle Slash, and Gust Slash abilities.
  • Escort Mission: What "Howard the Coward" has every right to be afraid of.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Dhuran, one of the 4 Dread Fiends, heals your team prior to battling you, claiming it's no fun for him to fight strong foes in their weakened state.
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: King Falle's plan to use Nokturnus to beat Mortamor was a baaaaad idea...
  • Expy: Dhuran shares many similarities to Rubicante.
  • Five-Bad Band: The Dread Fiends.
  • Five-Man Band: Not counting the optional party members:
  • Genki Girl: Ashlynn, so much.
  • Global Airship: The white Pegasus.
  • Hello, Insert Name Here: As is normal for Dragon Quest, you enter a name for The Hero at the start of the game, while the others can eventually be renamed after obtaining Lorelai's Harp and using it to reach Appello's underwater cave near Ghent.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The elder Isnomor (say that out loud) teaches Ashlynn the powerful spell Magic Burst despite knowing the town is being watched by the Archfiend, and is instantly struck down.
  • I Am Who?: Let's just say this is used a lot...
  • I Have No Son: Carver's father did not take him becoming a martial artist well, to the point that he becomes angry at his wife (and Carver's mother) when she laments his disappearance.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Especially in the Isle o' Smiles arc, it is implied that monsters eat people. Why else do they call their captives "meat."
  • Improbable Weapon User: Monsters using forged fangs makes sense. Terry using the Orihalcum Fangs does not. Lampshaded in some Fan Art and given a Hand Wave by some as Rule of Funny.
  • Ineffectual Loner: Terry subverts this, as he's actually a talented swordsman who can stand on his own. Eventually, however, he winds up playing this straight following his deal with the devil.
  • Infinity-1 Sword: The non-fashioned Sword of Ramias.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Carver, most notably. Arguably Nevan, as while his heart is definitely in the right place, his first scene shows him to be pretty full of himself.
  • Kick the Dog: In Port Haven, Ivy tries to get her romantic rival Ella in trouble by poisoning the dog she's supposed to care for. This doesn't end well for anyone.
  • Lost Forever: Amos, if you tell him the truth before giving him the Seeds of Reason. It pulls out a lot of stops to get you not to do it, but if you do, nothing bad seems to have happened... But then you get the Seeds of Reason, and Amos isn't home.
  • Lotus Eater Machine:
    • The party is suspicious of the Isle of Smiles, and suspect it may be this. Well, the island that takes you there is certainly one, and it gets you so high you can't resist them. The Isle itself is actually a trap, another suspicion of theirs.
    • Later, there's an obvious one: Lotus Lagoon. It's even more of an example than the previous one, and one reason why it's so effective is that the people who go there came from Despairia...
  • Loyal Animal Companion: In one dream city, you see a man grieving at the grave of someone he calls his best friend and master; when you visit the real world equivalent, it turns out he is in fact the departed's dog.
  • Magic Knight: Several character classes combine both magic and fighting ability, most notably the Paladin, Armamentalist and Hero classes.
  • Magikarp Power: Ashlynne is extremely weak at first, especially if you make her first vocation a Mage, but with enough work and patience to make her a Sage (and possibly Armamentalist), she becomes the best spellcaster in the game with devastating offensive spells and healing spells on par with (or possibly even exceeding) Nevan.
  • Mighty Glacier: Carver fits this mold, with excellent HP and strength but the lowest speed of any human PC. So does the Warrior class, which boosts HP, strength and resilience, but sharply lowers speed.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse: Ivy doesn't go as far as murder, but she does try to defame her. And she succeeds, until you become visible and are able to tell the mayor what really happened.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Both Ivy and the Mayor of Port Haven eventually realize how horrible they were to allow Ella to be enslaved. Ivy because she only wanted Ella out of the way so she could be with Johan but not actually wanting to hurt her, and the Mayor for realizing that he sold an innocent girl to slavery.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • A meta example. Those in the west who played the first Dragon Quest Monsters will finally be able to learn the full story behind Dhuran and the Masked Swordsman.
    • In a bookshelf in Port Haven, there's a diary written by either the PC of Dragon Quest V or someone in an extremely similar situation, debating who to marry.
  • Nightmare Fuel: In-universe example: The prisoner in Arkbolt says this about the growling of the Hacksaurus in the cell next to him. Yes, he actually says the phrase "nightmare fuel". Carver also names Pretty Spry for a Dead Guy in party chat after talking to the guard guarding the Hacksaurus's cage. Evidently one of the translators was a troper who couldn't resist...
  • Non-Indicative Name: You'd think that the Armamentalist skill Lightning Slash and the Luminary skill Lightning would be Lightning-elemental, but they aren't. They actually share the same element as the Bang line of spells.
  • No Ontological Inertia: Mortamor was the one who created the link between the Real and Dream Worlds, so when he dies, the link is destroyed along with him.
  • Not Quite the Right Thing: In Scrimsley, telling Amos about his transformations might seem like a good idea, despite the game's reluctance to let you, but if you do so, he'll have left town by the time you get back.
  • Not the Fall That Kills You: Our heroes can survive falling several yards into the other world through a chasm completely unscathed. Even earlier, they can survive a multiple-story fall in a cave.
  • Only Six Faces: A major criticism of the game at the time: Akira Toriyama was right in the middle of his Dragon Ball Z run, and Goku/Trunks/etc was bleeding out into all his character designs. Contrast the art and character designs of Dragon Quest VII, which was done after his infamous split with his publisher.
  • Oracular Urchin: Nevan is a male example who changes his tune about your party slightly after sensing your importance. Also, much earlier, Tania is briefly possessed by the Mountain Spirit - actually Rubiss - and encourages you to get going on your epic quest already.
  • Our Mermaids Are Different: While the mermaids in this game physically resemble Western mermaids, the Japanese legend that mermaid meat grants eternal youth also exists.
  • Overrated and Underleveled: Terry suffers from this: while stated to have defeated several guards that you took down as a party and was shown to easily beat a very strong monster by himself, by the time he joins, he is more or less an average party member with an advanced job and strong weapon. It doesn't help that immediately after acquiring him you can use him to get another party member who--even at level 5--is better in almost every category except agility and style and starts out with the rare and useful Dragon job and could very easily fit into your party immediately. She's the aforementioned "very strong monster" that Terry beat by himself.
  • Pegasus Was My Cart-Mule
  • Peninsula of Power Leveling: When it comes to leveling vocations (not so much Character Levels; Metal Slime-infested areas would be better for that), the Spiegelspire has relatively weak monsters when it is accessible in the game (assuming you aren't underleveled), but lacks the level requirements of most areas in the game, so beating monsters up here is a quick way to master vocations. It's even possible to zoom there for an easy way to get to and from Alltrades Abbey from there.
  • Prestige Class: A number of vocations like Gladiator, Armamentalist, Paladin, Sage, Ranger and Luminary require mastering basic jobs first. The Hero class one-ups them by requiring mastery of the advanced jobs, and Dragon and Liquid Metal Slime require special items, except for the actual dragon and liquid metal slime you can recruit.
  • Rape as Drama: Milly's past, which involved her father selling her to the Gandino family, who in turn sold her to the former King of Felonia, who had a whole harem of slave girls used as dancers (and possibly worse things, as there exists a room in the castle that was once his "private pleasure chamber"). Given that Milly is on pins and needles the entire time she is in Felonia (as evidenced by party chat) or whenever Felonia is even mentioned, this trope may well be in play. Even if rape is never mentioned, the implication is still there, and Milly herself refuses to talk about it. The whole thing is not helped by the fact that there's a very good chance Milly was quite young when she was sold as a slave, if the mention of Terry being a very young boy at the time is any indication.
  • Rhymes on a Dime: The mermaids.
  • Secret Character:
    • Amos of Scrimsley, who's a bit under the weather when you first meet him... for good reason. Also, Lizzie the Hacksaurus, who previously was defeated by Terry in the Arkbolt quest, can be recruited after the latter joins the party.
    • In the Updated Rerelease, there are a number of "Slime Buddies" for you to do little sidequests for. Each joins after their respective quest is done.
  • Ship Tease: Ashlynn and Milly hint throughout the game that the Hero and Carver are their types, respectively. In the ending, Milly outright says that Carver is her type, and King Somnius acts as Shipper on Deck for Ashlynn and the Hero. Sadly, they all go their separate ways.
  • Shout-Out: Milly mentions that a castle floating in the sky would make a great subject for a painting.
  • Skippable Boss: Averill.
  • Slippy-Slidey Ice World:
  • Spell My Name with an "S": Mireyu/Mireille/Muriel/etc... The localization went for 'Milly'.
    • Which is a borderline Regional Bonus/Broken Base for non-Japanese speakers who have debated her name since Dragon Quest VI and Dragon Warrior Monsters first came out. At least it was finally reached. You can rename her after you get Lorelei's Harp, anyway.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers:
    • Rod, an injured fisherman, loves the mermaid who saved his life, Unda.
    • The Hero and Ashlynn at the end of the game.
  • Stealth-Based Mission: Following Rod through Pescado and Mermaid's Cave.
  • Stealth Pun: So stealthy that this troper isn't certain it's there. Milly and Terry are brother and sister. Try putting their names together.
  • Squishy Wizard: Ashlynn, Milly and Nevan all fall under this for their first dozen levels, but the vocation system allows them all to avert this trope. The 'Mage' class you unlock in Alltrades Abbey fits this to a T.
  • Taken for Granite: This is what Murdaw does to intruders.
  • Teens Are Short: Though canonically fifteen, Prince Howard's sprite looks very similar to the "little kid" sprite.
  • Tempting Fate: The guy in the striped shirt in the Greedmore Valley event (at least in the "bad" cycle) trips over his bootlaces twice running for the Sage's treasure. He decides to ignore it after the second time, declaring "I'm living dangerously!" Of course, he ends up being the only one not killed by one of the other people rushing for the treasure; instead, he tripped on said bootlaces, fell down some stairs, and broke his neck.
  • Third Person Person: "Old Amos" and Madame Luca.
  • Too Dumb to Live: King Falle of Castle Graceskull. When the world is under attack by monsters, what does he do? He summons an evil demon in the hopes of getting rid of them. You heard me. He ACTUALLY SUMMONS A DEMON, one that could be very well capable of inflicting more destruction than all the other monsters combined. You can see what happened to Graceskull as a result.
  • Took a Level in Badass: As he reveals in Party Chat, when Amos was little, he was called a coward. That's the whole reason he got into the town hero business.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Life between Dragon Quest Monsters and Dragon Quest VI was not kind to Terry or his sister. Despite her having it even worse, it's Terry who gets hit by this trope the hardest... to the point that it becomes an unintentional Player Punch to those Americans who were only familiar with his cute and kindhearted kid incarnation.
  • Useless Useful Spell: Most of the large pick of status based spells in the game are useless due to not being effective on bosses and sub-bosses. Also some attack spells are also not as useful as they could be, due to only hitting more than one enemy when they are grouped. But of course, your party is always considered a group meaning when a enemy casts your whole party can take massive damage.
  • Under the Sea
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Real World!Somnia, or at least their guards, after you defeat the fake Murdaw. At least until the King sets them straight. Justified in that you were pretending to be the Prince of Somnia previously and the much loved Captain Rusty was sent to his death because of your actions. (Sure you actually are the Prince of Somnia, but you didn't know that at the time).
  • Voluntary Shapeshifter: After being cured, Amos becomes one, and ends up joining your party... but only if you play your cards right!
  • Wasted Song: Brave Fight, which only plays when battling the real Murdaw when he Turns Red. It doesn't help that despite the fact that his guest appearance in Dragon Quest IX would have been a suitable place to put the song in a fight that can be fought repeatedly, the standard Dragon Quest VI boss music plays instead (leading to the awkward situation of Dragon Quest VI's boss theme being played during two battles instead of just one, because Nokturnus appears as well and has the same music during his fight).
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?:
    • The fact that humans see nothing wrong with going out and killing mermaids for their meat (or using them as tourist attractions) despite the fact that they look like beautiful women with mermaid tails shows that this trope is clearly in effect.
    • When Terry joins your party, you get asked whether you want to boot someone from the party to make room for him, but when the monsters join, they're automatically sent off to the party planning place.
    • If you have a slime-only party at Slimeopolis, you're not allowed to battle without your "master" present.
  • Worthy Opponent: Dhuran considers you this. Nice to be respected, even by a Dread Fiend, isn't it?
  • Yakuza: The Gandino clan of Felonia.
  • You All Look Familiar: In the original, Amos doesn't have a unique sprite, looking like any other blue-clad warrior, so you're not tipped off that he's recruitable. Much like Tuppence in Dragon Quest V, he gets a unique sprite in the remake, though it is still very similar to the previous sprite. Unlike Tuppence, however, Amos is a hot topic among the people in Scrimsley, so you know that he is important, and are curious enough to go visit him to advance that plotline.
  • You Can See Me?: From the party when they first meet Milly, and from Ashlynn when the party first meets her.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Entering the well in the ruins of Graceskull will send you back in time to the events that destroyed it every time you enter it, but you can't save it. A bard on the castle top says this as well. At least in the DS remake you can save a Mottle Slime...
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: The hero.
  • Youkai: On Mt. Snowhere lives a Yuki-onna named Gerda.
  • You Know What They Say: Lampshaded by Ashlynn during Party Chat after talking to an old man in the first Somnia after defeating Murdaw for the first time.
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle: You didn't think Murdaw was the only Dread Fiend out there, did you...?
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