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"I am the King of Kings... I am Dragonlord! I've been waiting for you."
Dragonlord

The Dragonlord is the main antagonist and final boss of Dragon Quest. Before the game starts, he steals the Sphere of Light to bring forth monsters and unleash his forces of darkness upon the land of Alefgard; he also kidnaps Princess Gwaelin in the hopes of making her his bride.

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

The Dragonlord has two equally-distinctive appearances in-game; the former as a blue-skinned robed sorcerer that looks relatively human, and his true form, a massive, purple-scaled dragon far larger than any other. Because he appeared in the first game, his appearance in both forms is iconic, to the point which both versions are often aped or referenced both in Dragon Quest and out of it; from the Dragovian Lord assuming the pose of his dragon form during attacks to various parody works and fanworks.

Personality[]

The Dragonlord is hallmarked by a complex and often adversarial personality. At his core, the Dragonlord resembles an archetypal power-hungry despot: vain, arrogant, and willing to stop at nothing to get what he desires. Considering the era of games he originally appeared in, it would have been extremely easy to make him two or even one dimensional, but in practice he shows a depth that belies his rote antagonism.

The Dragonlord is opportunistic, clever, and brutally intelligent, and always operates with a plan. His tactics in Dragon Quest are often framed as simply being destructive, but the Dragonlord has a cold, calculating streak that is seen often in his behaviors, kidnapping Princess Gwaelin to demoralize the kingdom's rulers, stealing the Sphere of Light in order to deter would-be heroes, and destroying Damdara to destroy the kingdom's ability to fight back against his forces.

It's revealed in the Dragon Quest Manga and in Dragon Quest Builders that the Dragonlord sees humanity as just as corrupt as his fellow monsters - if not more so; and derives intense pleasure from turning its members against one another, seeing what he does as a sort of mercy.

A skilled manipulator, the Dragonlord is quite good at using people against one another, leading to his corruption of the Golem of Cantlin and its subsequently becoming the fortress city's greatest threat. No greater example of the Dragonlord's willingness to use human nature against humans, however, can be seen than by his offer to the Hero to join him; when cornered by the hero, the Dragonlord is willing to split the world between him and the hero and rule it as an ally. While anyone can see that such would be a devil's bargain to say the least, the temptation is nonetheless offered and shows a side of the Dragonlord that establishes just how skilled a manipulator he is. Even in Dragon Quest Builders' last chapter, where it's clear that the Dragonlord cannot be trusted, he still makes the same offer to the Builder, counting upon human nature once again to give him the upper hand. Doing so, the Builder may see him as a fool, as he says that the offering or the question is the same question that he asked upon the "previous visitor" to darken Alefgard and most likely says "No" starting a fight against him leading to him turning into a fearsome purple dragon (the 2nd stage of the fight), or the Builder gets fooled and says "Yes", likely handing their Sword of Kings to the Dragonlord, leaving them weak against him and as an end result, the Builder gets killed and gets buried in a crypt; most likely the one back in Cantlin.

Appearances[]

Main games[]

Dragon Quest[]

The Dragonlord resides in the Dragonlord's castle, which once was Zoma's Citadel, located to the southeast across the water from Tantegel castle. Within the castle, the Dragonlord resides on the bottom-most level. Throughout the story, the Dragonlord never leaves the castle, similar to Hargon in Dragon Quest II.

When confronted by the Hero, the Dragonlord knows the Hero by name, and says "I am the Dragonlord, King of Kings", then offers him a chance to rule the world by his side. The Hero is then presented with an opportunity to answer 'yes' or 'no'. Answering 'yes' will cause the Dragonlord to ask if the Hero is serious. Answering "yes" again makes the Dragonlord say that they will split the world into two kingdoms, and much of the screen goes dark as if the world had been plunged into darkness. The Dragonlord says "Thy journey is over. take a long rest" then laughs repeatedly. (in later versions, answering 'yes' sends the Hero back to Rimuldar as he awakens from a bad dream). Answering 'no' results in the start of the battle with the Dragonlord.

In battle, the Dragonlord appears as a humanoid sorcerer who possesses the skill of magic but is fairly weak, physically speaking. After receiving enough damage, the Dragonlord transforms into a more powerful, dragon form (his "true" form). The music also changes to the final battle theme.

Human Form[]
# - Dragonlord
??? Family
DQiOS - Dragonlord first form HP MP Attack Defence Agility
75 (NES)
240 (Remakes)
40 90 (NES)
107 (Remakes)
85 (NES)
110 (Remakes)
55
Exp Gold
0 0 G
Note: None
Abilities
Normal attack
Spells
Sizzle
Midheal
Snooze (Remakes)
Haunts at:
The Dragonlord's Castle


Dragon Form[]
# - Dragonlord
??? Family
DQiOS - Dragonlord second form HP MP Attack Defence Agility
130 (NES)
361 (Remakes)
40 140 (NES)
130 (Remakes)
200 (NES)
150 (Remakes)
90
Exp Gold
0 0 G
Note: None
Abilities
Normal attack
Blazing Breath (NES)
Fire Breath (Remakes)
Inferno (Remakes)
Spells
None
Haunts at:
The Dragonlord's Castle


Dragon Quest II[]

The grandson of the Dragonlord resides in the same location in Dragon Quest II. He is a character of core importance as he informs the heroes of their need to collect the Crests and contact Rubiss.

Dragon Quest III[]

Although not specifically mentioned, the Dragonlord inherits the castle once inhabited by Zoma, sometime after Zoma was defeated by Erdrick at the end of Dragon Quest III.

Also, according at least to the interpretation given by the Emblem of Roto manga, the Dragon Queen's egg could possibly be the unhatched Dragonlord.

Dragon Quest IX[]

#295 - Dragonlord
??? Family
IX - Dragonlord sprite HP MP Attack Defence Agility
7500
15066*
255 900
1286*
450
675*
190
304*
Exp Gold Drop Mini medal (common, 100%)
Red Orb (rare, 5%
10%*)
63600
168640*
2490
6602* G
Steal Mini medal
Description: Lizard lord who ravages all with great gusts of flame, and whose fire-retardant scales stop any such scorching in return.

This proud and mighty beast rules over all the dragon clans of the world with a high and haughty hand.

Abilities
Critical attack
Sometimes attacks twice per round*
Attacks twice per round*
Attacks three times per round*
Scorch*
Hellfire*
Party Pooper*
Black Breath*
Disruptive Wave*
Spells
None
Encountered at:
Grottoes

The Dragonlord appears as a Legacy Boss, obtained as a rare drop from Greygnarl in grottoes. He attacks the hero in his second form and mostly uses melee and breath based attacks.

Treasure[]
Level Range Secondary Drop % Orb %
1-3 Alefgard boots 15% Red Orb 5%
4-8 Alefgard helm 15% Red Orb 5%
9-15 Alefgard armour 15% Red Orb 6%
16-25 Psaro's Map 10% Red Orb 6%
26-40 Psaro's Map 15% Red Orb 7%
41-56 Psaro's Map 20% Red Orb 7%
57-68 Psaro's Map 25% Red Orb 8%
69-80 Psaro's Map 30% Red Orb 8%
81-90 Psaro's Map 35% Red Orb 9%
91-99 Psaro's Map 40% Red Orb 10%
Skills[]
Level Abilities
Initial Attack, may attack twice per turn, Blazing Fire
5 Always attacks twice per turn
10 Party Pooper
16 Hellfire
41 Stops Blazing Fire, attacks three times per turn, stops attacking twice per turn
49 Black Breath
57 Disruptive Wave

Battle Strategy

You should have a Priest and/or a Sage in your party. Equip that character with Minstrel's Manual to enable Gritty Ditty. The other three characters can be Gladiators, Warriors and/or Paladins. Equip these with Falcon Blades or Uber Falcon Blades. One of your fighters needs to have learned Fource abilities, equip that character with Armamentalist's Album to use Fources on all party members. Equip your healer and Fource caster with Meteorite Bracers or at least Agility Rings.

1st Turn: Cast Gritty Ditty and Gale Force on your party while the fighters use Falcon Slash.

2nd Turn: Cast Gritty Ditty a second time and have the 3 fighters using Falcon Slash.

Remaining Turns: Continue to Falcon Slash with fighters. Healer can either attack to drain MP or heal as needed.

If the boss uses Disruptive Wave, start the above steps over.

Dragon Quest X[]

Normal[]
# - Dragonlord
??? Family
No Image HP MP Attack Defence Weight
2575 999 169 117 525
Exp Gold Drop None
0 0 G
Note: None
Abilities
Normal attack
Sometimes acts twice
Fire Breath
Flame Breath
Inferno
Hellfire Howl
Tailage
Spells
None
Haunts at:
Unknown


Legendary[]
# - Dragonlord
??? Family
No Image HP MP Attack Defence Weight
Exp Gold Drop None
6000 50 G
Note:
Abilities
Normal attack
Continuous Biting
Tail Swing
Hellfire Howl
Purgatory Pyre
Earth Dragon's Roar*
Dragon Air Pollution
Hellfire Breath
Crimson Flame
Ferocious Roar
Dragon Star Explosion
Earth Dragon's Roar・Attendance Ceremony
Tenryu's Judgement
Earth Dragon's Roar / Shi type
Pound*
Spells
None
Haunts at:
Unknown

Monsters series[]

Dragon Warrior Monsters[]

# - DracoLord1
??? Family
Dracolord1
HP Wisdom Attack Defence Agility
2/5 5/5 2/5 2/5 5/5
Description: Tried to unite the monsters to rule the world.
Spells and Abilities
Firebal (Lv. 4)
Meditate (Lv. 27)
BeDragon (Lv. 28)
How to breed:
Servant X Andreal / GreatDrak


# - DracoLord2
??? Family
Dracolord2
HP Wisdom Attack Defence Agility
2/5 4/5 3/5 2/5 5/5
Description: This is the true identity of DracoLord.
Spells and Abilities
FireAir (Lv. 4)
Massacre (Lv. 13)
Surge (Lv. 24)
How to breed:
DracoLord1 X Divinegon


The Dragonlord (DracoLord at the time) acts as the boss of the Gate of Ambition and will attempt to draw Terry over to his side in the same way he attempts to bargain with the Hero in the original Dragon Quest. But even if replied with a Yes, he would laugh and still challenge Terry.

Dragon Warrior Monsters 2[]



Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart[]

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Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker[]

Game Description: This monarch was once bested by the Legendary Dragon Warrior in the days of yore.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2/Joker 2 Professional[]

The Dragonlord and his sorcerer form, Dracolord, are synthesizable monsters in this spin-off game; the former is a special case since it's one of two monsters which forcefully require a Captain Crow for its synthesis, the other being Dr Snapped.

Dracolord can be obtained by synthesizing a Great Dragon and aDemon-At-Arms. For Dragonlord, it requires the two resulting monsters of a Dracolord, an Alabast Dragon, a Gem Slime and a Captain Crow.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D[]

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Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light[]

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Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince[]

The Dragonlord[]
The Dark Prince Synthesising
Monster Monster Result
Knight Abhorrent + Cosmic Chimaera = The Dragonlord
Synth type Special Fusion
The Dark Prince Rank and Slot No.
Rank A
Slot No. 127
True Dragonlord[]
The Dark Prince Synthesising
Monster Monster Result
The Dragonlord + Dread Dragon = True Dragonlord
Synth type Special Fusion
The Dark Prince Rank and Slot No.
Rank S
Slot No. 132

Swords series[]

Kenshin Dragon Quest[]

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Battle Road series[]

Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory[]

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Builders series[]

Dragon Quest Builders[]

Set in an alternate timeline from the events of the original Dragon Quest, in Builders the Hero fell for the Dragonlord's ruse and took his offer for half the world. Warping the hero's mind into that of a bumbling barbarian, no one stood in the Dragonlord's way as he cast the entire archipelago of Alefguard into darkness, resulting in the very land being split into smaller islands. Furthermore, the scaled sovereign placed a curse upon the population that blocked all memory of building from their minds: while a person may recognize the individual materials used to construct something, the moment they move to craft, the curse activated and sealed the person's memory of how the materials are used, effectively sending the population to the stone age and forcing them into an arduous existence living off the bare expanse of the despoiled land.

From his perverse perspective, the Dragonlord considered this to be an act of mercy as he stated that through building, humans rebel against their fates and in turn only bring upon more misery to their lives. He explained that he had no choice but to muddle everyone's minds, for if he did not the world would be thrown out of balance and fall into ruin. As the Builder is the last remaining vestige of the spark of creativity, they must be snuffed out under his heel. During their journey, the Builder themselves would personally see just how dreadful the actions and further manupulations perpetuated by the Dragonlord have brought misery to Alefgard.

Finally meeting face to face, the Dragonlord was unimpressed with the Builder, stating they were nothing more than but a mere puppet of Rubiss. Privy to the Goddess' forsaking of the Builder near the end of Chapter four, he attempted to use this schism and uncertainty to cloud the child's mind when he was bested in his humanoid form. Offering half the world, the Dragonlord stated that the Builder's role in Rubiss's scheme had ended and they should not allow themselves to be a slave to one who had already abandoned them. Whispering with a forked-tongue, he sweetened the deal by promising that the land the Builder would inherit would not be one of ashen darkness that Alefguard has become, but one of light where they may build their own kingdom as they see fit. If the Builder refuses the offer, the Dragonlord points out that if they fail to defeat him, then all the towns, villages, and friends they have made will be rent asunder.

Luckily, despite still being unsure about the Builder's ability to actually defeat the tyrant, Rubiss came to their aid, teleporting during the final confrontation with the Dragonlord's true form the various friends the youth had made during their quest, who themselves provided the Builder the necessary resorces to counter each of the dreadful Dragonlord's attacks, until the dragon was finally at last slain for good and the Sphere of Light recuperated.

Other games[]

Fortune Street[]

He is an unlockable playable character in this with Square-Enix game collaboration with Nintendo.

Dragon Quest of the Stars[]

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Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - Xross Blade[]

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Media appearances[]

Captain N: The Game Master[]

The Dragonlord appear as an antagonist to The N Team, and worked with Mother Brain in his first appearance. He appeared in:

  • Episode 7: "Three Men & A Dragon"
  • Episode 23: "Trojan Dragon"
  • Episode 24: "I Wish I Was a Wombatman" (Robotic replica)

The Dragonlord is the only character from a Dragon Quest game to appear in both episodes, with a Blue dragon appearing in Episode 7, and a Knight aberrant appearing in Episode 23.

Manga[]

Emblem of Roto[]

Ryūō (Emblem of Roto) is revealed the be the Dragonlord during the final chapter of the manga.

Gallery[]

Artwork[]

Sprites[]

Trivia[]

  • In the North American manual to Dragon Warrior, the Dragonlord's heavily altered origin story is told as part of the manual's story section. He was originally a mortal man who shunned the power of the Ball of Light and retreated into the mountains where he encountered a dragon. Anticipating his death, the man instead discovered that the dragon would obey his every command, and he would in time use this power to raise an army and attack Alefgard as the Dragonlord.
  • The character Maou in Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is based upon the Dragonlord, down to having horns that resemble his own. In this work, fittingly, she talks of offering the hero half of the world, much as the Dragonlord did in Dragon Quest (fittingly, as Maoyuu is a parody of Dragon Quest).
  • In Dragon Quest Builders, he is announced as "The Once and Future King of Darkness".
  • Considering that Ultimate Dragon resembles the Dragonlord's second form, there isthe slight possibility that the Dragonlord could be a Dragovian, because he can transform into a dragon, much like the Lord of the Dragovians.
  • In Dragon Quest XI, the Yggdragon says that darkeness may even take her in the future and she will need to be stopped; consequently, it may be possible that the Yggdragon could have some connection with the Dragonlord or the Dragon Queen.
  • Dragonlord is the first ever video game final boss with a transformation.
  • Dragonlord shares many similarities with the Disney character Maleficent; both are evil sorcerers who transform into a dragon to fight against a daring swordsman. In both cases, they transform at the near end of their respective stories, calling on their full power in one last desperate bid to win over their adversary.

Other languages[]

Other languages
French Lordraco
Lordragon
German Drachenfürst
Draklord (M)
Dracofürst (J,J2 first form)
Spanish Amo de los Dragones
Dracolord
Draconarius
Señor de los Dragones
Italian Dragonlord
Dutch Unknown
Norwegian Unknown
Greek Unknown
Portuguese Dracolorde
Russian Unknown
Chinese 龍王 (1st Form)
極龍王 (2nd Form)
Korean 용왕 (1st Form)
진정한 용왕 (2nd Form)

Related monsters[]

See also[]


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