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Yes, there are characters. This is still in the eight-bit world of games, where characters don't get much characterization, but there are heroes.
The heroes[]
Ortega's Heir[]
The son (or daughter) of the great hero Ortega. Shortly after you were born, your father departed on a quest to defeat the fiend Baramos, never to return. In his absence, it falls to you to take up his quest and save the world.
Tropes associated with the Hero:
- Action Girl: If female.
- Always Male: In the original, even if you chose to be female, you would be "Ortega's son".
- This was more a translation issue, however, and is Lampshaded in the Updated Rerelease: if you choose to be female there, the king will start to call you "Ortega's son" before correcting himself and justifying the mistake with "But your dauntless look — no man could hope to match you!"
- The original also used the same sprite for the male and female versions of the Hero, unlike every other class.
- Bifauxnen: If female.
- Can't Drop the Hero: And can't change your class to anything other than "Hero".
- Curtains Match the Window
- Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday: You aren't allowed to start your quest until you turn sixteen.
- Disappeared Dad
- Fake King: You don't choose to be one, but the king of Romaly gives you the crown so he can go gamble. You can hang around as king for as long as you feel like, then make the real king take his crown back so you can continue on your quest.
- Good Morning, Crono
- Hello, Insert Name Here: While you can change any character's name, most people will refer to the Hero.
- The Hero
- Heroic Mime
- I Have Many Names: In the end, he'll be Roto, Loto, or Erdrick, depending on which game you choose.
- Jack of All Stats
- Magic Knight
- One Man Party: Only possible for The Hero.
- Playing with Fire: Every magic user but the Priest gets some of this.
- Retroactive Legacy
- Secret Test of Character: In the remake.
- Shock and Awe
- Weapon of Choice:
- With This Herring: 300 gold pieces. On the GBC remake, the king gives you a small amount of gold and some basic equipment.
- You Killed My Father
The Soldier/Warrior[]
Soldiers are your obvious choice for defense. They'll quickly have more hit points than the Hero and will even get better armor.
Tropes associated with the Soldier/Warrior:
- Bare Your Midriff
- Battle Bikini: Female-only.
- The Lancer: Often considered this by fans.
- Mighty Glacier
- Ms. Fanservice: Female-only.
- Phenotype Stereotype: Of Scandinavians.
- Real Men Wear Pink
- Stripperific
- Weapon of Choice:
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Purple for the female Soldier/Warrior, blue for the male.
The Pilgrim/Priest/Cleric[]
Your designated healer. Unlike many games, healers in Dragon Quest can become decent attackers and can learn some wind-based magic and other spells.
Tropes associated with the Pilgrim/Priest:
- Blow You Away
- Bowdlerize: Not called a priest or even a cleric, but a pilgrim in the NES version.
- The Chick
- Combat Medic
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifice
- One-Hit Kill: Beat and Defeat
- Razor Wind
- Weapon of Choice:
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Not as much as the Hero or Warrior though.
- Blade on a Stick
- Simple Staff / Magic Wand
- White Mage
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair
The Wizard/Mage[]
Your designated combat mage. Very weak physically, but boast powerful magic. Always put in the back.
Tropes associated with the Wizard/Mage:
- An Ice Person
- Black Mage
- Cute Witch <=> Hot Witch: Depends on the art style. In official art, the latter applies, but the sprites ingame tends toward the former.
- Glass Cannon
- Mana Drain: Robmagic
- Odd Name Out: Sure, Fireball/Firebane/Firebolt and Blaze/Blazemore/Blazemost follow a pattern, but Bang/Boom/Explodet?
- Playing with Fire
- Robe and Wizard Hat: The male Wizard/Mage even looks like a dead ringer for the classic Mage stereotype in the original artwork.
- The Smart Guy
- Squishy Wizard
- Stuff Blowing Up
- Weapon of Choice:
The Fighter[]
The physical Glass Cannon. Doesn't use much equipment. In fact, doesn't really need equipment. A poor man's alternative to the Soldier (though sacrificing nothing in sheer power), but if you prefer two physical and one magic, you will have a Fighter.
Tropes associated with the Fighter:
- Artifact of Doom: The most well-known cursed item, the Golden Claw, is his.
- Ascended Extra: The male Fighter has made cameo appearances in later games.
- Badass Long Hair
- Bare-Fisted Monk
- The Big Guy
- Curtains Match the Window
- Cute Bruiser: The female Fighter.
- Fight in The Nude: He's actually just as effective without equipment as with. In fact, most weapons he can equip actually lower his attack power.
- Glass Cannon
- Lightning Bruiser: At high levels, he's likely to kill most enemies before they can even move.
- Memetic Badass:A deceased Fighter ingame has this reputation.
- Mukokuseki: One of the game's few aversions.
- Odango: The female version.
- Phenotype Stereotype: Of Chinese People.
- Wolverine Claws: The only weapons worth equipping him with.
The Merchant/Dealer[]
The only one of the characters you need to have to complete the game, the Merchant is the Jack of All Stats besides your healers, only not magical.
Tropes associated with the Merchant/Dealer:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism
- Arab Oil Sheikh: The male Merchant looks vaguely Arab.
- Character Select Forcing: In order to progress, you MUST recruit a Merchant at some point.
- Jack of All Stats: Leaning toward Mighty Glacier stat-wise, though.
- Master of None
- New York City: He starts a town there.
- President Evil: He slowly becomes this.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Averted; he's just thrown in jail and eventually released, rather than being executed.
- Sixth Ranger: You'll need him for one scene, but you won't want to use your own character for it.
- Weapon of Choice:
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: The female merchant usually has pink hair in fan works and some official art.
The Goof-off or Jester[]
What are these guys doing on the battlefield? The higher their level, the more they goof off when they're supposed to be fighting! And even when they do what they're supposed to, all their stats except luck are mediocre at best. Not the most reliable of companions... At level 20, however, they can become a Sage without needing the Book of Satori.
Tropes associated with the Goof-off/Jester:
- Joke Character
- Lethal Joke Character: Their Whistle ability in the remakes is actually useful.
- Magikarp Power
- Playboy Bunny: The female
- Tagalong Kid
- Weapon of Choice:
The Sage[]
A mysterious and rare profession, Sages learn all the spells of both Priests and Mages. Nobody is capable of simply starting as one, however; it takes special training and the rare and highly-valued Book of Satori...
Tropes associated with the Sage:
- Blow You Away
- Color Coded for Your Convenience: Hair and outfit are blue.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Eleventh-Hour Ranger
- An Ice Person
- Jack of All Stats
- Magikarp Power: The other side of the Goof-offs.
- The Medic
- Ms. Fanservice: The female sage gets a lot of fanart.
- Odd Name Out: Bang/Boom/Explodet
- Playing with Fire
- Prestige Class
- The Red Mage: With none of the weaknesses of the archetype; learns all priest and mage spells, and has stronger physical stats and an overall wider selection of equipment.
- Stuff Blowing Up
- Weapon of Choice:
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair
The Thief[]
A Fragile Speedster that only appears in the Remakes. While the player cannot manually command them to steal, they have a chance of automatically swiping items from their defeated opponents... and the higher they level, the better their chances.
Tropes associated with the Thief:
- Darkskinned Blonde: The female Thief, at least.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: Finishes the trifecta
- Fragile Speedster
- Kleptomaniac Hero
- Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
- Weapon of Choice:
- White-Haired Pretty Boy
- White-Haired Pretty Girl
Friends and Allies[]
Ortega[]
The Hero's father. Fought a monster over a volcano and fell in.
Tropes associated with Ortega:
- The Ace: Well regarded by all who knew him.
- Disappeared Dad
- Heroic Sacrifice
- No One Could Have Survived That
The Hero's Mother[]
Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Has no canon name.
Tropes associated with The Hero's mother:
Divinegon[]
A god who grants you wishes if you defeat him.
Tropes associated with the Divinegon:
- Bonus Boss
- Fluffy Cloud Heaven
- The Gods Must Be Lazy: Really, you're not going to help us defeat Zoma? At all?
- Olympus Mons
Adversaries[]
Kandar[]
A thief whom the hero crosses paths with several times. A vicious, axe-wielding brute.
Tropes associated with Kandar:
- Four Is Death: He shows up with three henchmen the first time.
- Goldfish Poop Gang
- Heel Face Turn: Albeit not to your party. He just gives up the life of crime after you kick his ass twice, and becomes a law-abiding civilian.
Orochi[]
A monster on the island of Zipangu who requires sacrifices.
Tropes associated with Orochi:
Boss Troll[]
A vicious beast who plagues the realm of Samanao by pretending to be the king.
Tropes associated with Boss Troll:
- Fake King
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: For a guy who just woke up, he's pretty much alert throughout the fight.
Baramos[]
Thy enemy shall be the archfiend Baramos.
Tropes associated with Baramos:
- Darkest Africa: His castle is in Central Africa.
- Disc One Final Boss
- The Dragon
- Orcus on His Throne
King Hydra[]
A palette swap of Orochi. Kills The Hero's father.
Tropes associated with King Hydra:
BaraBomus[]
An evil wizard working for Zoma.
Tropes associated with BaraBomus:
- Evil Genius
- In My Language, That Sounds Like...: Bara is Japanese gay pornography.
BaraGonus[]
A skeletal dragon also associated with Zoma.
Tropes associated with BaraGonus:
- The Dark Chick: Has zero for several stats.
- In My Language, That Sounds Like...: Bara again, but with two syllables that sound like "gonads".
Zoma[]
The real cause of all this mess.
Tropes associated with Zoma:
- Big Bad
- Book Ends: Ending the Roto saga where it began.
- Four Is Death: Four bosses in Charlock Castle
- Genre Savvy: Hides the Light Orb and destroys the Sword of Kings.
- An Ice Person: Future games that feature him as a Bonus Boss (The Monsters series, DQIX) portray him as a master of ice magic.
- Orcus on His Throne
- Revive Kills Zombie: Once you use the Light Orb on him.
- Weaksauce Weakness