DragonQuestA Classic RPGDragonquest was one of the "second generation" fantasy role-playing games (FRP or RPG) that followed the trail blazed by Dungeons and Dragons.The first edition of the DragonQuest rules was published by SPI in 1980 and won the "Best New Roleplaying Game" award at the Origins convention. A second revised edition was released in conjunction with Bantam a little later. A 3rd edition was published by TSR however this is generally considered to more akin to D&D than true DragonQuest. The main appeal of DragonQuest was its openness and flexibility - qualities rare in the early RPGs. DragonQuest broke out of the highly structured mould of D&D etc. For instance, instead of restrictive character classes it had a far more open skills based system. In theory a character can learn magic, fighting, healing, thieving etc. However as in real life it is difficult to become an expert at too many things. The skill system - along with other elements such as Colleges of Magic - were also modular. It was designed so that people could build on the basic DragonQuest system with new additions and ideas. Although you could buy some supplements and extra stuff for DragonQuest it is known mainly as a system rather than a world. Indeed, much of the included material drew heavily on existing mythology and literature - that in itself appealed to many people. SPI was purchased by TSR in 1982, with TSR themselves later being purchased by Wizards of the Coast. The name "Dragon Quest" was used for an unrelated series of video games created by Enix. Because of trademark conflicts these video games were renamed "Dragon Warrior" in the US. In 2003 the name "Dragon Quest" was trademarked by Square Enix for the video games. The abandonment of the trademark by Wizards suggest that they have no further plans for the DragonQuest RPG.
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