The world's first video game concert was at Suntory Hall, in 1987. Dragon Quest II had made that moment feel inevitable.
Dragon Quest II arrived in January 1987 with a change that would define Japanese role-playing games for decades: a party. Where the original Dragon Quest placed a single hero alone against a monster-filled world, its sequel introduced companions — the Prince of Cannock and Princess of Moonbrooke — who fought alongside the player. The logic of the party, and the relationships within it, became foundational to virtually every major Japanese RPG that followed. The cultural response deepened the phenomenon that the first game had started. Lines outside game stores grew longer and more intense. The release became one of the early markers of a new relationship between Japan and its games — not hobby or toy but anticipated event, the kind that required queuing before dawn. Eight months after the game's release, on August 20, 1987, composer Koichi Sugiyama — already a celebrated conductor who had worked for NHK and arranged music across multiple decades — organized and conducted the world's first video game music concert at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He performed Dragon Quest I and II music with a full orchestra. The concert was not a promotional stunt. It was a statement: games had produced music serious enough to be performed on the same stage as any other classical work, and Dragon Quest had been the reason to believe it.
— inspired by Koichi Sugiyama
I already knew that the first Dragon Quest had been a battle against memory limits — content cut, corners trimmed. So when Dragon Quest II handed me a ship and told me to sail beyond the horizon, I was genuinely astonished. There was a whole world out there.
But that vastness came at a price. As the journey went on, the difficulty climbed steeply — and then there was the ふっかつのじゅもん, the resurrection spell. To save your progress, you had to copy down fifty-two characters by hand, one by one, without a single mistake. One wrong letter and everything was gone. For a child, it was absolutely brutal.
I later learned there was a reason for that difficulty. Yuji Horii himself admitted he never had time to thoroughly play the latter half before release — he simply ran out of time. And the handwritten development notes stacked up to fifteen centimetres of graph paper. That vast world was built, square by square, by human hands.
It was painful. There were tears. And yet I couldn't stop. That is Dragon Quest II.
About this game
Dragon Quest II is the 1987 Famicom sequel that introduced party-based combat to the Dragon Quest series, expanding from the single hero of the original to a team of three. Players recruit the Prince of Cannock and Princess of Moonbrooke alongside the Prince of Midenhall, traveling a world far larger than the original's single continent. Chunsoft developed; Koichi Sugiyama composed. The game sold approximately 2.4 million copies in Japan and continued the mass-queuing phenomenon that Dragon Quest had created at store openings. In 1987, Sugiyama conducted the world's first video game music concert — performing Dragon Quest I and II music at Suntory Hall.
Key Features
First Dragon Quest with party-based combat — up to three characters with distinct stats and equipment. Vastly expanded world map compared to the original. Overworld sailing by ship. Three princes/princess from different kingdoms, each with different stat growth and equipment access. Larger dungeon structures than Dragon Quest I.
Gallery
The Story Behind
The Dragon Quest phenomenon deepened with II: the mass queuing outside game stores that would become a cultural hallmark of Japan's game release culture grew more intense. Composer Koichi Sugiyama, already an acclaimed conductor and composer before Dragon Quest, used the series' success to organize the world's first video game music concert at Suntory Hall on August 20, 1987 — just months after this game's release. The Tokyo Strings Ensemble performed Dragon Quest I and II music before a live audience, an event that elevated game music to concert-hall art.
Tricks & Tales
Koichi Sugiyama organized the world's first video game music concert on August 20, 1987 at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, just months after Dragon Quest II's release — performing Dragon Quest I and II music with the Tokyo Strings Ensemble for a live audience. This concert is credited with launching the tradition of orchestral video game music concerts that continues worldwide today. Dragon Quest II sold approximately 2.4 million copies in Japan on the Famicom.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Famicom cartridge work on a North American Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
No, not without an adapter. The Famicom uses a 60-pin edge connector while the NES uses a 72-pin connector with a physically different form factor — the two are incompatible at the cartridge slot level. Third-party adapters exist that bridge the pin difference and allow Famicom cartridges to run in a NES. On a Japanese Famicom, NES cartridges face the same incompatibility in reverse. To play Japanese Famicom software, you need a Japanese Famicom, a Famicom-compatible clone console, or a NES fitted with an appropriate adapter.
How should I clean a Famicom cartridge to ensure reliable play?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated PCB edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. Never blow into the cartridge — breath moisture accelerates contact corrosion over time. If cleaning is needed inside, Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws (not standard Phillips); a security bit screwdriver is required to open the shell without damage. Note that most Famicom boot failures originate in the 60-pin console slot rather than the cartridge itself — cleaning the console slot contacts separately with a contact cleaning tool is often the more effective fix.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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