Dragon Quest's music CDs were fought over by the publishers Apollon and Sony Records...now they're all being reprinted by SPE Visual. But, Enix saved any drama CDs as their own publishing job. And man, did they ever do a good job.

This Drama CD is the first in a long line of DQ Dramas...DQ II, DQ III (double-disc), DQ IV Volumes 1-3, DQ V Volumes 1-3, and DQ VI Volumes 1-3, each come with the same style packaging and famous Seiyuu (voice actors/actresses) doing the voices. But here, here is the one that started it all.

First of all, this drama CD has more music than any other drama CD I've ever listened to. They incorporate NEW versions of all the famous DQ music you know and love. As if that weren't enough, the CD comes with a big, 48-page illustrated booklet to follow the drama. I've never played a Dragon Quest game before, but I'm pretty sure I know most of the plot to the first one, thanks to being able to follow along with this illustrated booklet.

All of the DQ Dramas appear on Yahoo! Japan Auctions all the time, though you usually see them for DQ I and II most often...And I've yet to see the DQIII double-disc package. I suggest that if you really want some good DQ artwork and are a big DQ fan overall that you hunt down this 74-minute CD.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann