Dragon Quest III, known as Dragon Warrior III in its original Western release, was the end of a trilogy comprised of the classic franchise's first three entries. It was incredibly well-received upon release and was seen as the best in its series for the longest time, having dramatically improved upon its predecessors. Its legacy has seen it re-released across several other platforms, including more modern systems such as the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The retro game's classic status has also made it popular among the speedrunning community.
This is a bit unusual for a long-winded JRPG. Despite this, the game is now easier to beat than ever, thanks to an exploit found by a Japanese fan. Utilizing glitches and other game cartridges, the Famicom version of Dragon Quest III can actually be beaten in less than six minutes.
Begin Your Quest
The new record is held by a gamer named Hitshee, who was also the holder of the previous world-record for the fastest completion time of Dragon Quest III. This new method begins by playing the game up to the 1:40 mark, which is the first time that the game will allow the player to save their progress. Immediately afterwards, the player must remove the game cartridge and replace it with the Dr. Mario Famicom cartridge. After reaching that game's menu screen, remove the cartridge and replace it with Kirby's Adventure before putting the good doctor back in the cartridge dock. From there, two-player mode should be selected, with the settings put at 20 for the 1P virus level and zero for the 2P. Afterwards, press right on the D-Pad 15 times on the 2P speed setting.
Once this is done, swap out Dr. Mario and put Dragon Quest III back into the system. This will load the game up with a party containing a Gadabout and a paralyzed Mage with glitchy readings for their names. The player must walk around until the Mage's paralysis wears off before healing them and saving the game once more. This leads to the final set of swap outs.
Final Fantasy X Dragon Quest
After achieving this save, swap the cartridge out for the cartridge of the original Final Fantasy. This step can be troublesome, and it should be done with the console still powered on. Doing so will trigger the opening scene before taking the player into Final Fantasy's overworld. Once this step is reached, swap out the game one final time back to Dragon Quest III. Everything from the audio to the visuals will be glitchier than ever, but the player's party will have maxed out levels.
From there, the player has to use some of their abilities in the game such as Zoom to make their way back to Ladutorm Castle. After saving again, turn the game off before restarting it and applying the the first save slot's progress to the third. Starting the game up from the third save slot will treat the player to the ending scene and credits. This can all be achieved at around five minutes and 53 seconds, making it the quickest way to beat Dragon Quest III.
This may sound completely ridiculous, and it is, but it's only the latest outrageous way to beat the game quicker. After all, Hitshee's previous record was achieved by literally cooking a Famicom system until the correct requirements were achieved. Thankfully for those not wanting to burn their classic consoles, this new method for beating Dragon Quest III only involves using three other games.