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Toast Dragon Quest's 30th Anniversary with Premium Sake
posted on by Eric Stimson
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It's been 30 years since the first Dragon Quest introduced role-playing gameplay to the Famicom/NES, and Square Enix is determined to honor the occasion. On May 27 it offered fans a junmai daiginjōshu (the highest quality of sake) from Fukumitsuya to celebrate. The sake, called Soshite Densetsu e... (roughly, "And Then, Towards Legend..."), is brewed from 100% Yamada Nishiki rice and is in a bottle colored blue like the armor of Dragon Quest III's protagonist. It also comes in a set with a masu (wooden drinking box) with, naturally, a Slime logo. Its alcohol content is 17% and the bottle holds 720 mL (24.3 oz). The sake itself costs 4,800 yen ($43.70), while the set will set you back 5,600 yen ($51).
On the same day, Shueisha is published Akira Toriyama: Dragon Quest Illustrations, an artbook of Akira Toriyama's contributions to the Dragon Quest franchise over the decades. From the original game to the upcoming Dragon Quest XI and including spin-offs, readers can enjoy flipping through over 500 different Toriyama designs and illustrations. Some of these have not yet been publicly released. The book comes with commentary and a poster of the series' main characters. It is priced at 3,500 yen ($31.86) and comes in a box.
The sake can be bought here while the book can be found in physical or online Japanese bookstores.
Amazon has also opened a Dragon Quest online store with other 30th-anniversary merchandise. Takayuki Yamada recently revealed himself to have an impressive knowledge of Dragon Quest spells.
Sources: Inside for All Gamers, Comic Natalie and S-Manga.net; Images from Fukumitsuya
