
On February 10, 1988, the game company Enix (back before they merged with Squaresoft to become what we know today as Square Enix) released Dragon Quest 3 for the NES in Japan. This third installment in the legendary Dragon Quest franchise was heralded by fans and critics back in the day as one of the most revolutionary turn-based JRPGs of the 1980s. It improved upon the gameplay of its predecessors and incorporated innovative gameplay mechanics that later games in the series would retain, such as being able to create and swap customizable party members, a day/night cycle, an open-world-like gameplay structure, and more.