The game hit store shelves on February 10th, 1988, and racked up a staggering 1.1 million sales in a single day. By the end of the week, it had sold 3 million units and would remain at the top of the Japanese sales charts until April, going on to become Japan's best-selling game of 1988.
The incredible scenes of thousands of Japanese punters queuing to purchase a copy probably won't be seen again, especially as we live in an era where you can simply download a game without having to leave your own home. Such was the fever surrounding the third Dragon Quest title that thefts and assaults were reported and almost 300 arrests were made relating to truancy from school, as eager students bunked off to play the RPG epic.
Given the carnage that surrounded this release, it should come as no surprise that a famous urban legend grew up around Dragon Quest. It was claimed that the Japanese government was so frustrated by the rampant truancy that it passed the "The Dragon Quest Law", which prevented Enix from publishing its games during the week.
This was, of course, completely false – it was Enix itself that decided to only release Dragon Quest games on a Saturday, a trend which continued all the way up to 2017's Dragon Quest XI (it's worth noting that Dragon Quest III HD-2D, however, is not launching at the weekend).
Speaking to IGN about the myth, series executive producer Yuu Miyake said:
You can check out what our friends over at Nintendo Life, Push Square and Pure Xbox think about the HD-2D remake by clicking the links below.
Remember When Dragon Quest III's Launch Triggered Arrests In Japan?
RPG sold over a million copies in a single day
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