18 October 2026 (Originally created 28 June 2023)
I'm currently working on a larger project about Dragon Quest 1's various localisation efforts (2026 note: that article was written and can be found also de-archived on my website HERE). I collected a bit of data about various aspects of each game and thought I'd put them into a nice, readable format. The "Vars." column stands for "variations" and is just a sum of how many differences each monster contains. A lower number means more consensus.
Note: The SFC version is sampled from just one fan translation (of several available) and may not be representative.
(2026 note: From a cursory glance of an enemy table for the HD2D version, it appears that the "Modern" column I use is still relevant for the most part.)
Without further ado, enjoy a comparison of monster names across notable versions.
| # | Famicom | NES | SFC | GBC | Modern | Vars. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  |
スライム | Slime | Slime | Slime | Slime | 1 |
| 02 |  |
スライムベス | Red Slime | Red Slime | RedSlime | She-slime | 2 |
| 03 |  |
メタルスライム | Metal Slime | Metal Slime | Metaly | Metal slime | 2 |
| 04 |  |
ドラキー | Drakee | Drakee | Dracky | Dracky | 2 |
| 05 |  |
メイジドラキー | Magidrakee | MagiDrakee | MagDracky | Drackolyte | 3 |
| 06 |  |
ドラキーマ | Drakeema | Drakeema | Drackeema | Drackyma | 3 |
| 07 |  |
メーダ | Druin | Meda | Eyeder | Lunatick | 4 |
| 08 |  |
メーダロード | Druinlord | Medalord | Eyedrlord | Raving lunatick | 4 |
| 09 |  |
おおさそり | Scorpion | Giant Scorpion | Scorpion | Scorpion | 2 |
| 10 |  |
てつのさそり | Metal Scorpion | Iron Scorpion | MtlScrpio | Iron scorpion | 2 |
| 11 |  |
しのさそり | Rogue Scorpion | Death Scorpion | RgeScrpio | Death scorpion | 2 |
| 12 |  |
まほうつかい | Magician | Mage | Magician | Prestidigitator | 3 |
| 13 |  |
まどうし | Warlock | Wizard | Druin | Legerdeman | 4 |
| 14 |  |
だいまどう | Wizard | Master Wizard | Druinlord | Vis mager | 4 |
| 15 |  |
ドロル | Droll | Droll | Droll | Drohl drone | 2 |
| 16 |  |
ドロルメイジ | Drollmagi | Droll Mage | Drollmagi | Drohl diabolist | 3 |
| 17 |  |
ゴースト | Ghost | Ghost | Spooky | Ghost | 2 |
| 18 |  |
メトロゴースト | Poltergeist | Metro Ghost | Poltergst | Fightgeist | 3 |
| 19 |  |
ヘルゴースト | Specter | Hell Ghost | Specter | Spitegeist | 3 |
| 20 |  |
キメラ | Wyvern | Chimera | Wyvern | Chimaera | 2 |
| 21 |  |
メイジキメラ | Magiwyvern | Magic Chimera | MagWyvern | Hocus chimaera | 3 |
| 22 |  |
スターキメラ | Starwyvern | Star Chimera | StarWyvern | Cosmic chimaera | 3 |
| 23 |  |
リカント | Wolf | Wolf | Wolf | Bewarewolf | 2 |
| 24 |  |
リカントマムル | Wolflord | Wolf Mammal | Wolflord | Scarewolf | 3 |
| 25 |  |
キラーリカント | Werewolf | Killer Wolf | Werewolf | Tearwolf | 3 |
| 26 |  |
よろいのきし | Knight | Armor Knight | ArmKnight | Knight errant | 4 |
| 27 |  |
あくまのきし | Axe Knight | Demon Knight | MadKnight | Knight Aberrant | 4 |
| 28 |  |
しにがみのきし | Armored Knight | Hades' Knight | AxeKnight | Knight Abhorrent | 4 |
| 29 |  |
がいこつ | Skeleton | Skeleton | Skeleton | Skeleton | 1 |
| 30 |  |
しりょう | Wraith | Undead | Wraith | Skeleton scrapper | 3 |
| 31 |  |
しりょうのきし | Wraith Knight | Undead Knight | DeadNite | Skeleton soldier | 4 |
| 32 |  |
かげのきし | Demon Knight | Shadow Knight | ShdwKnght | Dark skeleton | 3 |
| 33 |  |
ゴールドマン | Goldman | Gold Man | Goldman | Gold golem | 2 |
| 34 |  |
ゴーレム | Golem | Golem | Golem | Golem | 1 |
| 35 |  |
ストーンマン | Stoneman | Stone Man | RockGolem | Stone golem | 3 |
| 36 |  |
ドラゴン | Green Dragon | Dragon | Dragon | Green dragon | 2 |
| 37 |  |
キースドラゴン | Blue Dragon | Kiss Dragon | BlueDrgn | Blue dragon | 2 |
| 38 |  |
ダースドラゴン | Red Dragon | Darth Dragon | RedDragon | Dread dragon | 3 |
| 39 |  |
りゅうおう | Dragon Lord | Dragon King | DracoLord | Dragonlord | 3 |
| 40 |  |
りゅうおう （正体） |
Dragon Lord | Dragon King | DracoLord | Dragonlord | 3 |