Dragon Quest Walk x Dragon Ball: An Epic Crossover in a Mobile Game

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A collaboration between the popular mobile game Dragon Quest Walk and the legendary manga Dragon Ball began on March 12. It drew an overwhelming response from fans of both franchises.

Yuji Horii, creator of the Dragon Quest franchise shared on the game's official X account (formerly Twitter) that the reaction had been "incredible." This special event comes one year after the passing of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama.

Many mobile games host major events at six-month intervals after launch. This collaboration was timed to mark both the 5.5th anniversary of Dragon Quest Walk and the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball's serialization.

Timing and Significance

Dragon Quest Walk is a location-based game where players explore the real world, battle enemies, and aim for map-based destinations. In this event, players can fight alongside Dragon Ball's main character Son Goku against powerful foes.

Notably, this is the first time Dragon Quest Walk has collaborated with a non-Dragon Quest franchise. On the night of March 8, Horii posted, "Due to the huge response to the Dragon Ball collaboration, I've been getting many questions about whether Dragon Ball fans can start playing Dragon Quest Walk now. Of course, it's okay!" When the event was first announced, he remarked that it felt like a collaboration "that should have happened ages ago but didn't."

*Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball and character designer for Dragon Quest. (December 17, 1981 –March 1, 2024)*

Akira Toriyama and Yuji Horii

Dragon Ball began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in November 1984, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024. The first Dragon Quest game was released in May 1986.

Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, was also responsible for the character designs in Dragon Quest. Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima — the model for an antagonist in his earlier work Dr Slump — was a close friend of Horii. Toriyama's involvement with Dragon Quest came about thanks to this relationship.

Sadly, Toriyama passed away on March 1, 2024, at the age of 68 due to an acute subdural hematoma. Fans around the world mourned his loss, honoring the lasting legacy he left behind.