Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary 2026 Advent Calendar

The cover is a crowd scene from forty years of adventures: heroes with swords raised, mages and dancers, a great sabre-cat, a castle on the hill and, front and centre, a beaming blue slime wearing a crown. Gold lettering reads “40th Anniversary, 1986–2026”, and the spine carries a slime emblem.

The box beside the full cast of heroes, companions, slimes and monsters.

Forty Years Since the First Quest

The first Dragon Quest launched in Japan on 27 May 1986 for the Famicom. It was created by Yuji Horii, with character art by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, and music by Koichi Sugiyama. In North America the early games were released as Dragon Warrior. Together the three men shaped what a Japanese role-playing game would look like for decades.

The slime is the best example. Horii sketched it as a shapeless blob; Toriyama sent back a smiling blue teardrop, and the team knew it was perfect. That little monster became the face of the whole series, which is why it gets the crown on this box.

What the Designs Cover

• Heroes: armoured warriors, a hero in a purple cape, swordsmen with blue spiky hair and a wandering adventurer with a mouse on his shoulder.
• Companions: a martial artist, a jester, a harp player, a mage in red, a bearded wizard, a warrior with an axe, a dancer and a sorceress with a staff.
• Monsters: the blue Slime, the crowned King Slime, a silver Metal Slime, a Dracky bat and a sabre-cat.
• Keepsakes: a hero’s sword and a 40th-anniversary crest.

The figures are rendered in 3D in our photos, but each piece is a flat acrylic ornament printed on both sides. The numbers on the layout image are there to show the full set; they do not match the windows.

King Slime, a hero, the sabre-cat and other characters hanging on a family tree.

Box and Ornament Details

• Box: 18 cm tall, 13.5 cm wide and 3 cm deep (135 g), with 24 perforated numbered windows.
• Ornaments: about 3.2 cm across, printed on both faces, one matte and one gloss.
• Hanging: each piece has a small hole for a hook or ribbon.
• First use: peel the clear film from both sides before hanging.

The illustrated front and the blue back panel with gold numbers.

A Gift for Every Generation of Player

Dragon Quest has fans who started on the Famicom and fans who met the series on a modern console. This calendar works for both: an older player gets a nod to the 1986 original, a newer one finds the heroes they recognise. Pair it with a favourite game to replay over the holidays.

More for Gamers

Browse more countdowns in our Advent Calendars collection or find more characters in our Figurines & Miniatures collection.

Questions From Dragon Quest Fans

Is the slime a squishy toy?

No. It is a flat acrylic ornament printed with the slime design.

Which games do the characters come from?

The art draws on heroes and companions from across the main series, plus its best-known monsters.

Is it suitable as a gift for a child?

Yes for older children who play the games; the pieces are small, so keep them from very young children.