There are a lot of things to love about Dragon Quest, even from its earliest days - the music, the sound effects, the art design (RIP Toriyama)… but not everything was immediately iconic from the get-go. Namely quest design left much to be desired, and while some of it is certainly due to the game’s limited scope, budget and hardware of the day, the game’s repeated focus on finding various keys to open the way forward is about as simple as it gets. Not bad if used in basic dungeon design, but repeatedly used as major plot goals? Whatever your opinion, you will need to find three different keys over the course of the game, and this page will provide minimalist walkthroughs for each of them in Dragon Quest 1: HD-2D Remake!
Page Breakdown¶
| Quick Search |
|---|
| Thief’s Key Location |
| Magic Key Location |
| Ultimate Key Location |
Red doors and chests can only be opened with the Thief’s Key, blue doors and chests will remain shut unless set upon by the Magic Key and green(ish) doors and chests can only be compelled to open by the Ultimate Key. Below we’ll cover how to obtain each one of these devices!
(1 of 5) Return to Tantegel after visiting the Shrine of Rain to be tasked with finding Erdrick’s Keys.
Thief’s Key Location¶
After visiting Erdrick’s Hollow and the Shrine of Rain, you’ll need to return to the King of Tantegel and talk to him, whereupon you’ll be tasked with finding three keys Erdrick used in his travels so long ago. The first, the Thief’s Key, has been spotted at Galenholm. Below is a step-by-step guide for obtaining the Thief’s Key:
- Enter Galenholm to trigger a scene.
- Travel to the Roadside Inn and enter the northwestern room for another scene.
- Enter the Craggy Cave and defeat Robbin’ ‘Ood and the Robbin’ ‘Oodlums.
- Defeat the Sorcerer at the end of Craggy Cave - B2
- Return to the entrance of the dungeon for a scene - you’ll get the Thief’s Key after this scene ends.
(1 of 4) Talk to the Warlock of Doorlocks in Rimuldar and strike a deal with the mage.
Magic Key Location¶
Acquire your first key and you’ll go from one key hunt right to another. Once you have the Thief’s Key, make your way through Quagmire Cave to reach the Rimuldar region to the south, then press on to Rimuldar to trigger a scene. Once that scene is done, head to the house of the Warlock of Doorlocks (the northwestern house - you’ll have to roam the perimeter of the city to get there) to trigger another scene. You’re now tasked with consulting with a dwarf about forging a Magic Key, which runs hand-in-hand with your other main objective. Once again we’ll provide a step-by-step guide for acquiring the Magic Key:
- Travel to the Cave of the Dwarves and reach the dwarven village on Cave of the Dwarves - B3.
- Head into a room on the northern edge of the level and talk to a bed-bound dwarf to trigger a scene.
- Travel to the Faerie Village for some scenes, then enter a house to the west for more scenes.
- Travel to the Field of Flowers and pick up the
Glimmergrass and 
Wakerobin, which will trigger a scene. - Return to the Faerie Village and defeat the enemies. You’ll get the
Sunup Syrup in a scene after the fight. - Head back to the Cave of the Dwarves - B3 and talk to the sick dwarf to give him the cure.
- Backtrack to Rimuldar and give the cure back to the Captain for some scenes.
- Visit the Warlock of Doorlocks for another scene, after which you’ll obtain the Magic Key.
After clearing the Weeping Isle, return to Kol and confront the Spiketail,
and after vanquishing the boss it’ll drop the Ultimate Key.
Ultimate Key Location¶
You’ll start hearing buzz about this device long before you can actually obtain it, but after getting the Magic Key the main quest bothers you with other objectives for a while and puts the incessant key hunt on pause. Progress through main questline until you clear the [Weeping Isle] dungeon, after which you’ll be tasked with traveling to Kol and Galenholm. Go to Kolm and defeat the 
Spiketail boss to obtain the Ultimate Key.
With all three keys in your possession, you can open every door and chest in the game!
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