In the November 1980 edition of "Dragon" (Issue 43), Douglas Bachmann had issues with lack of balance in the skills system, but found the character generation system "a delight". Bachmann also liked the combat system, saying, "The great strength of this combat system is that time and activity are closely related and regulated. The result is to allow one to imagine rather detailed combat scenes and to keep each player character’s activity within bounds. It is a very nice system and, when one becomes comfortable with it, moves along quite nicely." He concluded, "["DragonQuest"] does have some problems, but I have found it to be an exciting game which has succeeded in setting limits and structuring activity while also encouraging creativity. For $10 you should get your money’s worth from the game."