Comparison

Vay vs DRAGON QUEST III

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Vay

Embark on an epic quest to rescue your kidnapped fiancée and save your kingdom from destructive war machines. This cult classic RPG offers a compelling story, challenging gameplay, and numerous improvements for a modern experience.

Highlights
  • Compelling and engrossing story
  • User selectable difficulty
  • Animated cutscenes with audio
  • Auto-save feature
  • Over 100 enemies and bosses
  • Expansive areas to explore
  • Updated music
Features
Read full description

The 16-bit cult classic RPG from 1994 returns with tons of improvements! When your peaceful kingdom is attacked on your wedding day and your wife-to-be is kidnapped, it falls to you to journey across the world and stop the terrible machines of war that threaten to lay waste to it. FEATURES: User selectable difficulty makes this title great for both beginners and RPG veterans Compelling and engrossing story Nearly ten minutes of animated cutscenes with English and Japanese audio Auto-save feature allows you to play in small increments Over 100 enemies and a dozen challenging bosses Over 90 expansive areas to explore Updated music that loops seamlessly Bluetooth controller support Achievements Absolutely no microtransactions Please note that as of version 2.2, this game requires an A9 or better processor.

About

DRAGON QUEST III

Embark on an epic fantasy quest to defeat a dark lord in this classic role-playing adventure. Build and customize your party with a unique job system, explore vast continents, and enjoy over 30 hours of gameplay with bonus content.

Highlights
  • Freely customizable party system
  • Freely changeable vocations (jobs)
  • Over 30 hours of gameplay
  • Bonus dungeons and locations
  • Simple, intuitive mobile controls
  • Standalone storyline
Read full description

DRAGON QUEST III: The Seeds of Salvation—one of the most highly acclaimed and best-selling games in the franchise is finally here for mobile! Now all three instalments of the Erdrick Trilogy can be played in the palm of your hand! Every wondrous weapon, spectacular spell and awesome adversary in this rich fantasy world is yours to discover in a single standalone package. Download it once, and there’s nothing else to buy, and nothing else to download! DRAGON QUEST III: The Seeds of Salvation has an independent storyline and can be enjoyed without playing DRAGON QUEST I or DRAGON QUEST II. ※In-game text is available in English only. ◆ Prologue On the morning of their sixteenth birthday, the child of Ortega, hero of the land of Aliahan, is charged with a seemingly impossible task by the King himself: to slay the Archfiend Baramos, master of darkness! What trials await our intrepid hero as they set out to take on a quest not even their legendary father was strong enough to complete? ◆Game Features ・Freely Customisable Party System. Set out on an unforgettable adventure with a party of up to four characters who can be customised to your exact specifications at Patty’s Party Planning Place! Choose names, genders and jobs, and put together the team of your dreams! ・Freely Changeable Vocations Your party members can be assigned any one of up to 9 vocations, a choice which will dictate their stats, equipment, spells and abilities. Though the hero’s role has been decided by fate, the jobs of all the other characters are yours to change as you see fit. Characters who change jobs will be returned to Level 1 and have their attributes halved, but they will retain all the spells and abilities they’ve learned, allowing you to tailor your team to perfectly suit your needs. Turn a priest into a warrior to add healing abilities to your swordsman’s arsenal, or mix it up any other way you like! The possibilities are endless! ・Experience an epic RPG experience with over 30 hours of gameplay with added features to the original release! Travel across multiple continents and dungeons as you level up your characters and unlock new spells and abilities. The personality system changes how your character grows making your party always unique. Mini-games like medal collecting to unlock powerful new items that were not available in the original release. Discover and explore bonus dungeons and location after completing the main plot. ・Simple, Intuitive Controls The game’s controls are designed to work perfectly with the vertical layout of any modern mobile device, and the position of the movement button can be changed to facilitate both one- and two-handed play. ・Experience the multi-million selling series, beloved both in Japan and beyond, and see how the masterful talents of series creator Yuji Horii first combined with the revolutionary synthesizer sounds of Koichi Sugiyama and the wildly popular manga illustrations of Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) to create a gaming sensation. [OS Compatibility] iOS 12.0 or higher

Screenshots

Vay4 screens
DRAGON QUEST III4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DRAGON QUEST III at 4.4 against Vay's 4.0. Vay's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 21 months) and price ($5.99 vs $9.99). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Vay costs $5.99 and DRAGON QUEST III $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DRAGON QUEST III holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 78 and 185 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Vay's written reviews are positive against 72% of DRAGON QUEST III's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vay ships an update every 3 weeks, DRAGON QUEST III every 21 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Vay versus DRAGON QUEST III: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVayDRAGON QUEST III
Price$5.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.0 (78 ratings)4.4 (185 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews — better72.2% of reviews
Number of ratings78185 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size203 MB87 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperSoMoGa, Inc.SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Vay

All ratings78 ratings
Positive73.1%
Neutral7.7%
Negative19.2%
Written reviews403 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral12.9%
Negative13.6%

DRAGON QUEST III

All ratings183 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral4.9%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral7.0%
Negative20.9%

User reviews

Vay

From 78 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great classic RPG
  • 👍 Lots of gameplay content
  • 👍 Smooth controls and UI
  • 👍 Excellent value for money
  • 👍 Nostalgic experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 🐛 Buggy cutscenes
  • 🔍 Lacking information on equipment
  • 🤔 Dated graphics and animations
  • 🤔 Repetitive music

DRAGON QUEST III

From 185 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Classic RPG gameplay holds up well
  • 🎵 Excellent orchestral soundtrack
  • 📱 Excellent mobile port with great controls
  • ✨ Updated graphics from NES/GBC versions
  • 💰 No microtransactions or ads

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes at various points
  • 💾 No cloud save functionality
  • 📵 Missing Pachisi tracks from original
  • 🎬 No monster animations during battles
  • 🔤 Translation names differ from original versions

Bugs and requests

Vay

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes after using certain spells
  • Inability to access some areas due to glitches
  • Saved data loss after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a virtual d-pad for movement
  • Improve equipment comparison at shops
  • Enhance cutscenes and animations
  • Provide more in-game hints and guidance

DRAGON QUEST III

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Game crashes when casting Kasizzle spell
  • App crashes during final boss battles (Zoma, Baramos)
  • Save data randomly deleted or lost
  • Back button not responding on certain devices
  • Crashes in Jipang cave boss fight
Show 5 more
  • Game freezes on various actions
  • Portal not appearing at Zoma's Citadel
  • Crashes when selling certain items
  • Game doesn't save properly between sessions
  • Crashes when transferring items between characters

Requested features

10 requests
  • Cloud save synchronization across devices
  • Restore Pachisi tracks mini-game
  • Add monster animations during battles
  • Landscape mode support
  • Controller/Backbone support
Show 5 more
  • Monster Medals quest feature
  • Bonus dungeon with Rubis sword
  • Japanese language translation option
  • Item descriptions in menu
  • Original graphics toggle option

In-app purchases

None

Vay

No in-app purchases

None

DRAGON QUEST III

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Vay free?
Vay costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DRAGON QUEST III free?
DRAGON QUEST III costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Vay or DRAGON QUEST III?
DRAGON QUEST III is rated higher. Vay averages 4.0 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while DRAGON QUEST III averages 4.4 from 185 ratings.
Do Vay or DRAGON QUEST III have ads?
Neither Vay nor DRAGON QUEST III shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vay or DRAGON QUEST III?
Vay ships an update every 3 weeks, and DRAGON QUEST III every 21 months. Most recently, Vay was updated on October 24, 2026 and DRAGON QUEST III on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons