11 or 8 probably. Those are usually considered the best ones. I liked the DS remakes of 4-6 and the SFC remake of 3. I'd stay away from PS1 version of 7, though the 3DS version is a little better. I haven't played 9 and 10 is an MMO which has a single-player only release but it's Japan only and I never was motivated enough to mess with fan translations.

Tbh if you like any DQ, you'll probably enjoy the others. Every game has it's unique aspects but they're all kinda the same game too.

Also if spin-offs are on the table, I recommend Rocket Slime and Dragon Quest Builders 2.

I really liked DQ1 on the NES DQ2 was pretty much the same but it felt a bit easier. I haven't played any of the others.

I've been playing through 11 as my first DQ and I'm loving it

If you can handle a lot of anime cliches, 11 or 8 are usually considered the best. Quite a lot of the ones on the DS have crazy intense anti-piracy stuff, so working roms of those can be hard to find. The series isn't really linear or anything, you don't miss out on anything by "skipping" a game in the series. I wouldn't say any are bad, but the older ones do certainly feel like NES and SNES RPGs for sure.

Another game that is pretty fun is Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. It's a creature catching/collecting game like pokemon, but with Dragon quest monsters.

Imo XI because it was the only one i played. Though my conclusion was to better play it on console since PC version have BOTH controller and keyboard controls FUBAR.

I started with 11, played 7 and 8 and I still think 11 was the easiest to get into

8

not sure if the best way to play though, heard the 3ds version with orchestral mod is best but I've only ever played ps2

Gonna throw in another vote for 11, it's the only one I played all the way through besides 9 and I think I only finished 9 because of the wacky class system

All the DS Dragon Quest games are perfect imo - V especially. IV and VI are also really good. V was my first entry, back on the DS. IX is probably the one that has aged the worst, because it had really nice online co-op on the DS and with the servers now defunct - you'll miss out on that feature entirely.

XI is a fine modern jumping in point if you're unfamiliar with the series and aren't a huge RPG fan.

3, theres a remake out soon

VIII is the best one imo

I've played all of them, and while 3 has a special place in my heart I'm going to have to agree with the crowd and say 11 is the best. If you need convincing, watch the Tim Rogers kotaku reviews