How to get to Portoga in Dragon Quest 3

Portoga is a seafaring kingdom in Dragon Quest 3, and you’ll need to get there relatively early on in the game if you want to get your party a ship to sail across the ocean and reach new areas. The path there is not smooth sailing (pun intended), but it’s easy if you know what to do. 

Your progress towards Portoga will be hampered by two things:

• Robbin’ ‘Ood and his gang ‘Oodlums have stolen the King of Romaria’s crown
• You need to locate and grab the Magic Key

These two issues need to be dealt with before the passage to Portoga is unlocked, but you don’t need to do them in a specific order. Just bear in mind that even if you pick up the key first, the guards you meet after defeating Robbin’ ‘Ood will tell you that you need to go and get it, even if it’s already in your possession. 

How to get the King’s crown back in Dragon Quest 3

The first time you venture to the Romaria Outpost, the guards there will tell you that it is closed because someone has stolen the King of Romaria’s crown, and will remain closed until it is back in his possession. After finding this out, you can take matters into your own hands and go off in search of Robbin’ ‘Ood. 

You’ll find him, along with his band of not-so-merry ‘Oodlums, at Skyfell Tower. On the map, Skyfell Tower is only a short distance northwest from Romaria Outpost, but you’ll need to go the long way around, heading northeast through the mountain passage and then to the right at the top, using he bridge to access the piece of land where the tower is located:

You can stop off and visit Khoryv on your way past, then head straight for Skyfall Tower. When you get there, you’ll need to keep working your way up towards the sixth floor. There are a bunch of monsters in here, including Illerpillars, Funghouls, and Scornets, but they’re all pretty easy to defeat. 

Make sure to stop off on the second floor to recruit the friendly Bubble Slime who is hiding in the small room to the right of the staircase up to this floor:

With Bub sent off to Monty, you can keep ascending Skyfall Tower to the topmost floor to challenge Robbin’ Ood. After the first encounter, he’ll open up a trapdoor that will take you down one level. Climb back up and then head to the right, jumping off the ledge to confront him and battle. Robbin’ ‘Ood is weak to fire attacks, while his ‘Oodlums are weak to ice attacks, so try to exploit those weaknesses to make the battle easier on yourself. 

Once he’s defeated, he’ll hand over the crown and ask you to let him go. Whether you do or not is up to you, but you’ll get the crown back either way. With it in hand, head back to Romaria and give it to the King. 

At this point, he’ll ask you to take over as monarch, and accepting this will reward you with the Regal Ruler achievement. You won’t be able to continue your adventure as monarch, though, so you’ll need to find the former King at the Monster Arena and ask him to take back his previous role.

How to get the Magic Key in Dragon Quest 3

The other key to getting to Portoga is, well, a key. You’ll need the Magic Key to unlock he door to the passage that leads to Portoga, and it’s a challenge to get. 

The Magic Key is located in the Pyramid to the south of Romania Outpost, and to get there, you’ll need to go a little out of your way. The best way to get there is by starting off in Asham and then heading west into the desert:

Once you make it to the Pyramid, there a couple of things to remember:

• Certain areas of the floor will open up beneath you when walked on, dropping you down a floor
• Some floors will prevent spells from being cast, but abilities can still be used

You’ll need to climb up the Pyramid to the third floor, where there will be a room in the middle that cannot be accessed immediately. Instead, you’ll need to solve a puzzle to open it and progress onwards. 

How to solve the Pyramid door puzzle

There are four buttons in the bottom of the third floor map, one in each prong that juts downwards. If you’ve explored Ibis and listened to the children’s rhyme, you’ll have some idea of what you need to do here. If not, then don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. 

The correct order to push these buttons is:

1. The right hand button on the right side of the map
2. The left hand button on the left side of the map

If you press these buttons in any other order, you’ll open up a trap door below you and will need to make your way back up to the third floor. When the buttons are triggered correctly, you’ll hear the noise of stone rubbing on stone, and the door to the middle room will open up. 

With the door open, you can head on through and take on the Ripper of the Rift and his two accompanying Kyllas. All of these enemies are weak to lightning attacks, but the Kyllas will continue to heal the Ripper as long as they’re alive, so try to take them out first to make things easier on yourself.

Once the Ripper is defeated, you’ll be able to collect the Magic Key from the right side chest on the platform, which you can use to open any silver doors that were previously inaccessible, as well as any red doors that were previously opened using the Thief’s Key. 

It’s a good idea to take the opportunity to continue exploring the Pyramid before heading off for Portoga, as there are various goodies available to grab. There’s also a friendly Imp in the northwest of the third floor, but you’ll need Ra’s Mirror to pick it up.