The nature of this ROM has been the cause of much fan speculation due to the fact that it takes a completely different form from normal multi-part Satellaview ROMs. Whereas the vast majority of multi-part Satellaview ROMs exist online as separate episodes, the BS Dragon Quest ROM is a merged ROM containing all four episodes. Although multi-part ROM merges like this have been performed by fans and hackers in the past (notably true for BS Zelda no Densetsu), the degree of difficulty involved in such a task often requires the work of multiple people and there is no evidence that such a collaborative effort was ever made. Furthermore, the resulting ROM produced by such an effort would most likely be geared toward emulator compatibility whereas this ROM is not. Finally, the fact that the ROM's BS-X checksum is valid would be highly improbable for a ROM hack.
Investigations into the origin of the ROM file have led to claims by the creator of the BS-X Cult, Pachuka, that the ROM was originally stolen in the 1990s from a person known only as ROMar. Current fan speculation favors the notion that the ROM is actually a prototype associated with the February-May 1996 Satellaview broadcasts.
The major difference between the prototype version and the broadcast version is that the prototype version contains all four episodes in one ROM. The player selects from the start menu which episode he wishes to begin, which items he wishes to begin with, and what the values will be for certain character stats.
