
#199 – Dragon Warrior
Before Skyrim, Dragon Warrior was as big as they came.
Who would have thought in 1986 that the Slimes would become ubiquitous with Dragon Warrior/Quest?
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
DEVELOPER: ChunSoft
GENRE: RPG
RELEASE DATE: August 1989
The name Dragon Warrior carries very little cachet with anyone other than Americans who grew up playing RPGs on the NES. The name Dragon Quest is known by every Japanese man, woman, and child. Yet, both are one and the same series. In Japan, Dragon Quest is beloved by all for its tried-and-true game mechanics, wonderful character designs by Akira Toriyama, and charming stories by series creator Yuji Horii. In America, the Dragon Warriors were generally seen as paltry substitutes to the real RPG series, Final Fantasy. This is a shame. Although the graphics and mechanics were viewed as outdated even in 1989 when the game was released, there is a quaint charm to the game’s simplicity that I find far more unique and entertaining than Final Fantasy’s constant reinventions.
50 minutes: This game is brutal. I started over (with the name Blahilk – sorry, Comstock) and bought the club first, which definitely helps to hit enemies. Unfortunately, because of your low hit points, it doesn’t take more than two or three battles before you need to go drop six gold at the inn to replenish your health. What this amounts to: more grinding. In order to buy more equipment, you need more gold, which means you need to fight. In order to continue fighting and not lose half your gold should you die, you need to sleep and regain your health at the inn, which costs six gold. It’s a vicious, brutal cycle that will require hours of steadfast perseverance. Hours that, at this moment, I do not have to spare.
Accepting an antiquated form of what we call an RPG is essential to enjoying this game. I personally have a fondness in my heart for the original Dragon Warrior, outdated though it may be. There’s something about grinding in the open fields that brings me back to a simpler time. I won’t say it’s for everyone, especially more impatient gamers. I would actually recommend the Game Boy Color remake Dragon Warrior I+II if you wanted to delve deep into the game, as it updates the graphics and makes the battles faster. If you’re a die-hard NES junkie and you haven’t explored one of the most influential RPGs of our time, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Drop a few dollars and buy this landmark game.
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