Rating these together because I can't separate it but I think the GBC ports as a whole are probably my recommended way of playing these two (or at least DQ1, 2 you may wanna go SNES).
Dragon Quest 1 through this port has aged really well, quaint little RPG you can punch out in a few sittings tops, if not one straight shot. I do think that it has growing pains but given how seminal it is, I'm willing to excuse it a bit.
Dragon Quest 2 improves a bunch and I'm sure if we were talking NES I'd call it a straight improvement, but I think it's in this awkward spot where it loses the quaint feeling from DQ1 while not having a fully realized scope to warrant that. I'm willing to somewhat excuse it again since this is the first one with multiple party members, but yeah it's more contentious for me. Endgame was hellish to boot.
Anyway I think I prefer DQ1 out of the two and I probably won't revisit 2 anytime soon even if it aged way better than Final Fantasy 2 lmoa
Dragon Quest 1 through this port has aged really well, quaint little RPG you can punch out in a few sittings tops, if not one straight shot. I do think that it has growing pains but given how seminal it is, I'm willing to excuse it a bit.
Dragon Quest 2 improves a bunch and I'm sure if we were talking NES I'd call it a straight improvement, but I think it's in this awkward spot where it loses the quaint feeling from DQ1 while not having a fully realized scope to warrant that. I'm willing to somewhat excuse it again since this is the first one with multiple party members, but yeah it's more contentious for me. Endgame was hellish to boot.
Anyway I think I prefer DQ1 out of the two and I probably won't revisit 2 anytime soon even if it aged way better than Final Fantasy 2 lmoa
Dragon Quest II has the most soul of any game I've ever played.
A decent way to play the first two classic Dragon Quest games. I liked both, despite having to use a walkthrough because the game is pretty obtuse due to age. The music, colorful sprites and cool monster designs kept me going. I don't think I would be able to play these games again without some QOL. I can't see myself playing through the game on NES either lol. Entertaining experience nonetheless. Next up, Dragon Quest III.
A bit more tolegarble than their NES counterparts by virtue of better controls and better difficulty, but still a grindy and at times just boring experience.
I've gotten through DQ1, but shrunken screen does no good for larger map of DQ2, so as soon as you get on a boat you have no idea where you're going and where you are. That, coupled with insanely high encounter rate, made me quit the game, likely for good. Unlike its predecessor, DQ2 has a party, and therefore more monsters to fight, which is a drag.
I actually think I appreciate the simplicity of the first game way more considering the second likes to give you 3-6 monsters to fight every 5 steps, which gets old immediately.
I've gotten through DQ1, but shrunken screen does no good for larger map of DQ2, so as soon as you get on a boat you have no idea where you're going and where you are. That, coupled with insanely high encounter rate, made me quit the game, likely for good. Unlike its predecessor, DQ2 has a party, and therefore more monsters to fight, which is a drag.
I actually think I appreciate the simplicity of the first game way more considering the second likes to give you 3-6 monsters to fight every 5 steps, which gets old immediately.
A thoroughly miserable experience.
The only saving grace of these games is the charming art and music, other than that they are just extremely crude and dull affairs.
I won't lie, I am not a big fan of JRPGs in general. Most of the time I find their gameplay systems dull, repetitive, unengaging. I don't dislike all of them, of course. I don't even dislike all dragon quests, as I loved the other one I played (XI).
Generally, I can grow to like JRPGs that stimulate insightful tactical decision making, and those that have a compelling story and interesting characters. These games are direly lacking in both of these departments.
The story is the most basic, bog-standard schtick you can think of, the characters don't have any personality at all, and the locations blend together in my memory into a bland, generic blob.
On the gameplay side of things, 99% of battles amount to just doing basic attacks to one-shot pitifully weak enemies, in order to get meagre exp and gold rewards (aka, grinding. You'll be doing a ton of it). The other 1% are battles with stronger enemies, where you may have to employ the most basic tactics you can think of (aoe, buffs, debuffs, that sort of thing).
Both are about as boring as watching paint dry. If you use some sort of fast forward function, that is. Otherwise, on original hardware I guess it is more boring than watching paint dry.
The only challenge you might find are enemies with bigger numbers than yours, and more often than not the solution does not lie in improving your tactics, but in more harrowing, tedious, excruciating grinding. Aka, non-gameplay.
The second game has a very hands-free approach to exploration, which I can sort of appreciate in spirit. Unfortunately, the exploration process is never even remotely satisfying, as you are constantly barraged by random encounters that are, in 99% of cases, a waste of time.
The only thing that somewhat compelled me to keep moving, the only tiny nugget of satisfaction that this game is capable of stimulating, is the feeling of your numbers (levels, stats) going up. You don't get better at the game, gameplay stays mindless and basic, but you feel like you are advancing. It's like being in a hamster wheel, or on a tread mill. Except that those could be good, healthy excercise, while I would argue that DQ1 and 2 are actually actively harmful for you (or at least, for me). They just stimulate our monkey brains to feel good about our numbers increasing, while asking us to put in the bare-minimum amount of effort. Sort of like those zombie-like gambling addicts you can sometimes see hammering away at slot machines.
The only valuable thing about these games is their historical value. If you really, really, really, really care about that, I could advise you to give DQ1 (and only 1) a try. Otherwise, I suggest you to just look up the cool monster designs, and listen to the charming, catchy soundtrack, and never touch the actual games.
The only saving grace of these games is the charming art and music, other than that they are just extremely crude and dull affairs.
I won't lie, I am not a big fan of JRPGs in general. Most of the time I find their gameplay systems dull, repetitive, unengaging. I don't dislike all of them, of course. I don't even dislike all dragon quests, as I loved the other one I played (XI).
Generally, I can grow to like JRPGs that stimulate insightful tactical decision making, and those that have a compelling story and interesting characters. These games are direly lacking in both of these departments.
The story is the most basic, bog-standard schtick you can think of, the characters don't have any personality at all, and the locations blend together in my memory into a bland, generic blob.
On the gameplay side of things, 99% of battles amount to just doing basic attacks to one-shot pitifully weak enemies, in order to get meagre exp and gold rewards (aka, grinding. You'll be doing a ton of it). The other 1% are battles with stronger enemies, where you may have to employ the most basic tactics you can think of (aoe, buffs, debuffs, that sort of thing).
Both are about as boring as watching paint dry. If you use some sort of fast forward function, that is. Otherwise, on original hardware I guess it is more boring than watching paint dry.
The only challenge you might find are enemies with bigger numbers than yours, and more often than not the solution does not lie in improving your tactics, but in more harrowing, tedious, excruciating grinding. Aka, non-gameplay.
The second game has a very hands-free approach to exploration, which I can sort of appreciate in spirit. Unfortunately, the exploration process is never even remotely satisfying, as you are constantly barraged by random encounters that are, in 99% of cases, a waste of time.
The only thing that somewhat compelled me to keep moving, the only tiny nugget of satisfaction that this game is capable of stimulating, is the feeling of your numbers (levels, stats) going up. You don't get better at the game, gameplay stays mindless and basic, but you feel like you are advancing. It's like being in a hamster wheel, or on a tread mill. Except that those could be good, healthy excercise, while I would argue that DQ1 and 2 are actually actively harmful for you (or at least, for me). They just stimulate our monkey brains to feel good about our numbers increasing, while asking us to put in the bare-minimum amount of effort. Sort of like those zombie-like gambling addicts you can sometimes see hammering away at slot machines.
The only valuable thing about these games is their historical value. If you really, really, really, really care about that, I could advise you to give DQ1 (and only 1) a try. Otherwise, I suggest you to just look up the cool monster designs, and listen to the charming, catchy soundtrack, and never touch the actual games.
Eu não sei o motivo de eu querer passar raiva com o II de novo. Pelo menos essa versão é mais fácil...
As someone who grew up with FF for a long time there was this sort of rivalry in the early 00-10s of the internet where if you were a fan of DQ you were at odds with FF fans and vice versa, so I never really got into the series for that silly of a reason. Jump to DQ11 and everyone is saying it's great so I check it out and yeah, it's pretty solid. Finally an excuse to go back and try out this series I skipped for so long and what better than a GBC compilation of the two games that Builders are semi-spinoffs of.
Both games have age for sure. I had to use a walkthrough at a couple points for both because I have to be real at the time I just didn't want to wander around lost and had some general ideas already of where to go from watching the games in the past, but they're fun little romps in their own right. DQ1 is interesting cause despite it being a one person game there's a sort of simplistic charm to the battle system that manages to keep me engaged for the short length of the game. DQ2 I don't remember nearly as much about, but similarly I also liked it a good amount and it was fun to have actual party members this game. The story is extremely simple for both and will not try to deceive you as to what it's about, but for the first entries in a long running franchise they're a fun time!
Both games have age for sure. I had to use a walkthrough at a couple points for both because I have to be real at the time I just didn't want to wander around lost and had some general ideas already of where to go from watching the games in the past, but they're fun little romps in their own right. DQ1 is interesting cause despite it being a one person game there's a sort of simplistic charm to the battle system that manages to keep me engaged for the short length of the game. DQ2 I don't remember nearly as much about, but similarly I also liked it a good amount and it was fun to have actual party members this game. The story is extremely simple for both and will not try to deceive you as to what it's about, but for the first entries in a long running franchise they're a fun time!
As the first two games in the series that essentially created the JRPG genre, these are interesting to check out as a novelty, but unfortunately not much more than that. It's understandably very archaic compared to modern entries, and if you're a fan of that style of game then you'll definitely get a lot more out of these. More often than not, though, the constant necessity to grind and the lack of clear guidance on many objectives proved to be more frustrating than fun, especially in II. I did enjoy the presentational aspects like spritework and music (partially the reason I wanted to play this version over mobile/Switch) and there are rare highlights, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend these entries unless you're seriously adamant about seeing everything the series' history has to offer.
Expected to lose interest immediately with its age but was pleasantly surprised. Is the most simple yet fun RPG you can possibly imagine. Slowly getting stronger as you grind mobs is quite fun. Sadly never finished because it was a looong grind to kill the final boss.
This was it! This was the one that started it all! And I thought it was super cute! I played it with God Mode and I could (and did) fast forward, so that colors things! I also used a guide that I followed to the letter.
This was a very fun and cute little game. I thought it was neat to see the origin of the “you need a torch or something to light up a dungeon”, I liked that the sprite changed to hold its sword and shield, I liked that your little guy carries the princess, I like that if you stop at an inn while carrying the princess back to the castle you get a little “you were up late!” from the innkeeper, and I like the cute dialog from the NPCs
It’s wild to play the game that more or less created RPGs after a lifetime of playing RPGs; I can see why this game was the face that launched a thousand ships!
Cute cute cute!
This was a very fun and cute little game. I thought it was neat to see the origin of the “you need a torch or something to light up a dungeon”, I liked that the sprite changed to hold its sword and shield, I liked that your little guy carries the princess, I like that if you stop at an inn while carrying the princess back to the castle you get a little “you were up late!” from the innkeeper, and I like the cute dialog from the NPCs
It’s wild to play the game that more or less created RPGs after a lifetime of playing RPGs; I can see why this game was the face that launched a thousand ships!
Cute cute cute!
Overall, this is personally my favorite way to experience dragon quest 1 and 2. Maybe the super Famicom version is better though, but I haven't played it since it's in Japanese only.
But everything about these is a huge step up from the NES versions and I mean that in the most loving way possible. I understand also that this version is based off the super Famicom version, which might explain why, but even still, the Switch version is also based off the super Famicom version, and I think that game looks ugly as sin so I rate this one higher.
Dragon Quest 1 is the one that spots the most obvious improvements for me compared to its NES counterpart. We have a new intro showing the princess get kidnapped, battle animations for the attacks, more detailed towns, NPCs are more expressive (such as shivering when talking about how scared they are) and so on. Dragon Quest 2 was already such a massive improvement from 1 that you can already imagine that all of these improvements but added to DQ2 make it feel even more like a proper, modern RPG.
In fact, the only reason why this is 3.5 stars and not 4 or 5 is because its still literally just DQ1&2. DQ1 is, despite all the improvements, still a very, very basic game. And DQ2, while still being very enjoyable, even moreso in this package, is still ultimately a flawed experience.
For fans of the series, or for first timers, I cannot recommend this (or the super Famicom version probably since they are virtually the same aside from graphics from what I hear). It's an amazing bundle of two games, neither is horribly long, it gives you a good taste of the franchise and overall made great use of the extra technology between the decade between the original games and this remake.
But everything about these is a huge step up from the NES versions and I mean that in the most loving way possible. I understand also that this version is based off the super Famicom version, which might explain why, but even still, the Switch version is also based off the super Famicom version, and I think that game looks ugly as sin so I rate this one higher.
Dragon Quest 1 is the one that spots the most obvious improvements for me compared to its NES counterpart. We have a new intro showing the princess get kidnapped, battle animations for the attacks, more detailed towns, NPCs are more expressive (such as shivering when talking about how scared they are) and so on. Dragon Quest 2 was already such a massive improvement from 1 that you can already imagine that all of these improvements but added to DQ2 make it feel even more like a proper, modern RPG.
In fact, the only reason why this is 3.5 stars and not 4 or 5 is because its still literally just DQ1&2. DQ1 is, despite all the improvements, still a very, very basic game. And DQ2, while still being very enjoyable, even moreso in this package, is still ultimately a flawed experience.
For fans of the series, or for first timers, I cannot recommend this (or the super Famicom version probably since they are virtually the same aside from graphics from what I hear). It's an amazing bundle of two games, neither is horribly long, it gives you a good taste of the franchise and overall made great use of the extra technology between the decade between the original games and this remake.
Dragon Warrior 1 is still pretty classically Dragon Quest. But jumping to 2 made it clear they still had a lot of work to do, with a lot of 2's issues mainly stemming from the wild goose chase to even get your first party member, the imbalance between enemy groups and your group (capped at 3 characters), unstackable items like herbs, the over-inflated world map, unintuitive direction for finding the seals, and the fact that you can end up in the endgame area like 10 levels below where you should, necessitating grinding.
Anyway, I'm glad at least I got 'em done. It was impressive that they got the two games onto the GBC, and they do deserve to be experienced.
Anyway, I'm glad at least I got 'em done. It was impressive that they got the two games onto the GBC, and they do deserve to be experienced.
This was a pretty good way to play the first two DQ games on the go. Since the GBA was able to mimic NES graphics to a degree, this helped create a great deal of parity with the two versions. Some sections in both games are still pretty challenging, but this collection is still charming and fun!
The most-preferable way to play these two games. The difficulty is reduced to something far more manageable (especially for the first game), greatly cutting down on grinding and frustrating features in the original game that aged like milk.
While the games are still definitely the product of early JRPGs and subjected to the same general sense of jank both narrative and gameplay-wise, this is a remake made with sincerity.
While the games are still definitely the product of early JRPGs and subjected to the same general sense of jank both narrative and gameplay-wise, this is a remake made with sincerity.
I'd never played DQ1 on the GBC so thought I'd give it a shot. It's good! The GBC aesthetic perfectly suits early DQ so this was a fun time. Using the emulator's fastforward function makes grinding more tolerable so that's nice too.
It's amazing how well this held up for me for the first 75% of the game. Toward the end it got really grindy and the long labyrinths while constantly getting hit by enemies started to become a chore (but nothing a 10x fast forward button doesn't fix) It's simplicity as a base makes it kinda chill to play. I'm glad it is short tho. Solid game!
Dragon Quest 1: Adorable little game. Gameplay and story are nothing special (though its literal open world style is definitely impressive for the time), but you have to remember that this is the game that inspired pretty much every RPG after it. It definitely gets by on its cuteness and charm alone. The music is also delightful. I was smiling for the whole game. 4/5 stars.
Dragon Quest 2: Significantly less charming and more boring than 1 was, but I still thought it was okay. I can see why people don't like it at least. Still very grindy, and the dungeons are awful, but the battles are better than 1's, and the music is still really nice. Fine game, probably won't think about it ever again though. 2.5/5 stars.
Dragon Quest 2: Significantly less charming and more boring than 1 was, but I still thought it was okay. I can see why people don't like it at least. Still very grindy, and the dungeons are awful, but the battles are better than 1's, and the music is still really nice. Fine game, probably won't think about it ever again though. 2.5/5 stars.
This was one of the best ways to play both DQ I and II, and needs more attention
Arguably the best RPG package for GBC lovers.