this game makes me very happy
The NES is a console that I've time and time again kinda dismissed as a platform full of archaic design and games that have aged terribly all over the place, and yet, I keep finding myself returning to the system regardless, and it's for stuff like Dragon Warrior that I do this for. I honestly went into this expecting the worst, a cryptic grindfest full of unfocused ideas with too much ambition to properly fit on such primitive hardware, and while the game definitely was a lot of this to some extent, what I got was something pleasantly surprising. Now I won't say this has necessarily aged gracefully by any stretch of the imagination, it was the starting point for JRPGS as a whole after all, so it was all a bit of a learning process, but at the same time, this is such a well realised artistic vision that I can't help but be impressed at the same time with how much I actually enjoyed this and what a strong starting point this style of game had.
I think a huge reason for this is that the game manages to feel both ambitious yet also extremely restrained in what it has going on. There are very few items, certain things feel very streamlined, such as buying equipment instantly having the strongest option equipped and selling the piece it replaced, and having a small selection of spells that are fairly obvious to understand what they do. There feels like there's a fair amount to the game in terms of its scope, but at the same time, almost every aspect of it feels intentionally simplified in such a way to be as digestible as possible, which is appreciated for a lot of reasons. The biggest one to me is that due to this intention to make a game that can be easily understood for the most part, there's way less cryptic nonsense than one would think to the point where a guide is barely necessary, with ample hints and avenues to figuring out how to obtain what you need to beat the game, at least once you start to understand the way the game generally operates and works. Despite this simplicity however, in terms of atmosphere and general vibes, this honestly works really well at creating the sense of adventure set in an inhospitable land.
I respect how the game just starts off, gives you a very quick and basic rundown of your goal "rescue the princess and defeat the dragonlord" and then sets you out on a journey without much direction, having the player just explore the land and figure a lot of things out for themselves. While this easily could have led to a game that you'd be required to take a walkthrough with you every step of the way, Dragon Warrior leads the player pretty nicely for the most part through a combination of vague hints and directions and through expecting the player to thoroughly look into everywhere they can go and figure when it's time to go back into uncharted territory. The game doesn't hold your hand but doesn't make you feel hopelessly lost either, you can go anywhere from the start, the only thing stopping you is the fact that enemies are of varying strengths, so if you get destroyed, chances are you just need to look somewhere else for a bit and come back stronger. The idea of having crossing bridges on the overworld being the indicator for a jump in difficulty is pretty clever as well, both signalling the player of some key information while also not feeling totally out of place.
Despite the limited overworld sprites, there also felt like there was a lot of effort put into making the world feel alive, with each town having its own important parts to them while also feeling aesthetically different from one another. To further add to this is the way the NPCs are cleverly a mix of useless but often funny dialogue to make the towns feel lived in, while also often giving vital pieces of information that are just clear enough for it to feel more like a puzzle to figure out what the game wants from you, rather than another signal to look something up online. One of my favourite examples of this is the way that the final boss takes 1 damage from anything other than the ultimate sword, so to telegraph this in game, you've got one NPC who says "The Dragonlord's scales are as strong as steel" and then another one later who says that this ultimate sword can easily cut through steel. It's stuff like this that I find clever in that it's conveyed in a slightly higher order way than simply telling the player exactly what to do, while also not keeping it entirely hidden and borderline impossible to figure out on your own, and this sort of storytelling and instruction is used throughout the game as well, often requiring you to put a few bits of information together to get the full picture.
I also feel like the artwork in general goes a long way in making this feel appealing, thanks to Akira Toriyama's monster designs being super appealing to look at and giving some very clear and cohesive visual direction to the game that makes you a bit excited every time you're able to see yet another fun enemy. The issues of limited inventory size also feels somewhat mitigated thanks to the way there are barely any actual items, so there'll basically never be a point where you'll have too many and feel like you need to pointlessly micromanage, but also, the way that spells work in this further contributing to needing very few consumables. When the spells you get from levelling up don't directly contribute to dealing a lot of damage or some other vital combat utility, these often will have the same effect as one of the consumables in the game. This essentially means that after certain level ups, you no longer require dedicating a slot to said item, making things a constant process of streamlining your own inventory in a pretty seamless and satisfying way. I also think it's a nice touch how from the very start of the game you get a clear sight of the final destination and ultimate goal of the game, with everything being dedicated to working your way towards it, providing both a sense of cohesion and a strong driving force towards your goal, it being in sight but always out of reach. This is made all the more powerful by the way that they really make you feel like the world's against you, not only having monsters after your throat at all times basically, but even having the townsfolk express little faith in you, saying that they believe that the Dragonlord is far too powerful and other statements in the same vein.
While I've had a lot of positive things to say about this, Dragon Warrior is also far from a perfect game either, in fact, in some ways it's borderline painful to play. A lot of these issues come down to enemies as well, as despite how awesome they look, there's also a lot of frustration associated with them. The one that is most irritating is the way that while these spike in difficulty might result in a world that somewhat immerses you in the fact that it feels overrun by evil, it also means grinding, and quite a bit of it. I'd hazard a guess that most of the time spent playing this game was dedicated to grinding, and while this at first wasn't anything too bad, there being a certain relaxing quality to hacking away at things for a bit while playing some music in the background, it definitely hits a point where things begin feeling very tedious. This is exacerbated by a terrible EXP curve that sees the player hitting a point near the end of the game where they'll be needing around 3000 EXP per level where the average enemy at that point yields around 50, which I'm sure is pretty easy to see, it's kinda ridiculous and a real test of patience and kills some pacing especially near the end. Further adding to my grievances with the monsters is the encounter rate being painfully inconsistent. There'll often be these stretches of time where you'll barely encounter anything and then all of a sudden, it feels like every other step results in another encounter. I'd argue that this inconsistency is not just annoying, but the worst way this could go, as despite how frustrating it would be to constantly have these random encounters, it would at least make grinding far quicker, and if the opposite happened, where the encounter rate was low, exploring would feel more enjoyable even if grinding became a more tedious process. This middle ground simply feels like it has the annoyances of both sides of the spectrum without much of the benefit.
There's also a point in the middle of the game where I feel like the pacing gets thrown very far out, with this largely intuitive progression being completely destroyed, where it feels like you're expected to traverse into lands far outside your power to get information, leading to a situation where you're either grinding against weak enemies for a while or having to pray that you can get through that part of the overworld while successfully running away from everything. This once again makes the latter part of the game feel a bit off despite still carrying a lot of previously mentioned positive qualities as well. The menu system here is also kinda weird with how you need to talk to people or even walk up stairs by going into the menu and hitting a certain option, but this honestly just took a bit of time to get used to before feeling natural, so it isn't too bad. In the end there are enough drawbacks to this game that I can't really wholeheartedly recommend it or say that I outright loved it either, but I really respect this and think that it's way cooler than it had any right to be. By essentially having the absolute core mechanics and systems of a JRPG and very little else, this actually feels like it suits the limited nature of the NES and feels very streamlined and cohesive in the end. An amazing example of less being more, with the things this game leaves out ultimately contributing to a more fulfilling experience, even if there are still some serious flaws with the experience as a whole.
I think a huge reason for this is that the game manages to feel both ambitious yet also extremely restrained in what it has going on. There are very few items, certain things feel very streamlined, such as buying equipment instantly having the strongest option equipped and selling the piece it replaced, and having a small selection of spells that are fairly obvious to understand what they do. There feels like there's a fair amount to the game in terms of its scope, but at the same time, almost every aspect of it feels intentionally simplified in such a way to be as digestible as possible, which is appreciated for a lot of reasons. The biggest one to me is that due to this intention to make a game that can be easily understood for the most part, there's way less cryptic nonsense than one would think to the point where a guide is barely necessary, with ample hints and avenues to figuring out how to obtain what you need to beat the game, at least once you start to understand the way the game generally operates and works. Despite this simplicity however, in terms of atmosphere and general vibes, this honestly works really well at creating the sense of adventure set in an inhospitable land.
I respect how the game just starts off, gives you a very quick and basic rundown of your goal "rescue the princess and defeat the dragonlord" and then sets you out on a journey without much direction, having the player just explore the land and figure a lot of things out for themselves. While this easily could have led to a game that you'd be required to take a walkthrough with you every step of the way, Dragon Warrior leads the player pretty nicely for the most part through a combination of vague hints and directions and through expecting the player to thoroughly look into everywhere they can go and figure when it's time to go back into uncharted territory. The game doesn't hold your hand but doesn't make you feel hopelessly lost either, you can go anywhere from the start, the only thing stopping you is the fact that enemies are of varying strengths, so if you get destroyed, chances are you just need to look somewhere else for a bit and come back stronger. The idea of having crossing bridges on the overworld being the indicator for a jump in difficulty is pretty clever as well, both signalling the player of some key information while also not feeling totally out of place.
Despite the limited overworld sprites, there also felt like there was a lot of effort put into making the world feel alive, with each town having its own important parts to them while also feeling aesthetically different from one another. To further add to this is the way the NPCs are cleverly a mix of useless but often funny dialogue to make the towns feel lived in, while also often giving vital pieces of information that are just clear enough for it to feel more like a puzzle to figure out what the game wants from you, rather than another signal to look something up online. One of my favourite examples of this is the way that the final boss takes 1 damage from anything other than the ultimate sword, so to telegraph this in game, you've got one NPC who says "The Dragonlord's scales are as strong as steel" and then another one later who says that this ultimate sword can easily cut through steel. It's stuff like this that I find clever in that it's conveyed in a slightly higher order way than simply telling the player exactly what to do, while also not keeping it entirely hidden and borderline impossible to figure out on your own, and this sort of storytelling and instruction is used throughout the game as well, often requiring you to put a few bits of information together to get the full picture.
I also feel like the artwork in general goes a long way in making this feel appealing, thanks to Akira Toriyama's monster designs being super appealing to look at and giving some very clear and cohesive visual direction to the game that makes you a bit excited every time you're able to see yet another fun enemy. The issues of limited inventory size also feels somewhat mitigated thanks to the way there are barely any actual items, so there'll basically never be a point where you'll have too many and feel like you need to pointlessly micromanage, but also, the way that spells work in this further contributing to needing very few consumables. When the spells you get from levelling up don't directly contribute to dealing a lot of damage or some other vital combat utility, these often will have the same effect as one of the consumables in the game. This essentially means that after certain level ups, you no longer require dedicating a slot to said item, making things a constant process of streamlining your own inventory in a pretty seamless and satisfying way. I also think it's a nice touch how from the very start of the game you get a clear sight of the final destination and ultimate goal of the game, with everything being dedicated to working your way towards it, providing both a sense of cohesion and a strong driving force towards your goal, it being in sight but always out of reach. This is made all the more powerful by the way that they really make you feel like the world's against you, not only having monsters after your throat at all times basically, but even having the townsfolk express little faith in you, saying that they believe that the Dragonlord is far too powerful and other statements in the same vein.
While I've had a lot of positive things to say about this, Dragon Warrior is also far from a perfect game either, in fact, in some ways it's borderline painful to play. A lot of these issues come down to enemies as well, as despite how awesome they look, there's also a lot of frustration associated with them. The one that is most irritating is the way that while these spike in difficulty might result in a world that somewhat immerses you in the fact that it feels overrun by evil, it also means grinding, and quite a bit of it. I'd hazard a guess that most of the time spent playing this game was dedicated to grinding, and while this at first wasn't anything too bad, there being a certain relaxing quality to hacking away at things for a bit while playing some music in the background, it definitely hits a point where things begin feeling very tedious. This is exacerbated by a terrible EXP curve that sees the player hitting a point near the end of the game where they'll be needing around 3000 EXP per level where the average enemy at that point yields around 50, which I'm sure is pretty easy to see, it's kinda ridiculous and a real test of patience and kills some pacing especially near the end. Further adding to my grievances with the monsters is the encounter rate being painfully inconsistent. There'll often be these stretches of time where you'll barely encounter anything and then all of a sudden, it feels like every other step results in another encounter. I'd argue that this inconsistency is not just annoying, but the worst way this could go, as despite how frustrating it would be to constantly have these random encounters, it would at least make grinding far quicker, and if the opposite happened, where the encounter rate was low, exploring would feel more enjoyable even if grinding became a more tedious process. This middle ground simply feels like it has the annoyances of both sides of the spectrum without much of the benefit.
There's also a point in the middle of the game where I feel like the pacing gets thrown very far out, with this largely intuitive progression being completely destroyed, where it feels like you're expected to traverse into lands far outside your power to get information, leading to a situation where you're either grinding against weak enemies for a while or having to pray that you can get through that part of the overworld while successfully running away from everything. This once again makes the latter part of the game feel a bit off despite still carrying a lot of previously mentioned positive qualities as well. The menu system here is also kinda weird with how you need to talk to people or even walk up stairs by going into the menu and hitting a certain option, but this honestly just took a bit of time to get used to before feeling natural, so it isn't too bad. In the end there are enough drawbacks to this game that I can't really wholeheartedly recommend it or say that I outright loved it either, but I really respect this and think that it's way cooler than it had any right to be. By essentially having the absolute core mechanics and systems of a JRPG and very little else, this actually feels like it suits the limited nature of the NES and feels very streamlined and cohesive in the end. An amazing example of less being more, with the things this game leaves out ultimately contributing to a more fulfilling experience, even if there are still some serious flaws with the experience as a whole.
É um jogo imperfeito pra cacete, principalmente nos dias de hoje, mas a base dele é tão sólida que literalmente fundou a estrutura de jrpg que a gente usa atualmente.
A primeira metade do jogo eu acho particularmente fraca, essencialmente porque tendo um olhar geral das coisas, tudo o que você faz nessa parte do jogo é uma preparação pra segunda metade. O que não seria ruim (eu geralmente gosto de build up, quando eles não são chatos), se não fosse uma lista de tarefa sem graça e repetitiva que tu faz umas 15x num ciclo de 3 a 4 horas.
Dito isso, a segunda metade do jogo é bem melhor. Acho que o game design aproveita o fato de você ter setado todas as peças chave da história nas primeiras 4 horas, então o resto do jogo corre de um jeito beeeem melhor e mais suave. O senso de exploração e aventura é muito gostoso, principalmente prum jogo idealizado no nintendinho (joguei o remastake de SNES).
Acho que é isso. O grind me incomodou em 2 momentos específicos, mas a progressão no geral foi bem ok, esperava ser muito pior pelo que as pessoas falam. Recomendo esse jogo pra qualquer fã mais hardcore de rpg, ou qualquer pessoa que queira começar Dragon Quest e não tenha problema de ir pela ordem cronológica. Tenho muitas expectativas pro futuro da série, Dragon Quest II parece ser bem meia-boca, mas acho que depois daí a série deslancha legal.
A primeira metade do jogo eu acho particularmente fraca, essencialmente porque tendo um olhar geral das coisas, tudo o que você faz nessa parte do jogo é uma preparação pra segunda metade. O que não seria ruim (eu geralmente gosto de build up, quando eles não são chatos), se não fosse uma lista de tarefa sem graça e repetitiva que tu faz umas 15x num ciclo de 3 a 4 horas.
Dito isso, a segunda metade do jogo é bem melhor. Acho que o game design aproveita o fato de você ter setado todas as peças chave da história nas primeiras 4 horas, então o resto do jogo corre de um jeito beeeem melhor e mais suave. O senso de exploração e aventura é muito gostoso, principalmente prum jogo idealizado no nintendinho (joguei o remastake de SNES).
Acho que é isso. O grind me incomodou em 2 momentos específicos, mas a progressão no geral foi bem ok, esperava ser muito pior pelo que as pessoas falam. Recomendo esse jogo pra qualquer fã mais hardcore de rpg, ou qualquer pessoa que queira começar Dragon Quest e não tenha problema de ir pela ordem cronológica. Tenho muitas expectativas pro futuro da série, Dragon Quest II parece ser bem meia-boca, mas acho que depois daí a série deslancha legal.
The grandfather of JRPGs. Honestly much, much more fun than the original Final Fantasy. Great OST, great graphics, fun gameplay. 6/10
It's a fairly laid back experience which I enjoy quite a bit. Not a ton of depth to the combat but I enjoy the exploration enough to warrant returning to it multiple times, this being the fourth or fifth run. This was my first time playing with a speed function on an emulator so I cleared the entire thing in about 3 hours. It's just a fantastic game for when you want to unwind and not give your full attention to the experience. Mad respect for that. 3/6
A little grindy at first but then when you get over that hump its nothing but charm. Holds up supremely well
If I had to describe Dragon Quest in a single word, I would say that it's charming.
Dragon Quest, known as Dragon Warrior in the US until the mid-2000s, is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. My first experience with the franchise was playing the Definitive Edition of Dragon Quest XI on my Nintendo Switch. I loved it. I loved Dragon Quest XI so much that it became an implicit mission in my brain to play as much Dragon Quest as a I can. This lead to me deciding that I need to "do my homework" and play the original Dragon Quest. Rather than playing the version localized in the United States as Dragon Warrior, I decided to play a fan-translation of the Super-Famicom port, released in 1993 as part of the Japanese-Exclusive Dragon Quest 1&2. Featuring beautifully updated 16-bit graphics, the game also streamlines some of the overworld menu and contains a save function which was not present in the original Japanese release, which had a password system.
At its core, Dragon Quest is a simple game. You have a single party member, all battles are fought one-on-one, you only learn ten spells. Most of the game is spent traveling from point A to point B, managing your health and mp as you grind through random encounters. If you die you return to the starting castle, losing half of the gold you're carrying on your person. You go to a town, talk to the NPCs, find out you need to go somewhere else, rinse, repeat. When put into such blunt language this might sound boring, but there was a level of charm that came with all of this. The NPCs would occasionally say something that made me laugh or I would find myself in an encounter that I wasn't sure I could survive and I would get excited when I won. These small moments made for a memorable experience that I found myself cherishing. Through its gameplay and language I saw a strand of DNA that has been present in so many games I've played before.
It'd be easy to look at Dragon Quest as a relic of the past that has been iterated or improved upon over the past 35 years. Viewing it as some antiquated experience undersells the game. I initially played it because I felt like I should do it as a new fan of the franchise. And what I found was a new appreciation for the franchise and what its done for video games since it was released in 1986. You owe it to yourself to at least try it out.
Dragon Quest, known as Dragon Warrior in the US until the mid-2000s, is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. My first experience with the franchise was playing the Definitive Edition of Dragon Quest XI on my Nintendo Switch. I loved it. I loved Dragon Quest XI so much that it became an implicit mission in my brain to play as much Dragon Quest as a I can. This lead to me deciding that I need to "do my homework" and play the original Dragon Quest. Rather than playing the version localized in the United States as Dragon Warrior, I decided to play a fan-translation of the Super-Famicom port, released in 1993 as part of the Japanese-Exclusive Dragon Quest 1&2. Featuring beautifully updated 16-bit graphics, the game also streamlines some of the overworld menu and contains a save function which was not present in the original Japanese release, which had a password system.
At its core, Dragon Quest is a simple game. You have a single party member, all battles are fought one-on-one, you only learn ten spells. Most of the game is spent traveling from point A to point B, managing your health and mp as you grind through random encounters. If you die you return to the starting castle, losing half of the gold you're carrying on your person. You go to a town, talk to the NPCs, find out you need to go somewhere else, rinse, repeat. When put into such blunt language this might sound boring, but there was a level of charm that came with all of this. The NPCs would occasionally say something that made me laugh or I would find myself in an encounter that I wasn't sure I could survive and I would get excited when I won. These small moments made for a memorable experience that I found myself cherishing. Through its gameplay and language I saw a strand of DNA that has been present in so many games I've played before.
It'd be easy to look at Dragon Quest as a relic of the past that has been iterated or improved upon over the past 35 years. Viewing it as some antiquated experience undersells the game. I initially played it because I felt like I should do it as a new fan of the franchise. And what I found was a new appreciation for the franchise and what its done for video games since it was released in 1986. You owe it to yourself to at least try it out.
really simple but genre defining
Este fue la primera entrega de la saga y es muy entretenida de lo que esperaba, sencilla y corta como unas 6-7 horas pero enigmática.
Very basic, but great game.
damn i cant believe people used to live like this
Challenging and Classic, Dragon Quest marks the beginning of everything, the beginning of jrpg's, with the time I spent with it I realized the importance it has and I managed to have a lot of fun, I just don't recommend it as the first in the saga because it keeps a lot of mechanics that don't have aged so well, but it's a magical and incredible start.
6.5/10
Really simple but still pretty fun. Played the snes version and it was just a pretty relaxing time with some enjoyable music and spritework to go along with it.
Totally off-book, with hand-drawn maps.
For the grandfather of all JRPGs, this game has aged BEAUTIFULLY. Granted, the version I played is only the HD remaster which has obvious QOL improvements, I'd like to think the overall vision is the same as the original. Unlike most other '90s JRPGs that I've played, I really was expecting this game to be a very dull and dry experience. Like, a game that came out in the late '80s and would be the blueprint to future JRPG titles? It HAS to have aged poorly surely. I think Dragon Quest really is a testament to how reliably good the JRPG genre is that even nearly FORTY YEARS later and the game still plays well.
The combat is very straight forward turn base where you can deal physical or magical attacks. The exploration is admittedly limited and short as there's just a lot of empty land with few towns spread about and even fewer dungeons to explore, but that genuinely is no problem to me as the pacing is just ideal for a game like this. Even beating the final boss was such a fun and memorable experience. Beating the first final boss of the first JRPG? It really felt so cool just experiencing that!
I also love the enemy design for this game immensely. Akira Toriyama's art style really is some of the most enjoyable to look at. Like his slime creation is so simple but so accessible! How could you not make it the mascot of your franchise!
The music whilst not my favorite, I still cannot deny the impact and importance it has. To this day I still find myself humming some of the songs from this and many other Dragon Quest games.
Being able to play a game as important to video game history on modern consoles really is a dream come true for video game preservationists! I'm glad I get to go back in time to experience the game that pretty much created the genre that defines a good chunk of my existence!
I highly recommend this for the following:
-JRPG fans. Seriously, this is an essential game to have your in life even if you don't finish it.
-Fans/enthusiasts of '80s/'90s video games
-fans of Akira Toriyama (as someone who grew up watching Dragon Ball, seeing his art in this game has always been a delight to me)
The combat is very straight forward turn base where you can deal physical or magical attacks. The exploration is admittedly limited and short as there's just a lot of empty land with few towns spread about and even fewer dungeons to explore, but that genuinely is no problem to me as the pacing is just ideal for a game like this. Even beating the final boss was such a fun and memorable experience. Beating the first final boss of the first JRPG? It really felt so cool just experiencing that!
I also love the enemy design for this game immensely. Akira Toriyama's art style really is some of the most enjoyable to look at. Like his slime creation is so simple but so accessible! How could you not make it the mascot of your franchise!
The music whilst not my favorite, I still cannot deny the impact and importance it has. To this day I still find myself humming some of the songs from this and many other Dragon Quest games.
Being able to play a game as important to video game history on modern consoles really is a dream come true for video game preservationists! I'm glad I get to go back in time to experience the game that pretty much created the genre that defines a good chunk of my existence!
I highly recommend this for the following:
-JRPG fans. Seriously, this is an essential game to have your in life even if you don't finish it.
-Fans/enthusiasts of '80s/'90s video games
-fans of Akira Toriyama (as someone who grew up watching Dragon Ball, seeing his art in this game has always been a delight to me)
A great work. It can be described as the template or foundation of the series.
A clear article explaining the history of this game before it was created. (It is in Japanese.)
https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/column03/game-gatari01
Of course, it's not "particularly" interesting to play now. But it's a great game. (So I hesitate to give it a star/rating.) Without this game, the MOTHER series and the Pocket Monsters series would never have been born.
The majority of NES games at the time of release usually had no consideration for the player.
It was needlessly difficult, mean-spirited and had no intention of entertaining the player. That was the normal game at the time. It was a time when normal was not normal. (The exception was The Legend of Zelda?)
Yuji Horii may not be appreciated outside Japan, but he's probably as great as Shigeru Miyamoto.
When it comes to difficulty, the feeling of playing, and making adjustments that are very difficult to put into words, there is no one like him. One word: genius.
A clear article explaining the history of this game before it was created. (It is in Japanese.)
https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/column03/game-gatari01
Of course, it's not "particularly" interesting to play now. But it's a great game. (So I hesitate to give it a star/rating.) Without this game, the MOTHER series and the Pocket Monsters series would never have been born.
The majority of NES games at the time of release usually had no consideration for the player.
It was needlessly difficult, mean-spirited and had no intention of entertaining the player. That was the normal game at the time. It was a time when normal was not normal. (The exception was The Legend of Zelda?)
Yuji Horii may not be appreciated outside Japan, but he's probably as great as Shigeru Miyamoto.
When it comes to difficulty, the feeling of playing, and making adjustments that are very difficult to put into words, there is no one like him. One word: genius.
One of the most important and influential games of all time, it's a marvel of game design. Despite the limited memory, it managed to create a world with just enough towns and NPCs to feel lived-in and immersive. The lonely quest of the sole hero has its own charm. The game is designed around one mission: make the hero feel heroic. This is accomplished by multiple small little things that were put in the game, that, together, make for a great game. The hero carrying the princess back to the caslte in his arms, the hero getting now direction from anyone and having to figure out the locations of where to go on his own, discovering old legends and heroes that guide you on your way, areas being gatekept by levels and making you feel accomplished for each new area reached. Dragon Quest is a massive achievement - and a testament to the talent of its creator, Yuji Horii.
Great game. Much better than I would have ever expected. To my surprise I didn’t get lost too much (only had to look up two items, and the second one I could’ve found if I had taken some more time). Was a really good distraction for my trip too, amazing for that (as it’s very short). All in all, fantastic game, even more so considering when it was originally released.
Although, of course, this version (Switch) added a ton of QoL updates, so I can’t really comment on how (un)forgiving the original game is.
Although, of course, this version (Switch) added a ton of QoL updates, so I can’t really comment on how (un)forgiving the original game is.
admittedly dated, but still fun
This may be an antiquated, barebones, and, depending on your experience, frustrating relic of a game, but this was also the granddaddy of the JRPG genre. Whether you consider good or bad is up to you, but DQ's influence cannot be understated, and considering how its forefathers were even jankier, this game was an improvement in accessibility, mechanics, and even graphics. While it's grind of "walk, fight, level up, repeat" is simplistic, it's still oddly satisfying in a way, and I can somewhat understand why audiences loved this game back in '86. I wouldn't recommend any but the most devoted JRPG fan/vidya historian to play the original NES version, but the iOS/Android/Switch versions have significantly increased the gold and level XP, along with a quick map function and save system. If you're someone who hasn't played this game before and wants to learn about the history of the genre, I'd recommend the more recent ports.
A charming game that's pretty historically important as literally the first JRPG ever made.
Some people who come in used to a lot of JRPG conventions might be a bit put off by this game lacking a number of those, but as a gaming milestone, and as a game on its own, it holds up pretty well and has a lot of heart in it.
Some people who come in used to a lot of JRPG conventions might be a bit put off by this game lacking a number of those, but as a gaming milestone, and as a game on its own, it holds up pretty well and has a lot of heart in it.
That sure was the first Dragon Quest alright
Very cute little game. I had a lot of fun.
I've always wanted to soak my feet into jrpgs. I've played a nice handful of RPG's, but they were always games that I was drawn to for their non-RPG mechanics or alternative design conventions. Y'know, the stuff like Kingdom Hearts, Mega Man Battle Network and Star Force, Paper Mario, Undertale and Deltarune, TWEWY - the kinds of RPG's that twitter minors always include in their 'YOU'RE one of the good ones' posts. The closest to classical, traditional RPG's I ever got into were the Shining Force series and Phantasy Star IV - both of which I only got into because of my Genesis ADHD. But hey, I loved both! Even besides the narrative and aesthetic strengths of each, I was super into the simple loop of building up your squad, then going aggro on a bunch of badass monsters. And I learned from my experiences with both that surprisingly, I kinda like grinding and a lot of the other little things that people associate negatively with the genre.
So why didn't I start getting into 'the classics' of RPG's 'til now? Cause like the entire rest of my generation, I started with all of Square's big-name games and bounced off of them HAAAAAAAAAAARD. Chrono Trigger had me hooked in the first half, but left me drained by the second half when its boss design and open-endedness went in a direction that put me off immediately. I played part of FF9 and was in love, but got slowly worn out from its sluggish, 20FPS combat. I played Super Mario RPG on Wii VC cause it had Mario in it, and while I like a lot of the things it DOES, its combat was always just a less-refined Paper Mario to me, and the rough edges, dirty color palette and bad platforming pushed me off too. The only classic Square game that I was really vibing with was FF7, which I liked for the 10-15 hours of it I played! But one thing led to another, my life got busy, I got stuck somewhere, gave it up, and never looked back. I could understand the majesty and hype behind all of these games that made them genre-defining classics, but I could never get 'deep' into them. They didn't have that basic, snappy feel that made me get saturated in Shining and Phantasy Star.
Honestly, even though JRPG haters are unreasonable bitches, I wouldn't really blame them for saying stuff like Paper Mario and Persona 'got it right' when the whole internet screams to start with the big Squaresoft names - which again, aren't bad, but understandably don't appeal to everyone. Active Time Battles fucking suck dude, I get why it's a fresh change of pace for people who are FF junkies but goddamn this shit is rancid.
So instead of picking up and dropping more FF, I pivoted the other way and tried Dragon Quest for the time being. And Dragon Quest kicks ass! The leveling feels great! The feeling of branching out and surviving through each patch of the kingdom while scraping to get back to an inn or the castle before expiring is handled extremely well! And when you start getting magic that lets you minimize the busywork of items, you feel awesome! Toriyama, for as much of an asshole as he is, breathed a ton of life into the monster designs and lets them speak to the world in a way the microscopic overworld sprites couldn't. I really appreciate how the first enemies you fight are wildlife like roaming bugs and shit, but as you progress, you take on more and more of Dragonlord's direct henchmen - they're not just random encounters, these dudes are on patrol and you got on their TURF. When you finally grind up to beat the Green Dragon, and then you get to the final dungeon and TWO more variants of it appear as COMMON ENEMIES?? That's top tier kino.
Anyway this game's great, all of its design choices are laser-focused around that thrill of adventuring in a lived-in world and slowly building yourself up. Antiquated in some spots, but it gets the gameplay loop down pat and must've been even crazier back then. This was the 'hit buttons' JRPG thrill I needed to get my feet warm into the genre and rinse the taste of ATB out of my mouth.
Mobile/Switch version is ugly as shit tho, fuckin' Minecraft mod vibes.
So why didn't I start getting into 'the classics' of RPG's 'til now? Cause like the entire rest of my generation, I started with all of Square's big-name games and bounced off of them HAAAAAAAAAAARD. Chrono Trigger had me hooked in the first half, but left me drained by the second half when its boss design and open-endedness went in a direction that put me off immediately. I played part of FF9 and was in love, but got slowly worn out from its sluggish, 20FPS combat. I played Super Mario RPG on Wii VC cause it had Mario in it, and while I like a lot of the things it DOES, its combat was always just a less-refined Paper Mario to me, and the rough edges, dirty color palette and bad platforming pushed me off too. The only classic Square game that I was really vibing with was FF7, which I liked for the 10-15 hours of it I played! But one thing led to another, my life got busy, I got stuck somewhere, gave it up, and never looked back. I could understand the majesty and hype behind all of these games that made them genre-defining classics, but I could never get 'deep' into them. They didn't have that basic, snappy feel that made me get saturated in Shining and Phantasy Star.
Honestly, even though JRPG haters are unreasonable bitches, I wouldn't really blame them for saying stuff like Paper Mario and Persona 'got it right' when the whole internet screams to start with the big Squaresoft names - which again, aren't bad, but understandably don't appeal to everyone. Active Time Battles fucking suck dude, I get why it's a fresh change of pace for people who are FF junkies but goddamn this shit is rancid.
So instead of picking up and dropping more FF, I pivoted the other way and tried Dragon Quest for the time being. And Dragon Quest kicks ass! The leveling feels great! The feeling of branching out and surviving through each patch of the kingdom while scraping to get back to an inn or the castle before expiring is handled extremely well! And when you start getting magic that lets you minimize the busywork of items, you feel awesome! Toriyama, for as much of an asshole as he is, breathed a ton of life into the monster designs and lets them speak to the world in a way the microscopic overworld sprites couldn't. I really appreciate how the first enemies you fight are wildlife like roaming bugs and shit, but as you progress, you take on more and more of Dragonlord's direct henchmen - they're not just random encounters, these dudes are on patrol and you got on their TURF. When you finally grind up to beat the Green Dragon, and then you get to the final dungeon and TWO more variants of it appear as COMMON ENEMIES?? That's top tier kino.
Anyway this game's great, all of its design choices are laser-focused around that thrill of adventuring in a lived-in world and slowly building yourself up. Antiquated in some spots, but it gets the gameplay loop down pat and must've been even crazier back then. This was the 'hit buttons' JRPG thrill I needed to get my feet warm into the genre and rinse the taste of ATB out of my mouth.
Mobile/Switch version is ugly as shit tho, fuckin' Minecraft mod vibes.
Played the SNES version, which isn't really on here as its own thing outside of the I + II pack, but it's super solid. Also slightly biased after playing through it with my BF for our first time in-person together, great game regardless.
Basic, simple, classic, grindy, a bit worse than other jrpgs of the time. Still, gotta respect the first of a solid series.
Surprise, it's quite good. Dungeons don't really make sense but it's fine because they're about general antagonism rather than specific architecture.
It's great to see what's basically the mother of JRPGs, but the game is hours of mindless grinding and about less than an hour of actual substantial gameplay. No story of any kind either, really
That being said, it has charm and its history is important. It did feel satisfying to beat
That being said, it has charm and its history is important. It did feel satisfying to beat
This game is super charming and aged surprisingly well.
Combat is simplistic, game has only you as a playable character, it's grindy at the start but after hitting a certain level you can just cruise.
The remastered OST is really nice, the updated visulas give me serious FFIV PSP vibes and the pacing is just right. Uninterrupted, this game could very well only take 6 hours to beat no joke
I won't say I'm a Dragon Quest fan from this game alone but this is a nice appetizer for what I'll be playing from the series in the near future.
Combat is simplistic, game has only you as a playable character, it's grindy at the start but after hitting a certain level you can just cruise.
The remastered OST is really nice, the updated visulas give me serious FFIV PSP vibes and the pacing is just right. Uninterrupted, this game could very well only take 6 hours to beat no joke
I won't say I'm a Dragon Quest fan from this game alone but this is a nice appetizer for what I'll be playing from the series in the near future.