In a lot of ways, the germ of everything that is great about Dragon Quest, if not any number of JRPGs after it, are here, in the very first game. In this way, it is a timeless game.

...on the other hand, most of it plays as pretty rote and archaic, these days. The one-on-one nature of combat and the both linear and singular character progression path especially feels simplistic and hopelessly dated.

One of those games I'd call a valuable history lesson to experience in an afternoon or two with a guide open.

I played the Android port, so that might have even removed some of the uglier warts on it. Go with your own gut feeling about whether or not you should play a remake or an original version.

second time completing this game...its not the best thing ever, and it definitely shows its age. however while i say that, this game holds a very special place in my heart. i played dragon quest during a very dark and serious time in my life and it really did help me through those days. this game is like on my short list of nes games that are playable, and the whole vibe is just so cozy. toriyamas art really gives so so much life to this series. its crazy how his monster designs changed everything. theyre so iconic, so cute, so cool, just so everything. everyone working on this game was a master of their respective crafts, its really incredible.

Hero saves princess, kills a demon lord, gets rizz

So Anyways, Dragon Quest... how do I even begin? This game has inspired more people over than many fantasy stories have before. The art style, the music, the gameplay. All of it brought together to make a new genre of gaming. while the game doesn't hold up as well with todays standards, it still has this simplistic groove to it that makes it shout "It was me !!!". This game started so many trends with rpg's its hard to count. This is of course all thanks to the countless people who helped make it.

The gameplay is as basic of rpg mechanics as you can get, and that makes sense since it started almost all of them. despite how the game is a grindy turn based rpg with little direction on how and what to do, you cant help but appreciate how it all started here. The grind can be rough, but manageable with how you can just watch something else while you play or even play it in small bursts like I did on my phone. The story is a very run of the mill basic fantasy story of "Hero saves princess, kills bad guy, gets married". This was a game on NES so I don't blame it for going for a short simple story. I do think the simplicity of everything is the charm for it. The music is also an incredible bop that I still love even now, though the music got very repetitive with how every battle encounter was THE SAME EXACT SONG. Its a great song but, with how much you u need to grind, it gets reeeeaaaalllllyyy tiring.

The big reason I played this game was due to the unfortunate passing of Akira Toriyama. His art give this game the personality it needed to shape this world into something truly goofy and whimsical. For example, for those who don't know, when it came to designing the iconic slime, it started off as a small pile of sludge on floor for its design. Toriyama saw the sketch and took and it made it into the happy little dew drop it is now, creating what is the main mascot of the series. He would take the plain and turn it into the creative. You helped make many wonderful things, thank you Toriyama. may you rest in peace always.

This is a really easy game to beat within 8 hours or less. it helps to find a guide if you can but I would recommend it for anyone who wants to see where it all begin or needs a quick and easy distraction.