My favorite version of Dragon Quest I and II. I like it a lot as it updates these two games using the DQV engine for SFC, it also balances and modernizes them a bit, but I think it's mostly because I really like the feeling of playing a good Super Nintendo game :) Be that as it may, I'd like to talk about these 2 games in depth, so this time I'll do a double review.

- Dragon Quest -
The birth of a legendary franchise. The first Dragon Quest, certainly is a memorable game and an enjoyable experience, but it is also a very archaic and rudimentary game.

In this game we only control one character in the entire adventure, which results in rather simplistic and a bit boring combat to be perfectly honest, however, the magic of the first Dragon Quest lies not in its combat, but in its great little sense of adventure and its interesting world full of mysteries.

We start the adventure with a single simple mission; defeat the evil Dragonlord, and that is the only clear objective we are given at the beginning, as the game invites us to be ourselves the ones to explore and discover more of its world. The first time I played this game, something as simple and as ambiguous as that was just what I needed, and I'm not exaggerating. I came with the idea that RPGs were just about following a relatively linear story and learning complex systems that at some point had to get good and interesting, and that to me sounded like a pretty long process, and more considering how slow RPGs are (ironically nowadays I think the opposite and I recognize that it was a very closed view, but I still think that giving freedom to the player is something important).

So playing this game I was quite intrigued and pleased to explore the world, without having a really clear and established path, having that freedom was really important, I loved getting lost in the world and discovering it on my own. Something important about Dragon Quest's design is that losing a battle doesn't mean game over, but the game will always give you a second chance, you will keep the whole experience and the only real penalty of a defeat is losing half of your money. A deal that I consider more than fair, as it meant to me that I could make a mistake without fear of wasting my time, and compared to other games of the time, these on the other hand would return you to the last save point or directly to the beginning of the game erasing all your progress.

Exploring the world, every time I met an NPC and they would tell me a hint or a tip, I remember to write it down in a notebook so I wouldn't forget it. I even drew some of the dungeon maps that were there because in this game the caves are kind of confusing and have no light, so making something to help orient you is very helpful. I really liked this as it somehow added to that sense of mystery and adventure, and most of all immersion. Eventually I had to consult a guide as there are items you get with clues that are very ambiguous, like the mark of erdrick. But still, I think what an average player can discover on his own is considerable, unlike games like Zelda 1 and 2 or Castlevania 2, where a guide is more necessary.

The music by Koichi Sugiyama is decent, but nothing out of the ordinary, I have to say that the battle theme doesn't appeal to me and it's something you'll hear very often. However, it was here that one of the most legendary and iconic themes in the world of video games was born and a personal favorite that whenever I listen to it transports me to a world full of fantasy and adventure.

Conclusion
The game that started it all, with a rather humble proposal even for its time, but that was a great success in the history of video games to simplify the hitherto very complex RPG and be the first of its kind to be in a home console. I'm not exaggerating when I say that up until then Famicom and NES games had barely any text and story within the game, but DQ was the first to offer such an amount of text and personality through it.


- Dragon Quest II -
Dragon Quest II is an open world RPG that was a giant step forward in terms of everything for the series. Although the game has some problems, on the other hand, it is what I consider to be the true first JRPG in form and the "blueprint" that all JRPGs at the time would try to emulate.

But well, let's start from the beginning. The story is still almost as simple as in the previous game, but at least in this game we already have an introductory cinematic that gives us more motivation to stop the villain, still, that and meeting the other heroes are the only major events that happen in the whole game, so don't expect much in that sense.

Once again, what captivates me and what I love about this game is its large world to explore and the sense of adventure it generates. I really like how the world is gigantic and so open from the start and you can traverse a lot of it in any order you want once you get the ship. It really is a great expansion and improvement on the first title, and the large world to explore gives you a great sense of adventure, and exploring by ship is just enjoyable. One aspect that I really like is how every time you get a different key many previously inaccessible paths open up, it makes many places that at first seemed unimportant get a new meaning, often being like a kind of reward for the player for remembering those places and staying curious. There are many things that you can discover on your own, however, there are a lot of other things that are achieved in very specific ways that with the ambiguous clues given by the NPCs will not be enough to deduce it, so you will need a guide at certain points.

The combats follow the same bases of the previous installment, but it evolves and becomes really interesting by introducing for the first time a party! That will consist of a warrior and 2 mages, which greatly improves the combat system compared to the previous DQ. However, another big flaw that Dragon Quest II has is how frustrating it can feel because of how unbalanced it can be sometimes, because now the enemies also come in groups and some have annoying attacks, and many times the groups are big, but the main reason is that only our hero can equip himself with good weaponry, while the two mages will have to make do with barely decent equipment, or the fact that getting items that recover MP is very difficult. Although to be honest, it's not as terrible as people paint it. I highly recommend withdrawing from the dungeons when you run out of MP or feel that you are not going to overcome it, I also recommend in combat to use more the "Defense" command and spells that alter states to make the battles more manageable, as I feel that only the final dungeons of the game are the difficult part of this and those that will require grinding.

The first DQ had nice tunes, I would say barely decent, but this is where I think I fell in love with DQ's music. Although the amount of songs is few, they complement the game very well and give it a certain charm, I especially like the town theme, the first overworld theme and the credits theme. The credits theme is without a doubt still to this day one of my favorite (if not my favorite) ending songs in video games.

Conclusion
This game already feels more like a proper JRPG, whereas the first DQ felt like a failed attempt at that as far as the combat system is concerned. The world is vastly larger and more entertaining to explore, the music is of outstanding quality, the combat is much more interesting and the variety of monsters is vastly expanded. The difficulty and how ambiguous it can be are pretty notable flaws, but I'm sure no one here plays NES games without a guide, so that's more a characteristic of all adventure games of the era rather than being a unique flaw of DQII.

It's often looked down upon because people think that after the first DQ, the obvious and direct evolution would be a game like the first Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest III, but I think people forget that those two games are just Dragon Quest II, but refined, as the game that really cemented and laid most of the groundwork for the JRPG genre and all future titles in the series (and even Final Fantasy), is this one.


Double Conclusion
This was my "official" entry playing the Dragon Quest franchise, and that time I played these games years ago, my interest in Dragon Quest became very strong, and I'm glad I stayed there to have discovered DQ in full and see its evolution from its roots, I think it's something that was extremely worthwhile.

Yeah, maybe they are bad games nowadays, that's why I gave them such a low rating, but for me they are great games and true classics, that if it were up to me, I would rate them a 9/10.

Through the simplest and most primitive, the charm and simplicity of the early Dragon Quests brought back my interest in RPGs, and that's something I'll always remember and is the reason I'm grateful for these two titles. Undoubtedly important games that contributed significantly in making me the player I am today.