Difference between revisions of "Dragon Warrior"

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[[Image:Dragon Warrior - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American NES box art.]]
 
[[Image:Dragon Warrior - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American NES box art.]]
  
'''''Dragon Warrior''''' is a role-playing game for the [[NES]] developed by [[Chunsoft]] and published by [[Enix]] in 1986. It is the first game in the [[Dragon Warrior (Universe)|Dragon Warrior series]].
+
'''''Dragon Warrior''''' is a role-playing game developed by [[Chunsoft]] and published by [[Enix]] on 1986-05-27 for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] and later that year for the [[MSX]] and [[MSX2]]. It is the first game in the [[Dragon Quest (Universe)|Dragon Warrior series]]. In the game's story, the evil Dragonlord has stolen a sacred relic from the kingdom of Alefgard plunging the land into darkness and kidnapped the Princess Gwaelin. King Lorik has sent many brave men to retrieve the relic, but none have returned. You are the last hope to defeat the monsters of the realm, rescue the princess, and vanquish the Dragonlord to return light to the kingdom.
  
Around 1990, my mother bought us Dragon Warrior and [[River City Ransom]] at a garage sale, and I found both games to be a lot of fun. Although, by today's standards, Dragon Warrior is a pretty dull game. I spent a lot of time playing this at home and at my cousin's house, and I remember my aunt, who is very religious, being very concerned about the game having a "warlock" in it.
+
Around 1990, my mother bought us ''Dragon Warrior'' and ''[[River City Ransom]]'' at a garage sale, and I found both games to be a lot of fun. Although, by today's standards, ''Dragon Warrior'' is a pretty dull game, I still spent a lot of time playing it at home and at my cousin's house. I remember my religious aunt being very concerned about the game having a "warlock" in it. My brother and I played the game, grinding for many hours, until one day he told me that he beat the game. I used our shared character to grind more until I maxed out the experience, gold, and hit level 30. After that, I beat the game too.
  
 
==Status==
 
==Status==
I own this game for the NES and have beaten it with maxed-out stats.
+
I own this game for the NES and have beaten it and maxed out a character.
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
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===Good===
 
===Good===
* The monster graphics are fantastic for the time.
+
* The cartoon monster graphics are drawn fantastically by [[Akira Toriyama]].
* Even with the game's rather poor audio driver, the music is quite good. Enix was wise to hire a professional composer.
+
* Even with the game's rather poor audio driver, the music is quite good. Enix was wise to hire [[Koichi Sugiyama]], a professional, to compose their music.
 
* The player sprite graphic changes when he's holding a sword, shield, and the princess. A nice touch.
 
* The player sprite graphic changes when he's holding a sword, shield, and the princess. A nice touch.
* Showing the evil Charlock Castle surrounded by swamp in the distance is a nice way of letting the player imagine how awful it's going to be. Although, it create a plot hole: why doesn't Alefgard have boats?
+
* Showing the evil Charlock Castle surrounded by swamp in the distance is a nice way of letting the player imagine how awful it's going to be long before they can actually reach it. Although, it creates a serious plot hole: doesn't Alefgard have boats?
 
* I like the reveal in the final battle.
 
* I like the reveal in the final battle.
* The game has three different endings, based on whether you accept the Dragon Lord's offer, and whether you have rescued Princess Gwaelin. And a good cut scene for 1986.
+
* The game has three different endings, based on whether you accept the Dragon Lord's offer, and whether you have rescued Princess Gwaelin. And it's a pretty good cut scene for 1986.
  
 
===Bad===
 
===Bad===
* There isn't much to do in the game. If grinding wasn't necessary, you could talk to every NPC, collect every items, traverse every map, and beat the game in about an hour.
+
* There isn't much to do in the game. If grinding wasn't necessary, you could talk to every NPC, collect every item, traverse every map, and beat the game in about an hour.
* The combat is very basic. You only ever control one hero, you only ever fight one monster, and your actions are limited to fight, spell, item, and run. However, if given the choice between combat that it too complex or too easy, I prefer too easy.
+
* The combat is very primitive. You only ever control one hero, you only ever fight one monster, and your actions are limited to fight, spell, item, and run. However, if given the choice between combat that is too complex or too simple, I prefer too simple.
* The save-the-princess trope was pretty played out, even in 1986, and it's embarrassing now. Especially since you have to literally carry Gwaelin all the way back to the castle (are her legs broken?), and when you succeed, she professes her love to you.
 
 
* Even with only a handful of items in the game, the designer's still managed to make a few of them effectively useless including the Fighter's Ring, Cursed Belt, and Necklace of Death.
 
* Even with only a handful of items in the game, the designer's still managed to make a few of them effectively useless including the Fighter's Ring, Cursed Belt, and Necklace of Death.
* The game only has a single role-playing element at the very end, and it's entirely predictable.
+
* The save-the-princess trope was pretty played out, even in 1986, and it's embarrassing now. Especially since you have to literally carry Gwaelin all the way back to the castle (are her legs broken?). Finally, she professes her love to you simply because you rescued her.
 +
* The game only has a single role-playing element (a decision to make) at the very end, and it's entirely predictable.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===
* The game is painfully grind heavy. The designers would need to make enemies give about 10 times more experience than they do to make the game bearable by today's standards.
+
* The game is painfully grind heavy. The designers would need to make enemies reward about 10 times more gold and experience than they do in order to make the game bearable by today's standards.
  
 
==Media==
 
==Media==
Line 47: Line 47:
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Alefgard - Poster.jpg|Map poster.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Alefgard - Poster.jpg|Map poster.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Monsters - Poster.jpg|Monster guide poster.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Monsters - Poster.jpg|Monster guide poster.
Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 157-158.jpg|[[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]], blurb.
+
Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 157-158.jpg|Coming soon in [[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]].
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
Line 89: Line 89:
  
 
==Titles==
 
==Titles==
 +
The title was changed from "Dragon Quest" to "Dragon Warrior" in the USA because of a pen and paper RPG [[TSR]] sold called "DragonQuest." Enix continued calling the American released "Dragon Warrior" until 2004 when they started using "Dragon Quest" for all regions.
 +
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Language !! Native !! Transliteration !! Translation
 
! Language !! Native !! Transliteration !! Translation
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==Links==
 
==Links==
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dragon-warrior mobygames.com/game/dragon-warrior] - MobyGames.
+
{{Link|MobyGames|http://www.mobygames.com/game/dragon-warrior}}
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_(video_game) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_(video_game)] - Wikipedia.
+
{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_(video_game)}}
* [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Dragon_Warrior_(NES) vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Dragon_Warrior_(NES)] - Music.
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{{Link|StrategyWiki|https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Dragon_Warrior}}
* [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php/Dragon_Warrior thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php/Dragon_Warrior] - NES Hacker Database.
+
{{Link|VGMPF|2=http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Dragon_Warrior_(NES)}}
 +
{{Link|NESHacker|http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php/Dragon_Warrior}}
 +
{{Link|TCRF|https://tcrf.net/Dragon_Warrior}}
 +
 
 
* [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/DragonWarrior/Index.html thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/DragonWarrior/Index.html] - My old Dragon Warrior site.
 
* [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/DragonWarrior/Index.html thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/DragonWarrior/Index.html] - My old Dragon Warrior site.
* [https://tcrf.net/Dragon_Warrior tcrf.net/Dragon_Warrior] - The Cutting Room Floor.
 
  
  
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[[Category: Video Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
 
[[Category: MSX Games]]
 
[[Category: MSX Games]]
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[[Category: MSX2 Games]]
 
[[Category: NES Games]]
 
[[Category: NES Games]]
 
[[Category: Role-Playing Game]]
 
[[Category: Role-Playing Game]]
 
[[Category: Fantasy]]
 
[[Category: Fantasy]]
 
[[Category: Games I've Beaten]]
 
[[Category: Games I've Beaten]]

Revision as of 16:22, 13 March 2019

North American NES box art.

Dragon Warrior is a role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix on 1986-05-27 for the NES and later that year for the MSX and MSX2. It is the first game in the Dragon Warrior series. In the game's story, the evil Dragonlord has stolen a sacred relic from the kingdom of Alefgard plunging the land into darkness and kidnapped the Princess Gwaelin. King Lorik has sent many brave men to retrieve the relic, but none have returned. You are the last hope to defeat the monsters of the realm, rescue the princess, and vanquish the Dragonlord to return light to the kingdom.

Around 1990, my mother bought us Dragon Warrior and River City Ransom at a garage sale, and I found both games to be a lot of fun. Although, by today's standards, Dragon Warrior is a pretty dull game, I still spent a lot of time playing it at home and at my cousin's house. I remember my religious aunt being very concerned about the game having a "warlock" in it. My brother and I played the game, grinding for many hours, until one day he told me that he beat the game. I used our shared character to grind more until I maxed out the experience, gold, and hit level 30. After that, I beat the game too.

Status

I own this game for the NES and have beaten it and maxed out a character.

Review

  • Overall: 4/10
  • Best Version: NES

Good

  • The cartoon monster graphics are drawn fantastically by Akira Toriyama.
  • Even with the game's rather poor audio driver, the music is quite good. Enix was wise to hire Koichi Sugiyama, a professional, to compose their music.
  • The player sprite graphic changes when he's holding a sword, shield, and the princess. A nice touch.
  • Showing the evil Charlock Castle surrounded by swamp in the distance is a nice way of letting the player imagine how awful it's going to be long before they can actually reach it. Although, it creates a serious plot hole: doesn't Alefgard have boats?
  • I like the reveal in the final battle.
  • The game has three different endings, based on whether you accept the Dragon Lord's offer, and whether you have rescued Princess Gwaelin. And it's a pretty good cut scene for 1986.

Bad

  • There isn't much to do in the game. If grinding wasn't necessary, you could talk to every NPC, collect every item, traverse every map, and beat the game in about an hour.
  • The combat is very primitive. You only ever control one hero, you only ever fight one monster, and your actions are limited to fight, spell, item, and run. However, if given the choice between combat that is too complex or too simple, I prefer too simple.
  • Even with only a handful of items in the game, the designer's still managed to make a few of them effectively useless including the Fighter's Ring, Cursed Belt, and Necklace of Death.
  • The save-the-princess trope was pretty played out, even in 1986, and it's embarrassing now. Especially since you have to literally carry Gwaelin all the way back to the castle (are her legs broken?). Finally, she professes her love to you simply because you rescued her.
  • The game only has a single role-playing element (a decision to make) at the very end, and it's entirely predictable.

Ugly

  • The game is painfully grind heavy. The designers would need to make enemies reward about 10 times more gold and experience than they do in order to make the game bearable by today's standards.

Media

Box Art

Documentation

Maps

Graphic Sheets

Fan Art

Videos

Titles

The title was changed from "Dragon Quest" to "Dragon Warrior" in the USA because of a pen and paper RPG TSR sold called "DragonQuest." Enix continued calling the American released "Dragon Warrior" until 2004 when they started using "Dragon Quest" for all regions.

Language Native Transliteration Translation
English Dragon Warrior
Japanese ドラゴンクエスト Doragon Kuesuto Dragon Quest

Links

Link-MobyGames.png  Link-Wikipedia.png  Link-StrategyWiki.png  Link-VGMPF.png  64x64px  Link-TCRF.png