Dragon Warrior 1 & 2
| a game by | Enix |
| Platform: | GameBoy Color |
| Editor Rating: | 8.8/10, based on 3 reviews |
| User Rating: | 6.7/10 - 3 votes |
| Rate this game: | |
| See also: | Gameboy Color Games, Dragon Warrior Series |
DownloadsOverview
If you have ever played the original Nintendo games on the NES, you will have fun replaying this exact port on the GameBoy Color. This RPG will provide several hours of immersive gameplay and is simply fun to play. The game is exceptional with a simple, yet fun storyline with an even simpler interface -- tweak the graphics and gameplay slightly to improve an already sturdy cart, then throw in the fact that you get two games for the price of one. Over forty hours of enjoyable role-playing on the go! What more could you ask for?
And the oracle spoke, 'In the distant past, the legendary hero Loto defeated the demon king and saved Alefgard from the black shadow of evil. A descendant of Loto will soon arrive. That progeny will bring DracoLord to justice!'? You are that descendant. You are the hero. You are the Dragon Warrior! Through the land of Alefgard, battle your way through monsters to rescue the Lady Lora from the minions of DracoLord. With each battle, you come closer to rescuing the fair princess and destroying DracoLord, thus releasing Alefgard from its darkened state.
Time has passed and the hero and princess from Dragon Warrior I have married and founded a new kingdom called Lorasia. A hundred years after that founding, this land is now divided into three prosperous kingdoms. Word has come that Hargon, an evil cult leader has created a terrifying being in order to conquer the world. Two princes and a princess of the three kingdoms band together to defeat this plot and save their beloved kingdoms. Lead your hearty band of Dragon Warriors throughout the land, defeating monsters and ultimately saving the world.
Gameplay, Controls, Interface
What a wonderful way to play older RPGs on a two-button handheld. It doesn't get any simpler than that. The A button is your Action and the B button is your select button. Using the D-pad, move your hero around the lands to find villages, people and, of course, monsters.
In Dragon Warrior I, when you come across a villager, pressing the A button lets you talk to them and, through some pretty engrossing conversations, the story is fleshed out. Just as in any RPG, talk to everyone. The information will lead to many different quests that will add to your experience and equipment. Learn new spells and use them -- from the all-purpose Heal to the knock-out Fireball. Look in everything, you'll find all types of items. Find and/or buy keys to open those locked doors. Save your quest by either talking to the King to update your journal or save it in your Field Log by pressing START. The interface is elegantly simple.
In Dragon Warrior II, the standard gameplay from Dragon Warrior I continues but no longer are you battling one monster at a time; you're fighting many more. But take heart, brave warrior, you now have two companions to help you in your quest. Choose who will fight or cast a spell and which monster to attack first... the one with the larger HP and toothy grin or the multiple slimes, drackys, or rats. Your arsenal of items and spells has greatly increased as well. The monsters are tougher and there are more encounters. But this is an RPG game, not a stroll in the park!
Graphics
Not bad for a handheld game. If you are expecting phenomenal DVD images, you shouldn't be playing with a handheld console. This is the GameBoy Color and the game does a good job of using as many pixels and colors as it possibly can. In fact, the graphics are even better than the original games on the NES. The images of the monsters were surprisingly artistic, nice detail and fairly crisp. The 'cinematic sequences'? are quite good and the overall map is your standard RPG screen. Just as with many GameBoy Color games, be sure to play in a place with some decent back lighting. All in all, graphics are well done.
Audio
Please keep in mind that the GameBoy Color has one very small speaker. With that said, the audio is decent. There is the normal RPG music (almost hypnotic at times) and the squelching 'SLASH'? or attack sounds when attacking or being attacked. The game delivers audio fairly well and that's all you can expect with such limited hardware
Bottom Line
If you enjoy games that have a good storyline and straightforward gameplay, you can't go wrong with these RPGs. Dragon Warrior I and II for the GameBoy Color is an extremely satisfying game, and all for the price of one game.
Download Dragon Warrior 1 & 2
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Game Reviews
Back in 1989, Nintendo of America released a nifty little RP6 for the NES called Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in japan). The game, which almost single-handedly spun off the console RP6 genre in japan, became somewhat of a cult hit in the U.S., spawning three NES sequels (and two more Super NES ones, only in japan) before completely disappearing in 1992. Last winter, the series resurfaced on the Game Boy Color in the form of Dragon Warrior Monsters, and now Enix is bringing back the classics with an all-new GBC compilation of the first two DW games, titled aptly enough, Dragon Warrior l&ll.
If you're unfamiliar with Dragon Warrior, it's basically a traditional old-school RPG where you venture from town to town, gathering information, battling monsters and upgrading your equipment. Typical RPG fare, one might think, but the DW games have a certain undeniable appeal, with their well-balanced gameplay and carefully crafted stories.
The series is extraordinarily popular in Japan, having sold over 22 million copies since the first DW was released in 1986. Both Dragon Warrior I and II have been dramatically improved for the GBC rerelease. In addition to better graphics and sounds, the game speed has picked up quite a bit, thanks to a more user-friendly interface and much quicker battles. Speaking of battles, the monster Al has been improved significantly to match up with that of the more recent games in the series. There's also a host of minor improvements, including new intro cinemas, more items, vaults for storing excess belongings, and, best of all, a new Field Log save system that allows you to save your place from anywhere in the game. (Sorry, cheaters--the log gets deleted as soon as you resume play.)
Old-school DW fans will notice that a lot of names, items and places in DW l&ll have been changed from the NES versions. This was done to make the games more true to the Japanese originals (Loto instead of Erdrick, Lorasia instead of Midenhall, etc.). It takes a little getting used to for fans of the old games, but the translation is otherwise very good, and hopefully a sign of things to come from the newly reformed Enix of America.
Whether you're an old fan of DW looking to "relive the magic" or just a recent RPGer looking for a decent handheld quest, you'll probably want to give Dragon Warrior l&ll a try. By today's standards, these aren't groundbreaking RPGs by any means (after all, the action didn't really heat up until DWIII), but for classic RPGing on the go, this compilation really can't be beat
People say:
I'm 13 years old again, playing the game that would lead to my undying love of RPGs for decades to come. Re-entering the U.S. market by releasing the two games that literally launched this genre is a stroke of pure genius by Enix. Even though Dragon Warrior l&ll aren't nearly as advanced as current RPGs (DWI doesn't even have a party system), it's nice to take a trip down memory lane and revisit our roots. It's also interesting to see the progression made between the first and second game. Like all GBC conversions, Dragon Warrior l&ll have been reworked slightly to compensate for the tiny screen. The results are spectacular. DWI has all-new fight backgrounds and both games have shed the insanely convoluted menu system employed by their NES ancestors (you used to have to bring up a menu and choose a command just to take the stairs to another floor). It's too bad Enix didn't decide to add fight backgrounds to DWII, though. Monsters floating over a white background don't look overly impressive. While old-timers will revel in this pure RPG experience, gamers weaned on Final Fantasy VII will immediately notice the hours of extraneous level building needed to complete each game, along with the fact that they're pretty damn short overall. Nonetheless, you wont find a finer collection of classic RPGs this side of FF Anthology, and on the Game Boy Color no less. Play this now.
DWI&II is like an old favorite couch--nothing fancy, kinda ratty and ancient-looking, but solidly built with a comfortable, familiar feeling that I love. The story, combat system and pretty much everything else is right out of the RPG cliche handbook--but so what? It works fine, it's fun to play, and I don't expect stunning originality or a Final Fantasy-caliber experience from the Game Boy. Be warned: The old-school character building methods are in full effect here, so if you don't like repetitive combat to strengthen your party you'll definitely want to pass. So are these games dated? Yes. But, more importantly, are they still worth playing? Definitely.
I missed the DW craze back when the games first came out on the NES. (Final Fantasy III is the game that first turned me onto RPGs), so the only DW game I've played before was DW Monsters. Both games here have too much dungeon crawling and not enough substance for me. Too much time's spent on building up levels and you don't always feel like you're advancing through the story. It's nice to see how far the genre's come, but I found DWI&II a tad on the slow side. If you like your RPGs old school, by all means--you're going to want this game (plus the selection of other RPGs for the GBC is pretty sparse), but I've been spoiled by Final Fantasy.
Snapshots and Media
GameBoy Color Screenshots
