Difference between revisions of "Dragon Warrior"

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[[Image:Dragon Warrior - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]]
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[[Image:Dragon Warrior - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American NES box art.]]
  
'''''Dragon Warrior''''', known in Japan as '''''ドラゴンクエスト [Doragon Kuesuto], "Dragon Quest"''''', is a role-playing game for the [[NES]] developed by [[Chunsoft]] and published by [[Enix]] in 1986.
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'''''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]].
  
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 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.
  
 
==Status==
 
==Status==
I have beat the NES game and maxed out my stats.
+
I own this game for the NES and have beaten it with maxed-out stats.
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
Line 13: Line 13:
  
 
===Good===
 
===Good===
* The monster graphics are fantastic.
+
* The monster graphics are fantastic for the time.
 
* 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 a professional composer.
* There 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. Although, it create a plot hole: why doesn't Alefgard have boats?
* The ending fight is really great, and, despite it's age, the game has an enjoyable cut-scene.
+
* 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.
  
 
===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 items, traverse every map, and beat the game in about an hour.
* The combat is very basic. You can only attack, run, or cast a spell. Although, I tend to prefer this over games where combat is a convoluted mess of options.
+
* 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 save-the-princess trope was pretty played out then, and it's embarrassing now. Especially since you have to literally carry Gwaelin all the way back to the castle causing her to professes her love to you (which she gives to you as a telepathic item). Interestingly, you can actually beat the game without rescuing her!
+
* 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, several of them are useless like 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 ending represent the only real role-playing element in the game, and it's pretty predictable.
+
* The game only has a single role-playing element 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 the experience they do to make the game bearable by today's standards.
+
* 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.
  
==Box Art==
+
==Media==
 +
===Box Art===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Japan.jpg|The original Japanese box art really fits the game with its cartoonish style. The MSX port uses the same art.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Japan.jpg|The original Japanese box art really fits the game with its cartoonish style. The MSX port uses the same art.
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</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Documentation==
+
===Documentation===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Manual.pdf|Manual.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Manual.pdf|Manual.
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Dragon Warrior - NES - Manual - Japan - Translated.pdf|Japanese manual (translated).
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Manual - Japan - Translated.pdf|Japanese manual (translated).
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Adventure Guide.pdf|Adventure Guide.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Adventure Guide.pdf|Adventure Guide.
Dragon Warrior - NES - Explorer's Handbook.zip|Explorer's Handbook.
+
Dragon Warrior - NES - Explorer's Handbook.pdf|Explorer's Handbook.
Dragon Warrior - NES - Nintendo Power Guide (1st part is corrupt).pdf|Nintendo Power Guide (1st part is corrupt).
+
Dragon Warrior - NES - Strategy Guide.pdf|Strategy Guide.
 
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|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb.
+
Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 157-158.jpg|[[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]], blurb.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Maps==
+
===Maps===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Alefgard.png|Alefgard.
+
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Alefgard.png|Alefgard, clean map.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Alefgard - With Labels.png|Alefgard, with labels.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Alefgard - With Labels.png|Alefgard, with labels.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Monsters.jpg|Monsters.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Monsters.jpg|Monsters.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Tantegel Castle.png|Tantegel Castle.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Tantegel Castle.png|Tantegel Castle.
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Brecconary.png|Brecconary.
 
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Brecconary.png|Brecconary.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Brecconary.png|Brecconary.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Erdrick's Cave.png|Erdrick's Cave.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Map - Erdrick's Cave.png|Erdrick's Cave.
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</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Maps==
+
===Graphic Sheets===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Graphics - Characters.png|Characters.
 
Dragon Warrior - NES - Graphics - Characters.png|Characters.
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</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==Gallery==
+
===Fan Art===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Zac Gorman - Dragon Warrior.gif|Fan art by Zac Gorman.
 
Zac Gorman - Dragon Warrior.gif|Fan art by Zac Gorman.
 
Zac Gorman - Dragon Warrior - Drakee.gif|Comic by Zac Gorman.
 
Zac Gorman - Dragon Warrior - Drakee.gif|Comic by Zac Gorman.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 +
 +
===Videos===
 +
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmzHrNVelL0 youtube.com/watch?v=jmzHrNVelL0] - Longplay.
 +
 +
==Titles==
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
! Language !! Native !! Transliteration !! Translation
 +
|-
 +
| English || Dragon Warrior || ||
 +
|-
 +
| Japanese || ドラゴンクエスト || Doragon Kuesuto || Dragon Quest
 +
|}
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
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[[Category: Games]]
 
[[Category: Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
 +
[[Category: MSX 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 22:31, 10 September 2018

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 series.

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.

Status

I own this game for the NES and have beaten it with maxed-out stats.

Review

  • Overall: 4/10
  • Best Version: NES

Good

  • The monster graphics are fantastic for the time.
  • Even with the game's rather poor audio driver, the music is quite good. Enix was wise to hire a professional composer.
  • 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?
  • 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.

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.
  • 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 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.
  • The game only has a single role-playing element at the very end, and it's entirely predictable.

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.

Media

Box Art

Documentation

Maps

Graphic Sheets

Fan Art

Videos

Titles

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

Links