RPG Diary

Dragon Quest

Dragon Quest (formerly Dragon Warrior in the US) is widely considered to be the first "JRPG" or console RPG. I've played the GameBoy Color remake before, but I've never played the original version. How does this historically significant game hold up nearly 40 years later?

Title	Dragon Quest (US Dragon Warrior )
Year	1986 (US 1989 )
System	NES
Developer	Chunsoft
Publisher	Enix (US Nintendo )

Dragon Quest is a very simple game. The nameless hero is the sole party character and even battles only feature one enemy at a time. There is no character customization nor any real equipment choices   more expensive is always better. There are a few useful spells to learn, but generally most battles are fought with just the basic FIGHT command. While this is all minimal by today's standards, Dragon Quest established the core template for console RPGs.

Despite its age, Dragon Quest has a timeless charm to it. The enemy sprites are clear, vivid, and still look good today. The music also manages to be very memorable even though there is really only six "songs" in the entire game: castle, town, overworld, battle, dungeon, and final boss. The final boss battle is a memorable experience despite the technical limitations.

That said, the game is a chore to play by modern standards. The plot is simple but minimal: save the princess and defeat the Dragonlord. There are big difficulty spikes and significant grinding is required to buy better equipment and gain levels. There are few real dungeons to explore (and few real bosses), so the majority of this grinding occurs on the overworld map. It cannot be understated how boring it is to walk in circles on the overworld compared to exploring a dungeon for loot. Grinding is easily at least 90% of the game — the lack of dungeons or scripted scenes means the quest itself could probably be completed in an hour if the hero was strong enough to avoid dying.

Though Dragon Quest is clearly an important game historically, it's hard to recommend playing it today unless you enjoy grinding. I ended up multi-tasking to help pass the time and get through it. Thankfully the game is very short because I was ready to move on. I've heard the remakes reduce the grinding requirements, so maybe I'll try one of those someday.

After completing a game, I add it to my overall enjoyment ranking which orders the games I've completed from those I most enjoyed to those I least enjoyed. Unfortunately, this game was a complete chore to play, so it's going straight to the bottom. Sorry.