While there had been many earlier RPG titles within the thriving Japanese PC market, Dragon Quest was the first of the home console games to fully lean into the turn-based sensibilities drawn from CRPGs like Ultima and Wizardry, both inspired by the unescapable Dungeons & Dragons. Development was started in 1985 by Chunsoft and it's clearly evident that strong early design choices shaped the final product. Akira Toriyama (of Dragonball fame) was brought in to give the game a mass-market appeal and, combined with the lone male protagonist, this leant a healthy dose of shΕnen manga to the feel of the product. In another coup, music was composed by Koichi Sugiyama, an already prolific composer of musicals, TV and film. Toriyama and Sugiyama would remain active creating art and music for the series until their respective deaths, all the way up until the most recent installment, Dragon Quest XI, Echoes of an Elusive Age.
Mechanically, the game was designed from the outset to mix the overworld travel of Ultima, the first-person combat of Wizardry, and some under-the-hood choices that kept things simple and accessible in comparison to the genre's "older brothers" on home computers. Not all of these choices were voluntary, however, as the limitations of the system combined with the lack of experience programming for it narrowed the scope. A potential full party was limited to the single protagonist and, due to hardware restrictions, the original Japanese release did not have the ability to save, a consequence of the early battery-less cartridges shared by other games like The Legend of Zelda.
Getting Started
I am playing the North American upgrade of the title and will refer to it using the western name, Dragon Warrior, going forwards. It was released more than three years later in August of 1989 (by which time Enix was already preparing for Dragon Quest IV in Japan!) There's a few differences between the versions, but a little research implies that the mechanics of the game were left untouched. Even the bugs! Dragon Warrior was given a lot of attention throughout the second half of 1989 in Nintendo Power with several pages devoted to tips and information in each issue. There was also a full guide to the game included in the November/December magazine.
Dragon Quest begins by asking your name. This—or at least the first four characters—is used to seed your stat progression for the game. I dive in with the name "Theo" rather than picking something a little more optimal. I find myself locked upstairs in Tantagel Castle with the king, his guards, and a selection of treasures. These treasures act as a convenient tutorial as I need to find a key to get out and it gives me a chance to try out the perfectly functional command menu.
I follow the instructions and walk over to the nearby town of Breconnary, where I buy myself a weapon and prepare for the grind. The towns are evocative of early Ultima titles; there's shops that sell equipment and sundries, and NPCs who repeat the same speech each time you interact with them which gives both flavour and valuable hints of how to progress. Outside, the experience is more modern feeling than I ever anticipated: I am genuinely surprised at the smoothness of the combat screen, which pops up in front of the overworld when it is time for a fight. I am impressed further by the user interface changing colour when I reach low life. It lends a genuine sense of urgency to the moments when you get close to death and need to run back to the nearest town.
Making Progress
The gameplay loop of Dragon Warrior is simple: you move to the next region of the world map and kill hordes of enemies until you have gained a few levels and have the funds to upgrade your equipment. At around level 12, this noticeably slowed down. There's a lot of grinding in this game! It's around this point that I'd collected a few unique items, including the Silver Harp at the bottom of one of the larger dungeons—a hidden grave entered only by unlocking a door in the northwesternmost town Garinham. There's been a few hints from NPCs on how I am meant to progress, but the impression I've got by this point is that I likely need to brute force the exploration of the world which requires gaining the levels to comfortably survive in more difficult regions. Level 15 was a major breakpoint. While I couldn't sustain lots of fighting and so relied on the spell REPEL and running away from stronger enemies, it made me just powerful enough to grab the best armour in the game (Erdrick's Armor) from the ruined city of Haukness and to rescue the princess.
Wait. My sprite changes while I carry the princess?! Brilliant.
The Endgame
With the princess safely returned to her father in Tantagel Castle, I can prepare to face down the Dragonlord. I have a little item-gathering to complete and a whole heap of grinding ahead of me before I'm comfortable trying this. I've already found items that represent the sun and the rain, which I've been told by villagers are part of an old legend, but I need something to prove I'm the hero. I end up having to look up the last piece of the puzzle online. Erdrick's Token is found by combining my new ability to learn my map coordinates with a clue from a single NPC pointing me to a specific location at the very bottom of the map. I don't think I'd have got this alone.
I use the reward for all this, the Rainbow Drop, to add a new bridge to the map that leads to the final area (the island in the middle which you can see right from the start of the game). I get completely wrecked and return to safer shores to kill hundreds of weaker enemies. It takes several hours of grinding to reach the point where a feel a bit more capable and I once again try to assail Charlock Castle, hoping to at least get the strongest weapon in the game to speed up my grinding. Instead, I power through (with a little save scumming and judicious use of the REPEL spell), grab Erdrick's Sword, and with the extra damage it affords me I slay the Dragonlord.
Returning to Tantagel Castle once more, I am greeted by the King, turn down the gift of the throne and close out the game by declaring a new journey. I take Princess Gwaelin with me.
Closing Thoughts
Dragon Warrior feels like a tutorial for beginners to retro JRPGs. It has simple core mechanics that befit its console home, but is held up by punchy visual design, a surprisingly modern user interface and more unique experiences than I expected. Memorable moments included rescuing the princess, gaining the ability to teleport back to Tantagel Castle, and the animation that played when I activated the Rainbow Drop.
On the other hand, this game is far too sluggish after the midpoint. I had to spend too much time grinding out experience points for the final encounter long after I'd finished everything else on the map. I gather that the GBC remakes speed up the leveling process, so it would be a lot easier to recommend them over the NES original. Still, for a first offering by a team who had not made a similar game before, Dragon Warrior is a remarkedly solid title.
Is it Worth Playing?
Yes, but the godfather to console RPGs is best enjoyed with a way of speeding it up.
π
Loot for the Hoard:
Erdrick's sword and 65,535 gold pieces (the integer cap!)
P.S., a Name Stat Calculator
Below is a simple name checker so that you can see your starting statistics and growth rate based on the name you pick for yourself.
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| Statistic: | Starting Value: | Growth Rate: |
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