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Dragon Warrior I & II (review)

© Chuck Bednar

Good hand-held RPGs are hard to find.

I'm talking about REALLY good hand-held RPGs; the kind that combine a strong story with enjoyable gameplay and good production values. Nearly every true portable role-playing game has some kind of flaw that makes them nearly impossible to play through. The Final Fantasy Legend series has a ludicrous system that constantly requires you to replace weapons as they 'run out' or break. Revelations: The Demon Slayer requires that you spend far too much time in combat. Even Pokemon, as good as it was, lacked seriously in the plot department.

That's what makes Dragon Warrior I & II such a pleasant (and long overdue) breath of fresh air.

First, a history lesson for those of you new to role-playing games. Dragon Warrior arrived in the States in 1990, making its debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It wasn't the first traditional style of RPG, but it might as well have been. The game introduced most fans to the genre and established many of the traditional elements found in today's RPGs, including turn-based combat, experience points, and leveling up. The following year, Dragon Warrior II raised the stakes even further, adding a three-person party, a larger world, and a more fleshed-out storyline.

So what does a pair of 10-year old RPGs have to offer? Plenty.

First of all, the fact that Dragon Warrior I & II contains a pair of classic role-playing titles on a single cartridge makes it a great value. The game can be purchased most places for under $30 and should offer at least a full month's worth of entertainment. Given its incredible value, as well as the almost complete lack of decent RPGs available for the Game Boy Color, Dragon Warrior I & II is probably worth trying on concept alone.

Thankfully, though, the games are a lot more than a novelty.

The two games are parts of a trilogy, and as such the plots of Dragon Warrior I & II are somewhat intertwined. In the first game, you play as the descendant of the legendary warrior Loto. An evil being known as the DracoLord has captured the mystical Light Orb, and he plans to use it to plunge the land of Alefgard into darkness unless you can stop him. Of course, the hero prevails, and along the way he rescues a beautiful princess.

Fast forward to Dragon Warrior II. Loto's descendant and the princess have since married, founded the kingdom of Lorasia, and produced a trio of offspring. The world is at peace… that is, until an evil wizard by the name of Hargon rears his ugly head and begins to trash the kingdom of Moonbrook. So much for peace! With the world endangered by the forces of darkness once more, those who share Loto's bloodline must band together once more to protect all that is good. What points the plot loses for lack of originality, it earns back double for execution and clarity.

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