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This article is about the NES video game Dragon Warrior. For the series, see Dragon Quest. For the similarly named role-playing game, see Dragon Warriors.
Dragon Warrior, known as Dragon Quest (ドラゴンクエスト Doragon Kuesuto) in Japan, is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published in Japan by Enix (now Square Enix) in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Dragon Warrior has been ported and remade for several platforms including the MSX, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, and mobile phones. It is the inaugural game in Enix's flagship Dragon Quest series, which was known as the Dragon Warrior series in North America until 2003 due to a trademark conflict with the role-playing game (RPG) DragonQuest, which was published by wargame publisher SPI in the 1980s until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, Inc., which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987.[1] Dragon Warrior was one of the first exposures to console RPGs for gamers in the US when it was released. Its effects on the console RPG genre have been compared to above and beyond the more widely recognized, in the west, title of Final Fantasy. While it was not the first game to feature RPG elements, it set a template by which all future console RPGs continue to follow.
[edit] GameplayDragon Warrior uses console role-playing game mechanics which were described by Kurt Kalata of Gamasutra as archaic in 2008.[2] The player takes the role of a namable Hero. The Hero's name has an effect on his statistical growth over the course of the game.[3] Battles are fought in a turn-based format and experience points and gold are awarded after every battle allowing the Hero to level up in ability and to buy better weapons, armor and items. Progression consists of traveling over an overworld map and through dungeons fighting monsters encountered via random battles along the journey.[4] [edit] PlotThe protagonist of the story is a warrior who is a descendent of the legendary hero Erdrick (known as Loto in remakes). Starting in the chambers of King Lorik in Tantegel Castle, the player is made aware that the Dragonlord has stolen the Ball of Light which must be reclaimed to restore peace to the land. The princess, Gwaelin, has also been kidnapped, and is now held by a dragon in a distant cave. Although this minimalistic story presents itself at the beginning, the player will find more minor story elements to the game as it progresses. These mostly occur through dialogues with Non-player characters that detail rescuing the Princess Gwaelin, the destruction of the town of Hauksness, and the hints about relics needed to reach the Dragonlord. Once the Hero rescues Gwaelin, she falls in love with him and aids him in finding all the necessary items in order to reach the Dragonlord's castle. Once all the items are collected, a Rainbow Bridge appears for the Hero to cross. Although this is the first title released of the Dragon Warrior franchise, this game is actually the second, chronologically, of a three game series which share a storyline. The story is preceded by that of Dragon Warrior III and followed by Dragon Warrior II.[5] [edit] CharactersDragon Warrior consists of only a few notable characters; the Hero and the Dragonlord are the two main characters. Others major supporting characters are King Lorik, his daughter, Princess Gwaelin, and the sages the Hero meets along his journey.[4] Little is known about the Hero besides his ancestry, being a descendant of the legendary Erdrick.[6][7][8] The only hints of personality for the character are a somewhat forced relationship with Princess Gwaelin and the yes or no answers the player can select to certain questions proposed by certain characters throughout the game. The player can name him however he or she wishes, within the limits of the naming system (eight letters in the North American NES version,[4] four hiragana characters in the Japanese Famicom version).[9] The Dragonlord is a dragon from Charlock whose soul became evil from learning magic.[10] He sought "unlimited power and destruction,"[10] which resulted in a rising tide of evil throughout Alefgard. He rules from Charlock Castle[6][7] to the southeast of Tantegel Castle and the starting point of the game. There, surrounding swamps and a destroyed bridge to the mainland have rendered it inaccessible. Inside the castle, monsters and a complex maze of turns further protects his throne.[7] The Dragonlord's motive is to enslave the world with his army of monsters.[4] [edit] Development and releaseDragon Quest was originally released in Japan on May 26, 1986 for the Famicom.[11] Designer Yuji Horii cited western RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima as inspiration for Dragon Quest's gameplay.[12] The series has been released on multiple platforms since its initial release as well as a generic cell phone game in Japan in 2004, with updated graphics that are similar to those of Dragon Quest VI.[13] [edit] North American localization Dragon Quest (left) and Dragon Warrior (right) had noticeable graphical differences. The game was localized for the North America release in August 1989,[11] but the title was changed to Dragon Warrior to avoid infringing on the trademark of the pen and paper role-playing game DragonQuest,[12] although there was another pen-and-paper role-playing system called Dragon Warriors. The North American version of the game features improved graphics and a battery-backed RAM savegame, whereas the Japanese version used passwords.[2] Other differences included revised sprites for the US version, which face in their direction of travel. In the original Japanese versions, the sprites were smaller and only faced forward, and players had to choose which direction they acted in from a menu. Also, spells were given self-explanatory one-word titles, as opposed to the made-up words in the Japanese version. Locations were renamed and in-game dialogue was rewritten in an Early Modern English style.[12] The town in which the Hero must first buy keys features a woman who now offers to sell tomatoes rather than the sexually-explicit "puff-puff" she and her "maidens" offer in the Japanese version.[2] Nintendo Power provided three feature articles on Dragon Warrior from May/June 1989 - Sept/Oct 1989.[14][15][16] The Nov/Dec 1989 issue provided a Strategy Guide.[17] In March/April 1990, the magazine provided a map/poster of Dragon Warrior/Super C, and it featured a Dragon Warrior text adventure.[18] During that year, Nintendo Power gave away free copies of Dragon Warrior to subscribers, along with a card explaining the equipment, monsters, levels, and locations. Brief mention of the subscription bonus is made in Vol. 80 of Nintendo Power.[19] [edit] Super FamicomSee also: Dragon Quest I & II  Dragon Quest, along with Dragon Quest II, was remade as a one cartridge compilation known as Dragon Quest I & II for the Super Famicom on December 18, 1993.[20] This remake was marketed exclusively in Japan (due to the absence of Enix America Corporation),[original research?] and was changed from the original, which included enhanced graphics and sound, as well as enhancements in their game: a vault added in Mercado; a wandering item salesman added in Rimuldar; the Flame Sword usable as an item in battle; the ability to save the game as in the North American release; and some monsters (Dragon guarding Laura and the Golem guarding Mercado) had their HP and rewards increased.[21] This remake has since been unofficially translated into English and Brazilian Portuguese by the online fan translation group RPG-One in 2002. Like the Gameboy Color version, the Early Modern English language was not used in the unofficial translation.[22] BS Dragon Quest was also released for the Satellaview extension for the Super Famicom exclusively in Japan in 1998.[23] This game is based on the Super Famicom remake of Dragon Quest. In this game, players would download a portion of the game over the period of a month.[24] There would be special quests taken from the original game, which needed to be completed in a certain time period. This game included tiny medal collection as a new feature from previous releases.[25] [edit] Game Boy ColorSee also: Dragon Warrior I & II The Game Boy Color September 2000 release of Dragon Warrior I + II in North America, was based on the Super Famicom release of Dragon Quest I + II.[26] It used an entirely new translation, discarding the Elizabethan English style and giving names closer to the Japanese version's.[27][n 1] In this remake Dragonlord's name was changed to DracoLord, and Erdrick was changed to Loto.[28] Several conveniences were added, such as a quick-save feature and a streamlined menu system. Monsters yield more experience and gold after being defeated to reduce the amount of time needed to raise levels and save up for purchases.[28] [edit] References in the Final Fantasy seriesIn the United States, Erdrick was referenced as early as the original NES Final Fantasy, where one of the tombstones in Elfland says "Here lies Erdrick." (The Japanese version read, "Here lies Link", a reference to the Legend of Zelda series main character.) That was the first cross-reference. Loto's Sword is used during an optional boss fight against Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy XII. This also marks the first time the mix of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest has happened in the light of both Square and Enix merging, save Itadaki Street. [edit] Related MediaDragon Warrior has spawned some related media, notably a manga series and a symphonic video game soundtrack. [edit] MangaThe manga series, Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō (ドラゴンクエスト列伝 ロトの紋章?, Dragon Quest Saga: Roto's Emblem), was written by Chiaki Kawamata and Junji Koyanagi with artwork by Kamui Fujiwara and was published in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from 1991 through 1997.[29] The series was later compiled into for 21 volumes published by Enix;[30] in 1994 it was released on CD and will be released on December 11, 2009 on the Playstation Portable as part of manga distribution library.[31] In 1996 an anime movie based on the manga was released on video cassette.[32] A sequal series, Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō ~Monshō o Tsugumono-tachi e~ (ドラゴンクエスト列伝 ロトの紋章 ～紋章を継ぐ者達へ～?, Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō - To the Children Who Inherit the Emblem), published by Square-Enix started in 2005 and is still ongoing; nine volumes have been released.[33] The first four volumes were written by Jun Eishima and the last five volumes written by Takashi Umemura. All of them have been supervised by Yuji Horii with artwork done by Kamui Fujiwara.[34] Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō is meant to take place between Dragon Warrior III and Dragon Warrior. After monsters possessed the Carmen's king for seven years, the kingdom fell to the hordes of evil. The only survivors were Prince Arus and an army General's daughter, Lunafrea. Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Loran, a child by the name of is born with the name Jagan per the orders of Demon Lord Imagine. As Loto's descendant, Arus, along with Lunafrea, set out to defeat the monsters and restore peace to the world. Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō ~Monshō o Tsugumono-tachi e~ takes place 25 years after the events in Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō. The world is once again in chaos and a young boy, Arosu (アロス), sets out gathering companions to once again save the world from evil. [edit] SoundtrackKōichi Sugiyama composed and directed the music for the game. Dragon Quest I's Symphonic Suite was bundled with the Dragon Quest II's Symphonic Suite and a disc of original compositions called Dragon Quest in Concert.[35] [edit] Reception and salesDragon Quest was wildly popular in Japan, and became the first in a series that now includes nine games with several spin-offs, including Dragon Quest Monsters. The release of Dragon Quest is regarded as a milestone in the history of the console RPG, a popular genre that also includes the Final Fantasy series. It was one of the first console RPG to use a top-down perspective, a staple of 2D console RPGs, and has since been cited by Gamespot as one of the fifteen most influential games in the history of video games.[36] Nintendo Power critics ranked the NES Dragon Warrior an average of three on a scale of zero to five upon its original release, later rating it the 140th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list in 2006.[10][37] IGN called it the 8th best NES game of all time on their "Top 100 NES Games of all Time" and the 92nd best game of all time on their "Top 100 Games" list.[38][39] Seemingly primitive by today's standards, Dragon Quest features one-on-one combat,[7] a limited array of items and equipment,[2][7] ten spells,[7][40] five towns, and five dungeons.[7] Chi Kong Lui of Gamecritics commented on how the game added "realism" to video games, writing "If a player perished in Dragon Warrior, he or she had to suffer the dire consequences of losing progress and precious gold. That element of death envoked a sense of instinctive fear and tension for survival".[41] This, he said, allowed NES players to identify with the main character on a much larger scale. IGN writer Mark Nix compared the game's seemingly archaic plot to more modern RPGs, stating that "noble blood means nothing when the society is capitalist, aristocratic, or militaristic. Damsels don't need rescuing -- they need a battle axe and some magic tutoring in the field."[27] The staff of Gamespy wrote that for many gamers, Dragon Warrior was their first exposure to the console RPG. "It opened my eyes to a fun new type of gameplay. Suddenly strategy (or at least pressing the "A" button) was more important than reflex, and the story was slightly (slightly!) more complex than the "rescue the princess" stuff I'd seen up 'till then. After all, Dragon Warrior was only half-over when you rescued its princess", they recalled when reviewing Dragon Quest VIII.[42] 1up.com staff explained that the series was not immensely popular at first simply because "RPGs were not something American console gamers were used to," going on to say that it would take a decade for the genre to be "flashy enough to distract from all of those words they made you read."[43] Dragon Quest Retsuden: Roto no Monshō - To the Children Who Inherit the Emblem has sold well in Japan. For the week of August 26 through September 1, 2008, volume 7 was ranked 9th in Japan having sold 59,540 copies.[44] For the week of February 24 through March 2, 2009, volume 8 was ranked 19th in Japan having sold 76,801 copies.[45] For the week of October 26 through November 1, 2009, volume 9 was ranked 16th in Japan having sold 40,492 copies for a total of 60,467.[33] [edit] Legacy
Dragon Quest has been listed as a genre builder for console role-playing games. While bits and pieces had been in previous games of the genre, Dragon Quest set the template for all others to follow. Almost all of the elements of the game became the foundation for every game the genre to come from gameplay to narrative.[1][46] While Final Fantasy has been considered more important due to its popularity and attention in North America, the fundamentals that that game was based on were laid down by Dragon Warrior.[36][46] In Japan, Dragon Quest became a national phenomena which inspired spinoff media and other fan items like figurines. It is said that asking the common Japanese individual to draw a slime will draw a shape similar to that of the game's slime.[46] [edit] References
[edit] External links
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