Dragon Warrior I&II

"Enix does two ports the RIGHT way."

Enix's reintroduction of Dragon Warrior to American audiences seemed to start off slowly. Merely remakes of old games, and on a portable system at that. But Enix managed to take two games that were already excellent and breathe new life into them.

Dragon Warrior I and II take place in the same world at different times. The hero of DW1 is the descendent of the great Loto (formerly known as Erdrick) who saved the world years back. Now the new hero must save the land of Alefgard from the evil DracoLord (Dragonlord) who is destroying the land. The DW2 heroes are descendents of the DW1 heroes, and they must save the world from the evil wizard Hargon who is destroying the land. Notice a pattern here? Neither game features much in the ways of characterization, plot twists, or writing, but at least their premises are interesting, if not wholly original.

Dragon Warrior I stars a lone hero who must gain strength and eventually take on DracoLord. You will see standard RPG gameplay (which DW1 did invent, after all), though here it is in a very primitive form. You can use items, cast a few spells, attack, or run in battle. You gain strength by building up experience points and buying new equipment.

DW1 has a very epic feel, despite its small world. The king pretty much turns you loose at the start of the game, and you must explore and strengthen yourself on your own. There are a few tasks to complete before you can take on DracoLord, though they can be completed in just about any order. There are other things you can do, such as retrieving Loto's Armor, which are not required but very important to building the strength you need to win.

DW2 has the same basic core of DW1, but with some substantial improvements. The world is much larger, and it features more towns and areas to explore. There are many more quests and missions to complete, though DW2 adds a greater degree of linearity. However, you still have some options to the order you complete the tasks, and it still remains to you to figure out what you need to do; the nonsense of the heroes' dialogue saying ''We need to get the Silver Key now, which is in the cave to the west'' hasn't been invented yet.

The most important aspect of both games is that they truly feel like quests. While many later RPGs feel more like interactive movies or walkthroughs, the Dragon Warrior series emphasizes exploration and discovery on the players' own.

Both games are challenging, but not unreasonably so. DW1 has been adjusted to cut back on boring leveling-up, but you still have to work hard to defeat the tougher enemies and find your way through the complicated dungeons. Same goes for DW2, though some of the needless frustration near the end of the game has been reduced.

Both games also feature some welcome modern conveniences. You can now open doors, talk to people, and search the ground without going needlessly through the menu. Both games now have vaults installed to store excess money, and Dragon Warrior II now has the intelligent targeting system first seen in DW4.

The graphics and sound have received improvements. The tilesets look crisp and clean, even better than before. There are now simple animations and sound effects for attacks and spells. The monster designs are a bit poor, but that might be explained by the conversion to a Game Boy screen. Most of the songs in both games have been extended to how they sound in the orchestrated sound tracks. Most songs have long repeat times, and they sound great for something made by a Game Boy.

The new translation also deserves mention. Gone is the old English that characterized the original DW1 & 2; it has been replaced by a modern script. While the text isn't quite Shakespeare, it gets the job done and appears to be reasonably free of errors.

This simple Game Boy cartridge beefs up two of the best old-school RPGs ever made and gives them the convenience of portability. It is a must-haves for any Dragon Warrior fans, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes RPGs.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/01, Updated 06/25/01