"Two great ports in one great cartridge!"

This cartridge marks the rebirth of Enix's strong presence in the US! Oldschool RPG fans everywhere were anticipating the release of this game after it was first announced by Slimon the Slime (if you actually signed up to Enix's mailing list before their official website was deployed). This GB/GBC cart was well worth the wait; two timeless classics are back, revamped and best of all, PORTABLE!

Story: 8
The same stories from the NES versions of the game. Save Alefgard and rescue the princess in DWI and then take on the role of your descendants and save the majestic kingdom that the DWI hero created in DWII.

Gameplay: 9
These two games can't be called remakes; they weren't given the overhaul that DWIII got. Be that as it may, they still managed to add some new things to each game to make playing them over again a more fun experience while maintaining the authentic DW gameplay that made them famous in the first place. In DWI, you can search through towns for hidden special items just like in later DWs. There are more items to collect as well (such as Life Acorns and Strength Seeds). The same goes for DWII. Also, some of the dungeon levels have been changed so people who have beaten the games already will have something new to do.

For some reason, beating the games in this port is much easier to do than on the old NES versions. Presumably Enix did this so the game can appeal to non hardcore RPG fans. DWI is cake now, while DWII still remains decently hard (since it was very hard on the NES).

In both DWI and II, you can store money and items just like in DWIII NES. In DWII, you can put money in one branch of the bank and draw it out at another location, a feature that has never been implemented before!

In DWII, the names of your companions whom you find and journey with are still chosen for you, but there is a code you can input to change them to whatever you like. Look around through this website...I'm sure you'll find it. ;)

Graphics: 9
Very nicely redone. In DWI all of the overworld graphics are more colorful and more detailed. Tantagel Castle and Charlock Castle actually look different, which is a nice touch. Monsters are still nice and detailed, and colored better as well. There are also different battle backgrounds which appear depending on the type of terrain you are trekking through. Caves are also more detailed and scroll line by line instead of in a tile based fashion. In DWII, MANY things are redone. Towers, castles and caves look great and make use of the large RAM inside the GBC. Sadly, they didn't make battle backgrounds for DWII.

In both games, attacks and spells now have very nice animations instead of the enemy just flickering. Almost every weapon and spell has a different one. They even have extra animations for when you land a critical hit (a more powerful looking slash/blow...they look great!)

Each game has very nice intro sequences. Some of the cinematic pictures even have animation. The intro you may remember from DWII NES is still there, as well, and looks even better than before.

One thing that isn't good about the graphics is that you experience slowdown on the overworld map if there are too many sprites on the screen at a time. This only happens in towns and caves, thankfully.

You're probably wondering why Enix didn't make DWI&II a GBC only game so there wouldn't be slowdown. Well, the fact that they made the cart backward compatible is so they could fit in a special treat. It still would have been nice to have it be a GBC only game, though. Anyway, here's the treat: If you still have an SNES and a Super Game Boy lying around, try playing the game in that. There are multiple game borders which actually change while you play (e.g. when you walk into caves, towns, castles, etc.). They are all well detailed and look very cool, but you won't like the lack of color on the gameplay screen.

Sound/Music: 8
The sound effects are all good. There are different effects for different types of weapons and spells instead of everything sounding the same, which is very nice. The DWI music is reproduced faithfully and the songs are actually lengthened. You will have to stand still in certain places sometimes to hear the entire song. DWII's music, I hate to say, isn't as faithfully reproduced. If you played the NES version, you will easily recognize the songs, but they just don't have the same feel as the NES DWII songs did.

Control: 10
A whole new control engine. Now you can open doors, climb stairs, search the ground and talk to people all without going to the menu. It's much more convenient. New players as well as old will be pleased.

Replay Value: 7
Well, there are new things for people who have played through the NES versions already, but there isn't that much more replay value than there already was. DWII has a good amount of replay value due to it's large game world, and DWI can be played through with weaker equipment for added challenge.

Bottom Line?
I think it's safe to say that all GB/GBC/GBA/SGB owning RPG fans already have this game. For those who aren't die hard RPGers, this is an excellent place to start. DWI will show you the ropes and DWII will give you an expansive, challenging quest. These two ports are very well done and breathe well deserved new life into a legendary RPG series, which is why I give it a 9.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/01, Updated 07/28/01