Dragon Warrior I&II

"Two great games in one cartridge! What great fun!"

OK, this is the first time I've reviewed two games in one. I'm gonna try to do my best. The NES versions of these games both had some annoying flaws, (control related ones), which the GBC remakes have corrected. More on that later. This kinda reminds me of Game and Watch Gallery, with all its games in one.
Control 10-10. Much better in these versions than the NES versions. DW1 corrected that stupid flaw about using stairs. In the NES version you couldn't simply walk up stairs. You had to go into your menus and select the Stairs option. THe same went for chests and locked doors. It got really annoying. The NES version of DW2 corrected the stairs flaw but not some of the others, like the chests and searching and unlocking doors flaw. Now however, you take stairs the way yo do in other RPG's, by walking down them. Talking to villagers, opening chests and doors and searching the ground and shelves and stuff are all accomplished with the A button, while the B button brings up your menu screen. Also, the Old English text has been replaced with normal speach. I like this better, since I don't speak Old English very well, with all those Thees and Thous.
Audio 10-10. The music from the NES versions has returned, but it has been added to and improed upon. There are also new tunes which are good as well. THe SFX are pretty much the same, if slightly reformatted. THe pre-strike sounds remain the same though, with your pre-attack sound being slightly higher in pitch than that of your enemy. Also, the cave music in DW1 still has that interesting habit of changing pitch as you progress. The further into a dungeon you went the lower and slower the music would get, till finally when you were, say, in the heart of the DragonLord's domain, you had a very low, menacing tune which fit very well when you consider that you are about to face your final opponent.
Story 10-10. These games' stories remain largely unchanged, with the exception of the fact that a few names were changed. In DW1 and 2, Erdrick becomes Loto. In DW1, Gwealin becomes Lora, (which I like better), DragonLord becomes Draco Lord, and some towns have had their names changed. The town of Brecconary, (I think that's it), is renamed to Tantegel, which fits when you consider it's right outside Tantegel castle. Also, what used to be Cantlin is now Mercado. THe only two name changes other than Erdrick's that I can think of in DW2 are the name of your starting castle, (which is now Lorasia, which I like better), and the name of the last boss. In the NES version you destroyed Hargon only to be confronted by Malroth. Well, Malroth is now Sidoh. OK, now who came up with that? Sidoh doesn't fit in my mind as the name of an almighty sorcerer greater even than Hargon. Malroth sounded so...evil. Well, I didn't make the game, so I'm not complaining. I guess the reason for the name changes was so the company could make the games more similar to the Japanese versions, which were called Dragon Quest.
Overall 10-10. It's fairly new, so it shouldn't be hard to find. If you want a good...uhm...games, try Dragon Warrior I + II. It'll be worth it, trust me.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/24/01, Updated 03/01/03