Dragon Warrior (NES) Playthrough
Mar 20, 2024 at 11:03 PM
Posted By Zedd
A playthrough of Nintendo's 1989 role-playing game for the NES, Dragon Warrior.
I posted a playthrough of this one several years ago, but several people disliked how I had edited the video to cut out the grinding. I thought that it was a fair point considering how integral it is to the gameplay, so here is a new playthrough that leaves that all intact.
Enix's Dragon Quest, as it is known in its homeland ("Dorakue," colloquially), was one of the first games of its type when it was released on the Famicom back in 1986, and it was an instant hit.
Dragon Warrior was brought to America in 1989 by Nintendo with a whole host of upgrades. The graphics received a huge overhaul and the password-based save system was replaced with battery-backed saving.
It's often thought of as the vanguard of the genre on consoles since its confluence of ideas and mechanics established the conventions that came to define the term JRPG. It takes place in a faux-European medieval world, you level up by gaining experience through random encounters with monsters in turn-based and menu-driven combat, you travel between towns talking to NPCs and upgrading your equipment, and you explore dungeons looking for important treasures. Mechanically, it was quite a departure from earlier RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima, and it streamlined many of those earlier games' systems to create an experience better suited to the limitations of consoles.
It was not, however, a commercial success when it originally was released in America, and due to the number of unsold cartridges Nintendo had on hand, a promotion was held that gave away nearly half a million copies to subscribers of Nintendo Power. Though the game didn’t earn much, the promotion popularized the name and paved the way for future RPGs, including English releases of the three NES Dragon Warrior sequels.
Even with the enhancements it looked a bit old in 1989 - especially compared to the likes of the first Final Fantasy - but the gameplay still held up. The faux "ye olden times" English gives the dialogue some spark, Akira Toriyama's monster designs inject the battles with a hefty bit of personality, and the soundtrack was loaded with catchy tunes that felt more symphonic than you'd expect from the NES's limited audio capabilities.
The franchise hasn't generally enjoyed the same popularity in the west as it has in Japan, but the Dragon Quest series is still going strong. The eleventh game in the series (you can find my playthrough of that one here: ) was met with critical acclaim and quickly became a international fan-favorite, and the 30+ year old franchise isn't showing any signs of slowing down yet.
But does anyone else think that the princess really needs to learn the meaning of "no"?
"Do you love me yet? However pathetic and desperate, I am a princess and you aren't allowed to deny me. My dad said!"
"No."
"But thou must!"
"No."
"But thou must!"
"No."
"But tho...-"
*SMACK* Be told, Gwaelin! (And who would ever name their child that!?)
There was also an updated version released for the Game Boy. Check that one out here:
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
Posted By Zedd
A playthrough of Nintendo's 1989 role-playing game for the NES, Dragon Warrior.
I posted a playthrough of this one several years ago, but several people disliked how I had edited the video to cut out the grinding. I thought that it was a fair point considering how integral it is to the gameplay, so here is a new playthrough that leaves that all intact.
Enix's Dragon Quest, as it is known in its homeland ("Dorakue," colloquially), was one of the first games of its type when it was released on the Famicom back in 1986, and it was an instant hit.
Dragon Warrior was brought to America in 1989 by Nintendo with a whole host of upgrades. The graphics received a huge overhaul and the password-based save system was replaced with battery-backed saving.
It's often thought of as the vanguard of the genre on consoles since its confluence of ideas and mechanics established the conventions that came to define the term JRPG. It takes place in a faux-European medieval world, you level up by gaining experience through random encounters with monsters in turn-based and menu-driven combat, you travel between towns talking to NPCs and upgrading your equipment, and you explore dungeons looking for important treasures. Mechanically, it was quite a departure from earlier RPGs like Wizardry and Ultima, and it streamlined many of those earlier games' systems to create an experience better suited to the limitations of consoles.
It was not, however, a commercial success when it originally was released in America, and due to the number of unsold cartridges Nintendo had on hand, a promotion was held that gave away nearly half a million copies to subscribers of Nintendo Power. Though the game didn’t earn much, the promotion popularized the name and paved the way for future RPGs, including English releases of the three NES Dragon Warrior sequels.
Even with the enhancements it looked a bit old in 1989 - especially compared to the likes of the first Final Fantasy - but the gameplay still held up. The faux "ye olden times" English gives the dialogue some spark, Akira Toriyama's monster designs inject the battles with a hefty bit of personality, and the soundtrack was loaded with catchy tunes that felt more symphonic than you'd expect from the NES's limited audio capabilities.
The franchise hasn't generally enjoyed the same popularity in the west as it has in Japan, but the Dragon Quest series is still going strong. The eleventh game in the series (you can find my playthrough of that one here: ) was met with critical acclaim and quickly became a international fan-favorite, and the 30+ year old franchise isn't showing any signs of slowing down yet.
But does anyone else think that the princess really needs to learn the meaning of "no"?
"Do you love me yet? However pathetic and desperate, I am a princess and you aren't allowed to deny me. My dad said!"
"No."
"But thou must!"
"No."
"But thou must!"
"No."
"But tho...-"
*SMACK* Be told, Gwaelin! (And who would ever name their child that!?)
There was also an updated version released for the Game Boy. Check that one out here:
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
XenMedio PRO
© Jason Axelrod from 8WAYRUN.COM