Game 5: Dragon Warrior (NES) - Exploring

"I came to remember a time long ago--maybe in a past life--when I learned I was the heir of Erdrick, destined to save the land of Alefgard from the Dragonlord. I arrived at Tantegel Castle, and immediately was admitted to King Lorick's chamber where he informed me of the great deeds Erdrick had accomplished in the past, and I now must follow in his footsteps. Many of the guards speak of a princess kidnapped by the Dragonlord, yet the king is so overcome with grief that he cannot speak of her. In searching for her, I found a tablet buried deep in a desert sinkhole north of Tantegel. Inscribed was a message from Erdrick addressed to me that told me what I need to reach the Dragonlord. My quest firmly set before me I make way east in search of the fair princess, and to vanquish the evil corrupting the land."

*Plop*

One of the goals for the original Dragon Quest according to Yuji Horii (Creative Director) was that he wanted the player to see themselves as the descendent of Erdrick. Taking inspiration from Wizardry and Ultima, Horii-san wanted to recreate his experiences with those games where he'd imagine himself as one of the characters. With the growing popularity of the NES, it was certain this was the platform of choice. Due to the limited control interface (controller vs. keyboard), the game needed a design fitting for simple selection. His hope was to push the CRPG genre from hardcore gaming enthusiasts into the realm of mass market appeal alongside the likes of Super Mario Bros. He succeeded, at least in Japan.

Another design decision that pushed Dragon Quest into the hands of a wider audience was the idea that the game is playable from the first moment it's turned on. Not having read the manual should not be an impediment to playing, nor should the game require a tutorial; everything must be intuited from the interface. Now, I don't know how close to this ideal Dragon Quest actually got--since many of the words for spells in Japanese were nonsense words--but so far Dragon Warrior is a simple enough to understand. Many of the NPCs will tell you how to play (e.g. "go get equipment," "you need to raise your level before traveling far")

Lacking some originality, I chose to name my character Zenic (I'll get more elaborate in the future). Luckily the US release has saves instead of passwords, and even more fortuitous the battery still works on this cart. Having played this game many times before, I knew my first stop was to get some equipment from the nearby town--one of the guards also helpfully informs me of this point. Before I get to that I have to figure out how to get out of the thrown room.

They look like regular treasure chests to me

I wonder what drove the decision to necessitate the need for selecting take treasure chest and going up or down stairs. Why couldn't these be automatic? Background on the development suggests Horii-san was meticulous when playtesting his games, and would make modifications to the most minute of details such as the delay between opening menus and executing commands. Still, moving is a little delayed when the stats window is on screen, which is annoying when I only want to move one space.

For my equipment I chose to go with some cloth armor and a club; it's possible to purchase a small shield as well if I bought a bamboo pole instead. After speaking to everyone in the village I got my first hint. There is a town to the northwest if I head for the shore and follow it. Before I go off adventuring though, I need to gain some levels, and upgrade some of my equipment. And so, the grinding begins.

At least the game is honest about its grinding

Stray too far from the first town and Drakees and Ghosts make quick work of Zenic, so I'm relegated to working my way up 1 experience point at a time fighting slimes. Once I reach level 3 I get my first spell: heal. Having a cure spell goes a long way to increasing my exploration range. The next level increases my MP to allow me to cast it 4 times instead of 1.

While the grinding is so far the majority of the game, I haven't found it completely overwhelming. I enjoy calculating how many enemies I can kill in an outing, how much more gold I need to upgrade my equipment, and how far I could make it if I really tried. Maybe it's been ingrained in me through playing many console RPGs, but grinding really doesn't bother me; in fact, I enjoy it to some extent when trying to figure out the most optimized method to gather experience and gold.

An early enemy that can cast the spell Hurt, which hurts

Upon reaching the second town, I received news that the princess was kidnapped and taken east. Finding a cave to the east I stocked up on some torches, and delved in expecting some tough fights. However, the cave was strangely empty except for a single chest at the very end. Inside was a tablet written for me--the heir of Erdrick--to find. It described the path to the Dragonlord would open when I gathered three artifacts left behind by Erdrick. Entrusted to three worthy keepers, their descendants are now watching over them.

How did Erdrick know evil would come again, he'd fail to defeat it?

Having not found the princess, I journeyed further eastward in search of another cave, and found the town of Kol. Here I learned there is an island to the south. So, I head south and find a cave, and a fearsome green dragon. I remember from previous experience this is the guardian of the princess. I'm definitely not high enough level to take him on though as he would quickly kill me when going toe-to-toe.

That's half my hit points

I decide to get some magic keys in order to open up some more areas. Unfortunately, I died trying to reach Rimuldar. Wolves are just too strong to take on, but of course I don't realize this until I took a hit from them. Death doesn't mean a game over though. Instead you get put back in Tantegel Castle (starting point) in front of King Lorick with half gold, but full experience.

Yeah, sorry about that, and thanks for bringing me back to life

The second trip out was more successful, and I came away with four keys--two were used in Rimuldar to meet Howard who informed me of a magic item found in Kol. As an aside, there's another character that's being discussed named Nester (haven't met him yet). Howard & Nester were a comic in Nintendo Power that gave hints to a particular game. As an example, here's the one on Dragon Warrior. With keys in hand I return to Tantegel, open a door in back, and find the cellar where one of the three keepers has been waiting. Hadn't he heard I already arrived? Why didn't he come to me instead? I walk away with the Stones of Sunlight, and am brusquely sent on my way. I also went to Kol and found the Fairy Flute, which will prove useful if I ever find a Golem to soothe.

Guess the honeymoon is over

There are still 3 or 4 doors I can open, so I'm going to grind a bit to purchase more keys. Further exploring the over-world is currently too difficult. I could also focus on upgrading my equipment, as there's a better sword, armor, and shield I know about. My goals include the other two items (I know one has to do with rain), find a silver harp, which is probably behind the door in Garinham (the second town). Someone mentioned a minstrel named Garin built the town. We'll see how far I get.

Session Time: 2h20m