Dragon Warrior II

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Dragon Warrior II

North American boxart
Developer(s) Chunsoft
Publisher(s) Enix
Series Dragon Quest
Platform(s) NES/Famicom, GB/GBC (hybrid cartridge), MSX, SFC
Release date JP January 26, 1987
NA December 1990
Genre(s) Console role-playing game
Mode(s) Single player
Media 2-megabit NES cartridge
Floppy disk (MSX)
GBC/SFC cartridges

Dragon Warrior II, known as Dragon Quest II Akuryo no Kamigami (ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々 Doragon Kuesuto Tsū Akuryo no Kamigami?, lit. "Dragon Quest II: Pantheon of Evil Spirits") in Japan, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix (now known as Square Enix) for the MSX and Nintendo Entertainment System video game consoles. It is the second installment in the Dragon Quest series (then known as the Dragon Warrior series in North America).

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

This game allows the player to control more than one character, and it is the first one in the Dragon Quest series to do so.[1] The player controls his or her characters as they move in the game world. They can search treasure chests, talk and trade with villagers, equip weapons and armor, and cast spells.

While wandering the fields, towers, caves, seas, or dungeons, the player encounters battles that happen randomly. Battle mode introduces groups of monsters, which is an upgrade from the one-on-one battles of Dragon Warrior.[1] In the battle mode, the player gives orders to the characters on how to fight the monsters. Once the player defeats all of the monsters, the characters gain experience points and gold. The experience points raise the characters' experience levels. This improves the characters' attributes, and they may also learn new spells.

To win, the player must fight many monsters to improve the characters' experience levels and get gold to buy better weapons and armor. Eventually, the player's characters become strong enough to make it to the next town or dungeon. This repeats until the player reaches the final boss and defeats him. However, the gameplay is not necessarily linear, especially after the player gets the boat. Exploration is a key component of the game.

The game offers a few spots to save the game.[2] In most of the towns, talking to a king or minister saves the game. It also allows deletion and the moving of saved games.

Dragon Warrior II is noted for greatly expanding the game play from the previous game, Dragon Warrior. Dragon Warrior II is the first game in the series to feature multiple heroes and enemies in a battle, as well as a sailing ship.[1] It was also the first to have weapons which cast spells when used in battles.[3] In addition, Dragon Warrior II offers a wider array of spells and items[4] and a much larger world.[1]

[edit] Plot and setting

[edit] Plot

Dragon Warrior II is set one hundred years after Dragon Warrior. A century of peace is suddenly ended when minions of the evil wizard Hargon attack Moonbrooke Castle. One lone guard, a wounded survivor of the battle, makes his way towards the kingdom of Midenhall. There with his dying breath he informs the king of their dire circumstances. The king then commands his son, the prince of Midenhall and a descendant of Erdrick (known as Loto in the Japanese versions and later re-localizations), to defeat Hargon.[5]

The prince begins his quest alone, but is later joined by two cousins: the prince of Cannock and the princess of Moonbrooke. After finding the prince of Cannock, who leaves on a similar journey about the same time as the prince of Midenhall, the two must rescue the princess of Moonbrooke, who was in Moonbrooke Castle when it was attacked. It is up to the prince of Midenhall to find them, join forces, and together defeat Hargon.[1]

[edit] Setting

The early part of the game takes place on land. From a few magical tiles or tunnels, the player can visit a few tiny islands in the beginning, but only upon reaching a major port and fulfilling a specific task does the player get a ship which allows the player to explore much more of the world by sea. Magical teleportation is the last means of transport that the player must use. Architecturally, some castles are presented as ruins.[2]

[edit] Cast

The prince of Midenhall/Lorasia

He is sent out by his father, the king, after a guard from Moonbrooke announces Hargon's attack. He is the classic warrior of the three heroes. He can use almost any armor and weapon in the game.[4] He has no magic ability (but does have some weapons that can be used as items and have the same effects), but his physical attack and defense are the greatest of the three. This is the character the player starts out with in the castle of Midenhall.[2]

The prince of Samantoria/Cannock

He is a blend of the classic warrior and wizard archetypes. He cannot use as wide a variety of weapons and armor as the prince of Lorasia, but he compensates for this with the ability to use magic. However, it should be noted that his magic is not as powerful as that wielded by the princess of Moonbrooke.[4]

The princess of Moonbrooke/Moonbrook

She is the classic wizard of the three heroes. She too cannot use as wide a variety of weapons and armor as the prince of Lorasia, but she compensates for this with the ability to use magic, the most power caster of the party. She is the last to join the party, and must first be uncursed.[4]

Hargon

He is the major villain of this game that the heroes have set out to stop. Hargon makes an appearance in Dragon Warrior Monsters (the first title in the Dragon Quest Monsters sub-series).

Rubiss

A good elemental goddess that will help the heroes along on their quest to defeat Hargon.

Dragonlord's grandson

The grandson of the original Dragon Lord from Dragon Quest. He gives the party information on Rubiss and the five crests.

[edit] Development

The game world of Dragon Warrior, Alefgard, is included on the world map in Dragon Warrior II[1] (although the Hero can win the game without ever setting foot there). The song that is played when wandering the fields of Dragon Warrior, "Unknown World", is also played when the Hero is in that area. Dragon Warrior II (Dragon Quest II in Japanese) was the first Dragon Quest game to include a game of chance, and it was also the first Dragon Quest game to use multiple key types and to include travel doors (warp gates).[2]

[edit] Differences between localization versions

  • The storyline introduction in Moonbrooke is present exclusively in Dragon Warrior II. In Dragon Quest II, the game starts right with the injured soldier from Moonbrooke entering Midenhall castle, seeking help from its king. This potentially explains why the king of Moonbrooke in Dragon Warrior II looks different from the rest of the kings in the game. When the SFC remake Dragon Quest I.II was released in Japan in 1993, this additional Moonbrooke introduction was included in the game's opening sequence.

[edit] Other releases

[edit] Soundtracks

As with every Dragon Quest, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. Dragon Quest II's Symphonic Suite was bundled with Dragon Quest I's symphonic suite and a disc of original compositions as Dragon Quest in Concert.[7] Here is the track listing of the Dragon Quest II portion of that release:

  1. Dragon Quest March (1:39)
  2. Only Lonely Boy (2:42)
  3. Pastoral ~ Catastrophe (3:21)
  4. Château (3:03)
  5. Town (3:30)
  6. Fright in Dungeon ~ Devil's Town (4:02)
  7. Requiem (2:09)
  8. Endless World (5:43)
  9. Beyond the Waves (2:13)
  10. Deathfight ~ Dead or Alive (3:56)
  11. My Road, My Journey (4:10)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Editors of Nintendo Power: Nintendo Power September/October, 1990; issue 16 (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 67.
  2. ^ a b c d Enix Corporation Unveiled Secrets of Dragon Warrior II (in English) Enix America Corporation.
  3. ^ (1990) Nintendo, Enix America Corporation Licensed Nintendo of America Inc. Dragon Warrior II Map (in English) ENI-D2-US.
  4. ^ a b c d Enix Corporation Unveiled Secrets of Dragon Warrior II map (in English) Enix America Corporation.
  5. ^ Editors of Nintendo Power: Nintendo Power September/October, 1990; issue 16 (in English). Nintendo of America, Tokuma Shoten Publishing, 66.
  6. ^ 1 Up.com staff (2004). Dragon Quest II Mobile Wireless. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.
  7. ^ Patrick Gann (2007). Dragon Quest in Concert. Retrieved on Aug 31, 2007.

[edit] External links

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