So, my first review and I pick a old jRPG. That really sets the tone. Since this is not only my first review at all, but also my first video game review, I want to explain a little on how I determine the quality of a game in my mind, and this how my game reviews will be structured a little.
First, I figure most games can be judge on three areas (by importance [least to most]):
- Story. This is the actual tale being told by the game. The writing. Basically, the questions I ask are, "Is it engaging? Is it funny? Do I care about what happens?" If the story gets me involved, its done its job. However, the story is also the least important part of a video game. It can definitely add a lot to the product as a whole, but ultimately a game can be fun without even having a story at all, much less a good one.
- Presentation. This is the graphics and sound. Does it look good? Does it sound good? How's the voice acting?
- Gameplay. Obviously, the most important thing about a video game. Does it work? Does it make sense? Is it fun?
So, in my reviews I'll go through each section in order and provide my thoughts on them. My reviews won't be in depth. They will be pure, unfiltered, reactions to those areas. At the end of each section I'll grade the area with either a "+" or a "-" to designate whether I think that sections impacts the game as a whole in a positive or negative fashion. At the very end I'll give a brief, overall recommendation. I'll also give the game as a whole a "+" or a "-" to designate whether I thought it was a positive or negative experience overall.
One thing you should note, however, is that the overall recommendation is completely unrelated to each section individually. There is quite possibly a game that gets three "-"s in a row, but still, overall, I give it a "+". And vice versa. Anyway, we're just starting out. We'll get the hang of it.
So, now that that's out of the way...
Dragon Quest
I'll be basing my review on the Super Nintendo remake of the original Dragon Quest. This version of the game was not released in America; I played it via emulator with a fan translation. You may be more familiar with the game under the name Dragon Warrior which was released on the NES in the '80s and again on the GBC in 2001 (the latter of which, by the way, I own and have played multiple times so, no, I don't feel guilty about the emulation thing).
Story
DQ's story is as basic as it comes. The evil DragonLord/DracoLord/King Dragon is terrorizing the land and has kidnapped the Princess Gwaelin/Lora/Laura from the Kingdom of Tantagel/Radatome. It is up to the descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick/Loto/Roto to save the princess and rid the world of the evil DragonLord/DracoLord/King Dragon once and for all.
Besides the multitude of names used in the various translations of this game, the story is pretty simple. The hero, who is named only by the player (mine's Ginkasa!), has no real personality and speaks only once at the end of the game. This is, of course, meant to involve the player in the game and pretend that he/she is, in fact, that hero There are no real twists or turns involved in the story. The only real neat bit is when you save the princess and the game isn't over yet.
I feel, however, that the simplicity of the story is to the game's benefit. Maybe players who are accustomed to today's games may not dig it, but I really enjoy the very fairytale quality of it. I wouldn't want to read a book based on it, but the story does its job well enough to keep me going through the game. +
Presenation
As I stated, I'm playing the SNES version of this game, so if you're playing the NES or GBC versions your mileage may vary here. Graphically, the game is, well, what you'd expect from an SNES remake of an NES game. Its pretty colorful and the monster designs, by DragonBall's Akira Toriyama, are timeless. The music is nice, although I don't think it meets the heights reached by more legendary soundtracks from the same era.
Ultimately, you're not going to be wowed by what you're seeing (especially if you're playing on the NES or GBC), but it does its job. You know what everything is supposed to be, and you won't be relying on your iPod for your music. +
Gameplay
This is an '80s jRPG through and through. You walk around and run into random encounters. You have to grind monsters to level up and amass the gold necessary to buy new equipment. You have to talk to everyone and rely on vague hints given by random townspeople to figure out where you're supposed to go. Cliché time: if you look up "Old School" in the dictionary you will find a picture of DQ.
One thing that's unique, at least among console jRPGs, is that the entire game is spent with the single hero. You never gain a party. You also never fight more than one monster at a time. Mano y mano the whole way. There is no customization of your hero. Scratch that. Your level up bonuses are somehow determined by your character's name, but other than that there is no customization. You don't get to choose to be a mage or warrior. There are branching ability paths or whatnot. You gain experience and you level up. You learn certain spells at certain predetermined levels and that is that. You don't even really get to choose your equipment. Every town you come to has stronger equipment and each piece does exactly what the last piece did, only better. There's no having to choose over this benefit versus that drawback. You either upgrade or you don't. You could opt out of not buying equipment for a challenge or something, but that's it.
All in all, though, I like that. It was my first real RPG, so it acted as a guide primer for more complicated fair. Plus, when I originally played this as a kid, it really allowed my imagination to get involved. It was very easy to imagine myself as the hero wearing this or that equipment and kicking butt. I, regrettably, can't get that involved today, but my memory's still there.
And its pretty darn short. I've never timed it, but its just the right length, in my opinion. Just when you might be thinking, "I'm kind of getting done," the game's over. You've won and that's it. Its not deep and it probably won't satisfy a "hardcore modern" gamer, but I think its great. +
Overall
Dragon Quest is not, under any circumstances, a deep or very involved game. Its about as simple as a jRPG can be without the game playing itself for you. Personally, I really enjoy that aspect. As a child it was a wonderful primer on RPGs in general and really allowed my imagination to play a part in the proceedings, unlike many games today. I can still enjoy it in the fashion now. Most modern gamers will probably have to add the "good for its time" addendum to their opinions, but I think an inexpensive re-release on the iPhone or similar could attract a modern audience. +
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