Dragon Warrior II -NES- 9

November 21, 2023

I just beat DW2 on the authentic Nes cart.

Dragon Warrior 2 is an ambitious sequel that takes place 100 years after the events of DW1. The story is simple in that an evil scorcer Hargon attacks the peaceful cities of the three heroes, but it’s very cool that you’re playing as the descendants of the protagonist of the first game. DW2 greatly expands the size of the globe compared to the original, and deepens the battle system by giving you three party members instead of one.

There were some really memorable moments for me throughout the quest. I loved when you find the ghosts at Moonbrooke Castle, and they tell you that the princess was turned into a dog, and you need to show her the Mirror of Ra. It was also really nostalgic when revisited the continent of the first game, especially seeing Tantegel Castle (your ancestor’s old castle) and Charlock Castle (the original villain’s castle, where you find his grandson). It reminded me of what was done in two of my favorite games I’ve played recently (gravity Rush 2 and TotK). Another mind bending moment comes towards the end when you approach the final dungeon, and it looks just like your home town, but you have to use the Charm of Rubiss to reveal that it is an illusion created by Hargon the sorcerer. I also liked the little twist at the end that Hargon was actually awakening a demon named Malroth all along.

The large world map opens up a lot when you get your ship at the town of Lianport. There’s a Great sense of adventure and exploration throughout, just like the other classic rpg’s of old. It can be daunting to figure out where to go next, but the townspeople give you clues on where you need to go, and the cib comes with a couple maps that detail where to find many of the key items. And much like a lot of ancient RPGs of the 8bit generation, there are some aspects of the gameplay that can seem frustrating at first, but can be worked around with certain strategies. Collecting gold from enemies to buy weapons and equipment can be tedious, unless you use a couple strategies I learned from YouTube (U Can Beat Videogames). Using the lottery ticket sales at the beginning is key to progressing without too much level grinding.

I’ve also heard people complain that enemies don’t give enough experience points and you gain levels too slowly in this game, but I didn’t find this to be an issue with the money tactics I learned early on to buy the best equipment. I only had to focus on serious level grinding in the last area of the game, where the monsters were very generous with their experience points. I spent about a dozen hours grinding until I was able to face the final boss, but I found it fun and relaxing, and I’ve had to do the same thing in many other acclaimed rpg’s, as well as recent soulsbourne titles.

Some of the late game dungeons can still be rather difficult, even with heavy preparation, just like a lot of the dungeons in the Final Fantasy trilogy on the Nes/famicom. But with enough perseverance, you will make it through. There are lots of dead ends in some spots, so it’s important to use the physical maps that came with the game or online guides if you want to. Or you can just learn all the routes through trial and error, and level up your characters along the way anyway. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just the style of this type of game, so you should know what you’re in for.

It’s also a little annoying that there is no revive spell until you reach a very high level, but you can carry one leaf of the world tree at a time, and you can replace it for free at certain spot on the map. Also, sometimes it can feel like there’s too many random encounters with seemingly every other step initiating a battle, but the repel spell brings down the encounter rate significantly, and costs very little MP.

So I actually had a wonderful time with DW2, knowing nuances of how to buy and sell goods, and using the maps that came with the game. Beating the final boss gave me a great sense of accomplishment, and it was well worth the time investment. DW2 was a big leap in size and scope from the first game, and it is remarkable that it also came out nearly one year before the first Final Fantasy in Japan. I’m giving DW2 a 9 out of ten. I think it’s very underrated by some fans of the series. It is undeniably one of the hardest rpg’s I’ve ever beaten, and I loved it. The music was also very nice, too.

From what i understand, this is a black sheep in the series. I can see how certain quirks with grinding and earning money as well as a difficulty spike in the final segment of the game could frustrate certain players, but I honestly loved this game, and I think it’s a classic of the 8bit era.