Dragon Warrior II

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Dragon Warrior II
Developer(s) Chunsoft
Publisher(s) Enix
Release date(s) JPN January 26, 1987
NA December, 1990
Genre(s) Role-playing game
Mode(s) Single player
Platform(s) Famicom, GB/GBC (hybrid cartridge), NES, MSX, SFC
Media 2-megabit NES cartridge
Floppy disk (MSX)
GBC/SFC cartridges

Dragon Warrior II (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"), also known as Dragon Quest II, is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix. It was first released for the MSX and Famicom in Japan on January 26, 1987. It is the second installment in the Dragon Quest series.

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 end boss and defeats him.

The game offers a few spots to save the game.[2] It also allows deletion and the moving of saved games. To save, find a king or minister and talk to him.

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 100 years after Dragon Warrior. A century of peace is suddenly ended when the evil wizard Hargon destroys the country of Moonbrooke. One lone guard, an injured survivor of the attack, makes his way towards the kingdom of Midenhall. There with his dying breath he informs the king of the dire circumstances. The king then commands his son, the prince of Midenhall and a descendant of Erdrick (also known as Loto in later versions), to defeat Hargon.[5]

The prince is not alone on his quest. He has two cousins, the prince of Cannock and the princess of Moonbrooke. However, he must find them first. The prince of Cannock already left on a similar journey, and the princess of Moonbrooke was in the castle of Moonbrooke when it was attacked. It is up to the prince of Midenhall to find them, join together, and 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 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

This is the classic warrior of the three heroes. He can use any armor and weapon in the game.[4] He has no magic ability, 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 Cannock/Samantoria

This 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

This is the classic wizard of the three heroes. She can use few types of armor and weapons in the game. She shares some of the prince of Cannock's magic, and she can cast powerful damage spells.[4] This character has been cursed, and the player needs to free her before she will be able to join her cousins.[2]

Hargon

This is the evil wizard that attacked Moonbrooke, cursed the princess of Moonbrooke, and threatened to destroy the world. His defeat is the goal of the three heroes. Only after Hargon's defeat can peace return to the world, or so it seems...[2]

Hargon also makes an appearance in Dragon Warrior Monsters (the first title in the Dragon Quest Monsters sub-series).

[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.[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. However, the Moonbrooke introduction was added in the 1993 Super NES remake Dragon Quest I & II, which was released only in Japan.

[edit] Other releases

[edit] Musical score

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. 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 e f 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.

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Dragon Quest and Dragon Warrior video games

I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX
Fushigi no Dungeon • Dragon Quest Monsters • Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest
Kenshin Dragon Quest • Dragon Quest Swords
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