When the original Dragon Warrior game was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System it was quite a departure from the norm. Prior to Dragon Warrior there were not exactly a lot of role playing games like it available for the new NES console. Enix, now part of Square Enix, was onto something and they were going all out with it. I remember the first time I fired up this game, I was more than a little turned off at the time it took to actually see any action. Then I was put off even more at how quickly a slime put my character down for the count. It was not till years later that I gave Enix’s first role playing game on the Nintendo Entertainment System another chance. With the remake, of sorts, contained in Dragon Warrior I and II for the Nintendo Game Boy Color, not only is it easy to relive the first game but the sequel too. Enix even fixed a few nagging things.
One thing that is fixed in this Dragon Warrior collection is the naming situation. Erdrick is now “Loto” and Dragonlord is “DracoLord” which is much close to the original Japanese lineage of games. This will mess with English reading games that plan on going back and grabbing Dragon Warrior III and IV on the NES just to see how the story plays out (then there are the fan translations of V and VI on the Super Nintendo).
Another major area that was worked on by Enix was the menu system. Things are more intuitive in Dragon Warrior I and II on the Nintendo Game Boy Color than they were on the NES. Also, there is a limited banking system that allows you to save some money if you die and have to revive. That brings up the saving system. You can save anywhere outside of a battle now, rather than only at certain places.
Look, they don’t make role playing games like this anymore so if you are into the hardcore role playing games that are not Ultima then here you go. Dragon Warrior I and II on the Nintendo Game Boy Color can fit the bill nicely. Now, hit Ebay and help us out, it costs you nothing (other than whatever you buy).
This article was originally posted on Retro Gaming Magazine, one of my gaming websites.