There are so many different types of RPGs these days it's hard to keep track of them. Most RPGs are classified by the type of battle system they utilize. You have your turn-based system that Final Fantasy made infamous. There are strategy-based RPGs like the Fire Emblem franchise. Then there are the RPGs that promote real-time, active systems like the Tales series and Phantasy Star. There are even some RPGs that combine elements from numerous types to form an active, turn-based strategy engine. Those types of RPGs aren't quite as common as those that focus one major concept, but we've seen so many that it almost doesn't matter. In terms of the NES generation, the RPG was a major supported genre. Final Fantasy got its huge start with 1 and 2, and then Enix came along with one of theirs. This happens to be Dragon Warrior.
Dragon Warrior is one of the most well-known RPG franchises in existence. It may not bring with it the notoriety of others like Final Fantasy, but it's still something that every RPG fan looks forward to upon the newest installment. DW got its infamous start on the NES, and in a world that's threatened by true evil. True evil, no, really? You take on the role of a self-named warrior. That means you actually enter your name at the very beginning of the game before it starts. No matter what your name though, you happen to be the descendent of the infamous warrior Erdrick. This man is known throughout the world for having helped keep the peace when any kind of evil forces tried to rise to power. His armor and sword carried magical properties, but it was he who wielded them with expertise.
Your quest is simple. The evil and vile Dragonlord has stolen the Ball of Light. This artifact has kept enemies at bay for years, not allowing them to achieve their goals. But with this sacred item gone, enemies of all that is good are running rampant and causing chaos everywhere. With nothing but plain clothing and your fists to start off, you must train yourself through one-on-one battles to save this land from destruction and hold up the name of your ancestor. Making your quest even more daring is the task you're given at the very start. Princess Gwendolyn has been kidnapped by the Dragonlord. No one knows where she is, but we do know she's being guarded by a fearsome Green Dragon. King Lorik begs you to find her and return her unscathed. It is actually not required to rescue her to beat the game, but doing so will make the experience the most optimal.
Dragon Warrior was one of the first RPGs to promote a turn-based battle system. Turn-based more or less means you take turns attacking and defending in a battle. Sometimes your personal stats affect when turns are exchanged, sometimes they don't. If they do, usually items like agility and speed affect who goes first. These can also affect the effectiveness of your attacks as well as how often they land on your enemy. This turn-based battle engine is coupled with random encounter battles. Random encounter battles basically happen as the phrase says, randomly. At any given second on the world map or in an enemy-infested dungeon, you can be pit into battle. With DW, it was only one enemy at a time. When a battle was encountered, a new window would pop up in a neat spiraling-like motion. Then the trademark battle music would play, as you are presented with your enemy, your stats and a list of commands.
This list of commands is how you perform actions in these battles. Attack has you strike the enemy with your currently equipped weapon. You also have the option to use spells, which can do anything from attacking and healing, to inflicting status effects on your enemy. This could be something like Sleep, which would cause your enemy to fall asleep temporarily, imagine that. You can also Run, which has you try to escape from battle in the case that you're about to die or just don't feel like fighting. You have to be careful with that though, as sometimes you would fail if the enemy steps in your way. It's almost Dungeons and Dragons-inspired with this. If you come out of the battle victorious, you are awarded with Gold and Experience. Gold allows you to purchase anything you need in town shops such as equipment or healing items. Experience allows you to level up, as you much reach certain numbers of it in total to achieve that next level.
These commands also allow you to interface with your world on a personal level. Even more D&D-inspired, just about everything you do is run through this command system. Anything from talking to a town inhabitant to the mere walking down of stairs is done through this. Others like opening doors with keys and searching the ground for hidden items are done through this as well, and they prove extremely important in the long run. In order to obtain Erdrick's sacred equipment, you actually have to utilize the Search option.
A very interesting feature of DW that makes it quite realistic is how the world map affects you. Your terrain is riddled with any kind of natural elements that we might see in real life. Our hills, mountains, swamps, grass, forests, anything. If you see it outside, chances are you see it in DW. In another D&D-inspired manner, this terrain actually affects how you traverse the world. It's slightly tough to walk up and down hills, so in DW, your character walks a little slower than on grass. Mountains generally keep you from progressing in a forward motion, so lo and behold, you can't walk past them at all in DW. Swamps generally bring with them all kinds of nasty diseases and material that can be hazardous to your health. Well what do you know, each step in a swamp (unless wearing Erdrick's armor) in DW, you lose HP.
Dragon Warrior just happens to be one of those games that brings out joy in any RPG gamer. It is fresh in story, and the battle system is generally quite exciting. Now granted it isn't always attention grabbing because there are times when you have to spend some time dedicated to just leveling up. This usually has the effect of boring players to death, making them want to quit playing for a while. That can and probably does happen, but in the end, DW is just a joy to play. It's not for everyone obviously, but those that like a great story and a great way to experience it have a great RPG to play for the NES.
Dragon Warrior is one of the most well-known RPG franchises in existence. It may not bring with it the notoriety of others like Final Fantasy, but it's still something that every RPG fan looks forward to upon the newest installment. DW got its infamous start on the NES, and in a world that's threatened by true evil. True evil, no, really? You take on the role of a self-named warrior. That means you actually enter your name at the very beginning of the game before it starts. No matter what your name though, you happen to be the descendent of the infamous warrior Erdrick. This man is known throughout the world for having helped keep the peace when any kind of evil forces tried to rise to power. His armor and sword carried magical properties, but it was he who wielded them with expertise.
Your quest is simple. The evil and vile Dragonlord has stolen the Ball of Light. This artifact has kept enemies at bay for years, not allowing them to achieve their goals. But with this sacred item gone, enemies of all that is good are running rampant and causing chaos everywhere. With nothing but plain clothing and your fists to start off, you must train yourself through one-on-one battles to save this land from destruction and hold up the name of your ancestor. Making your quest even more daring is the task you're given at the very start. Princess Gwendolyn has been kidnapped by the Dragonlord. No one knows where she is, but we do know she's being guarded by a fearsome Green Dragon. King Lorik begs you to find her and return her unscathed. It is actually not required to rescue her to beat the game, but doing so will make the experience the most optimal.
Dragon Warrior was one of the first RPGs to promote a turn-based battle system. Turn-based more or less means you take turns attacking and defending in a battle. Sometimes your personal stats affect when turns are exchanged, sometimes they don't. If they do, usually items like agility and speed affect who goes first. These can also affect the effectiveness of your attacks as well as how often they land on your enemy. This turn-based battle engine is coupled with random encounter battles. Random encounter battles basically happen as the phrase says, randomly. At any given second on the world map or in an enemy-infested dungeon, you can be pit into battle. With DW, it was only one enemy at a time. When a battle was encountered, a new window would pop up in a neat spiraling-like motion. Then the trademark battle music would play, as you are presented with your enemy, your stats and a list of commands.
This list of commands is how you perform actions in these battles. Attack has you strike the enemy with your currently equipped weapon. You also have the option to use spells, which can do anything from attacking and healing, to inflicting status effects on your enemy. This could be something like Sleep, which would cause your enemy to fall asleep temporarily, imagine that. You can also Run, which has you try to escape from battle in the case that you're about to die or just don't feel like fighting. You have to be careful with that though, as sometimes you would fail if the enemy steps in your way. It's almost Dungeons and Dragons-inspired with this. If you come out of the battle victorious, you are awarded with Gold and Experience. Gold allows you to purchase anything you need in town shops such as equipment or healing items. Experience allows you to level up, as you much reach certain numbers of it in total to achieve that next level.
These commands also allow you to interface with your world on a personal level. Even more D&D-inspired, just about everything you do is run through this command system. Anything from talking to a town inhabitant to the mere walking down of stairs is done through this. Others like opening doors with keys and searching the ground for hidden items are done through this as well, and they prove extremely important in the long run. In order to obtain Erdrick's sacred equipment, you actually have to utilize the Search option.
A very interesting feature of DW that makes it quite realistic is how the world map affects you. Your terrain is riddled with any kind of natural elements that we might see in real life. Our hills, mountains, swamps, grass, forests, anything. If you see it outside, chances are you see it in DW. In another D&D-inspired manner, this terrain actually affects how you traverse the world. It's slightly tough to walk up and down hills, so in DW, your character walks a little slower than on grass. Mountains generally keep you from progressing in a forward motion, so lo and behold, you can't walk past them at all in DW. Swamps generally bring with them all kinds of nasty diseases and material that can be hazardous to your health. Well what do you know, each step in a swamp (unless wearing Erdrick's armor) in DW, you lose HP.
Dragon Warrior just happens to be one of those games that brings out joy in any RPG gamer. It is fresh in story, and the battle system is generally quite exciting. Now granted it isn't always attention grabbing because there are times when you have to spend some time dedicated to just leveling up. This usually has the effect of boring players to death, making them want to quit playing for a while. That can and probably does happen, but in the end, DW is just a joy to play. It's not for everyone obviously, but those that like a great story and a great way to experience it have a great RPG to play for the NES.
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