HVGN Game Quickie: Dragon Warrior I & II (GBC) 

This video was helpful to me even 10 years later. Great one!

this video is nearly 10 years old...oh how time flies

"Oh, you've never heard of Retro Game Challenge" Me over here having found this video after playing Guadia Quest in Retro Game Challenge (yes, in 2022) and getting curious about its inspirations

I'm not sure how I missed this video in the past, but it's always nice when picking up a game I didn't have, then look up a video to see what it's about, and finding a video from a person I follow. Awesome.

I remember this game. At first I hated it because it was to hard, but as you keep at it you can breeze through it in no time.

Huh, that's why the GBC version seemed way less tedious than I remembered.. I still remember the NES version fondly, but then again I love XP grinding.

I had the honored chance to play this gameboy color version, and was pleased to note that the improved graphics perfectly complemented the tried-and-true gameplay that defines everything enjoyable about the Dragon Warrior series.

I played the NES version for two hours, only walking back and forth and fighting drackies and scorpions near the first town. Then I lost my save file. And so I did it again. I got to level 8 and had a freaking blast. The NES version is far from tedious, even if it is a little dated.

I actually bought the GB version based on this review, and it's really awesome. Thanks for bringing this gem up, Derek.

I love how you're so passionate about these games.

I love this game. I recently took a week off of work to play threw dragon quest 2 for the first time. Absolutely fantastic game . Probably my favorite jrpg

this was a really interesting comparison between the NES/Gameboy editions. really love that you did that

Sup Derek, Thanks for the great video/review. Because of this video I had to get this game and I did in fact beat the game in one sitting.

Dragon Quest or Dragon Warrior was my very first RPG! I never heard much of Final Fantasy before until around SNES era. Back in the NES days, Dragon Warrior was the one that held me for the longest time.

The GBC ports are awesome. I consider them the best versions.

@Addicted2gaming didn't mean to give you that impression (btw the next video is already finished). i wasn't happy with the the retro game challenge footage, so i'm not currently working on a review. i'll review it once i find a satisfying method to capture ds footage.

Watching this review actually made me pick up Dragon Warrior for the nes. I absolutely love it and I am glad you reminded me how much I loved that game. The Gameboy versions looked cool but..the nostalgia factor stole me for the nes version. No regrets here, I am having an absolute blast! But as always I loved your review, I never get tired of your videos man.

Still my favorite version of Dragon yo play :) Justice got XI on steam and enjoying it.

You undersold the improvements: -they added quicksave, so you don't "have to" go back to the first city to save -you don't need to go into the menu to check underfoot -no need to hold the power/reset buttons in when you save

I love this remake, but mostly for DQ2. I found they made DQ1 kind of too easy when compared to the original (like more XP and gold per fight, moved enemies from zones like the magicians to the north of Tantagel Castle and etc).

I still have Dragon Warrior 3 on GBC. It was awesome, but damn hard

Hey, Game Quickie. great video. I remember grinding on the NES, but I had a trump card, I happened to find a Japanese dragon quest guide in a used book store. this gave me some real useful pointers. Do you know if DQ I &2 &3 have been made available on the DS ware or virtual console for the wii ?

@Shadownian I agreed with you that RPG's are ment to be "giant epic adventure", but they don't have to be annoying timekillers. Bad example: You need to level up your hero about 6 times for the next boss. You start fighing againts enemies for over an hour & you gain only 1 level. Good example: Somewhere in the beautiful island is a secret hidden weapon. There's no map, but weapon is marked, so I'll start searching for the mark & enjoying the views.

DW2 on NES made DW1 look like a simple baby game. I have been delving into the ios port of DW1. Lordy. It is majorly easy.

@Masterguy1243 Yup, gameboy player for the gamecube. I was using my Hori SNES controller too.

After knowing that putting in a different name pretty much changes your player's beginning and long term stats, IMO Dragon Quest 1 has new found replay value IMO.

This video is seven years old, Jesus...

Dragon Warrior monster 2: Cobi's adventure was my gateway to the franchise

I really hated how they changed "Erdrick" to "Loto." Erdrick was such an awesome name and fits the setting. Loto sounds like I'm Japanese or something. Also, I dearly dearly love the spell names "Hurt" and "Hurtmore." Which they also took out. I'd rather play the original with rom hacks or game genie codes than the GBC version.

@ThyChrysanthemum Full reviews take a long time. Instead of weeks or possibly months without anything, I make these quickies to (hopefully) tide you over. The HVGN is not my job. But it gets closer with every video!

The GBC version is by far the best version.

2024 and still watching

Looking forward to playing these two and III. I bought reproduction cartridges because the originals, at this point, are quite expensive and probably have dead batteries anyway. I still want to play these games on an actual Gameboy though. Can't wait to get started. I'm a big JRPG fan, but I've never played the original 3 Dragon Quest games.

Nice! Dragon Warrior was the first RPG series I ever played. Dragon Warrior 4 is one of the best RPGs of all time!

@Shadownian I agree. There's plenty of different games for everyone. Thanks for talking with me. I think we got interest chat here.

I beat Dragon Warrior I on the NES, and you know what? I liked it. You get a real sense of satisfaction going around a town for about an 2 hours to gather enough gold to upgrade your gear in order to travel safely abroad to look for other towns and caves.

Got this last week from Amazon! This is such a great game!!

Played through the GBC version of the first game yesterday. My first real experience with the series. I just got hooked killing slimes immedieately. (especially since I played on my PSP and had the emulator run the game at 1.5x speed or something) Very very fun game. Today I've been playing Dragon Warrior III GBC for hours. It's very good too, but I kinda prefer the first one. It has a strange, primitive charm to it that's very unique.

Aw man... i once had dragon warrior 1 and 2 for the gbc... i really miss those games now, but luckily i still have some games for the gbc- like dragon warrior monsters. It may not be as good as dragon warrior, but it is still an old classic that aged wonderfully...

6:20 how? they would have to make it actually smaller for that, not just lower the resolution.

Great review. I am ready to play this gem in my Nintendo DS Lite.

I saw this game at a used game store just recently, and picked it up because of this video. Thanks HVGN!

YOu know, I woke up this morning and wondered if I should check to see if I missed a video you posted because its been a while. And this was at the top of my subscription box

I beat Dragon warrior 1 when I was a kid. it was awesome!

I've beaten it! All the 3 versions of Dragon Quest 1! And it sure is one of the best and most important games ever created ^^

hahaha. I love how you describe the NES version of DW as a game that could take your entire 3rd grade summer vacation to beat. Well, it was my 8th grade vacation, but I did beat it. lol. It was just me, DW and Soundgarden's Louder than Love. :D

Wow, this was actually pretty good! I love that you mention that yes, while Dragon Warrior hasn't aged well, it's still historically important and a good game. I

I seriously think these Game Quickes that Derek does are as long as the old HVGN videos

Retro Game Challenge was awesome!

Finally somebody who gives the Dragon Quest series some credit!! thank you so much HVGN!! I still cant see why it is so outshadowed compared with other RPGs...

I like the Super Famicom version a bit more

Derek, do You realize this is about the 3rd video in a row that has fallen into the category of "I know it's a bad game, but I love it"? Also, I tried this version for a while, and I can't really say I liked it. It felt nerfed and dumbed-down, like "Fischer-Price presents: Baby's first Dragon Quest" I didn't really feel the same feeling of accomplishment I did before, and they removed one of the best grinding spits in the game, southwest of Tantegel Castle.

Retro Game Challenge was honestly one of my favorite games on the DS!

If you don't mind pc emulators OR have a flashcart for SNES. Play the RPG1 translation of Dragon Quest 1 & 2. I used to have the Gameboy one though. Its awesome! NES is still my personal favorite however. Just because of that old school/nostalgic feel. =D

@vScreechv yup. but they we able to change it to Dragon Quest in America starting with #8

Dragon warrior NES separates the boys from the men. Any chance we'll get a review of other dragon quest games?

Back in the day, I played a few of the Dragon Warrior series, Ultima , Final Fantasy, and pretty much every other top down RPG I could get a hold of. Recently, though, I tried to play through Dragon Warrior and I got really near the end, but I could not stand the grinding or the random battles anymore and had to put it down. I can still manage to play through the first Final Fantasy every so often though.

Nice I'm excited to play this

It took me like 6 weeks to beat it. I gape up on it till my friend looked up where the sunstone was on a walkthrough. I checked ALL the tiles in the castle and explored every town and talked with everyone like 10 times. I think i never ever felt dumber when i found the stairs..

I wish the Dragon Warrior 1-3 colltion on the Wii came out here

@tunicaroja86 I see, Pro: Has all the time in the world Noob: Has shit to do

Note: Your stat progression on the NES is determined by the name you enter. And you should also focus on weapons over armor. He would have been hitting much harder with that copper sword.

I'm so glad you're making new videos! Keep up the good work, HVGN! :D

i dunno why but this episode is so special to me, and i have never played either the Nes version nor the GBC version.

Yes, I live in California and I remember buying this at a pharmacy like... a decade ago xD

Yeah I replayed it like 6 years ago and I still found it very enjoyable.

OMG! I played and finished the story of Retro Game Challenge! I loved the game so much!

I remember getting this when I was barely 11. I wanted pokemon Crystal but my mom confused this game with it. I was so unhappy.

I dont know why, but i love this episode soo much.

so i played this game (DWI) on a bus to New York not going to lie i loved not using internet or anything to figure out where to go next. While i think no map was stupid still so fun figuring shit out on my own.

@marscaleb I see all these changes as improvements. The original Dragon Warrior is pretty cheep and common. Shouldn't be hard to track down if you really need that old school experience.

I can confirm how much shorter DQ 1 is. I beat it in like 8ish hours and enjoyed playing it here than on NES.

I can't believe after watching so many of your videos over the last couple years that I only just now realized you live right here in Anchorage. Not like it says it RIGHT ON THE MAIN PAGE or anything.

That's pretty funny. The soundtrack to Mystic Quest is pretty incredible.

Ah, Dragon Warrior. I was so frustrated with DWII that I traded the game away after several hours of not being able to locate the Fire Sigil in the Lava cave. My second biggest gaming blunder ever.

The NES version was my very first RPG and certainly one you cannot rush whereas the GB port is much faster paced. You also need to figure out what order to buy your gear so you can progress without hitting unbeatable enemies. A trick I used was to get a small shield, bamboo pole, and cloth right awayt (consuming all 120 starting gold) for a nice armour boost keeping you up against those slimes a lot longer than usual for the first few levels.

@tunicaroja86 Skitch is right. And maybe "difficult" was the wrong word. Tedious and grating might've been better. Look at the games I've reviewed; I'm not afraid of "Nintendo Hard". Beating Startropics takes patience and skill. Beating Dragon Warrior takes patience and tons of time. If you want to spend 20 hours on an old school RPG that's essentially non-stop grinding, be my guest. But I have issue with you clamming that's "hardcore".

Can you make one of these for Final Fantasy 1 NES vs GBA version?

This video has reminded me to get the them GameBoy Dragon Quest ports.

It's true that everyone should play the original dragon warrior (quest). I own the gameboy version and love that they added introduction cutscenes and made the selection menu easier rather than having to select "Stairs" from the menu -_- However, I myself would really recommend the english patch of the Super Nintendo remake "Dragon Quest 1 and 2". Sure it's not 100% legal, but if you want the full experience I'd give it a shot. The soundtrack and graphics are to die for. Excellent video man!

I always thought Dragon Warrior 3 was hard and unplayable I never had fun with it, but I love the series!

dragon warrior was a freebie with a subscription to nintendo power. back then you had to work your ass off to beat these games. now if its not beaten in 2hrs you move on to one that can.

I really missed the battle backgrounds in dq 2 and 3.

@Envy987001 Retro Game Challenge is a DS game that came out a few years ago. It's loosely based on a Japanese game show where a comedian tries to beat really hard old videogames. In it you play fake retro games styled after the NES, completing specific challenges within the games to progress. You can also read in-game magazines to get hints and find cheat codes. It's a lot of fun if you like 8-bit games, but it sold poorly here and so the sequel likely isn't getting brought over stateside.

I've never played the GBC ports of Dragon Warrior/Quest I/II but I'm getting through the original NES version of DW1. I'd guess that I've clocked in nearly 24 hours of play into that game and am just at level 15. I love this game though and have trouble putting it down. Also, I can't believe I'm not the only person on the internet who openly admits to liking Mystic Quest!

You know after all these years since its original video do you still take the Gameboy color version or would you rather have a super famicom version translated to English or new remake on switch?

@Rakiarmas all depends on what your looking for...the gaming industry is big enough where there should be planty of both styles of rpg's out there.

When I got another NES recently and began rebuilding my collection Dragon Warrior was the first game I ran through. Beat it in 3 days with the biggest smile possible from the nestalgia...but I don't think I moved in those 3 days it's kinda blurry

Kinda the same deal as Final Fantasy 2 and the Dawn of Souls re-release. They reworked the very difficult system, that practically works against you in the original version (using physical attacks weakens you magic power and vice-versa), and replaced it with a more manageable system that is still based on how you play. It makes doing a stupid amount of grinding early on, really satisfying in the long run. "Emperor of Hell" more like "Emperor of Under-My-Boot."

@johnmorisi8 No the Famicom version doesn't have a save battery. I was comparing the Famicom to NES version. The Famicom has a password system.

If you have not heard of Retro Game Challenge, you need to watch Game Center CX, and learn about it!

You mentioned Retro Game challenge? Is it because I posted about it on your facebook page? If that's the case, I feel BLESSED!

yeah... I guess I should care about REALLY important stuff, such as who won the superbowl in 1956, or the average batting score of any baseball star during 1987. Those are really important things...

Now on to Dragon Warrior II.

I just recently beat DW for NES. It was tedious in that I kept having to fight the Dragonlord after raising a level. I finally beat him on level 20. Level 17 is impossible.

@lophatjello Didn't even think about the actual creative process. Well then, guess I appreciate the fact that you put ANYTHING out to begin with for us when it's all free. Considerate that you do give us something while working on a BIG project for us too.

All except IX. They REALLY dropped the ball with IX. Only one save file, too many fetch quests, and WAY, WAAAAAAAAY too many puns.

Where do you check how many seals you have already collected?

I take it you did the thing with the flight and beating the game.

I agree, whenever I sit down to play Dragon Warrior Nes I feel like i'm doing a chore... grind at the bottom of the screen for hours just to gain a couple of levels, and holy shit make sure you hold the reset button when turning off that NES.