psychopenguin's Dragon Warrior II review

I am playing this for the first time just now and agree it is strangely less enjoyable to the original, when, on paper it is far superior. I am probably heading for a 2/5. Maybe 2.5 just for the Hill Street Blues reference in the text "lets be careful out there!".

I just spent 4000 gold on a giant hammer then within 30 minutes found a superior sword in a nearby dungeon. Nobody else can use the hammer so it is a waste unless there is a 'hang a giant picture on the wall' sidequest. It will take ages to get that last 4000 gold back. Plus I have an echo flute to detect something on the world map but have not really been provided any reason or motivation to do so. I have ship and have little idea what I am meant to do. I am all for open worlds but please give me a hook or two.

I'll see if a little use of a walkthrough can revive my interest but shockingly I might not complete this one (and I happily did the worst Phantasy Star).

I'm a bit of an apologist for this game. In context, I think it's a good sequel and does a lot of things right. I played it immediately after playing DQ1 and the change in scope really stands out. It is very deliberately (and literally) comparing itself to the size of the original game and one-uping.

There are decisions that were bad in retrospect; they don't bother me as much, I guess, since they made historical sense.

I do think if someone wants to play this game, they should play the GBC version instead of the original. It is much faster and less plodding, but still retains the charm.

I look forward to seeing how they handle this game with the 2DHD remake; many problems are inherent to its design, and QoL features won't change those.

A map that highlights locations where you can find items relevant to your quest, like they used in the remake of III, could go a long way toward making II more accessible. I didn't have a lot of issues with it, and in fact, it remains one of my favorite RPGs. Back in the day, it was the one that made me realize I was more than a casual fan of the genre.

Selective use of a walkthrough did revive my interest and the game had a lot to enjoy in the latter parts. I know walkthroughs/tips were a big thing in the USA through Nintendo Power but don't know if that was the case with Japan. It feels like it was designed with some degree of player assistance (external to the cartridge) in mind in a way that DQ1 and FF1 did not.

In a big way, what I liked most about Dragon Warrior II was the lack of walkthroughs. While Nintendo Power had a full guide as part of their promotion of the first DW and the third game came packaged with a guide in its instruction book, I think (other than a couple questions in NP, in particular pertaining to the Cave to Rhone), there was very little coverage of this one.

Led to a situation where, when I got the boat and the game went from really linear to completely opening up its world, I had no idea what to do, so I just sailed around, went to different lands and had to find out by trial and error what I could handle and what I had to save for later. As time went on and the Internet got more and more guides and stuff for everything, that sort of thing has really faded from gaming, since if I get stuck, I know the answer is at my fingertips and its just a matter of how long it takes for me to cave in and look it up. Back then, I didn't have that option and, if Nintendo Power didn't have the answer, I'd have to figure it out on my own, one way or the other.

That reminds me of my first time playong through Dr. Chaos. I didn't have the internet, the game had almost no coverage, and the instruction manual offered the vaguest hint for finding the first level. In other words, I was stuck playing the game for months, searching the mansion, opening closets and cupboards without any idea how to progress.

I stumbled upon the first level while bored one night and screwing around. I opened a wardrobe or closet or something in the first-person mode and tried entering it, thinking it was going to give me the same negative message. Instead, it said, "Here we go..."

While some games benefited from having little coverage and social elements with friends pooling together their knowledge, developers would have had to take a gamble on whether or not the game would be popular when including such qualities. Sadly, you sometimes ended up with ones like Dr. Chaos or Ghoul School, which were obscure even then, and thus forced you to rely on dumb luck.

Heh, I rented Dr. Chaos once when I was young. It was about the most confusing time I ever had trying to do something in a video game. I'd just be wandering around through those 3D rooms. Sometimes, I'd find a side scrolling dungeon. Other times, I'd get kicked out and have to use up all my ammo on a big monster.

I tried, but I don't know that I actually accomplished much of anything. Think, if memory serves, I did beat one side-scrolling level. And found maybe two others. Maybe. So, yeah, that one was probably a bit too far in that "meh, let the player figure shit out" direction.