cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/3558411
When you start playing Dragon Warrior you are given an important message by the king, the bad guy is back and you need to stop him. As you step outside the castle and are taken to the world map this is what you see.
That castle on the bottom right, surrounded by a poisonous bog, is your destination. If you could cross a few water tiles you could confront the Dragonlord right now. Unfortunately that cannot be done, and instead the game takes you on a journey through points 1 to 13 listed in the original image.
The effect is neat at the end of the game as well. As you approach the villain's lair you can see the castle where it all began.
The first four dragon warriors/quests were surprisingly ambitious.
DW is one of the first console RPGs.
DW2 is in many ways the template for a generation of RPGs, with progressively gathering party members and opening up the map via gaining new travel modes.
DW3 is still amazing. The party creation and job system is done better than most other attempts at it. And returning the old world was so cool.
DW4 had a true multi-perspective narrative with a detailed story. Unlike anything else that had come out before.
Later DW/DQs stopped innovating as much and stagnated, much as the entire JRPG genre feels stagnant.
DQ5 wasn't the first generation game or the first monster-catching game, but it was one of the earlier games to offer either and AFAIK the first game to offer both.
It blew my mind recently when I found out that not only did it have sequels, but that sequels are still being made. I even subscribed to Nintendo Power and somehow missed all of them.
I found they were on the Google play and wanted to play them all. Dragon Quest 1 went fairly well, beat it in about a week off casual play.
Dragon Quest 2 went poorly. Turns out there's a bug in the game that makes random encounters MUCH higher than it should be. Just getting to the first town took me a week because moving more than 3 tiles generated an encounter.
Still haven't beat 2 because of that.
If you haven't played 3 you absolutely should! I enjoy the first two games a lot but the third is something special.
I don't remember dragon warrior 2 being that bad. Maybe it's a ROM issue, maybe young me was more comfortable with a constant grind.
3 is special. It shows it's age, but it's very very good.
4 is a little more uneven, but I think it's the first RPG to change your perspective/main character across the story. Also it has the best story of any JRPG I have ever played.
I just finished dq11 which i thought was really enjoyable.
I think the later DQs are enjoyable, but they feel stagnant.
It's my problem with many games. Rarely does something new come along. This is likely a function of age alongside growing up when video games were new and completely different ideas and genres were formed. There is still innovation, but I feel JRPGs haven't had anything new in a long time.