Dragon Quest 1 Review

Dragon Quest 1 beat. For reference I was playing on mobile, with an english patch of the SNES version (Same way I'll play 2 and 3 if I move on to them) Like many older JRPGs. Fast-forward and save states proved to save needless time that would've been spent retreading ground after a loss or backtracking through low level areas. But I was surprised by how breezy a playthrough it was regardless of those. Death only costing a reset to the starting castle and half your gold lost, very straightforward leveling and gear progression meaning it was hard to be "tricked" by bad upgrades or items. Convenient MP healing unlocked almost immediately making the low level grind rather pleasant. I know the SNES and forward versions all give a buff to enemy xp/gold drops. But I also wouldn't fault a NES RPG for extending it's playtime via grinding when the grinding combat is essentially the whole appeal. Looking at it now, I think the game is well worth a play for any JRPG fan. Which maybe isn't any shocking revelation when it's literally part of the original one-two punch that became square enix, but even moreso than Final Fantasy 1, there's charm in it's simplicity. It really does feel like the early baby steps of the JRPG genre, and in that way it's basically guaranteed to be unsurpassed. Hell, give it to a relative with a short guidebook and it's almost a great entry level JRPG for those who like the retro aesthetic.

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