Finishing DRAGON QUEST on the Switch filled with me with far more excitement than I had expected. In truth, I did not even think I would be thrilled to finish that game. I figured I'd be like "Huh. I beat DRAGON QUEST. Neat." No, I was freaking jazzed that I completed that game! So pumped was I, that I went into DRAGON QUEST II with gusto a-plenty.
Even though I was more familiar with the first DRAGON QUEST, DRAGON QUEST II wasn't completely uncharted territory for me. Back in 2000 my family and I took a road trip andof course I brought my Game Boy Pocket with me along with my copy of DRAGON QUEST I & II. I didn't get very far in DRAGON QUEST II, only a few hours in, but I remember really enjoying those few hours I spent with it. The new overworld music, the battle theme, traveling with party members, a first for the series, a fun time was had by teenage me. Naturally, I couldn't wait to get some of those warm and fuzzy feelings again with DRAGON QUEST II on the Switch. I think I got to relive some of the magic I did as a teen for about an hour, but it felt like even less than that.
Do you remember the beginning of FINAL FANTASY II? For those of you that are not aware, the game begins with your party being thrust into an unwinnable battle, which results in them being annihilated. Now of course the party is resurrected/saved by the rebel army but the game's very first fight has been cited on more than one occasion as setting the tone for FINAL FANTASY II both story wise and gameplay wise. I'm in the minority of folks that likes FINAL FANTASY II in spite of its faults, however, The first 10 or so hours of DRAGON QUEST II very much reminded me of FINAL FANTASY II's beginning.
I am no stranger to grinding in RPGs. I actually think it is one of the reasons I can handle old school games in the genre. After playing the first DRAGON QUEST on the NES years ago, I knew grinding was going to be a huge part of these games and I knew that combing back to the series after having not played one of these games a decade later. That being said I was not prepared for the initial grindfest that DRAGON QUEST II heaps upon the player. Read or watch any review of the first 5 or so games in an RPG series that has random encounters. The reviewer will make it a point to mention the frequent occurrence of random battles more than once and usually cite it is a negative. I've played numerous games with high encounter rates, but they have nada on DRAGON QUEST II. FINAL FANTASY I-V's random encounter rate? Ha! Bush league! Armature hour! In DRAGON QUEST II it is not uncommon to get into a fight, win, walk one or two more steps and then, boom! Another random battle! It puts such a damper or progression through most dungeons that the first 10 hours or more of the game can feel like a chore. The encounter rate in DRAGON QUEST II is so astronomically high that I questioned whether or not I was going to finish the game. You need to grind in this game or you will be slaughtered by the more powerful foes. For this reason alone, I can see why quite a few people would not want to finish or even play DRAGON QUEST II. Well, that and the dungeon layouts.
Yes, along with an absurd random encounter rate, DRAGON QUEST II has, how shall we say, unfriendly dungeon layouts. Many of the dungeons have paths that lead to dead ends, something FINAL FANTASY II's dungeons are hated for (side note, FINAL FANTASY II was released nearly a year after DRAGON QUEST II, so perhaps it borrowed some elements from its then rival game) Dungeons also have multiple floors and staircases often leading to the same floor, which can make navigation quite confusing. Combine this with the game's high random encounter rate and it isn't hard to see why DRAGON QUEST II is often lumped in with "the terrible twos" of gaming. Still, as maddening as the game's earlier dungeons were, I don't think anything was as aggravating as the second to last dungeon. On top of being huge, have multiple floors, one floor in particular was booby trapped with numerous invisible holes that sent you back a room. And in case you forgot, DRAGON QUEST II's random encounter rate is stupid high.
Did I end up hating DRAGON QUEST II? Despite being able to clearly see why a lot of people would, no, I did not. Once my characters started learning powerful spells like Sizz, Thwack and Kaboom, a lot of the random battles became child's play. And then I got to the snowy mountains area and enemies started using Thwack and Kaboom and my jaw dropped. The game's final boss, Malroth (whom I knew was the true big bad thanks to some game music track spoiling that for me six years ago) had me sweating bullets since he killed one of my party members more than once. I thought I'd be on easy street with my party being in the lower 40s on levels, but Malroth and the enemies in the final area made sure I stayed alert. I actually think it was gratifying to know that even though my party had become a powerhouse, enemies at the end could still match me blow for blow.
With a few exceptions of direct sequels, FINAL FANTASY entries really don't acknowledge the world or events of previous games. DRAGON QUEST II is very different in this regard. Not only does it take place 100 years after the events of the first game, your party members are the descendants of the hero from the first game. One continent in DRAGON QUEST II is the world map fron the original DRAGON QUEST, Alefgard. You even get to hear the world map theme from that game when you're traveling over Alefgard! How cool is that?
DRAGON QUEST II is another one of those second games that I find myself like in spite of its faults. At over 40 hours clocked in, I certainly spent way more time on this one than I did the original DRAGON QUEST but I've always been a better safe than sorry sort in games. I guess I'm on a DRAGON QUEST binge because I've already rocked up over 8 hours in the third game, but we'll talk about that another time.
If Malroth was the guy behind Hargon, that means DRAGON QUEST pulled a Necron before FINAL FANTASY IV did. Huh.
