Dragon Quest II

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Dragon Quest II: Akuryo no Kamigami (Japanese: 悪霊の神々, lit. Pantheon of Evil Spirits) also know as Dragon Warrior II in North America is a role-playing game that was initially released for the Famicom in Japan on January 26, 1987. It is the second installment of the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest II was remade, integrated into Dragon Quest, and released as Dragon Quest I & II.

Game information

Plot

Dragon Quest II is set 100 years after Dragon Quest. A century of peace is suddenly ended when the evil wizard Hargon destroys the country of Moonbrooke. One lone guard, an injured survivor of the attack, makes his way towards the kingdom of Lorasia. There with his dying breath he informs the king of the dire circumstances. The king then commands his son, the prince of Lorasia and a descendant of Loto (also known as Erdrick in the original english localization), to defeat Hargon.

The prince is not alone on his quest. He has two cousins, the prince of Cannock and the princess of Moonbrooke. However, he must find them first. The prince of Cannock already left on a similar journey, and the princess of Moonbrooke was in the castle of Moonbrooke when it was attacked. It is up to the prince of Lorasia to find them, join together, and defeat Hargon.

Setting

The early part of the game takes place on land. From a few magical tiles or tunnels, the player can visit a few tiny islands in the beginning, but upon reaching a major port and fulfilling a specific task does the player get a ship which allows the player to explore much more of the world by sea. Magical teleportation is the last means of transport that the player must use.

Architecturally, some castles are presented as ruins.

Cast

Prince of Lorasia

This is the classic warrior of the three heroes. He can use any armor and weapon in the game. He has no magic ability (this is the only game in the series in which this is so), but his physical attack and defense are the greatest of the three. This is the character the player starts out with in the castle of . His name is directly selected by the player.

Prince of Cannock

The prince of Cannock is a blend of the classic warrior and priest archetypes. He cannot use as wide a variety of weapons and armor as the prince of Lorasia but compensates for this with the ability to use magic. However, it should be noted that his magic is not as powerful as that wielded by the princess of Moonbrooke, although he is better at healing magic. This character is hard to track down, but is a great ally. His name is generated at random based on the name of the prince of Cannock, although there is a cheat code to alter his name.

Princess of Moonbrooke

The princess of Moonbrooke is the classic wizard of the three heroes. She can use few types of armor and weapons in the game. She shares some of the prince of Cannock's magic, but in addition has several powerful damage spells. This character has been cursed and needs to be freed before she will be able to join her cousins. Like the prince of Cannock her name is determined at random, but can be changed by a cheat code.

Hargon

Hargon is the evil wizard that attacked Moonbrooke, cursed its princess, and threatened to destroy the world. His defeat is the goal of the three heroes. Only after Hargon's defeat can peace return to the world.

Game play

The game offers three spots to save the game. It also allows deletion and the moving of saved games. To save, find a king or minister and talk to them. As in the first game, the original Japanese version had a password system (or "spell of revival") instead a battery backup (or "roll of honor").

Dragon Quest II is noted for greatly expanding the game play from the previous game, Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest II is the first game in the series to feature multiple heroes and enemies in a battle, as well as a sailing ship and travel gates. It was also the first to have weapons which cast spells when used in battles. In addition, Dragon Quest II offers a wider array of spells and items and a much larger world (256 by 256 instead of 100 by 100).

To save memory for the multiple monster portraits, the background of the battle screen was removed. So the portraits are shown on a blank black or white background.

The chimera wing and Zoom spell will take the party to the last place they saved the game.

Other releases

Official ports

Sequels/Prequels

Dragon Quest II is the second installment of the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest III is the prequel to Dragon Quest, and Dragon Quest is the previous entry in the series.

Fan projects

There are no known fan-projects for Dragon Quest II.

Trivia

  • The entire game world of Dragon Quest is included on the world map in Dragon Quest II.
  • Dragon Quest II was the first Dragon Quest game to include a game of chance, a slot-machine-like card game. It is played using lottery tickets distributed randomly by merchants, and prizes are awarded directly if the party wins a game.
  • Dragon Quest II was also the first Dragon Quest game to use multiple key types, and persistent keys.
  • Dragon Quest II was the first to have status ailments, and churches for removing them.
  • Dragon Quest II was the first game in the series to feature pits and tower balconies from which the party can fall. (As always, they take no damage from this.)

Soundtrack

As with every Dragon Quest, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. Dragon Quest II's symphonic suite was bundled with Dragon Quest I's symphonic suite and a disc of original compositions as Dragon Quest in Concert. Here is the track listing of the Dragon Quest II portion of that release:

  1. Dragon Quest March (1:39)
  2. Only Lonely Boy (2:42)
  3. Pastoral ~ Catastrophe (3:21)
  4. Château (3:03)
  5. Town (3:30)
  6. Fright in Dungeon ~ Devil's Town (4:02)
  7. Requiem (2:09)
  8. Endless World (5:43)
  9. Beyond the Waves (2:13)
  10. Deathfight ~ Dead or Alive (3:56)
  11. My Road, My Journey (4:10)

See Also

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