Dragon Quest II

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Dragon Quest II: Akuryo no Kamigami (ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々 Doragon Kuesuto Tsū Akuryo no Kamigami, literally meaning; "Pantheon of Evil Spirits") originally known as: Dragon Warrior II, is a role-playing game and sequel to the original Dragon Quest. It was initially released for the Famicom in Japan on January 26, 1987. It would later be released in North America in 1990 and has been remade several times on different platforms.

Gameplay

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 Restoration") instead a battery backup (or "Imperial Scrolls 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.

The gameplay, much like its predecessor, is a classic style role playing game. Although it is much like the first Dragon Warrior in terms of the gameplay style many new features were added. Instead of travelling alone this time around you had two other companions that joined you as you travelled on your quest. Rather than attacking alone monsters would now fight together as well. Another new feature was the introduction of a ship which allowed the player to travel around the whole world. You could now save at multiple towns instead of just one and many new spells, equipment, and items were added. Gambling also made its first appearance in the series in the form of a slot machine that you could play.

Version Differences

Since its original release on the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System three remakes have appeared on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Gameboy Color, and Mobile Cell Phones in Japan. All the remakes feature updated graphics and music as well as a few other new features. Originally Erdrick was the name of the legendary hero until the Gameboy Color release in 2000, where Erdrick was now known as Loto due to the new American Localization of the series. Attack animations were added in the gameboy color version.

Characters

Prince of Middenhall

See main article: Prince of Middenhall

This is the classic warrior of the three heroes. He can use any armour 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 defence are the greatest of the three. This is the character the player starts out with in the castle of Middenhall. His name is directly selected by the player.

Prince of Cannock

See main article: 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 Middenhall 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 Middenhall, although there is a cheat code to alter his name.

Princess of Moonbrooke

See main article: 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

See main article: 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.


Plot

Dragon Quest II is set 100 years after Dragon Quest. The offspring of the original game's hero have migrated from Alefgard to the continent of Torland, and there established three kingdoms. A century of peace in these three kingdoms is suddenly ended when the evil wizard Hargon destroys the castle of Moonbrooke. One lone guard, an injured survivor of the attack, makes his way towards the kingdom of Middenhall. There with his dying breath he informs the king of the dire circumstances. The king then commands his son, the prince of Middenhall and a descendant of Erdrick (also known as Loto in the GBC 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 Middenhall to find them, join together, and defeat Hargon.

Legacy

Ports

  • Dragon Quest II had a port for the MSX platform in Japan.
  • Dragon Quest II was released in North America, under the name Dragon Warrior II, on the Nintendo Entertainment System in December of 1990.

Remakes

Sequels/Prequels

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


Trivia

  • A smaller, simplified version of the 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.)
  • The MSX version of the game contained a special scene involving the "Dangerous Swimsuit." This was removed by the time the game made it outside of Japan.

Soundtrack

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 (ドラゴンクエストマーチ/Dragon Quest March) (1:39)
  2. Only Lonely Boy (Love Song 探して/Loonking for the Love Song) (2:42)
  3. Pastoral ~ Catastrophe (3:21)
  4. Château (王城/Royal Castle) (3:03)
  5. Town (街の賑わい/Bustle of the Town) (3:30)
  6. Fright in Dungeon ~ Devil's Town (恐怖の地下洞~魔の塔/Fear Dungeon ~ Devil's Town) (4:02)
  7. Requiem (レクイエム/Requiem) (2:09)
  8. Endless World (遥かなる旅路~広野を行く~果てしなき世界/Distant Journey ~ Going in Plain ~ Endless World) (5:43)
  9. Beyond the Waves (海原を行く/Going on the Sea) (2:13)
  10. Deathfight ~ Dead or Alive (戦い~死を賭して/Fighting ~ Risking Death) (3:56)
  11. My Road, My Journey (この道わが旅/My journey is This Road) (4:10)

See also

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