JRPG Journey 2020: Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line (Summer Bonus Game)
August’s game: Secret of Mana [“Seiken Densetsu 2”]
September’s game: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Welcome back to my JRPG Journey of 2020. What a year it’s been so far. As a thank you for reading, I wanted to do a Summer Bonus Game, which yes, means there will be a bonus game for autumn this year, too. But we’re in summer now, and summers game is Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line. It’s Dragon Quest, but with three characters.
I’m only joking. Originally released as Dragon Warrior II in the West, the sequel to the first JRPG expanded on its predecessor in many more ways than that, and while some say you can skip this game, I disagree; in fact, I’d say it’s essential. Now, I haven’t yet played the third game yet, which I hear it brings a huge amount of innovative changes, but Dragon Quest II evolves the formula enough that it deserves to be remembered just as much as the original. In fact, if for some reason you were only gong to play one of the first two games, it should be this one, because it’s similar enough to the first game to still give you the ultimate old school JRPG feel while having a lot more meat on its bones. In fact, the entire original Dragon Quest map (albeit somewhat miniaturized) is featured as a tiny portion of the overworld map in this game, showing how vast the world is this time around.
I can imagine my mind being blown by all the new features, had I played this back in 1987, and even now it’s not difficult to get into the mindset of a new player (perhaps this is because I haven’t played all that many JRPGs in total) and appreciate the addition of a boat and sea travel, warp points, and the general grander sense of adventure. Contributing to this is the aforementioned addition of party members: besides your hero, Princess Eileen of Moonbrooke and the Prince of Cannock join in on the fun, although we still get very little characterization for them or any other character in the game. This time, you’re a descendent of the legendary Erdrick (the long-gone hero mentioned in the first game), your father is the king, and you’re sent to save the world. That’s about it, and for 1987, it’s enough.
Indeed, Dragon Quest II is all about gameplay, and it nails it. Granted, I’m playing the Switch version which features speed-up and the ability to save anywhere, which removes nearly all of the frustration and difficulty of the original release. Of all the games in the series DQII is best-known for being difficult to a fault, but with tge wonders of modern technology (and sensibilities), this is no longer a concern. There are more monsters to find, a ton more caves and dungeons to explore, a lot more secrets, and a greater variety of spells and effects. Even more so than the first game, this feels a lot like a modern JRPG, which is impressive for 1987. (I like to think this exemplifies how right Enix got it the first time and how sturdy the genre is as a whole, but I can see where more cynical viewpoints might deride the genre for this.)
With three party members to take care of, the gameplay loop is more satisfying than the original, with at least one of your characters leveling up at seemingly constant rate. It’s addictive watching your stats grow, finding the best equipment, and then barely scraping by as you take down the final boss’s final form. Each character has their own strengths in combat, your hero being a melee attacker, the princess being a strong magic user, and the prince being mostly dead weight. That’s OK, though, because in the modern version at least, grinding doesn’t take long at all, letting you can focus on exploration.
While discovering new locales and enemies (the slate of monsters has been significantly expanded this is time around) is the core appeal, clues on where to go next are perhaps even more cryptic this time around. Once again, I managed to get through by taking copious notes, however, I did get a little help from an online guide when completely stuck, and online maps were especially helpful this time around. For a map this large, these days I simply don’t have the patience to remember where each warp takes me; it’s easier to use a map and speed-up and sail to where I need to be, instead of trying to remember a bunch of shortcuts.
All-in-all, whether it be the mobile or console release, the modern edition of Dragon Quest II reveals the gem beneath the layers of NES grime. If you love JRPGs, and especially if you’re a Dragon Quest fan, don’t skip this game.
