Friday, February 28, 2020

Dragon Warrior II (Game Boy Color, 2000) - B Side

Will I defeat this Metal Babble, or will it escape? TUNE IN TO FIND OUT. It might even defeat ME. Who knows?



Sea Cave, 8-bit GBC version. I always dread this for some reason, so I put it off until the next episode of the playthrough.

It's very similar to the NES version of the dungeon in layout. This is the game's second-toughest dungeon, but it isn't actually as bad as it looks. Especially with a map.

The enemies are a step up in power though, as demonstrated by my lugging around coffins. Need to get these two some levels.

A holdover from the NES version, a lot of the chests here are trapped and just poison you. WHAT IS THIS, ULTIMA?

Amulets are one of those weird equippable items that don't go on an armor slot. They drop from enemies here so I got one for everyone. Supposedly, they lessen the damage characters take from some spells.

My God. It's comin' right for us!

Got that one. This is an enormous amount of EXP. Unfortunately their rarity here means that it's probably better to just level up in the final plateau area.

Gwen learns the best attack spell in the game. This thing decimates pretty much everything outside of the final boss, which you're better off using physical attacks on. Most importantly, Explodet gives you the capability of one-rounding most enemy groups, which helps a lot with level grinding.

Sea Cave bosses are a couple of cultists who screech about infidels. It's basically that Staff of Thunder basement guy, times two.

It's our most challenging fight yet, and you pretty much have to hope that they don't both cast Explodet in the same round.

The Dork Order is defeated, and we move on to...

...Formerly the False Idol. Interesting that they changed it.

The Cave to Rhone is unlocked. How bad will it be in this version?

Explodet in action. Behold the decimation!

Rhone Cave is more claustrophobic than ever with the small screen.

Maps are an absolute must for this dungeon, given the volume of pit traps. Level 3 is more pit trap than floor.

Unlike the Android version, this version has the Life Seal in its original location.

KICK WHAM EXPLODET!

I leave to deal with Rubiss and stuff. Given how easy it is to miss this, I wonder how many players got all the way to Hargon's Castle, found the fake town, and had no idea what to do next.

Getting the Fur Coat a bit earlier this time around. Didn't want to have to leave Rhone Plateau once I got there.

Forget fighting one Green Dragon. This game throws four at you in random battles. They're no match for Explodet.

At last, the snow plateau. How many levels will I bang out in this version?

This is a good place to break out Necron's music while level-blasting in an old DQ game.

KICK WHAM EXPLODET!

These guys are the biggest jerks of this place, especially in this version. They're just more resistant to everything and have high HP. Explodet doesn't just knock them off immediately, and they can fire back with their own Explodet.

At last, the castle of Hargon.

I tried staying at the inn of the fake town, thinking this could be a second level-grinding spot. Nope, the inn doesn't heal you.

The final spell, and a bit of a must. No more leaving dungeons just because you took casualties.

Back in Rhone Cave, I've got a few things to backtrack and get. Here's the best sword for Mid.

There's also the Magic Hat (formerly Mysterious Hat) which is the best helm for both Eric and Gwen. It reduces the MP cost of all spells cast by that character. I give it to Gwen, so she can cast Explodet for 6 MP instead of 8. Supposedly it's possible to farm a second Magic Hat from the enemies on the plateau. I wasn't able to get one though. Rumor is that it'll only drop if you don't have one already...meaning if you got the one from Rhone Cave, you're SOL on the dropped one.

Best armor for Mid. Between this trio of uber-items, and the store-bought best equipment for Eric, we're good on armor/weapons.

Got one more thing to do, though. I sell off the copious amounts of cursed equipment I've got, and...

...buy Heal Shields for all of my characters. It's Eric's best shield, but anyone can use it from the inventory if they have one. It's a self-only Healmore at no MP cost. So in a pitched battle you can sit there having everyone turtle up and Healmore.

And now...best equipment screens:

The lack of helm for Eric is troublesome. In some versions he can equip an Iron Helm, which would at least be something. In this version...nothing.

Even with best-in-slot equipment, Eric gets ganked a lot.

These are the things that drop the Magic Hat if you don't have it...supposedly. I took out a lot of them before getting the hat from the cave, and nada.

Back to Hargon's Castle, let's give this a go.

It's pretty similar to the Android remake in appearance, only with lower resolution.

Metal Babbles show up here in pairs...and in groups that pretty much guarantee you won't be able to beat up on them.

Atlas. It's the usual basic fight. I buff defense, sap his defense, and attack.

Bazuzu. As in the Android version, he can cast...

...Sacrifice. Well, at least it kills him permanently as well. What a lame fight.

Zarlox is the final miniboss, and I win easily with all of my plateau levels. So what level did I get to?

These levels, which are vaguely similar to the original NES version's endgame levels. Not sure what the caps are in this version, but I didn't get to them. If I had to guess, they're the same as the NES version (50/45/35?) as the level gap wasn't closing at all at this point. In the Android version the level gaps were closing by level 30.

Here's Hargon, who gets all "#joinDarkOrder" on us. I thought I told you Dork Order guys to scram!

"We are many!"

"YOU'LL FLOAT TOO."

Hargon is simple at these levels so the difficulty isn't changed much from the NES version. He's also pretty weird-ass.

Malroth is called Sidoh here, which is a more direct translation of the Japanese name.

This guy is head and shoulders above Hargon, Zarlox, or any other fight in this game. He takes out Eric right away...because of course.

It's probably coincidence, but he has a striking resemblance to Chaos from the original Final Fantasy.

Barely eke out a win at these levels. With his defense debuffed, Mid's physical attacks carried the fight. The other two just couldn't hold on, even with Heal Shields.

The healer at the plateau shrine can finally leave and have a real life. He's been stuck in this shrine for who knows how long. Not sure how he went shopping or kept the monsters out. How does this whole situation work?

Mid becomes the new king, Eric and Gwen become his subjects, and DL3 becomes the new big bad of the land. Sounds like enough for a sequel. Will Eric take kindly to being forced into a background role as a mere subject? He's a prince too! And what about Gwen? Will they plot to usurp King Mid?

Nope, nothing else happens and they all live happily ever after, complete with fireworks.

Surprisingly great port here. It isn't as refined as the Android version and lacks that polished translation, but it's a bit closer to the original NES version in gameplay and mood.

Next.




1 comment:

  1. Man, all of those staircases in the sea cave.

    ArcDemon: "Was it Explodet? Let me show you how!"

    Does Gwen have any other helmets? Well, I suppose it's more important her spells cost less MP either way.

    Good job!

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