Dragon Quest 1 Explorer's Handbook + Nintendo Power Strategy Guide Supplementary Scans

 

Today I've got a few dozen scans from the Dragon Warrior Explorer's Handbook (a fairly thick guide that came with the NES game) and the Nintendo Power Strategy Guide (a prettier but less in-depth guide that was included with an issue of Nintendo Power).

Look at how good people had it back then. Maps, spell lists, guides, all packed-in with the game. All of these things significantly enhanced something like DQ1 and turned it from a basic RPG to a whole world to explore that you'd be thinking about all day at school, waiting to get back to it.

Nowadays we're lucky if we get a slip of paper inside of a game. If people grouse about how good the entertainment industry used to be compared to now, they aren't just old grousers. They're right.

Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D, Part 5 - Finale

 

Gotta say, this remake is nice. It's a little too padded-out, needs too much grinding, should have kept the fights at one on one, and loses some of the "can theoretically go anywhere at any point in the game's progression if your character can handle it" vibe that the bite-sized other versions of this game delivered so well. However, if you want it to be a more substantial game in the style of last year's DQIII remake, then they landed that. It's high-effort, and I especially like the occasional artwork.

Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D, Part 4 - The Faerie Queene

 

Angry mobs suck.

Today on Dragon Quest, lots of new stuff happens. With the crests and the exploration, this version of the game has more in common with DQ2 than it ever did before. I like how these early DQ games feel like you're playing old literary tales like The Faerie Queene. It's a quality that the Ultima series also had in the 80's.

Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D, Part 3 - The Green Dragon

 

Previously on Dragon Quest: I got rofl-stomped by the Green Dragon, despite much preparation. This is presenting a much tougher challenge than your usual past versions of DQ1. Well, nobody said killing a dragon was supposed to be a given.

Today I'll need to go back and get it done whether I like it or not. Also, we've got Nintendo Power scans from 1989. Welcome back to the internet's most AI-proof site, because AI will never be this out of its mind.

Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D, Part 2 - Rescuing Gwaelin

 

When you think about it, this is pretty much the full-circle RPG. It was the first console JRPG in the West, bringing the playstyle of things like Wizardry off of the PC and onto the TV. Now here it is in a modern form. It's sort of like how the characters ingame are going full-circle with the events of their past.

Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D (Multiple, 2025)

 

I've played every other version of DQ1 under the sun, so I'm legally obligated to play the new ultimate version. Will I finish this game in four hours like the old versions, or will it pose a more robust threat? What kind of optional content did they add? Is there finally an Erdrick's Helm? Join me as I answer these and more pressing questions.

Dragon Quest (Super Famicom, 1993)

 

Time for the original Dragon Quest. Wait, didn't I cover this game already? Yes, but I covered the English NES version, Dragon Warrior. This is the Super Famicom remake that came along later. It's awesome.