Normally when you talk about RPGs, you think about a 30 to 80 hours long game. This PSP game does things differently and I’m really hoping they bring this title to North America.
Basically, an evil wizard is casting a spell that will destroy the world. The spell takes 30 seconds to cast, that’s how long you have to defeat him. That means leveling-up, shoping and getting to the evil fortress. Fortunately, the countdown stops when inside a town to shop and there are ways to reset the clock.
You have to decide how much to level-up, how much to explore and what to buy, all in 30 seconds.
Here’s a video of the gameplay, you can grab the demo on your PSP:
I have not played a lot of Dragon Warrior/Quest games. I don’t know why because I loved all the games I tried. I say tried because the only game in the series I ever completed is Dragon Quest VIII.
However, my first experience was with Dragon Warrior I on the NES and I have yet to finish it. The first time I saw that game, I was way too young to be able to finish it. I tried more than a few times to get back to the game and play it to the end, but I was never able to. I tried to play it with an emulator a few times but I don’t like to play with an emulator, the experience is not the same. I played it in the remake for the Gameboy Color, but I was not the owner of the cartridge and it was taken back from me before I could do much.
Dragon Warrior I for me
There are a few things that really define Dragon Warrior for me.
A slime draws near!
I remember grinding in those trees and hills for many hours more than a few times.
Stairs
The second thing I remember from those days is the way you were supposed to use the Stairs command to walk up and down the stairs in the game.
I had played the first Final Fantasy before this so it was a shock to me that when I walked onto the stair tiles, my character would do nothing except wait for me to actively choose to walk up or down the stairs.
Dark dungeons
The third thing I remember are the dark dungeons where you see nothing but your sprite and keep on hitting the walls unless you bring a torch. That was truly unique and still gives the game its charm in my opinion.
Last try
I recently bought the Dragon Quest I & II game for the Gameboy Color and I plan to play both to completion. I’m thrilled to play these two games and my quest will probably continue with Dragon Quest IV and V on the Nintendo DS after I’m done with those.
I remember when I first discovered the fantastic world of japanese RPGs; I was very young, too young to be able to play, but a few images stick in my head.
I was probably around 5 to 8 years old at a family Christmas party. My older cousin and my dad were discussing this new game called Final Fantasy. They had trouble playing because they didn’t know how to create a party approprietly. This is the first image I remember:
Yes, that is a 4 black belts party. Of course I didn’t really know what it was and it was all a bit overwhelming to me so I didn’t play that game until much later. I didn’t hear more about Final Fantasy or any other RPG until years later when my father bought Dragon Warrior.
