Game Debate #59: Dragon Warrior

[elprincipe | 142]

1. Dreadfully boring back in the day, possibly even more dreadfully boring today. Spending large portions of gameplay time navigating menus while spending hours grinding repetitively in a game that takes no skill whatsoever is not my idea of fun.

[Strange | 1,700]

Historically? It’s a 10. Rating it gameplay-wise by today’s standards wouldn’t be fair though so I won’t.

[Estil | 1,265]

5 hours ago, elprincipe said:

1. Dreadfully boring back in the day, possibly even more dreadfully boring today. Spending large portions of gameplay time navigating menus while spending hours grinding repetitively in a game that takes no skill whatsoever is not my idea of fun.

Good thing not everyone thought so or else we may have never gotten the JRPG genre!

[cj_robot | 543]

8/10

I really, really liked this game, even though I didn't give it a proper playthrough until maybe about 10 years ago. To me, this game represents a very brief period in the beginning of JRPGs where the main focus was still the adventure, survival and open-world exploration rather than ridiculous narratives with areas of the world blocked by scripted, story events. I absolutely love how they just drop you into the world and let you figure it out on your own, much like The Legend of Zelda. Plus it's simple enough that anyone can pick it up and get a handle of things.

[G-type | 2,482]

I've never played it. Doesn't really look like my kind of game.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,547]

7 hours ago, Strange said:

Historically? It’s a 10. Rating it gameplay-wise by today’s standards wouldn’t be fair though so I won’t.

No, please do.  Every game gets treated the same.

[Tulpa | 3,514]

Press A to win!

I'm with the "it's okay, but a bit basic" crowd. Bit more partial to Ultima III for early NES RPGs.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

On 7/22/2021 at 11:46 AM, WhyNotZoidberg said:

5/10 but everyone should still play it.

I feel that.

Dragon Warrior is on my list of games that I really want to play through someday, but I'm too afraid to start because I don't know if I have the patience to stick it out.

-CasualCart

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

1 minute ago, CasualCart said:

I feel that.

Dragon Warrior is on my list of games that I really want to play through someday, but I'm too afraid to start because I don't know if I have the patience to stick it out.

-CasualCart

It’s gotta be one of the shortest RPGs ever if that helps you pop it in. You could easily play it in a weekend.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

7 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

It’s gotta be one of the shortest RPGs ever if that helps you pop it in. You could easily play it in a weekend.

That's actually super encouraging to know haha. I've attempted Final Fantasy at least twice but never made significant progress. I've never beaten a Pokemon game either.

RPGs are the most alluring breed of painful experiences for me.

-CasualCart

[Tanooki | 4,936]

2 hours ago, CasualCart said:

I feel that.

Dragon Warrior is on my list of games that I really want to play through someday, but I'm too afraid to start because I don't know if I have the patience to stick it out.

-CasualCart

Got a phone?  It's like a couple dollars on there.  Pretty hard not to find time for 5min here 30min there if you just tap the app.  NO excuse with that version as it's basically always on you and fires up instantly.  FInal Fantasy 1-6 of the N-era stuff is there too, super cheap, and then 7-9 plus some other stuff too at a higher price point.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Tanooki

[Estil | 1,265]

13 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Got a phone?  It's like a couple dollars on there.  Pretty hard not to find time for 5min here 30min there if you just tap the app.  NO excuse with that version as it's basically always on you and fires up instantly.  FInal Fantasy 1-6 of the N-era stuff is there too, super cheap, and then 7-9 plus some other stuff too at a higher price point.

Why would anyone in their right mind get phone versions...you can't even use buttons!  

[Hammerfestus | 3,857]

11 minutes ago, Estil said:

Why would anyone in their right mind get phone versions...you can't even use buttons!  

I once tried to play the phone version of final fantasy tactics.  It was unplayable.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

1 hour ago, Estil said:

Why would anyone in their right mind get phone versions...you can't even use buttons!  

Seriously?  It's a basic RPG, it's not like you're trying to platform or play street fighter.  Come on...  You don't need buttons for something this basic that's already menu driven.  That's a big fat excuse there.

[Estil | 1,265]

4 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Seriously?  It's a basic RPG, it's not like you're trying to platform or play street fighter.  Come on...  You don't need buttons for something this basic that's already menu driven.  That's a big fat excuse there.

Saying you don't need buttons to play a game is like saying you don't need pedals to drive a car.  

[T-Pac | 7,560]

21 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Got a phone?  It's like a couple dollars on there.  Pretty hard not to find time for 5min here 30min there if you just tap the app.  NO excuse with that version as it's basically always on you and fires up instantly.  FInal Fantasy 1-6 of the N-era stuff is there too, super cheap, and then 7-9 plus some other stuff too at a higher price point.

My phone is too old to download games, but I can still try out that "bite-sized" approach on the NES as long as it allows for frequent in-game saves.

-CasualCart

[Tanooki | 4,936]

5 hours ago, CasualCart said:

My phone is too old to download games, but I can still try out that "bite-sized" approach on the NES as long as it allows for frequent in-game saves.

-CasualCart

Yeah the old DQ1 on the phone there allows save anytime/anywhere.  SO if it's a problem, saving often would solve loss issues.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

6 hours ago, Estil said:

Saying you don't need buttons to play a game is like saying you don't need pedals to drive a car.  

I'm starting to wonder if your idea of usable technology is just one step beyond 2 cans and some string, seriously.  RPGs with basic walk around mechanics and progress through basic menus don't need a button, it's not that hard to grasp.  A basic touch panel where you just move your finger to walk or tap to walk to X spot, and tap X icon on screen to attack hardly needs a button loaded controller to play any better.

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,547]

51 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

I'm starting to wonder if your idea of usable technology is just one step beyond 2 cans and some string, seriously.  RPGs with basic walk around mechanics and progress through basic menus don't need a button, it's not that hard to grasp.  A basic touch panel where you just move your finger to walk or tap to walk to X spot, and tap X icon on screen to attack hardly needs a button loaded controller to play any better.

 

Estil's a bit of a homebody who doesn't have much interest/need in portable game, much less mobile, so I could see how that doesn't offer him much utility.

[Estil | 1,265]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Estil's a bit of a homebody who doesn't have much interest/need in portable game, much less mobile, so I could see how that doesn't offer him much utility.

Not to mention I'm afraid if I do take a DS/3DS (which are the special Mario and Zelda themed ones respectively so replacing those would NOT be easy!) or a phone or something with me I might wreck it or misplace it or something   And yes I've seen a few phones with spiderweb cracked screens and one small child banging a tablet over and over until it got the "black blob of death" on the screen.  And even when I was working they obviously wouldn't let you use a smartphone while on duty (for obvious reasons) so it wouldn't done me much good even then.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Estil

[Estil | 1,265]

6 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I'm starting to wonder if your idea of usable technology is just one step beyond 2 cans and some string, seriously.  RPGs with basic walk around mechanics and progress through basic menus don't need a button, it's not that hard to grasp.  A basic touch panel where you just move your finger to walk or tap to walk to X spot, and tap X icon on screen to attack hardly needs a button loaded controller to play any better.

Ummm, I do have a PS4 (and the PS's before it) and all the Nintendo consoles except the Switch...dude I am NO stranger to technology.    And I can and do use my late wife's hand-me-down red/black tablet so I can play the Simon's Cat games on it  

And I do use a cordless phone with Caller ID on it (so I can see who's calling and especially when talking with my wife I liked to have it on speaker so it feels a bit more like she was there with me, if that makes sense)...it's not like I just use a plain Model 2500 (wiki it) phone or something  

Edited July 28, 2021 by Estil

[Dr. Morbis | 2,089]

On 7/24/2021 at 6:25 AM, cj_robot said:

To me, this game represents a very brief period in the beginning of JRPGs where the main focus was still the adventure, survival and open-world exploration rather than ridiculous narratives with areas of the world blocked by scripted, story events. I absolutely love how they just drop you into the world and let you figure it out on your own, much like The Legend of Zelda.

This is why I pretty much only play old school 8-bit RPG's; even by FFIII (on the Famicom) you are so on-the-rails that there is literally only one way to go for about 95% of the game.  Dragon Warrior may be brutally crude, but man is the sense of freedom to make your own path refreshing...

9/10 for me, but I am definitely in that nostalgic age group.

[asmikace | 68]

I am giving it a 9 for being a simple adventure game. Its one of those simple games to play for a little adventure and with a hack to make it less grindy would make it more enjoyable.

[Estil | 1,265]

On 7/22/2021 at 5:03 PM, fox said:

INice it have an RPG you can beat in under 10 hours, sometimes you just want to jump into a game and go without it being a 50+ hour commitment.

I kinda like how in blue chip JRPGs you feel like you're really getting your money's worth though...much better than some cheap phone game crap!