Gaming Target - Game Boy: Dragon Warrior III

Written by Ryan Smotherman on August 08, 2001

Review: King: Here Ryan, take 50 gold coins and go save our world. Ryan: Bitch slaps the King... what the hell do you expect me to buy with this?

I myself am a huge Dragon Warrior fan. The original Dragon Warrior was actually the first RPG I ever played, yes, even before the ever so popular Final Fantasy. Through the late 80's and early 90's I was one of the few lucky gamers who got a chance to take all 4 of the NES versions for a spin, and ever since then I haven't touched a Dragon Warrior game. For this reason, and this reason alone, I purchased a Game Boy Color last year. When I heard Enix was bringing out Dragon Warrior I&II on the same cartridge I couldn't wait to get my hands on it, and it turned out to be a truly great compilation, I'd call it a must own. Then out of nowhere comes this announcement that a remade version of Dragon Warrior III would be appearing on the GBC as well, man was I stoked. But as excited as I was about this game, its gone far and beyond my expectations, this is a classic people.

In Dragon Warrior III, you play the role of a young hero who is given the assignment, from the King of Aliahan, to seek out and destroy the evil Demon Lord Baramos; an objective that your father failed to complete 12 years earlier. In which I think is a first in an RPG, is the option to either play as a male or female lead character, the hero's sex is your choice. Another interesting feature that makes this game so different from other УtypicalФ RPG's takes place at the very beginning of the game. You find your character in a dream world, in it a voice asks you a variety of questions, ranging from your preferences in battle (weapons or magic) to the types of decisions you'd make in certain situations. This whole experience is used for determining you character's personality, which there is over two dozen of. The personality is used mainly in determining which stats increase when your character levels up.

After you awaken from your dream world you are sent to see the King, he gives you your mission and sends on your way. But your not going at it all by your lonesome. First you must form your party, that's right, you start the game with a full party consisting of four characters from any of the eight character classes, each with their own unique abilities and characteristics. The greatest thing about this is you get to create your own characters. By giving them names, a gender, class, and by distributing special seeds to them that increases statistics, and also it establishes their personality.

The original Dragon Warrior pretty much established the modern day RPG. So you should know what to expect gameplay wise. Move to a town, talk to the locals for info, go and complete your objective, then repeat. Along the way you'll encounter over 150 different monsters that increase in power as you progress, not to worry though, you'll stumble apon a variety of powerful new weapons and armor to aid you in defeating these foes, not to mention some potent spells.

The battle system itself is quite enjoyable; it's simple and intuitive. Unlike some modern day RPG's, whose goal it seems is to overwhelm the player. However, for all you Final Fantasy fanatics out there, don't expect the now famous УActive TimeФ battle system you've grown accustomed to. Dragon Warrior III is strictly turn-based. Meaning you assign your character's actions for the battle first, then watch it progress in front of you. Repeat this process until your enemies are finished off. About the only complaint I have is the rate in which you encounter enemies, the random battles are a little high, not as bad as sayЕ Skies of Arcadia, but they are frustrating none the less.

If you're looking for some great graphics that really shows off the power of your Game Boy Color, look no further than Dragon Warrior III. Probably the most impressive part of the visuals is the enemies movements in battle, they are just so fluid and realistic. Combine this with some remarkable spell effects and the lack of any battle backgrounds is soon forgotten. The World graphics are fairly impressive too, things like the forests and mountains are much more convincing than in the previous two installments. Speaking of the World, Dragon Warrior III contains one of the biggest landscapes in videogame history. What I found most enjoyable about it is that it's designed to resemble the real world. You'll immediately notice continents that bear a strong resemblance to Europe, North America, and Africa. Some of the cities even remind us of the real world, the town of Romaly for example, which is located right where Rome is in the real life world.

The audio is equally as impressive as the graphics. Dragon Warrior III is full of some nice sound effects and music throughout. I found the classic tunes most enjoyable, especially the level up of jingle. But then again, it is coming out of the Game Boy Color's speaker; so don't expect the sound to blow you away.

Dragon Warrior III also contains a couple mini-games that are surprisingly entertaining. The first is Mario Party type board game. You role a die and move the correct number of spaces, sometimes you'll find new items and gold, while others contain some nasty enemies. If you're lucky enough to make it to the end, you'll be rewarded with some new items. The second mini-game is all about gambling. You are given a list of monsters that have to battle one another, pick the winner and the dough comes raking in. How much you win depends on the odds of each monsters chance of winning. The weaker the monster, the more money you win. I found each of these games to be most enjoyable, I'd even say addicting.

Dragon Warrior III

Review: King: Here Ryan, take 50 gold coins and go save our world. Ryan: *Bitch slaps the King*... what the hell do you expect me to buy with this?

Review: King: Here Ryan, take 50 gold coins and go save our world. Ryan: Bitch slaps the King... what the hell do you expect me to buy with this?