Ranking the Dragon Quest Games 2

Crazy Gamer here to count down the quality of the Dragon Quest games.  Here is part 2.

7.  Dragon Warrior 2- NES

Dragon Quest 2 (Dragon Warrior 2 here in the US, see my Dragon Warrior one entry for explanation) expands upon and improved upon the original in many important ways.  The story is far more complex, you have multiple characters, and the monsters you face have grown in number, type, and ferocity.  In a lot of ways Dragon Quest 2 and not the original is the grandfather of the roleplaying game.  So why does the game rank so low?  The biggest problem is that Dragon Quest 2 has largely been lost to time.  Released in 1988, in the US, the game last saw re issue as a Game Boy Color game in the mid 90's but otherwise has remained in obscurity.  The fact remains that the latter games accomplish what Dragon Quest 2 did well while looking better.  Still I recommend the game highly for those of you looking for a challenge, and who don't mind the archaic graphics. 

6.  Dragon Quest 3- NES

Dragon Quest 3 (again it was called Dragon Warrior 3 here in the states) adds another element to the series that gamers today in 2012 expect as standard, job specific skill sets.  At the outset of the game you the player are asked to create a party to adventure with from a series of classes that are common today but not so in 1990 when the game saw release.  Soldiers, wizards, priests and more were available to name and equip as you fought once again to save the world. 

By today's standards the story is weak, but it features a second world that you must rescue, however the second world throws you for a loop as it is the game world from the original Dragon Quest.  It turns out that Dragon Quest 3 is a prequel to the original and you are Erdrick the legendary hero mentioned as the savior in the first game.  This was very cool to discover for those who loved the first game so much. 

The game is lower on the list because once again the later games expand upon this concept and have better visuals and stories.  That said, players should pay respect to the game that created the rpg conventions so prevalent in later games.  Dragon Quest 3 also benefits from a more recent re issue on the Game Boy advance, go find it if you are looking for a challenge.