Surprise! Dragon Warrior 3 follows the lead of Zelda 2, and is now a side-scrolling slash-em-up!
Okay, maybe not.
What a cool battle scene, though! The lightning illumination is rad, and then you've got the dragon feinting a dive with the warrior crouching, getting up for an instant, and then crouching again when he sees the beast following through, and he's being overly careful about the fire breath because he's unsure of its range, and and and... dang, and everything! And the spritework is great too. It's just, wow.
Of course it's nothing like the rest of the game, but it's still a lavish way to start.
This entire intro sequence is new for the North American version. The original Japanese version is rather minimalistic by any measure. It starts with...
...and goes right to the file selection menu. Dragon Quest was a heck of a brand already by then, it didn't need much else.
Music: MenuWe've a got new main menu tune again this time, but the Japanese version had no music whatsoever here. In fact, Dragon Quest IV had already been released by the time Dragon Warrior III was localized for North America, so the menu music here is actually DQ4's menu music. How's that for weird?
Ah, of course. Lessee...
Aaaand that's right! You can now choose between a male and female protagonist! At this point we've had three gentlemen and only the one lady, so let's balance the scales a bit this time.
There are vanishingly few differences between genders in this version of the game. A small handful of equipment is only available to women, and I think it makes a minor difference in a couple events, but stat growth is identical. Even the hero's sprite is exactly the same, and in a bizarre oversight, basically everyone still refers to us as male.
Got places to go, got to follow my rainbow!
Music: TownSo, we're sixteen, and the game starts with our mom waking us up. Is it really a cliché if it's the first time it ever happens?
: I appreciate this idea of going to bed in full combat gear. It shows commitment to the adventuring lifestyle.
: Mom, I'm already awake, there's no need to get in my face!
: You're saying that as if I hadn't spent the entire night stressing out about it.
: ...a lad? You're clearly even more stressed out about it than I am.
Get ready for a lot of people around the world talking to us like we're a dude. I knew the game didn't always get it right but I dared hope our own mother wouldn't make that mistake.
The Command menu is identical to how it was in DW2. The Talk option still ought to be just be pressing the B button once, but it's not, whatchagonnado.
The Status option has a few sub-options now. Formation would allow us to change our marching order if we had more than one party member.
The info window that appears when we stand still only shows our current HP and MP, so we can use the Condition option to get a quick look at everyone's maximum values as well without opening up the whole standard status menu four times.
The Info option reveals a few new notions of interest!
Strength and Agility largely function as they always have, with Attack Power being your weapon bonus plus your Strength, and Defense Power being your defensive gear's bonus plus half your Agility. However, Agility now massively influences the order in which combat turns are taken. Every round, every participant rolls a number between 25% and 100% of their Agility, and they take their actions from the highest result to the lowest.
Agility still doesn't influence evasion rate. All human party members have a 4 out of 256 chance to dodge incoming standard attacks. Monsters each have their own evasion stat; most have 0 or 4, but some have up to 28.
Vitality is weird in that it doesn't do anything by itself. The amount of Vitality you earn from a level up determines how much HP that level will earn you: the HP you gain in a level is equal to twice your Vitality gain for that level, plus a random number from -2 to 2. But having a high Vitality number on your status screen confers no particular advantage.
Intelligence is mostly the same as Vitality, as it governs MP growth in the same way and also confers no advantage by itself. Or, almost no advantage: a character with high Intelligence tends to learn certain spells earlier than a character with low Intelligence.
Luck is used solely to resist status ailments, whether from spells or special breath attacks.
We're starting with a Copper Sword and Leather Armor, which is what the Prince of Midenhall had. Either Midenhall was poor, or Zofia's family is wealthy!
: Considering she has her own bed, I'd say she's living in decadent luxury.
The graphics are already showing signs of improvement here. We're on the second floor so the floor is made of wood instead of stone, the staircase has handrails, there's an actual table that's not a repurposed pillar, a chair instead of a stool, a dresser, and a bed that's not just two white squares. Amazing!
As soon as we get close to our mother, she literally starts dragging us through town.
: I know where the castle is, mom.
: Considering everything dad did for him, he probably should remember his manners in front of me.
If we try to return to town...
: So, no time for a quick breakfast then? Fine. Make me meet royalty on an empty stomach, no problem.
It can't be helped. Let's get it over with.
Music: CastleWe've sure come a long way from the Tantegel throne room's thirty second loop.
: Well, that's fancy. No one's even trying to supervise me, so how about I take just a quick look around? It's not like the king will have the gall to kick me out.
Locked doors already! Better start taking notes.
: I'm... not sure what you expect me to do with that information.
: I suppose it's good to see you're proud about doing your job.
: The princess is missing!? Oh wow, suddenly I feel like I know why I'm here.
: Oh, uh. Found her.
: Ah, right, the... the Archfiend. I wonder what poor sap the king is going to put in charge of this nonsense.
The guy on the left politely stays in front of the bars, but the one on the right is wandering randomly. That won't take like a million minutes, right?
: He stole a key from me, Bakor!
: Are you sure he didn't just recover it from you after you stole it from him first?
: There's a tunnel leading out of the jail? That's just asking for trouble.
And that's the first floor. We're out of ways to procrastinate, better head on up.
: Oh, yes, I'm sure he's the anxious one here.
: That way, even if you rest from your journeys for a while, you can restore your status.
Which means kings still get to save our game. You'd think they'd have a scribe for that or something.
: Well that's a reasonable notion to put on a sixteen year old's shoulders.
: That doesn't matter. Everyone knows that night only happens when you're good and ready to go to sleep.
: Pay attention to the formation.
Here we continue the tradition of guards in the first castle explicitly introducing gameplay mechanics to you. In DW2, Zed, Glynn and Gwen had equal chances of being targeted by any given single-target attack (with a few exceptions), but here, it makes a massive difference who you have where.
In most circumstances, the character in front is targeted 44% of the time, the one in second place 40%, the one in third 15%, and the last one literally 1%. However, certain enemies have an AI that ignores marching order and chooses targets as though everyone had equal chance to be picked, and of course group-hitting attacks always hit everyone.
: It's best to go to Luisa's Place at the west edge of town and find some companions.
It's possible to beat the game alone, but I wouldn't recommend it!
As soon as we reach the king, he starts speaking to us immediately.
: Um... Your... Uh... Your Majesty? I... Uh... Can't you see...? I mean... Who told you that-
: It is said that thy father Ortega met his end when he fell into a volcano's crater at the end of a battle.
: Um. Yes, I... Thanks for reminding me of how my father died. That's very delicate of you.
: Holy shit, kings are dicks.
: Ahem.
: Present company excluded.
: Legendary hero as you are, I cannot stand silent while you sully my father's me-
: Good grief, okay, on average kings tend to be dicks at a higher rate than the rest of the population.
: We do hereby accept your petition to follow in the footsteps of your brave father.
: Hopefully not straight into a volcano.
: ZEDPOWER!
: You have to admit that's exceptionally poor wording.
: Thy enemy shall be the Archfiend Baramos.
: Wait, what? I'm barely sixteen, I thought you'd send me against some brigands or-
: The name of the Archfiend Baramos is yet unknown in the world of men. If things remain unchanged, before long the world will be destroyed by the Archfiend. Baramos must be defeated!
: Yes I agree but-
: Seek companions at the local eatery and start your quest.
: "His party?"
: She's a bit of a tomboy, but come on!
: Th-thank you, Your Highness, that is very gene-
: Farewell! Until we meet once more, Zofia!
: Does he think Zofia is a common name for teenage boys?
: Well, he's progressive, if not especially perceptive.
Just like that, we're pointed at this Archfiend Baramos and cut loose. At least we got some money, right?
: And I thought Lorik was a cheap bastard!
: If nobody's heard about this Baramos, I wonder how the king expects me to even find him. But he must have learned about him somewhere. Maybe someone in town can help me out.
: Well, the king's worried enough about it to send a teenage girl after him. With... 50 gold. Huh.
Oooh, that looks like a House of Healing.
: But I hear there are bigger continents beyond the sea.
Yup, that's a House of Healing alright. All services have a cost that is dependant on the ailing character's level, with poison removal being the cheapest and curse removal being the most expensive.
In the Japanese version...
...the Houses of Healing were still obviously churches.
Tree tiles used to be passable in DW2, but that's no longer the case here. It did look pretty weird.
: No you won't.
: That does sound pretty crazy. Night isn't something you reach by walking.
: Maybe "the edge of night" is a place. Like a dance hall or a tavern or something.
: Well... I haven't really looked at it specifically in a while.
: You should see it as soon as you go outside.
: I've lived here all my life, I know where it is.
: That which you see rising up on that island is the Tower of Najima.
: Daughter. I'm his daughter. Good grief.
: Who's this Ortega, by the way? It's almost like everyone's talking about him like the folk of our time talked about Erdrick.
: Can't say I've ever heard the name.
: I suppose we'll find out.
We've seen most of this before. The Bamboo Stick is now a Cypress Stick, and the Wayfarer's Clothes offers 4 more points of defense than the regular Clothes; it's basically a good upgrade for wizardy types who can't wear Leather Armor. But the only thing we want is the Leather Shield, and we can't even afford it yet.
: I live next door. You see me walk by everyday when I go training.
: Farewell. Do come again.
Nothing for us up here.
It's a pretty standard item shop, though the price of Wings has gone way down between games, from 70 to 25. We hold off on buying anything for now.
: Then came a war in which many lost their lives. At that time the Travel Door connecting across the ocean was closed off.
: If I ever have to go that way, I sure hope I won't be executed on sight as soon as I get to the other side.
: If you go north, you'll come to the village of Reeve.
: Hi Grandpa! I'm back from the castle!
: Yes, that's usually how it works.
: The audience went about as well as we expected. So... Yeah, I'll be leaving soon.
: Wait, what? My day's barely even sta-
Aaaaand we rest. Our home is a free inn.
: Well that's a lucky young lady right there.
: You're certainly looking cheerful about it.
: Yes, of course I'm going. I'm just a bit surprised that you're, um, taking it so well.
: Right! I'll be on my way, then. It's not like I haven't been looking forward to this day for a long time!
Well hey, this sure is better than sneaking out in the middle of the night and leaving our family in tears.
: There's Luisa's Place. It's empty most of the time, but I ought to try my luck anyway.
: Ah, right. I'm sure you're holding something for me.
: I think it's about time I got the money my father kept here.
: I'm Ortega's daughter. He fell in a volcano. I'm sixteen. Hand me the stash.
: I'm sorry, there's not a sausage.
: ...
: This happens all the time, you know. My condolences.
: Oh, dad.
A much needed addition to the series' repertoire of businesses, the Vault allows you to store items and gold. Gold is only stored in increments of a thousand, so we won't be using that facility for a while. And leaving items is free, but you need to pay 10% of the item's worth to get it back. For quest items and assorted plot coupons that tends to be extremely cheap, but stashing good gear can get expensive.
: I do what I want!
: This is the eatery where people gather, meet or part with companions.
: So, who's around today?
Doing anything at Luisa's Place requires us to allow Luisa to save our game at every step. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but maybe it's there to prevent some exploit or another.
These three are the default "recommended" party, but... that's boring.
: So, we've got Brindar, the Sold-
: Actual dumbass. I wouldn't trust him to know which end of the sword goes in the Slime.
: Mathias the Wiz-
: Glug glug, no thanks.
: There's also Petrus the P-
: Isn't he kind of a jerk?
: Yes, well, maybe, but I'm sure once you get to know him-
: Hard pass.
: You're being very difficult.
: I agree, it's difficult to like any of the choices you've got for me.
: Well, we've got people coming in and out all the time.
: You and I both know that's not true.
: Look, I have a business to run, and times are tough for travelers. You can take these three stooges off my hands, you can wait for someone else to show up, or you can get out of my hair.
: Ugh. Fine. I'll be upstairs, keeping an eye on the nonexistent traffic to this business you claim to run.
: If you want to take one along, wait until you get strong and take one along just for laughs.
: Clearly the odds of a sage wandering into this dump are rather low.
Ah, it's always good to see a NES game with enough attention to detail to clearly depict the butthole on a cat.
We actually get to create and name our party members here. They get added to Luisa's list downstairs, and we can recruit them from there.
So! What three lucky randos will be walking in the doors to Luisa's place and be blessed with the opportunity to accompany the daughter of the legendary hero Ortega on her royal quest to defeat vile Archfiend Baramos?
It's up to you, dear readers.