Dragon Warrior (NES) Review

I went into Dragon Warrior wanting to give it a fair shake. I have played it before but never very far, and this time I committed to a real playthrough with a strategy guide and several solid sessions. After a few hours, my feelings on the game settled pretty firmly, and they are not especially positive.

The biggest issue is progression. The first few levels come quickly enough, but once you hit around level four the game turns into a wall of grinding. Enemies give tiny amounts of experience, often five to ten points, while each new level demands hundreds. Gold works the same way. Battles are frequent and sometimes dangerous, but the rewards feel completely out of balance with the risk. You can spend long stretches fighting just to afford basic upgrades, only to be broke again almost immediately. It starts to feel less like an adventure and more like a second job that pays in loose change.

Combat itself is extremely simple and not especially engaging. You trade hits, hope the RNG is kind, and repeat this loop over and over. Many low-level enemies can still hit surprisingly hard, which would be fine if the rewards felt worthwhile. Instead, every victory feels hollow because progress inches forward at a crawl. Dying makes things even worse, since you lose half your gold unless you reload a save. That penalty alone can wipe out a huge chunk of time investment and force even more grinding.

The game’s structure also leans heavily on backtracking, and not in a way that feels thoughtful or strategic. Saving your game requires walking back to the king at the starting castle. Want to know how much experience you need for your next level? Back to the king. Want cheap healing? Back to the first town. These constant trips slow the pace even further and make the world feel small and bureaucratic instead of adventurous.

Menus add another layer of friction. Almost every action requires opening the command menu, whether you are talking to someone, using stairs, casting a spell, or interacting with the environment. It works, but it never feels smooth. Over time it becomes tiring, especially when paired with the already slow pace.

Visually, Dragon Warrior is fine. The graphics are serviceable for an early NES game, but nothing stands out. The music, however, is a real sore spot. It is repetitive to the point of irritation, and there is a persistent high-pitched beeping layered into the soundtrack that becomes exhausting during long grinding sessions. Instead of setting a mood, the audio often works against the experience.

Story-wise, there is not much here. You are a hero, there is a princess to rescue, and an evil force to defeat. It functions, but it is thin and by modern standards a bit generic, and it does little to motivate the hours of repetition required to move forward.

My overall recommendation is simple. Dragon Warrior is worth playing only if you are a dedicated Dragon Quest fan who wants to experience the series’ origins firsthand. For everyone else, it is a slow, grind-heavy game that asks for far more patience than it rewards.