Dragon Quest II

Dragon Quest II: Akuryo no Kamigami (Japanese: 悪霊の神々, lit. Pantheon of Evil Spirits) also know as Dragon Warrior II in North America is a role-playing game that was initially released for the Famicom in Japan on January 26, 1987. It is the second installment of the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest II was remade, integrated into Dragon Quest, and released as Dragon Quest I & II.

Plot
Dragon Quest II is set 100 years after Dragon Quest. A century of peace is suddenly ended when the evil wizard Hargon destroys the country of Moonbrooke. One lone guard, an injured survivor of the attack, makes his way towards the kingdom of Midenhall. There with his dying breath he informs the king of the dire circumstances. The king then commands his son, the prince of Midenhall and a descendant of Erdrick (also known as Loto in later versions), to defeat Hargon.

The prince is not alone on his quest. He has two cousins, the prince of Cannock and the princess of Moonbrooke. However, he must find them first. The prince of Cannock already left on a similar journey, and the princess of Moonbrooke was in the castle of Moonbrooke when it was attacked. It is up to the prince of Midenhall to find them, join together, and defeat Hargon.

Setting
The early part of the game takes place on land. From a few magical tiles or tunnels, the player can visit a few tiny islands in the beginning, but upon reaching a major port and fulfilling a specific task does the player get a ship which allows the player to explore much more of the world by sea. Magical teleportation is the last means of transport that the player must use.

Architecturally, some castles are presented as ruins.

The prince of Midenhall/Lorasia
This is the classic warrior of the three heroes. He can use any armor and weapon in the game. He has no magic ability, but his physical attack and defense are the greatest of the three. This is the character the player starts out with in the castle of Midenhall.

The prince of Cannock/Samantoria
This is a blend of the classic warrior and wizard architypes. He cannot use as wide a variety of weapons and armor as the prince of Lorasia but compensates for this with the ability to use magic. However, it should be noted that his magic is not as powerful as that wielded by the princess of Moonbrooke. This character is hard to track down, but is a great ally.

The princess of Moonbrooke
This is the classic wizard of the three heroes. She can use few types of armor and weapons in the game. She shares some of the prince of Cannock's magic, but in addition has several powerful damage spells. This character has been cursed and needs to be freed before she will be able to join her cousins.

Hargon
This is the evil wizard that attacked Moonbrooke, cursed the princess of Moonbrooke, and threatened to destroy the world. His defeat is the goal of the three heroes. Only after Hargon's defeat can peace return to the world.

Game play
Dragon Quest II is a role-playing game. The player controls his or her characters as they move in the game world. They can search treasure chests, talk and trade with villagers, equip weapons and armor, and cast spells. However, if the player wanders far in the wilderness they can get attacked and go into battle mode.

In the battle mode, the player must give orders to his characters on how to fight these monsters. When all monsters are defeated, the player's characters gain experience points and gold. The experience points can give a character an experience level which improves a character’s attributes and they may also learn a new spell.

To win, the player must fight many monsters to improve their character's experience level and get coins to buy better weapons and armor. Eventually, the player's characters become strong enough to make it to the next town or dungeon. This repeats until the player reaches the end boss, Hargon, and defeats him.

The game offers three spots to save the game. It also allows deletion and the moving of saved games. To save, find a king or minister and talk to them.

Dragon Quest II is noted for greatly expanding the game play from the previous game, Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest II is the first game in the series to feature multiple heroes and enemies in a battle, as well as a sailing ship. It was also the first to have weapons which cast spells when used in battles. In addition, Dragon Quest II offers a wider array of spells and items and a much larger world.

Official ports

 * Dragon Quest II had a port for the MSX platform in Japan.
 * Dragon Quest II was released in North America, under the name Dragon Warrior II, on the Nintendo Entertainment System in December of 1990.
 * Dragon Quest II was remade and combined with Dragon Quest. It was released as Dragon Quest I & II on the Super Famicom and Game Boy Color.

Sequels/Prequels
Dragon Quest II is the second installment of the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest III is the prequel to Dragon Quest II, and Dragon Quest is the previous entry in the series.

Fan projects
There are no known fan-projects for Dragon Quest II.

Trivia

 * The entire game world of Dragon Quest is included on the world map in Dragon Quest II.
 * Dragon Quest II was the first Dragon Quest game to include a game of chance.
 * Dragon Quest II was also the first Dragon Quest game to use multiple key types.

Soundtrack
As with every Dragon Quest, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. Dragon Quest II ' s symphonic suite was bundled with Dragon Quest I ' s symphonic suite and a disc of original compositions as Dragon Quest in Concert. Here is the track listing of the Dragon Quest II portion of that release:


 * 1) Dragon Quest March (1:39)
 * 2) Only Lonely Boy (2:42)
 * 3) Pastoral ~ Catastrophe (3:21)
 * 4) Château (3:03)
 * 5) Town (3:30)
 * 6) Fright in Dungeon ~ Devil's Town (4:02)
 * 7) Requiem (2:09)
 * 8) Endless World (5:43)
 * 9) Beyond the Waves (2:13)
 * 10) Deathfight ~ Dead or Alive (3:56)
 * 11) My Road, My Journey (4:10)