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By Robert Hancock on August 4th, 2001
Introduction Ah, yet another classic. Although this is your usual sword-and-magic RPG, it had a lot of depth for such an early game. Also, Enix has re-released DW3 for the Gameboy Color recently, so it seemed a good time to review it. The GBC version is a bit different than the original, and has a different feel, but they added some really cool features like giving your characters personalities that affects how they react to certain situations. Then again, there is a flip side to every coin, and the flip side here is the fact that after monster battle you have the chance to earn a ’monster medal’ which if you collect the entire lot of them, (over 160) something ’good’ might happen. Anyone else see the Pokemon influence here? Oh well, if it gets kids involved in RPG’s...Presentation The menu system is pretty average for the time, but one annoyance is the fact that when you buy two of an item, like say an herb, instead of using one space, like this : Herb (2) It uses two, like this. Herb
Herb This is a huge pain in the rear when you’re trying to get a lot of healing items for a dungeon and have very little space because you’re packed with loads of ’special items’ that you MUST HAVE to get to certain areas. (They solved this problem in the GBC version.) Graphics & Sound Pixels and beeps. C’mon, man, this was NES. Gameplay This game will accually take you a bit of time to beat. For such an old game, it has loads of content and lots of little extras that you’ll have a lot of fun with. For example, at one point, you are asked to found a town on an unexplored contitent.The one asking you to do this is shaped like England. The place you’re founding on looks like North America. That’s just cool. The whole map looks like a warped version of our own world, so if you get lost, remember that. Anyway, once you bring a merchant to this desolate shore, he starts gradually building a town and you get to watch it grow and help out a bit, as well. You can get a lot of sweet items this way for pretty cheap. I mean, you founded the town, you get a discount.
Also, DW3 has a gambling game that can get pretty addictive. Basically, it’s like cockfighting, (suggestive laugh) they throw a bunch of monsters in a ring and bet on which is the last one standing. Since you fight these bad boys all the time, you get a good idea on who the winner will be, but it’s a game of chance also, so sometimes the outcome will surprise you. Other than that, this game is THE milestone of what the older RPG was. Lasting Appeal It has all of the basics -- world in peril, slay the bad guy, etc. etc. If you’re into that kinda thing, (Like I am,) You’ll want to give this one a chance. Also, if you’re worried about jumping into this series late, DW3 is really a prequel to the other two, so you need not worry about that. This has average replay value, and it’s kinda a game only a role-player can love. If you hate stuff like that, steer clear of DW3 -- it will bore you to death. Conclusion This is a big ol’ chunk of the old school. Bone up on the classics, friends, history repeats -- you may glimpse some stuff from newer RPG’s within this fossil. If you are looking into game design or basic plotlines, cram this baby into your ancient console and prepare to dissect. A good play, indeed. |
