I’ll start this review from the very beginning — literally.
The first Dragon Quest game I ever played was Dragon Quest V (mobile) back in 2023. Unfortunately, I never finished it because I lost my phone. So now, in 2026, I decided to finally play and beat the entire franchise… starting from the beginning.
Was it a good start?
Honestly, yes.
I haven’t played that many RPGs to say this with absolute authority, but my experience was mostly enjoyable — except for the almost exhausting:
G R I N D I N G.
And yeah, this is a problem I already noticed back in DQ V.
Out of my 12 hours of gameplay, I’m not joking when I say around 8 hours were pure GRINDING.
The Beginning & Freedom
The game starts with the King giving us our mission:
"Descendant of Erdrick, listen now to my
words. It is told that in ages past Erdrick fought demons
with a Ball of Light. Then came the Dragonlord who
stole the precious globe and hid it in the darkness. Now,
Hero, thou must help us recover the Ball of Light and
restore peace to our land. The Dragonlord must be
defeated. Take now whatever thou may find in these
Treasure Chests to aid thee in thy quest. Then speak
with the guards, for they have much knowledge that may
aid thee. May the light shine upon thee, Hero."
And after that…
You can basically go WHEREVER YOU WANT, BABY (almost).
Not fully open-world, but for an 8-bit game, the world is HUGE.
Like… GTA of the 8-bit era?
OK, sorry, lost my composure there.
HERE'S THE MAP:
Gameplay & Grinding (Again)
As the King tells us, our goal is to save the princess and defeat the EVIL, THE MIGHTY… DRAGONLOOOOOORD
(When I first saw him, I legit thought he was Dracula. I’m 20 years old and apparently the lack of sunlight is already affecting me.)
LET'S PROCEED(...)
The game is a very classic RPG, but be warned:
NPCs — or rather, their early-game design — are kind of evil, and the grinding starts immediately.
The very first thing you must do is:
Leave the castle → go to the town right side → buy a sword and a shield immediately.
“BUT I WANT TO SAVE MONEY FOR BETTER GEAR—”
S H H H . . .
Listen to DADDY here.
I learned this the worst possible way.
I got beaten in so many different ways…
BY A SLIME.
So yeah: buy a sword, buy a shield, and GRIND. GRIND FOR YOUR LIFE.
(and economy...)
While exploring (and grinding), you’ll find several towns:
Brecconary
Garinham
Kol
Rimuldar
and
Cantlin.
You must visit all of them — for progression, equipment, and information.
And here’s the detail: GRIND A LOT.
The most expensive item in the game costs 14,000 gold.
Considering that Goldman (the best farming monster outside the Dragonlord’s castle) drops around 100–120 gold, you’ll need to kill something like 70–90 of them.
And yes — they’re rare.
)Quests, Confusion & Rage
There’s also the quest to gather items to form the Rainbow Bridge, which leads to the endgame.
Sounds simple… IF YOU’RE A GENIE.
When you reach Cantlin, an old wizard gives you coordinates like “70 south, 40 east”.
Sounds clear, right?
WRONG.
After rescuing the princess (Princess Gwaelin), she gives you an item that shows coordinates — BUT THEY’RE REVERSED.
So there I was, walking in the exact opposite direction like an idiot, until I rage-quit and went to play Mario Kart 64…
Which caused another rage-quit.
Why do I only play rage games?
Sorry. Lost my composure again.
The Princess & Ending
You rescue the princess from a cave guarded by a green dragon.
I only beat him at level 14, but better players can do it earlier.
After that, you can:
- Bring her back to the castle like a proper hero
- Or… you know… do whatever with her
I chose the “good idiot hero” route.
In the end, after all the exploration and grinding, you return to where it all began.
The King asks you to rule the kingdom.
You refuse.
The princess leaves with you.
And honestly,
That felt beautiful.
A literal QUEST.
Final Thoughts
This is my first review ever, so yeah — there’s room to improve.
But I’ve been thinking about this review since I announced I was going to play the game, so it really means something to me.
For a 1986 game, Dragon Quest I holds up surprisingly well.
Final Score: 8/10
If you read this far — thank you.
I’ll probably review every game in the franchise…
Just not right now.
I’m tired of seeing that DAMN MAGICIAN.:
:hellmo
EXTRA:
Well… even though I had already finished the review, I completely forgot to talk about the game’s art.
Wow.
The sprites really remind me of Akira Toriyama’s art style — at least I could clearly see it, even with all those 8 bits :P
Especially the Green Dragon, that one really stood out to me.
I’d love to include more images and GIFs in this review, but unfortunately I already hit the posting limit :,v
Big hugs to everyone, and I’ll be posting a Dragon Quest II review soon — bigger and better.
MUAHAHAHA
Pros
- + Great starting point for the franchise, especially considering it’s a 1986 game.
- + Large world for an 8-bit title, giving a strong sense of freedom early on.
- + Early freedom to explore the map (even if not fully open).
- + Sprites and enemy designs clearly inspired by Akira Toriyama, giving the game a strong identity.
- + Simple but satisfying and symbolic ending.
- + Strong feeling of completing a true “quest” by returning to the castle at the end.
- + Straightforward mechanics that are easy to understand.
- + A solid introduction to classic RPG fundamentals.
Cons
- - Progression relies too much on farming gold and experience.
- - Can be frustrating at times, especially for less patient players.
- - Combat lacks depth, often boiling down to an “attack → heal” loop, even in the final boss.
- - Very frequent random encounters, making enemies feel annoying rather than challenging
8
Gameplay
The gameplay is extremely simple, exploration is the strongest point, with a surprisingly large world for an 8-bit game, but frequent random encounters and heavy grinding can slow the pace.
7
Graphics
The graphics are very simple, even by NES standards, but the sprites clearly reflect Akira Toriyama’s art style, giving the game a strong visual identity despite its limitations.
5
Story
The story is as simple as it gets: save the princess, defeat the evil, and be free XD.
There’s no deep narrative here, but it works well as a classic quest that lets the adventure speak for itself.
7
Sound
The game has only a handful of tracks (around 8), but the title screen theme is by far the most memorable and iconic.
8
Replayability
Play at your own risk — it can be quite challenging for beginners (like me).
8
out of 10
Overall
Overall, this is a game you can play in an afternoon — have fun, laugh, get angry, and then keep it in your heart.
After a few months… if you feel like it, you might even play it again.
I’d totally replay it someday.
Just not today.
