GB/C · Classic Vidya Review
Dragon Warrior II
Completed 14 Jun 2026
Cover Art
Ending Screen
- I looked back on my Dragon Warrior history to write this little review, and while I have no memory of whether this was intentional, it appears I have now played them in the chronological order of the story. 3, then 1, then 2. Overall, not a bad idea whether it was intentional or not.
- Of these first 3 games, it’s hard to pick a favorite because they’re very samey, but in a good way. Dragon Warrior is an institution: you know what you’re getting and if you like it, you’ll like all 3. (I don’t really know when they started breaking with this original formula)
- I made mention of this in the DW1 review, but the more time I spend with this particular port in this particular art style, the more I like it. These games are almost more perfect for the GBC even than they were for the NES.
- Since I have been calling this out when I see it lately, this is another one of those games whose soundtrack is so good, that songs from it get stuck in your head.
- If you like your JRPG’s to be really hard and have lots of cryptic systems that are impossible to understand and tons of opportunities for min/maxing, this game (like the rest of the trilogy) is NOT for you. It’s a chilled out run, it’s not grindy at all, and each individual character has relatively few equippable items to choose from. The only part that is a little bit annoying is that there are no obvious explanations of what some items do; you either have to talk to the right person somewhere in the overworld, or figure it out by experimentation
- For those who play this, here’s a Pro Tip I wish I had known around the end game: When you get to the snowy zone and there’s the shrine where you can always be 100% healed for free, do NOT waste your time grinding for levels in that local area. Instead, buy 2 Falcon Swords (one for each swordsman) and go straight to Hargon’s Castle. The 2nd floor has Metabble as a very common enemy, and it’s easy to get EXP here.