Dragon Warrior III
From Enix America Corp.

wow simply amazing
This stands as one of the two best RPGs of NES. Interesting story line which plays out throughout the game, as you are a boy hearing tales of your father being killed in a fierce battle with a dragon atop of a volcano. Then one day ofcourse you gather three of your friends (each can be modified with abilities and several other things) to go find out the truth for yourself. Along the way there are several adventures battling monsters, kings, dragons, yourselves and other things across a massive land full of secrets, towns, castles and towers. Another nice feature is that the game takes you back to the original world of Dragon Warrior, so there is a whole other game in itself within the game. This game is also available on Gameboy Color.

One of the 3 best RPGs on the NES
Disclaimer: This review is for the NES version of Dragon Warrior III, not the remake of it available for the Game Boy Advance or Japanese Super Famicom.

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Dragon Warrior III is arguably the strongest of the four games released on the NES. It has two detailed worlds to explore; multiple sidequests; an army of distinct playable classes; and an array of dungeons, towers, caves, and castles to explore. Several new features are also introduced, including the ability to create hybrid classes by using a class change; the ability to fly (and not just sail); unique magic spells allowing you to transform into other characters, ironize so you can see new enemies' attack patterns, and instant death spells; and a vault where you can deposit your hard-earned cash and items for safekeeping.

The game's controls are greatly improved over those of its predecessors. The key system was improved so that each new key opens all doors that previous keys could open (thus making it unnecessary to hold 3 or 4 different keys that could only open one type of door). The Return spell was also greatly improved, thus allowing you to travel around the world far more easily. Navigating the menus is also a bit easier.

Dragon Warrior III is a long quest. The different classes you can select greatly increase its replay value and affect the game's difficulty. The class change feature, available to all characters (except the hero) after level 20, allows you to customize your team even further. For example, you could create soldiers that know how to heal or a pilgrim/white mage that can use black magic. Different team configurations call for different strategies regarding fighting bosses and getting through dungeons--all things that increase Dragon Warrior III's replay value.

Another clever innovation was the introduction of the passage of time. Enemies are more active and more deadly during the nighttime. Sometimes a town may take on a different persona at night. And other times, nighttime is the only time when you can gather some important clues. The day/night component of this game only makes the exploring aspect of it more fun.

However, like all games, Dragon Warrior III has a few demerits. For one, the beginning of the game starts off a bit too slowly because the weapons and armor you need to buy to survive are very expensive, considering how much gold you win from the enemies after each battle. So this will require a bit of time-consuming leveling up or betting at the fighting ring (another innovation), particularly when you reach Romaly, Kanave, and Isis.

Another weakness is its graphics. While Dragon Quest historically is not known for graphical brilliance, the graphics in this game are almost completely unchanged from its first two games. This game was released at about the same time as Final Fantasy 1 (or maybe even a year later), but its tile-based graphics are much poorer. The dungeons also look repetitious (green walls with gray floors, or brown walls with dark brown floors).

Also, the music score in this game is generally uninspiring. There are a few catchy tunes and a nice remake of the original Dragon Warrior music, but for the most part, the sound is disappointing. You may have more fun if you just put the game's sound on mute and listen to your favorite CD while you play instead.

As for the game's difficulty, it really depends on what kinds of warriors you chose and how you developed them. A team with only one magic-user will probably struggle just as much as a team with three magic users. There's even a goofoff class that, well, goofs off during battle. The game's overall difficulty is a bit easier than in Dragon Warrior II, but it is still more difficult than average. The bosses are plentiful, and some of them will give you a real headache. Some enemies can attack you twice, while others can inflict a variety of status-changing ailments. Others are just downright deadly (Evil Mages and Salamanders, for example). So you have to stay alert. The game's difficulty also ramps up considerably once you reach Samanao (2/3 of the way through the game). You will likely spend lots of time leveling up just to keep pace with the enemies you will face towards the end of the game.

All in all, Dragon Warrior III is a very solid game. Most of its weaknesses are technical and aesthetic. However, the storyline itself is very good and its execution is crisp. Again, Dragon Warrior III is a long game filled with places to explore. It has also aged quite well throughout the years and is an essential part of any NES RPG library. This game is probably very difficult to find, so expect to pay a high price for it. It's not that the game is super rare, but rather that the people who bought it don't want to sell it (and rightfully so, as it's a very good game). Having said that, unless you are insistent on playing the NES version of this game, you would be better off buying the enhanced remake of it for the Game Boy Advance or the Super Famicom (if you can read Japanese) instead. Only serious collectors would probably be interested in paying lots of money for the NES version of this game, as the remakes would give the casual gamer far more for your money.

Dragon Warrior III
The gameplay itself is outstanding. I was very impressed with the second, being that it was so much larger than it's original, and when I played the 3rd I was greatly impressed. This game (being of course based on the NES version and therefore 8 bit style) surpasses some of the newer games on the market today. The storyline is decent, not too complicated, and the characters do not seem to really interact with their surroundings, but the puzzles and the dungeons and overall the entire game will take several hours to complete. However, near the end, one of the things that turned me off was the constant barage of attacks, one after another, without letup. That alone can make a person frustrated, especially when time is of value. Other than that one flaw, I loved it.