Jeremy Parish checks out Dragon Warrior in NES Works 133

Summer 1989. What a fun, sexy time for NES, huh?

With games like Mega Man 2, TMNT, and DuckTales, the system had no shortage of crowd-pleasers destined to become lifetime favorites for impressionable youngsters during this lively period. And then you had perhaps the biggest summer ’89 release of all… though that’s more on the Japanese side of things. You know, in Japan, where the game actually shipped in spring ’86.

Yes, Dragon Warrior. Or Dragon Quest if you prefer. Yet another 1989 RPG localization for NES that demonstrates the fact that timing truly is everything. This one goes down in the same category as Hydlide and Ultima Exodus… except even more so! This episode explores why Dragon Warrior had such a profound impact in Japan and so little impact here, as well as Nintendo’s dogged efforts to make it a big deal.