The Dragon Quest series is a pioneering series of Role-Playing Games that was initially developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in Japan. This series was responsible for setting the standard for Japanese Role-Playing Games for decades to come.
Tag Archives: NES/Famicom
Dragon Warrior IV, NES
Dragon Warrior IV is the localised American version of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. It’s an RPG, developed by Chunsoft and initially published by Enix in 1990 in Japan (and 1992 in North America).
Dragon Warrior III, NES
Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation was developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in Japan in 1988. It was translated into English and released as Dragon Warrior III in North America in 1992, some four years later.
Dragon Warrior II, NES
Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line was developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in Japan in 1987. The localised English version of this game was released as Dragon Warrior II in North America in 1990.
Bubble Bobble, NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System conversion of Bubble Bobble features beautiful graphics, with some colour changes to the original, but in general it is a very authentic port of the classic Taito arcade game.
Snake’s Revenge, NES
Snake’s Revenge is a sequel to Metal Gear that was developed specifically for the North American and European NES markets by Konami and Ultra Games. It first came out in North America in 1990, and in Europe in 1992. Why there was a two-year gap between those releases is anyone’s guess.
Hideo Koijima wasn’t involved in the making of Snake’s Revenge and it is considered ‘non-canonical’, but he did make Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX in response to it. I’m guessing that he wasn’t particularly enamoured with the idea of another team working on his signature series, but ultimately he (rather diplomatically) says that Snake’s Revenge is “not a bad game“.
Metal Gear, NES
This reworked Nintendo Entertainment System port of the MSX version of Metal Gear first came out in 1987 (1988 in North America), just three months after the original. While it’s considered (rightly) to be inferior to the original MSX version it was a major hit and went on to sell over a million units in the United States alone.
Gargoyle’s Quest II, NES
The sequel to the intriguing Game Boy game, Gargoyle’s Quest, was first released on the Nintendo Famicom in 1992 by Capcom. It is another spin-off from the successful Ghosts ‘N Goblins series.
Again, you play as Firebrand – the winged demon from Ghosts ‘N Goblins (and Ghouls ‘N Ghosts) – and again it features platforming action, with an interesting ‘fly-and-float’ mechanic.
Toki, NES
Toki is a conversion of the 1989 arcade game by Tad Corporation and it features a jumping ape who can spit bullets at his enemies. It’s a platform game with relatively short levels and occasional boss fights, and it is known for its rock-hard difficulty.
Ghostbusters, NES/Famicom
The Nintendo Entertainment System version of David Crane‘s Ghostbusters is known for being a bit of a mess, compared to all the other versions.
It was initially released in Japan in 1986 and later in North America in 1988. Why the two year delay? Probably something to do with the fact that the game is terrible…
The King of Grabs 