Dragon Quest I

https://itunes.apple.com/app/dragon-quest-i/id911201894?mt=8
2.99usd, 26mb download, universal, no gamecenter.

My Thoughts
Ahh god this brings back memories. This here everyone is the moment I became a gamer, the moment I forgot what outside was like. Back in 1986 my parents had a nintendo in the living room but that was 'dads' toy and we weren't allowed to use it unless he was in the room with us because otherwise we'd probably break his toy. I remember taking the lawn mower and mowing the lawns of anyone who would pay for an entire summer in my base housing community (im a military brat). I took my hard earned money, dad suggested I open a savings account with it. I came back home an hour later (rode my bike to the bx!) with an 8 bit nintendo and Dragon Warrior 1. And I've been addicted to rpgs ever since.

This release is a port of a remake of a port which was a port of a port of the original. Well sort of, since yes this is a port of a 5 year old mobile phone japan only release with reworded narrative, tweaked exp requirements to lessen the grind and auto save everywhere. The controls we are all familiar with, its the same as dragon quest 4 and the same as dragon quest 8 (minus the 360 degree rotation of 8). Portrait mode only, the analog stick defaults to middle of screen though it can be moved to left or right side. The game is meant to be played with 1 hand and it does that very well... on phones and pods. iPad is a two handed affair no matter your choice. Any who, there is a button near the analog stick that has your menu screen where you can view stats, equip stuff, use stuff, quick save, get hints if stuck, etc. Last button of worth is the map which is new, old nes version didn't have a damn map. Didn't have quick save either, the nes one made you return all the way back to the castle and talk to the king to save! You folks are spoiled. Hell, the original version required you to choose 'use' every time you stood on a stair icon to walk down the damn stairs! You all are soooo spoiled!

:)

Music and graphics are upgraded from the original release, they look and sound snes era.

Perfectly priced at 3 bucks, this was the original jrpg folks and it what kept it a long affair was its grind which this port has had tweaked for modern patience levels. Expect around 10 hours play time unless you chase the level cap. You can actually beat this game at half the level cap (was 36 for original).

My advice to beginners :
. Bring torches for caves.
. Crossing bridges ALWAYS means tougher opponents cometh.
. You don't start with equipment, just 120gold so get your rumph to the town east of the starting castle and buy a weapon and some armor.
. Grass is the easiest opponent terrain followed by thick grash, woods, hills, swamps.
. One of the most powerful pieces of equipment in the game is in the ruined town south west corner of the world map. Its hidden on the ground in the nook of a destroyed house laying on the ground so you can't see it. One tile before reaching its hiding spot 95% of the time a fully heavily armored monster of a boss usually spawns. Quick save before you step on boss tile, keep at it till you get lucky, hope you brought a wyvern wing to teleport back to the castle after you get this item. Worth it, it'll be the last weapon you ever need. I remember insanely making the run down there on the old nes at level 5 or so way back in the day :) (updated, this trick didn't work on any version of the game after the original nes version. You will have to fight this guard to get the treasure, bring a wyvern wing because he respawns every time you step on that square and you usually won't want to fight him twice. Bring a flute which is found elsewhere in the game, hints from talking to various npcs. Flute puts him to sleep.)
. Buy a dragon scale from the item vendor asap, free 2 armor points.
. Go back to the guard mentioned two advice up and farm him when you are able, he's worth a butt load of exp.
. If you walk out of the main castle and head west, when you hit mountains you will see a cave on the other side. In that cave are 4-5 chests, most spawn afew bits of gold but two of them have a 'chance of spawning highly valuable items. A cursed belt worth afew hundred gold and more rarely a cursed necklace worth over 1k. Whats even better is all chests in the games dungeons respawn after looted next time you enter the dungeon their in. Farm this cave for your cash needs. Do NOT equip those cursed items, they have negative effects throughout the game, can only be removed by one npc in the town next to the castle and are destroyed when removed. Better to sell these.

Also, the princess is in cave over a bridge east of the castle.

Worth every penny, welcome to my childhood :)