Coupling this with a desire to play through the remake versions, and a desire also to try the game with the challenge quests I conceived while playing through challenge quests on Dragon Quest I, I decided that the time was ripe for an interesting undertaking. I committed to it last week, and have already made some headway. I am replaying, effectively all at once, all five versions of the game that I own, comparing items, monsters, etc. in each as I go. These are the original Famicom version, the NES version which I grew up on (these first two are essentially the same version in a different language, though the NES has a battery save), the Super Famicom version, the Game Boy Color version, and the Android version (these last two are based on the Super Famicom version and are very similar in content).
The remakes are more similar to the original than the remakes of Dragon Quest I were to it, as far as I've seen. But some of the mechanics are still different, such as different character stats, and the dialog has been changed in some cases (mostly added to, it seems--unlike Dragon Quest I most of the original version dialog still seems to be there, delivered by the same characters, but it has been expanded upon in many cases). I had played through half of the Game Boy Color version about 4 years ago while Savannah was a newborn in the hospital, but I lost my game file before I could complete it. Since then I have acquired both the Super Famicom and Android versions.
On the Famicom and NES versions I am doing my two challenge quests. On the Famicom, I'm doing a solo challenge. The idea here is to complete the game without the help of any allies. Although you can't get through the game without recruiting your two allies, I will let them die and not revive them and play through with just the Prince of Lorasia/Midenhall. I know the game can be complete this way because I read the account of someone on Gamefaqs.com who did it.
On the NES I'm going to try a minimalist challenge, where I attempt to complete the game without the use of equipment or items, beyond what is necessary for completing the game. This encompasses what they sometimes call a "naked" challenge, but it a little more involved. I did this on Dragon Quest I and want to try it here. I don't know if this challenge is possible, but I'm resolved to try. My gut feel is that it can be done,but it's possible it may require a good bit of luck.
The remake playthroughs will all be normal playthroughs. Since the three versions are very similar to each other, it will be a bit repetitive, but it will be interesting to compare the localization to each other.
I created an outline on my Google Drive of the game, dividing it up into each of the major events and sub-tasks required to complete it. For each "chapter", I am playing each of the five versions in turn.
I've already made some progress. On each of the versions, I have completed the Hero's Spring/Spring of Bravery and (excepting the Famicom) have recruited the Prince of Samarutoria/Cannock.
By far the most time consuming of these has been the minimal challenge. Without equipment it took some time to grind to a level high enough to feel confident in making it to the Spring and back. I was at either level 8 or 9, whichever one is just after 1000 experience. Even so, I ran from nearly every battle I could and still didn't make it on the first try due to getting poisoned. But with the new prince's help, I should be able to keep up better in the future on that one.
I just obtained the silver key on the solo challenge. I decided to hold off recruiting the other prince on that file until after getting the key, so that I can enjoy non-red dialog boxes for just a bit longer. My plan is to use some holy water and walk to the swamp to drain his HP, so as not to claim that killing him in battle protected my other character for that battle. Up till just before going for the silver key, the solo challenge has not been different from a normal playthrough. But I'll surely start to see the difference from here on out. It should be interesting.
Here's an interesting note on the journey to find the Prince of Samarutoria/Cannock. The NES version actually wrote out two different clues for finding him, and then appears to have mistranslated some dialog in a way that completely misleads the player. After visiting the Spring, the king of Midenhall tells the hero, paradoxically, that the other prince just left for Midenhall, leaving the player to wonder how he could leave Midenhall in order to go to Midenhall. The Japanese dialog says that when the other prince heard you had already departed for Samurutoria (Cannock) he left to follow you, implying that he was heading back to his home.
If you go to Samurutoria/Cannock in the Japanese version, the king there tells you that his son has not arrived there yet. This line of dialog is completely written out of the NES version, but it implies that you passed the other prince somewhere on the way between castles. The other line of dialog that was changed for the NES version is from the other prince's sister. In Japanese she says that he is someone who is prone to stopping along the wayside on long journeys--in the NES it was changed to say he'd gone to the Spring of Bravery.
It's not exactly difficult to find the other Prince regardless of these changes, but it's still very interesting to note. All three of these exchanges are preserved almost exactly in the Super Famicom remake, and they appear in the American Game Boy Color and Android versions. The remake versions also add a hint in Lorasia/Midenhall, where the person who offers directions to Ririza/Leftwynn mentions that it is a place where people stop to rest while travelling between the two castles--this part of the dialog is not in the original Famicom or NES versions.
Anyways, I plan to write about my progress here in this blog. I'm sure somewhere there's some old-school Dragon Quest fan that will be interested in reading it.
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