Wataru could barely contain his excitement as he finally popped open the box for ZAGE's latest ZEPS release, Dragon Quest 2. Ever since he got it on Saturday, he'd been itching to play—but his mom had grounded him due to the math test scheduled on Tuesday. She'd caught wind of his slipping grades and confiscated his ZEPS controller. Wataru could only whimper in despair, forced to study equations and formulas all weekend. But what his mom didn't know was that he still had his trusty ZGB hidden in his drawer, and late at night, he secretly trained his Pokemon under the covers, sound off and volume muted.
Still, as much as he enjoyed Pokemon, Dragon Quest was his true love. Nothing beat the thrill of a full-scale JRPG, with its world-spanning adventure, countless quests, strategic battles, and party-based combat. He remembered every beat of the first Dragon Quest and had spent countless hours replaying it. Now, the sequel was finally in his hands.
He carefully opened the box and pulled out the cartridge, then noticed the iconic Zabo-man card tucked inside. It read, "Find my token then I will bless you."
Wataru raised an eyebrow. "Find my token? Huh. Let's see what that's about later," he muttered, already slotting in the cartridge and pressing power.
The screen lit up with the classic 8-bit orchestral opening. It opened in the Kingdom of Aliahan. The great tune hit him instantly, and his excitement soared.
He was prompted to name his main character, the Hero. Without hesitation, he typed: Wataru.
The game began with Wataru standing alone in a castle chamber, equipped with nothing but a simple sword, cloth armor, and 50 gold. After chatting with NPCs and taking notes of cryptic lines and directions in his notebook, he stumbled into something new—the ability to create his own party!
"Whoa, I can register more party members? And choose their classes? Like Final Fantasy?"
His eyes sparkled. He named his first party member to be Male and named him Gako,. The game showed a list of classes:
Warrior
Martial Artist
Cleric
Wizard
Merchant
Jester
Thief
Each class came with descriptions and growth potential. Wataru leaned forward, fascinated.
"Merchant can't do much damage, but he gets extra gold from battles and they can appraise hidden item?. That's my guy!"
He selected Merchant for Gako.
Next what he create was Lily, a female Cleric. Every party needed a healer, and she seemed perfect for the role.
Then came Sayana, a female Warrior. Heavy-hitting and tanky. His party was ready.
The next one hours flew by as he wandered around the outskirts of Aliahan, grinding against slimes, Drackies, Ghost Mice, and Mad Peacocks. The battle system was turn-based but rich with decision-making. Every level-up brought a sense of accomplishment. Each upgrade—from cloth armor to chainmail—was earned with sweat and wataru ensure his party atleast have proper gear.
At the town shop, he spotted a powerful weapon: the Darken Sword. It cost a whopping 350 gold, and early monsters only dropped 3–5 gold.
"With Gako's bonus, that's maybe 6–7 gold per fight. Time to grind, baby!"
He fought and fought, watching the numbers crawl upward. Every encounter brought him closer to the prize. After an hour of non-stop battles, he finally hit the target and bought the Darken Sword. Gako celebrated with a little dance in Wataru's imagination. Then Wataru equipped the Darken Sword to his Hero character, watching as the gleaming blade icon appeared on the screen. He felt a surge of satisfaction. "Finally, my hero looks like a real hero," he whispered with pride, imagining his pixelated self holding the mighty sword aloft like a legendary knight.
He pressed onward to the Kingdom of Romaly. The king there gave him a quest: retrieve the stolen royal crown, which had been taken by a thief to the Najima Tower in the desert.
The dungeon trek was perilous—snakes that poisoned, skeletons that hit hard, and wizards who cast sleep spells. But Wataru's party held strong. Cleric Lily's Heal kept them alive, and Sayana with her tankiness and taunt skills protected the weaker party member well Gako The Merchant which is clearly useless in combat. Eventually, they reached the top of Najima Tower and faced the mini-boss: The Crown Robber.
The battle was fierce, and the Crown Robber, a cunning Thief-class enemy, showed exactly why his title was well-earned. Midway through the fight, he used a skill called "Sneaky Swipe," targeting Wataru's item inventory—and to Wataru's horror, he successfully stole his rare High All Mana Potion! This item was a reward from a prior quest and could restore the entire party's mana, something invaluable in prolonged dungeon fights.
"What!? No way! That's not fair!" Wataru shouted, gripping his controller. He'd been saving that potion for an emergency boss battle, and now it was gone. But there was no time to dwell on the loss—the Crown Robber followed up with a Smoke Bomb, trying to lower the party's accuracy. Wataru refocused, commanding Lily to use Heal, Sayana to tank the incoming damage, and his Hero to unleash a flurry of sword strikes.
After a tense, drawn-out battle full of status effects, last-minute heals, and clutch dodges, the party finally triumphed. The Crown Robber was defeated, but the stolen potion was lost for good. Still, the victory was sweet, and Wataru let out a long breath of relief. "Man... that was rough, but we pulled through."
The rewards?
The stolen Romaly Crown.
Another Darken Sword.
Wataru stared at the screen, his jaw dropped.
"WHAT?! I could've just waited and gotten it here?!" he wailed.
Reality hit hard. He'd wasted over an hour grinding for something he would've gotten anyway. He sighed. "Lesson learned... patience matters in Dragon Quest."
Still, it wasn't a complete waste. He equipped the second Darken Sword to Sayana, making her damage output ridiculous. It was satisfying to see her have high damage output and kill enemies with style.
He returned the crown to the king of Romaly. In gratitude, the king offered the throne.
"Do you wish to become the King of Romaly?"
Wataru paused, considering.
Then he grinned. "Nah, I'm an adventurer, not a politician."
He selected "No."
The king nodded and let him continue his journey. Now his next destination was eastward, toward a region plagued by mysterious disappearances.
He saved his game, stood up, and stretched. The sky outside had darkened.
"Man... this game is a masterpiece. And I'm only getting started," he said aloud to himself.
Little did he know, Dragon Quest 2 had multiple kingdoms, dozens of side quests, rare weapons, secret classes, and powerful optional bosses waiting for him. He hadn't even scratched the surface.
But one thing was certain—Wataru was hooked.
To be continued...
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