Dragon Warrior III

Pros • Lots of unique spells and items • A world that makes the GBC truly bigger on the inside than on the outside • Reasonably interesting side-tracks to keep the game fresh	Cons • A bit heavy on stats and en-route random battles • Definitely for the "core," as the saying goes
Bottom Line A worthy, engrossing world in any case, but definitely more geared toward RPG die-hards. It's a truism, and kind of a shame, that the people who hold videogames in general--and Game Boy games in particular--in the most derision won't ever have the patience (opportunity) to experience something like Dragon Warrior III. It definitely has some flaws, but games of the Dragon Warrior (or, to a different degree, Zelda) ilk somehow manage to cram an entire little world into that dinky unit. Problem is, if you can't immerse yourself through patience, you won't ever Get It. Oh well--more for the rest of us, I guess.

In a very familiar micro-naut, top-down format, DWIII continues the Loto Trilogy from Dragon Warriors I and II; players take the role of a hero whose father, Ortega, struck out to destroy the Demon-Lord Baramos but was apparently struck down himself. Now it's up to you, sir or madam, to set out from the realm of Aliahan and take up where your fallen father's quest left off. To this end, your Hero can choose a band of three random or made-to-order compatriots chosen from a respectable eight classes--warriors, fighters, mages, clerics, thieves, dealers, sages and even...jesters. No one party configuration is ideal (certainly, schlepping around a party of jesters, who can and will ignore your orders, probably isn't the most prudent option), and a large part of the game at any given time is choosing your friends (or regretting said choices in mid-battle). As you might expect from an RPG, it's all about the "level-up," molding and sculpting your band from wet newbies to seasoned pros. Where are your priorities? Sages can ultimately cast every spell, but sages aren't born--they're made, slowly and painfully; dealers, close to Heroes at the beginning of the game, can "appraise" unknown items on the road; thieves, while seemingly unsavory company, have the downright handy habit of pilfering goods from monsters in battles, which happen a lot...perhaps more than you might wish.

Despite its dinky stature, DWIII is a full-blown, hard-core, old-school RPG at its tiny heart, so many of the accepted conventions apply: The turn-based, stat-heavy, and random-encounter conflict is key among these, and in fact gets a little maddening at times: if you're en route from Point A to Point B, you are GOING to get attacked, day or night, and the best that you can do is prepare and stock up on healing herbs, weapons and the oft-invaluable WarpWing (which, if employed outdoors, allows the entire party to beat a hasty retreat to a recently-visited citadel or other stronghold). Actual combat is standard RPG fare, with alternating rounds of strikes based partly upon the order in which your party is determined to march. While the battle screen per se is rather dull--stats and enemy creatures sans background--said enemy creatures actually animate with surprising fluidity.

Serious, pro RPG monster-hunters may balk at the fact that their heroes cannot specifically target individual enemies in cases where more than one of a type exist, but that's where a fluency in the languages of magic and items comes into play--spells often have a devestating shotgun effect, provided you commit to memory the quirks and vulnerabilities of different enemies (why focus attacks on a type of monster reknowned for running away when the chips are down?). As with any game with round-based combat and ever-advancing characters, DWIII will occasionally offer you combats where the only action required of you is the relentless tapping of the Attack button if all you're after is survival...but opportunists will find a lot of room for stat- and style-tweaking.

In addition to the exploration, combat and revelation expected from any RPG, DWIII features a few diversions, including a Pachisi mini-game, monster stadiums suitable for wagering, and--you knew this was coming, didn't you?--a monster-medallion collection scheme (via Game Link cable). Also, despite DWIII's relatively hard-core status, it's also strangely forgiving. Lose a cherished band member? There's nothing stopping you from simply hauling his/her casket around until such time as you can have him/her revived at a local place of worship (for a modest fee, of course). Game Boy-wise, you haven't truly lived until you've returned from a disastrous quest with three little coffins in tow, the coinage of your ill-gotten Adventure Booty all counted up and ready to re-animate your compatriots' worthless asses. Also, the Dragon Warrior universe allows for locating objects and texts that will instantly alter an adventurer's personality. Personality traits play such a role in the game that your first (and one of your most intriguing) tests will be an initial supernatural "appraisal" that asks your name, birth sign and gender before presenting you with a battery of questions designed to determine the very kind of person you are; it's fascinating, but remember to save before utilizing personality-altering artifacts--the effects of such are immediate (think The Necronomicon, then back it off and make it cuter, nicer and, on the whole, bigger-headed).

If you're an RPG vet, you already largely know what to expect from DWIII, and you will not be disappointed; if you're more a casual, hands-on Zelda type of adventurer, you'll need to rely quite a bit more on (the stats of) others than you've had to in the past, but you're in for a vast and entertaining world.

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