Backlog Game Reviews 53 : Dragon Quest II on the MSX

 

Hey there, and welcome to Backlog Game Reviews. Today we’re taking another look at Dragon Quest II. I've already reviewed the Game Boy Color and Famicom versions of this game. If you're interested in those versions you can check out the Game Boy Color review here, and the Famicom review here. Because this is my third time reviewing this game this going to be a pretty short review. This review is going to focuse on the MSX version. It was released only in Japan on January 26th, 1987.

 The battle screen.

 

This version is the same game as the Famicom version so, there isn't much to say about it. No changes gameplay-wise were made. The only difference between the two versions is that the MSX version doesn't perform as well as the Famicom. The music quality isn't terrible, but it’s not as good as the Famicom. The only other difference is that the MSX version is kind of choppy. The MSX is very bad at scrolling, so walking around is slow-paced and can be a little annoying to look at.

 Walking around a town. You can see here how bad the MSX is at scrolling.

 

There's no reason to play this version over the Famicom version. The Famicom has better sound quality and smoother scrolling, making it a much better experience. It’s an interesting port but not worth playing when much better versions of this game exist.

That’s all I got to say about Dragon Quest II on the MSX. It’s cool that Enix ported the game over to home computers but disappointing that they didn’t do anything to make this version stand out more from the Famicom version. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again here at Backlog Game Reviews!