A Unique Combination of Dragon Quest and FTL

Dream Warrior is a combination of the first Dragon Quest and FTL. It is a unique combination of a Roguelike and turn-based RPG. It isn’t a difficult game and has a lot of replay value.

The game’s story is like an alternate telling of the first Dragon Quest. When you beat the game, it is revealed that your character is the hero’s uncle. It isn’t said that it is the hero from Dragon Quest, but I like to think it is.

If you like FTL or Into the Breach, you’ll like this game. It is much shorter, but it can be a lot of fun. The game also has a ton of variety, so you can play in any way you want.

TLDR: Dream Warrior is an Awesome Roguelike RPG.

Narrative

The story is very simple. There are no side quests, dungeons to explore, and only one path to follow. This sounds like a problem, but it makes the game interesting and lets you focus on reaching your goal.

You play as a drunk, and the type of alcohol you drink determines your character class. The Demonlord will take over the world, and because you don’t have anything better to do, you set off on a quest to defeat him. Along the way, you’ll run into someone who explains the story to you.

The Expositor tells the story of how the Demonlord came into the world. You’ll also have to fight a golem before you deal with the Demonlord. You can kill the Expositor. If you kill him, you’ll get a Bloody Ring, but if you listen to his story, you’ll get the Band of Hope.

The Bloody Ring gives you a stat boost, and the Band of Hope acts like a Phoenix Down or revive item. Killing him doesn’t change the story—at least, I didn’t notice anything different.

The ending is pretty awesome. You defeat the Demonlord, but it is all a drunken dream, and you wake up to learn you’re being evicted from your home. Then you learn that, at some point, your nephew defeats the Demonlord. This made me smile and think it is an unofficial prequel to one of the Dragon Quest games.

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple and a lot of fun. You move across the map like FTL, but a much simpler version of it, and the combat is like a turn-based RPG. Most of the game mechanics should be familiar to the player if you’ve ever played a turn-based RPG.

There are seven character classes to choose from. Most of them need to be unlocked and are determined by the type of alcohol that you choose to drink:

• Beer – Warrior
• Wine – Cleric
• Baijiu – Monk
• Absinthe – Goth/Berzerker
• Whiskey – Wizard
• Grog – Drunk
• Water – I know this is in the game, but I couldn’t unlock it before I wrote this.

While traveling to the Demonlord, you’ll run into several things. These can be battles, towns, and inns. Here is a list of all of the things you’ll find:

• Inn – Stay here to recover HP and MP.
• Shop – This lumps together the Item, Weapon, and Armor shops.
• Goblin Merchant – This guy random shows up in the dialogue screen where you can buy items, weapons, or armor. These show up at random and aren’t always helpful for you.
• Lady in the Lake—This is where you throw weapons into a lake. If you throw enough, you’ll be rewarded with a weapon of your choice.
• Specter—When this shows up will grant you a choice of three things: Money, Healing, or a Blessing.
• Easy Battles
• Battles
• Difficult Battles
• A Beggar – I’ve yet to discover the purpose of this guy.
• What is this spot – These are major events in the game. You’ll have a chance to get more skills and this is also when before you fight the Demonlord.
• Expositor – This old man tells you the game’s story. If you kill him, you’ll get The Bloody Ring; if you listen to his entire story, you’ll get a Band of Hope.

This is an RPG, meaning many weapons, armor, and spells exist. You can also experiment with many abilities. Some work better than others, and I’ve found that you need to experiment to figure out what works best for you.

I think the highest level you can go to is 5. Because the game is set up like FTL, and you’re always moving towards the Demonlord, there aren’t opportunities to grind for levels. You can avoid merchants, battles, and inns. You can also opt for an easier battle at times.

I like the gameplay a lot. It is simple and reminds me of playing the first Dragon Quest. Playing this game made me want to go back and play both Dragon Quest and FTL. Like other roguelikes, Dream Warrior can be a little frustrating, but playing and learning how each class works is also fun.

Visuals

I love how the game looks. It reminds me of the first Dragon Quest, for better and worse. The map is like FTL’s map, where you have multiple paths to get to your end goal. Once you’re done with one map, you don’t have different places to go to.

Some of the graphics are lacking, especially when you’re in a battle. Spells don’t have special graphics, so they look like regular attacks. This isn’t too different from the early Dragon Quest games, so at least the developer stuck with that style.

The monsters look great. The art style is close enough to Dragon Quest to be familiar but still unique. Dragon Quest and other 8-bit RPGs inspired the game, and I love it.

I like the way the game looks. Some graphics for the spells would’ve been nice, and there are a lot of pallet swaps for the different enemies, but that reminded me of the games on the NES that I loved. The graphics are nostalgic, which improved the game for me.  

8/10. This is a short but fun RPG. You can beat the game in about 30 minutes, and there are several classes to choose from. The graphics are ;ike those of the first Dragon Quest on the NES, and the gameplay is like FTL meets a turn-based RPG.

Pros

• Easy-to-play
• Fun Story
• Lots of Replay Value

Cons

• Short
• Repetitive despite multiple classes
• Not many paths to take

Conclusion

Dream Warrior is a surprisingly fun RPG that feels like an extension of the first Dragon Quest. It is like an introduction to any of the NES Dragon Quest games. It is a fun mix of a retro turn-based RPG and a roguelike.

This game made me laugh. It has some funny moments, and it is great to see the dialogue options when talking with people. Some are normal, and others show the frustration of a drunk who either doesn’t have time for people or has no regard for those around him.

The game does an excellent job of balancing frustration with being fun. When you die, you want to try again to try and correct your mistake. Dream Warrior isn’t as long as FTL, so you only lose about 20 to 30 minutes when you lose. The game does have a funny ending if you can beat it.