Despite my seemingly low ratings, I am actually very satisfied with this game, and would say "it's the way pokemon should have been".

I have yet to finish the game, but I probably will. I really do like to finish a game before I review it. But I'm busy doing other things, and would like to experience a lot of the other games on Vizzed. But my experience would pretty much remain unchanged I imagine.

Graphics: 7.
The graphics are very primitive. This game was released during a time pokemon gold was coming out. I know gamefreak has a higher budget, but this is definitely laziness on the part of the developers. The good news is, that as blotchy as it is... you can still tell one monster, from the next. That's the main thing. The monsters are unique and colorful enough, that the backward detail can be tolerated.


Sound: 6.
The music is good, but overly repetitive. It definitely has that old school music to it. And for some gamers that might be refreshing, but it would be nice if it mixed it up a little.


Addictiveness: 6.
The fact is, I was able to put it down and forget about it. But if you want a monster collecting game that isn't pokemon, this is a wonderful alternative. This game has 200 monsters, and the sequels probably have more. However, catching them works entirely differently. So it's debatable whether or not you're actually getting more out of it. But at least you don't have to wait to beat the elite four to get the rest. Which defeats the whole purpose.


Story: 2.
I don't games to have riveting stories. But at least B movie level, and this really isn't even that. You are a boy... your sister says not to stay up, as children who don't go to bed when they're supposed to get kidnapped by monsters. (What sort of abusive parents taught them that crap?!) Only to find out in an ironic twist, that whilst staying up... a monster was after your goody two shoes sister instead of you. And kidnaps her. So you enter the monster world, and the king likes you, because you can speak monster kind of like the way Harry Potter can serpents. And decides that alone makes you eligible for his representative in the tournament. 

His kingdom is joke anyway from the way the other npc kings act toward him, so I'm not surprised. So rather then battling to "be the best", you are battling for the honor of your kingdom, and the winner of the tournament gets their wish granted. And rather then wish for something cool, like immortality, absolute power, or an infinite harem of horny teens... you're going to go and wish for your sister back. Because you're a gushy, goody, goody, gumdrop just like she is.

It's by no means a good story. But at least it's consistent. In comparison to pokemon, it still is lower. Pokemon might have a story all over the place with being the ubermensch of pokemon trainers, but there's a lot of stuff going on with pokemon terrorist groups, and the legendaries have a lot of interesting fluff behind them. Dragon Warrior doesn't have that.


Depth: 2.
The game is pretty straight forward. In all honesty, it will start to drain on your interest just unlocking new portals, and doing more of the same, to score enough levels to feel confident against the next monster trainer. I like the fact that there's no pressure, and that finding the waypoints back to the castle from the uncharted territory you entered is relatively easy... but they could have expanded upon the terrain. More possibilities to venture out into. 


Difficulty: 2.
The controls are definitely a lot to be desired, but the game is easy enough to where it won't make a difference. Unlike pokemon, you don't have to spend all day grooming a low level monster. You can add a newbie, and he will grow on his own while the rest of your team picks up the slack in battles. Seeing as all the monsters fight at the same time. He might lag behind level wise... but it's far less of a drudgery.

Make no mistake, sometimes a boss "will" kick your ass. But usually no more then once. As well, you really don't lose out for "dying". Unlike pokemon where you lose money. Dragon Warrior does not put anything on the line other then you have to retrace your steps. Which just means you'll be stronger by the time you get there again. Coming across more herbs and gold to collect, and use at shops.

Some might say it's more difficult because you have to worry about your monsters not liking you. But it's fairly easy to keep them pleased. Feed them. How difficult is that? If you don't come across enough food, shops sell them. Mind you it's easier to find items then buy them, as you teleport into shops, don't wander around for them. But in general, you can keep on a monster's good side, far easier then in pokemon where you have to boost their confidence with victories, give them desirable berries or items, and other variables in some abstract math equasion.


Overall: 8.9.
It's got it's problems. Get's stale, a bit boring... but I really think the designers thought this through of making it worth your while and not making the monsters too cheap. The game is really giving. At first I thought it was going to be really tough without a pokemon center. But you will have more herbs then you know what to do with. And whilst wild monsters are not as good as bred, if you just take a little time with them, you'll hardly notice. Perhaps the best thing about Dragon Warrior, is that you never have to worry about pokeballs, or those aggravating times where no amount of pokeball throwing seems to work. In this game, if the monster respects you, it will offer to join your team. Which feels much more like what pokemon was supposedly aiming for. Mini-bosses will always want to join your side, or at least in my experience they did. I have not given any thought to breeding, as I don't feel like contemplating all the variables, but breeding can get you some really powerful allies. In pokemon, breeding has only just begun to get worth a damn. Teaching pokemon new moves and such. But in Dragon Warrior, the most powerful monsters are the result of breeding certain ones, and then you tap into that inner power.

In general... it's a very different experience then pokemon, and by different, I mean way better. This game reminds me a lot of Blue Dragon both in attitude, and playability. I bring up pokemon a lot, because this "is" a game about collecting and battling monsters, as well as I intentionally played this game to see if something could be pokemon, without being as game breaking and aggravating. And something did indeed could be!

It's better then I thought was going to be, and if nothing else... proves I'm not just a negative Nancy, and capable of giving a positive review for a game.

A friend of mine one got really addicted to this game and told me a lot about it. I agree with your statement about this game being what Pokémon games are supposed to be like
That's a good review about a good game. It really made me wanna play it  ... maybe I'll do so, if I find some time for it.