Dragon Warrior II/Gameplay

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Controls[edit]

  • Neutral dpad: Direct your character through the world, in towns, and in dungeons. When you have more than one character on the map, you only control the character in the lead. Also used to navigate and choose selections on any menu.
  • A button: Bring up the menu or accept a menu option.
  • B button: Close the menu or return to the previous menu.
  • Start button: Pause.

Windows[edit]

Condition Window[edit]

If you stand still momentarily, the Condition Window pops up on the left side of the Game Screen. In this window you will find, for each character in your party, the current conditions listed for the following:

LV Level Shows which level you have currently reached.
HP Hit Points Your HP indicates how much damage you can withstand.
MP Magic Points Shows how much MP you have with which to cast spells.

Watch your Hit Points carefully. The HP indicates how much damage you can take. The Level rises with increases in Experience.

Command Window[edit]

By pushing A button, both the Command Window and the Condition Window open up. The Command Window and its options are used to perform actions. Within the Command Window are most of the commands you will use during the game. It is here that you choose to speak to a man in a shop, open a door, search an area, or view your status.

Talk Listen to the people in castles and towns to help you learn rumors and secrets. The Talk command allows you to speak to anyone if you are facing them directly. Remember their words and use them to solve riddles.
Status If you choose Status from your Command Window, a list of available characters will appear. Select one to see a list of that character's stats and experience points, gold and equipped items, and currently known spells.
Search You won't know the contents of a treasure chest until you examine them. By choosing Search, you will be able to search inside a chest or the section of ground on which you are currently standing.
Spell The magic spells you learn throughout the game can be used when you activate the Spell command. Once selected, you must choose which player you wish to cast spells. If they are capable of magic, a list of the spells they cast will appear. Some spells can only be used in battle.
Item Choose the Item option, and select a character's name to open a window showing all the items which that particular character has on their possession. Select an item in the list to use it on a character, or an object that you are facing, including keys on doors.
Equip Choose Equip and then select a character to examine or alter which pieces of armor and weapons that character is currently utilizing. Weapons and armor will do you character no good in battle unless they are equipped.

Note: In contrast to the first Dragon Warrior, Stairs, Door and Take are removed from the Command Window. Your party will automatically use the stairs when the lead character steps on them. To open doors, you must select the correct key from one of your characters Item lists. You will automatically take the contents of a chest when you search the chest at the lead character's feet.

Battle Screen[edit]

Throughout your quest, you will encounter an enemy or groups of enemies from time to time. When monsters appear, the Battle Screen will pop up. At this point you have a couple of choices, and those choices depend on the character whose command you are currently inputting. When choosing a course of action, you should take into account your HP and the strength of the enemy.

Fight Select Fight when you want to attack the enemy with a character's currently equipped weapon. Then select one of the available groups of enemies to attack, and that character will randomly attack one of the enemies in that group.
Run Only the lead character can select Run, which requests the entire group to attempt an escape from battle. If the Prince of Midenhall is asleep or dead, the next available character in the lead will be able to choose Run in place of Parry.
Spell Only the Prince of Cannock and the Princess of Moonbrooke are able to cast spells. Spells can either help the party by healing them or protecting them, or they can be used to harm the enemies. Some spells, usually the more powerful ones, can affect more than one target at a time.
Parry Instead of attacking an opponent you may choose to put a character in a defensive stance by selecting Parry. That character will not attack the enemy in any way, but if he or she gets attacked, they will take substantially less damage than normal.
Item The final option during a battle is to use an item. When you select Item from the Battle Screen, a list of that character's current items will appear. Some pieces of equipment may be used in battle to trigger the alternate effects that they are capable of.

Status Window[edit]

The status of your Strength, Agility, and other characteristics appear when you activate the Status Screen. The numbers increase as you defeat monsters, gain experience points and raise your overall level.

The type of weapon, armor and shield that you carry will affect your Attack Power and Defense Power. The Copper Sword, for instance, will give you an Attack Power higher than the Club.

Window I: Status
Strength Your overall strength rating will increase as your level rises. This number influences your Attack Power too.
Agility Agility measures your speed. When facing a number of enemies, your agility will determine how quickly and in what order a character will get the chance to attack. It affects your Defense Power as well.
HP & Maximum HP These stats show how much health you currently have as well as the maximum amount of health you can reach. If one of your character's health is running low, the color of the text in the windows will change to orange as a warning. If one of your character's health reaches zero, they will perish and the color of the text in the windows changes to green.
MP & Maximum MP These stats show how much magic power you currently have as well as the maximum amount of magic power you can store. Only the Prince of Midenhall will never receive any Magic Points no matter how high in level he climbs.
Attack Power Attack Power determines the strength of your attack against enemies. It increases at higher levels and when you obtain better weapons.
Defense Power Defense Power is your ability to withstand the attacks of monsters. As your level rises, so too will your Defense Power, but the fastest way to increase this power is to purchase armor and shields, or to find special items like Erdrick's Armor.
Experience Points As you defeat monsters, your party will collect a certain amount of experience points for the battle. The tougher the monsters, the more experience points you will earn. However, the higher in level you are, the more experience points you need to attain the next level of power.
Window II: Equipment
Gold In addition to earning experience points, you will also collect gold from defeated enemies. You can find gold in some treasure chests as well. Gold is needed to purchase new pieces of equipment for your party. You can also sell back used equipment for a portion of their original value.
Crests In order to defeat Hargon, your party will eventually need to collect all five of the magic crests, which are distributed and well hidden throughout the world. Part of your quest will be to retrieve them. The ones that you have currently collected will be shown here.
Equipped Items The currently equipped Weapon, Armor, Shield, and Helmet that your character is wearing will show up in a window below the Crests. Only the Prince of Midenhall can wear Helmets, and only the two princes can equip Shields.
Window III: Spells
Fight A list of spells will only appear for the Prince of Cannock and the Princess of Moonbrooke. Spells are broken up into two categories; Fight and Command. Fight spells are spells which can be used in battle. These are the spells which will appear when you select the Spell command in a fight.
Command Command spells are spells that you can use anytime outside of battle, such as when you are standing in the overworld map, in a town, or exploring a dungeon. Many spells are either only Fight spells or only Command spells, but some spells like Heal will appear in both lists.