Dragon Warrior Monsters
Game Boy ColorJanuary 25, 2000
After your sister is very dramatically stolen away by a monster named "Warabou," a palette-swap version named "Watabou" enters the scene in dismay and implores the protagonist to follow him into the dresser. As you enter this Kingdom of Great Log you are escorted by a kindly wizard to the top of a great tree to meet the King. This serves as quick walk-through of the (rather unique) setting for the game.
You are prompted to choose your name (Hello, Terry!). Then, the King tells you his request: win the Starry Night Tournament. Oh, you say, but what about my sister? Well, it just so happens that the best way to get her back is to win the Tournament and be granted a wish! How convenient for us all. The King then fills you in on some basics: you can't be a master without monsters. To get monsters, you need to go to the Monster Farm on the upper level of the tree, and someone named Pulio will be happy to give you a monster once you're there.
Following a quick accusation of attempted robbery, Pulio shows us how to "Pick Up" a monster from the Farm. ("Whadayagonnado?" he asks.) We're given the unreasonably adorable "Slib," a normal old Slime monster. Shortly thereafter, the King discovers that Pulio has accidentally released all the other monsters, including the King's prized "Hale." It's here that you are given access to the Traveler's Gate, a sort of rogue-lite world in which to catch monsters.
Interestlingly, the primary tutorializing about the rogue-lite portion of the world and its controls comes through a Jester which you absolutely do not have to talk to. The Jester introduces you to the other world, how to navigate it, and how to pull up a map using SELECT.
And that's pretty much it! You are thrust into the warp gate and given no instructions. The monster-catching mechanics are not explained, and it's clearly assumed that you can intuit the battle system. For better or worse, just a few minutes into your adventure and you're already well into the primary gameplay loop.There is some light guidance after successfully bringing back Hale the HealSlime with regards to the arena on a lower level of the Tree, but it's a wonderfully short introduction to the game and while it's a bit obtuse if you don't have RPG experience it is certainly expedient. And there's something to be said for expedience.