Dragon Quest II is a role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and released by Enix on the Famicom in Japan on 26 January 1987. Yuji Horii created it, Akira Toriyama drew the art, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music, and Koichi Nakamura directed and programmed it. The story is set 100 years after the original Dragon Quest.
It was the first Dragon Quest with a party: the player starts alone, recruits up to three heroes and fights several enemies at once. The Famicom version sold about 2.4 million copies by the end of its release year, and the game is known as one of the hardest in the series, especially in its late stages.
In North America it came out on the NES in September 1990 as Dragon Warrior II. Remakes followed on Super Famicom and Game Boy Color, and a digital Nintendo Switch version was released worldwide on 27 September 2019.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Dragon Warrior IIPublished by Enix's US subsidiary | NES | September 1990 | Enix | 2 |
| NA | Dragon Warrior I & II | Game Boy Color | Sep 21, 2000 | Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々Doragon Kuesuto Tsū: Akuryō no KamigamiFamicom | NES | Jan 26, 1987 | Enix | 1 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々Doragon Kuesuto Tsū: Akuryō no Kamigami | MSX | February 1988 | Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々Doragon Kuesuto Tsū: Akuryō no Kamigami | MSX2 | May 1988 | Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストI・IIRemake, combined with Dragon Quest | SNES | Dec 18, 1993 | Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストI・IIRemake, combined with Dragon Quest | Game Boy Color | Sep 23, 1999 | Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエスト25周年記念 ファミコン&スーパーファミコン ドラゴンクエストI・II・IIICollection with both the Famicom and Super Famicom versions | Wii | Sep 15, 2011 | Square Enix | 1 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々Also iOS | Android | Jun 26, 2014 | Square Enix | 2 |
| WW | Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary LineAlso iOS | Android | Oct 9, 2014 | Square Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストII 悪霊の神々Also Nintendo 3DS | PlayStation 4 | Aug 10, 2017 | Square Enix | 2 |
| WW | Dragon Quest IIDigital release | Switch | Sep 27, 2019 | Square Enix | 2 |
Also known as: Dragon Warrior II NA2Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line WW2Dragon Warrior I & II NA2Dragon Quest I & II JP2Dragon Quest II: Akuryō no Kamigami JP2
Box art by region
NA Dragon Warrior II
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
GameplayFamicom (JP)NES (NA)
The Japanese Famicom version saves with passwords, while the North American Dragon Warrior II uses a battery-backed save.2
-
CensorshipNES (NA)
The North American localization uses old-fashioned English, adds an exclusive introduction showing the fall of Moonbrooke, and replaces the coffin-and-cross sprite for fallen characters with a ghost.2
-
GameplaySuper Famicom
The Super Famicom remake fixes targeting so a character whose enemy dies attacks another one, adds a subplot about the cursed Prince of Cannock, and gives the final boss 1750 HP instead of 255 while removing his healing spell.2
Translations
-
English Official
Enix1990NES · Japanese versionReleased · complete
First English version, released in North America as Dragon Warrior II.2
-
English Official
Enix2000Game Boy Color · Game Boy Color remakeReleased · complete
English text for the Game Boy Color compilation Dragon Warrior I & II.2
-
English Official
Square Enix2014Android · Mobile versionReleased · complete
English text for the smartphone version, Luminaries of the Legendary Line; Google Play says the in-game text is English only.3
Where to play legally today
-
Google Play Purchase
Reception
The Famicom version sold 500,000 copies at launch and about 2.4 million by the end of 1987 (2.41 million by 2008), and Family Computer Magazine readers rated it 28.02 out of 30. The Super Famicom and Game Boy Color remakes together shipped over 1.92 million copies. Critics often call it the hardest game in the series.2
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.