Dragon Warrior II: All Characters RANKED!
This list is based on the original NES version.
The second game in the Dragon Quest franchise is often considered on the lower end of the series, being criticized for its immense difficulty. I found the game fun, and a huge step up from the first Dragon Warrior. One of the things that advanced this game above the first was the addition of two extra playable characters, allowing the player to go on their journey with three characters instead of just one. Even though there are only three characters, in this article we will dive into what makes the characters different from each other and rank them in one of the incredible six possible ways.
#3 - The Prince of Cannock
The Prince of Cannock is an attempted Jack-of-all-Trades character, but he isn’t great. The strongest piece of equipment the PoC can equip is the Iron Spear, an early-game weapon with just 20 attack. Unless you have a Falcon Sword, which is expensive and late-game, the PoC’s offensive capabilities can’t be unlocked even with his decent Strength stat. The PoC’s magical abilities are decent, as he is the only one that can learn the Heal, Revive, Return, Increase, StopSpell, FireBal, FireBane, Defeat, and Sacrifice spells. Heal is useful until you get the Princess of Moonbrooke as her HealMore is just better. The Revive spell, which one would expect to be great just isn’t because it cannot be used outside of battle, which makes it kind of bad. The Return spell can also only be learned by the Prince of Cannock, but it isn’t as useful as in the original Dragon Warrior as there are multiple locations where you can save. Defeat just isn’t very useful as they don’t work on most enemies. FireBal and FireBane are mostly just worse than the Princess’s lineup. Sacrifice is fundamentally flawed because, although it kills all enemies, regardless of difficulty, it kills the user and does not grant any experience to the party and the user is the only one with the Revive spell. Increase and StopSpell are situational utility spells that don’t need to be used very often, which in turn means they aren’t great. Overall, the Prince of Cannock isn’t horrible, he is just mediocre in every way.
#2 - The Prince of Midenhall
The Prince of Midenhall is the polar opposite of the Princess of Moonbrooke, he has amazing physical attacks but is unable to cast a single magic spell. His best weapon, the Thunder Sword, has a staggering 80 attack (excluding the cursed Sword of Destruction with 93) and he can equip Erdrick’s Armor, with 40 defense. With incredible HP, Strength, and Agility, the PoM is a powerhouse and a half, but due to his lack of arcane artes, he can’t earn the number one spot.
#1 - The Princess of Moonbrooke
The Princess of Moonbrooke is the primary magic-wielder in Dragon Warrior II, and she is much better than the Prince of Cannock in my opinion. She has great MP and decent HP, and she is the most agile character out of the three. Although her physical attacking abilities are horrid, her best weapon is the Staff of Thunder, with an incredibly low 15 attack, and her strength is less than half as good as the other characters. But the PoM’s magical capabilities far outshine her strength. The spells she can learn are HealMore, HealAll, Antidote, Repel, Outside, StepGuard, Open, Sleep, Surround, DeFence, Chance, Infernos, and Explodet. The fact that she starts with HealMore when it takes the PoC until level 14 to learn it makes her immediately the best healer in the game. HealAll restores full HP to a character for just 8 MP, which is just really good. The Princess has access to Antidote, but she learns it late and it’s better off being used by the Prince of Cannock. Repel, as in the first game, isn’t all that useful. Outside is great, as it allows you to escape a dungeon instantly without having to worry about dying. Stepguard allows you to levitate above poisonous tiles, and Open allows you to easily open doors without needing the Final Key in your inventory at all times. Sleep, Surround, and DeFence are situational utility spells that you won’t need often, but can help in a few situations. Chance does random stuff that can either be good or bad. Infernos and Explodet are offensive spells that are generally superior to the Prince of Cannock’s selection. Overall, the Princess of Moonbrooke is a great addition to the party and barely edges out the Prince of Midenhall as the best character in the game.
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