Play Dragon Warrior III Online

Summary

Dragon Warrior III’s Game Boy Color remake feels like a love letter to the original while packing a serious hardware punch – a 32 Mb ROM and 256 Kb of SRAM made it one of the largest GBC cartridges, and the new translation even earned a Teen rating for its adult touches. The core turn‑based combat and experience‑based leveling stay true to the series, but the handheld version adds a day/night cycle, a bag for item storage, quick‑sorting commands ("Tidy Item" and "Tidy Bag"), and a "Full HP" spell that automatically heals the party.

Recruiting works at a local tavern, and you can swap any of the four party members in and out at will. Classes expand beyond the original roster: the Soldier becomes a Warrior, a brand‑new Thief appears, and the Goof‑Off is renamed Jester, all of which can be reshaped at the temple of Dhama once a character hits Level 20 – a process that halves stats, resets level, but preserves spells and personality traits.

Personality now matters; five magical seeds chosen at creation tweak starting abilities, and each character’s growth is colored by a trait that can be nudged with accessories or permanently altered via special books. The GBC version also sprinkles in board‑game‑style mini‑games, hidden Mini Medals, and a Monster Medal system that lets you trade enemy trophies over a Link Cable. After the main quest, two bonus dungeons unlock, and the visuals receive a fresh coat of color, animated monster attacks, and an overhauled intro featuring Ortega’s clash with the Dragon Queen.

Storyline

Dragon Warrior III begins in Aliahan, a medieval castle town of knights and magicians. Its world map mirrors Earth, with Romaly for Rome, Portoga for Portugal, Assaram near Iraq, Jipang for Japan, and a New Town echoing early America. The hero, Ortega’s child, is summoned at sixteen to stop the fiend Baramos.

The party can recruit up to three allies and must gather the last two of three magical keys that open doors. Early missions include rescuing two townspeople in Baharata from Kandar and retrieving Romaly’s crown. After trading Black Pepper for a ship at Portoga, the hero secures the Final Key and six orbs that revive Ramia, which carries them to Baramos’s mountain castle for the final battle.

Baramos’s defeat awakens his master Zoma, who shatters Aliahan and opens a portal to the Dark World—revealed as Alefgard, the setting of the original Dragon Quest. In Alefgard the hero collects the Sun Stone and Rain Staff, rescues the sage Rubiss, and obtains the Sacred Amulet, forging a Rainbow Bridge to Zoma’s fortress. After a brief reunion, Ortega falls, and the hero defeats a revived Baramos that mutates into Baramos Bomus and Baramos Gonus.

Empowered by the Dragon Queen’s Ball of Light, the hero slays Zoma and earns the title Erdrick (Loto). The HD‑2D remake’s post‑credit scene reveals the High Priest as Hargon.