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'Dragon Quest' and other classics are the safety blanket of mobile gaming

'Dragon Quest' and other classics are the safety blanket of mobile gaming

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The games of our childhood have aggressively been coming to mobile in recent years, taking our hard-earned dollars all over again for a dip in the nostalgia pool. Today, one that hits particularly close to home for me has arrived on iTunes and Android: the original Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior, depending on where you played it).

For those that don't know, it's a ludicrously simple RPG — but it was my introduction to RPGs and all that goes with them. I spent countless hours exploring that world, leveling up, buying gear, cheating death with herbs, trying to track down metal slimes. Oddly enough, both of my sisters (neither of whom I'd classify as more than casual gamers) both became similarly enchanted with it, and my older sister was actually the one to beat the game first.

Carry a piece of your childhood everywhere you go

I don't know why it delights my brain so much when games like this arrive on mobile. In recent years, I've played Dragon Warrior again, both on the original NES and with an emulator. I just think there's something intensely appealing about carrying a piece of your childhood everywhere you go.

This trend goes way beyond Dragon Warrior — right now, you can get Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, X-Men Arcade, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man 2, and many more classics for your iPhone for just a couple bucks. And if your favorite isn't out there now, just bide your time — chances are it'll get there eventually. As a kid who grew up in the '80s, these games were so valuable, in numerous ways — there's something really special about quite literally carrying them with us in our pockets.