Stupid things done in video games, part 1

When I first got my hands on the NES version of Dragon Warrior, I played that game to the full extent. I maxed out the gold that my character could carry, I fully leveled him up, and I did all the quests that were needed to be done.

One quest that you'd encountered towards the beginning of the game was rescuing the princess of Tantegel Castle. She was imprisioned in a cave to the east, guarded by a dragon. Rescuing her meant you got to carry her back to the castle, have her fall in love with you, and receive an item called Gwaelin's Love. When playing Dragon Warrior for the first time, this was an important piece of equipment. It would tell you what your current experience level was and how far away you were from leveling. It would also tell you your distance from the castle in terms of steps north, south, east or west. This was important for finding several items.

I played the shit out of this game, and several years ago, I got a brilliant idea. I knew where most of the items were, and if I got stumped, the internet was only a few clicks away. Why did I need to burden myself with some whiny broad that doesn't put out for me at all within the game and get a relatively useless piece of equipment that I'd no longer need?

The challenge was set. I would finish the game without rescuing the princess, leaving her to rot in her dungeon. Of course, I'd kill the dragon outside her cell; added experience points and gold were always a bonus. But I wouldn't unlock the door, I wouldn't talk to the princess, I wouldn't carry her home, and I definitely wouldn't get some lameass trinket that would remind me that no matter what happened, she loved me because I was the only guy in the country that could kill a fucking dragon and unlock the door.

As of now, the challenge sits uncompleted. I no longer have an NES as my mother demanded that when she filed for divorce. I may end up having to make myself a purchase of the Retro Duo NES/SNES Game System just so I can complete this. Either that, or find my Game Boy Color copy of Dragon Warrior 1&2 and run the challenge on that.