

The game was hit with delays due to game balance, which were only fully corrected in the early sections of the game. The artwork that was used as the basis for the characters and monsters was painted by Akira Toriyama and then translated into pixel art. One major goal was the development of a more exciting combat system, which was inspired by similar multi-character party systems such as the one found in Wizardry. Planning began a month before the original Dragon Quest was released. The game's successor, Dragon Quest III, follows the ancestor of the main characters, the legendary hero Erdrick and the three games are collectively called "Erdrick Saga Trilogy".

Dragon Quest II expands on the first game by having a larger party, more areas to explore, multiple heroes and enemies in a battle, and a sailing ship.

On his adventure, he is accompanied by his two cousins, the prince of Cannock and the princess of Moonbrooke. The game's story centers on the prince of Midenhall, who is ordered to stop an evil wizard named Hargon after Hargon destroys Moonbrooke Castle. Dragon Quest II is set one hundred years after the events of the first game. subsidiary published the American release, Dragon Warrior II, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, titled Dragon Warrior II when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Dragon Quest series.
