Originally called "Dragon Warrior" in the U.S due to there being a pen-and-paper RPG at the time called "Dragon Quest", this was more of a remake than a direct port due to many changes, especially graphically. In Japan, the main character always faces down and when talking to people, you have to choose the direction they're facing in from a menu. In the NES version and all versions since, the character faces the direction on the map just like in most RPGs since.
Speaking of graphics, if you are familiar with the "Dragon Ball" manga and animes, you might notice that the art style here is very similar to that style, especially on the cover art. It can't be seen in this version, but it can be seen on the Japanese cover. That is because the artwork for this, as well as all of the other Dragon Quest games, was made by the manga-ka Akira Toriyama, the creator of manga like Dr. Slump, Cowa, and yes, Dragon Ball. He's also done work on several other games such as "Chrono Trigger" and "Blue Dragon".
As for the game itself, it is pretty simple. The main character has to save a princess and slay the Dragonlord, known as Draolord in the Game Boy Color port and King Dragon in Japan. The princess can be saved about halfway though the game and you can even go through the game without saving her. Yeah...the story is not much, but it did pave the way for many sequels with better stories starting with its sequel, "Dragon Quest 2" which is set 100 years later and features many references to the first game, including the three main characters being the descendants of the hero from there and characters like the Dragonlord's descendant making an appearance. Heck, you even visit the land the first game took place in during the course of the game.
It's been release a few times. The only releases besides the NES one in the U.S. is on the Game Boy Color and iOS and Android, the latter being the first time it was released in Europe and the first time it kept it's original title outside of Japan as the trademark for the other Dragon Quest had since expired.
If you're looking for this game, the easiest to find is the iOS and Android version getting that one's as simple as going to the app store and buying it. The first six are available through there as well as, strangely enough, the eighth game. However, the other two versions aren't hard to find. The NES version is EXTREMELY common and is usually pretty cheap because copies of it were given away with "Nintendo Power" subscriptions when the magazine started. The GBC version isn't hard to find, either. I recommend getting that version since it's gameplay seem to be the best of the versions, the translation is closer to the Japanese version, and it comes with the second game.
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