Dragon Quest: Shonen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon
Part of the immensely popular Dragon Quest franchise, this entry to the
Fushigi no Dungeon / Mysterious Dungeon series stars twelve-year old thief’s
son Yangus.
Like its predecessor Torneko no Daibōken / Torneko: The Last Hope, Shōnen
Yangus is a direct spin-off of a Dragon Quest main series title, in this case
Dragon Quest VIII. The events of Shōnen Yangus are set decades before the plot
of Dragon Quest VIII and recurring characters are the titular hero Yangus, his
girlfriend Red and monster trainer Morrie.
Shōnen Yangus is a so-called ‘roguelike’, an RPG featuring extensive
explorations of dungeons randomly generated at the beginning of each game.
Unlike roguelikes such as Diablo the game has turn-based combat and as such
isn’t an action-RPG. It includes the option to capture, train and breed
monsters found in dungeons, similar to the DQ Monsters series, another Dragon
Quest spin-off.
The game centers around the character Yangus, who is a main character in Dragon Quest VIII, as a child. Described as a "plump bandit", he becomes involved with his father Yampa's gang of thieves when a mysterious jug is brought home.Though instructed not to touch the jug, Yangus does, and is sucked inside the bottle into another world called "Bottle Land". Gelda, a female bandit from Dragon Quest VIII also appears in this new world, as well as Red, Morrie, Toruneko, and a new character named Poppy, and each begins to explore the dungeons of this new land.