You've cheered up that very sad slime from last week by contributing so many wonderful Dragon Quest stories! I've rounded up a few passages from the must-read entries, but you can find the other articles here.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. I hope to see many more entries for the current Madden and video-game movies callouts.

Dragon Warrior and Other Things I Didn't Know
"I had landed my first real job, and I thought that was cool, too. But being 21, I wasn't seeing much further than the paycheck. I also thought it was still cool to tape posters the living room walls. Like I said, I still had a lot to learn....

Yet blundering through this fog of greenhorn stupidity, I did something right. I bought a Nintendo Entertainment System, and I also bought Dragon Warrior. I bought the game simply because it had two cool words in the title, both of which appealed to me. Apparently, there was this cool dragon dude, and I'd have to fight it." -- Sean Twist (read the full article here)

Dragon Quest: A Monument to Simplicity
"As successful as Dragon Quest is, many complain that it lacks a certain complexity inherit in Japanese role-playing games have. After all, the steadfast nature of its systems is subject to much scoffing by many fans of the genre. So why is it that the Dragon Quest games are still so compelling? The secret is that this simplicity gives the series the latitude to do some pretty special things." -- Jeremy Signor (read the full article here)

Dragon Warrior 7: Why It's Great But Not for Everyone
"Alright, so Dragon Warrior 7 is an ugly-looking game. The main character looks like a goofball, and illustrator Akira Toriyama's style is too Dragon Ball Z kamehameha for you. I get that. I really do. But Dragon Quest games have a lot more going for them than simply their look, gameplay, or story. While all Dragon Quest games lead to the destruction of some ultimate evil, the games are never about their conclusion or even the personal growth of your party members. They're about falling in love with the world and enjoying the journey." -- Carlos Castro Reyes (read the full article here)