The second edition of the Dragon Warrior/Quest series, you start off as a warrior of the Midenhall Kingdom. You were just notified of the Moonbrooke Kingdom's demise due to the evil Hargon's minions! Your father, the king, asks you to seek out your cousins of neighboring kingdoms. The blood of Erdrick flows within each of you. Together, you will get a ship, find out to break into Hargon's evil lair, and destroy him, saving the world!
This game is considered the hardest of all the Dragon Quest games put together, so it is not recommended for players new to the series. Even in remakes (found in Game Boy Color section), the game is not that much easier.
You start off as a warrior with no spells, relying on herbs and inns to heal you. Eventually, you'll find your cousins, whose names change depending on what your name is. You have your cousin, the Prince of Cannock, who will have a decent balance of healing and offensive spells and somewhat decent attack join you first. He mainly shines in his buffing spells. Your last partymate, the Princess of Moonbrooke, will be your main spell caster. She will have the best healing and offensive spells of your party, but also the weakest defense and hitpoints.
With some careful strategy and some patience for the inevitable wipesouts that may come, one will eventually make it through one of the hardest Dragon Quest games to date!