Malroth

Malroth, known in Japan as Shidō (シドー), is a character in the video game Dragon Quest II. He is its final boss, though he is rarely mentioned and never seen until he is fought at the end of the game. His boss battle was notable for its difficulty, particularly due to his use of the spell Fullheal, which recovered his health points in full. His design was created by Akira Toriyama. He also appears as a main character in the game Dragon Quest Builders 2 as a young man with no memories, assisting the protagonist in surviving and rebuilding a world, while grappling with strange voices and his inability to create things. His appearance in Dragon Quest Builders 2 earned positive reception, praised for enhancing the game and creating heartfelt moments in the game.

Concept and creation
Malroth was designed by artist Akira Toriyama for Dragon Quest II. He is a god of destruction, being a monster featuring wings, multiple limbs, and a tail. The color of his scales depend on the version; they are green in Dragon Quest II and Dragon Quest IX, but blue elsewhere.

Appearances
Malroth first appeared in the video game Dragon Quest II as its final boss. Throughout the game, he is often only referenced, and only sometimes by name, invoked at times by the game's other villain, Hargon. Once Hargon is defeated, he surrenders his life to summon Malroth, forced to do battle with him. Depending on the version, he may use a spell called Fullheal to recover his entire health points meter. He also appears as a guest boss in the video game Dragon Quest IX.

Malroth appears in the video game Dragon Quest Builders 2, appearing as a young man with no memories, having washed up on the Isle of Awakening. He accompanies the protagonist, a builder, who had previously been a captive on a boat owned by the Children of Hargon, who Malroth assists on their quest. He also works with Lulu, someone whom he frequently clashes with. However, he himself is not capable of building, electing to destroy things and fight monsters to help, high fiving after major accomplishments. Throughout the game, Malroth experiences strange voices, and over time, becomes alienated from the builder due to a combination of his frustrations over his lack of building ability and his feeling that the builder was working against him. This culminated in a betrayal by a character named Warrick, a knight who professed to support the builder but was secretly in the Children of Hargon, who manipulated various people to get Malroth put in jail after he began losing his composure and making dangerous, irresponsible choices. Malroth decided to separate from the builder, betrayed that they didn't stand up for him.

It is eventually discovered that, as the builder helps rebuild the world, Malroth's destructive tendencies grow, with the goal of Hargon to cause Malroth to destroy this world - which he created. Malroth is then taken to a different space, tricked into killing illusions of his friends, including the builder, which caused Malroth to transform into the monstrous form from Dragon Quest II. The builder ventures to Malhalla, a world composed of the flesh of Malroth, where Malroth is progressively destroying. Working with the monsters inhabiting it, the builder creates an ark to save them, as well as going to Hargon's castle to find Malroth. There, he finds Hargon and Malroth, doing battle with Malroth. After defeating him, a spark of the builder's friend still remained. They high five, and Malroth is freed.

It is then revealed, however, that this was part of Hargon's plan to remove the humanity from the monstrous Malroth, allowing him to achieve his full power. The builder and Malroth work together to battle Hargon and the other Malroth, eventually defeating both. After winning, the two find themselves alone, with the player in control of Malroth. He finds the builder gravely wounded, and Malroth has to create a medicinal herb to heal them. Malroth struggles to make it, failing over and over, but continues until he manages to finally create something. He gives the herb to the builder, saving them. The two of them go back to the Isle of Awakening, where they live with Lulu and the others.

A jacket featuring Malroth was made by the company Graniph.

Reception
Malroth's appearance in Dragon Quest II was the subject of discussion by fans and critics. Inside Games staff discussed the Malroth boss battle in Dragon Quest II, specifically his propensity to use the spell Fullheal, which they felt made it a more challenging battle. However, the author noted how Malroth's health points (HP) were not that high, and thus Fullheal was necessary to prevent the battle from being too easy. They speculated that giving him Fullheal was a last-minute change, due in part to the fact that the Super Famicom version of the game gives him more HP, but removes Fullheal. However, they discussed how powerful and frustrating he was in Dragon Quest X, noting how he both has a lot of HP and Fullheal, and that if he uses Fullheal, players almost certainly would lose. Inside Games staff considered him an iconic Famicom boss battle. IT Media readers voted Malroth as the hardest Dragon Quest final boss, with IT Media staff similarly noting that the Fullheal skill as a core aspect of this difficulty, and speculating it was removed in the Super Famicom version to avoid confusion. They also noted how Malroth's graphics obscured the stats of one of the characters, which they found annoying. Meanwhile, IT Media staff considered him among the most difficult as well, citing his use of Fullheal as well as the fact that his stats in the Famicom version were at their maximum possible. Voice actor Nobuhiko Okamoto, while discussing famous monsters in the series, identified Malroth as one he liked, though noted the frustration of his use of Fullheal. Comedian Hollywood Zakoshisyoh called him one of his favorite monsters, identifying him as a particularly challenging battle.

Malroth received praise for his appearance in Dragon Quest Builders 2. Siliconera writer Jenni Lada appreciated how they made Malroth a much more interesting character than he was in Dragon Quest II, praising both how he makes the gameplay better, but also how strong the relationship between Malroth and the protagonist was. She discussed how caring Malroth is of the protagonist, noting she expects to see fan content about the two of them. IGN Japan writer Adeyu noted that, while they found Malroth to be an annoying character early on due to his tendency to destroy things he didn't want destroyed, but eventually grew to appreciate his presence, feeling that having Malroth as a partner created an empathetic story between the protagonist and Malroth. They noted that they felt players would struggle to not cry in the second half of the game over Malroth. Meristation writer Sergio Gonzalez appreciated Malroth, discussing how, despite having a villainous face, he was more than a companion, suggesting that he was an unforgettable character. 4gamer writer Tetsuya Inamoto appreciated the relationship between Malroth and the protagonist, calling it heart-warming, particularly when they high-five each other.