Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

A remake of the NES game Dragon Quest IV (known as Dragon Warrior IV in North America), this game seeks to bring the classic JRPG into the DS with improved visuals and sound, as well as updating the gameplay with some of the conventions and quality of life improvements of modern Dragon Quest games. The gameplay follows the Dragon Quest template, which is quintessential turn-based JRPG gameplay; so while it’s nothing to write home about, here it is well executed and there is enough variety in enemies, weapon, abilities etc that it remains entertaining throughout the playtime of the game (provided you have enough patience for turn-based gameplay in the first place). The difficulty curve for the game is quite good as well; minus a few difficulty spikes at some bosses, you should be able to get through the game without needing to grind too much (something that tends to plague old-school JRPGs, which is one of the quality of life improvements for the DS remake, as the original NES version of this game was guilty of this). Of course, if you do choose to grind so you can completely trounce your enemies, that remains an option, and a few quality of life improvements, such as a character that has the ability to whistle to initiate a battle immediately, as well as speedy and responsive battle menus, make grinding more palatable than it may be in other JRPGs.

The story is pretty straightforward JRPG fare (the chosen one has to save the world), but it’s told in an interesting, and I imagine at the time of the original release unique, way. After a very brief introduction to the chosen one, you take control of the party members that will later accompany you on your journey in their own separate chapters that introduce them and explain how they will want to come to your aid later in the game. After each party member has had their introduction chapter (which take about 2-4 hours each), you rejoin the hero as they begin their journey and meet up with these companions. So the companions are already reasonably well fleshed out upon joining your party, which is nice. The downside to this type of storytelling approach is the flow of the game is a series of starts and stops for the first 15 hours or so. Just as you start to get level up one set of characters and get to some more challenging battles, the game puts you in the shoes of another character and starts you right back at level 1 with basic enemies. In creates a bit of a hump that players will have to overcome to get to the best part of the game, though long introductions are kind of a staple of the JRPG genre.

The remake also adds some more content to the game and story, in the form of a roughly 4-6 hour (depending on how much of the content you complete) post-game chapter. This additional content is well done and quite challenging to boot. Though this post-game chapter does add some more to the story, fleshing out the villains some more in particular, the developers also took the opportunity to have some fun with this additional chapter, injecting some rather “out there” elements, such as a particularly absurd boss fight that honestly is better experienced unspoiled.

The graphics are sprite based, which gives the game an old-school 16-bit look in line with the Dragon Quest series from V-VII (but more polished thanks to improved hardware). The art and monster designs are extremely well done, as one would expect from the Dragon Quest series. The sound and music is similarly well done, though this element isn’t as standout as the art. The world is a pretty good size; initially exploration is quite linear, but once access to the ship is gained it opens up quite a bit. The game is usually pretty good about making sure you you at least have some clue as to where to go at any given point in the story while still letting you explore at your own pace. Oftentimes, exploring off the path like this can give you answers to clues you don’t even have yet, though even with this in mind there are a few times throughout the journey where you may wander the world wondering where to go next.

Overall a very good “comfort food” JRPG and one of the better entries in the Dragon Quest series. The gameplay adheres very closely to tradition, which when combined with the visuals and sound give the game a decidedly old school feel. The story is well told, with likeable characters, but rather boilerplate (which is more a result of the time the game was original made). A recommended play for both fans of the Dragon Quest series, and old school RPGs.