Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

"Essential for Dragon Quest Veterans... by a Dragon Quest Veteran"

A Review for Dragon Quest Fans by a Dragon Quest Fan.

I preface by admitting that the NES English Localization of Dragon Quest IV is among my favorite RPG's of all time. It seems unsound to review this game as a standalone without considering its roots. So, rather than review the game from scratch, I will review the significant changes in the areas of Translation, Gameplay, Exploits, Secrets, Presentation, and Extras, and in doing so I hope to put my personal biases aside.

TRANSLATION

Alright, I need to pick up my bias for a second here. I personally found the translation to be deplorable. In the original NES version, dialogue was short and sparse but conveyed profound messages, often leaving a lot to the imagination. Now, great efforts were made to create 'dialects,' modifying the old dialogue but leaving little new dialogue. The results are conversations that are just as short but, unfortunately, don't carry the same depth as before. This not only serves to undermine the seriousness and ingenuity in parts of the first translation, but leaves one... wanting a bit more.

Most location and item names are changed, which, for a fan of the old game, could be a turn off. Note that some names are corrected to be more accurate to the Japanese original, while others... are simply from left field. A refreshing example: 'Strathbaile' is a beautiful, Scottish-sounding rendition of the old 'Izmit' village. A not-so-refreshing example: 'Casabranca' instead of 'Branca.' Wait, was that a pun off the classic movie? You bet. Every name for anyone and anything has been turned into a cheesy pun, alliteration, or rhyme. The Staff of Transformation is the "Mod Rod." The Lamp of Darkness is the "Night Light." Even monster names suffer from this pathology- vampire bats are "night battlers." The weretigers that looked like guys in tiger suits are called "weartigers." Spells are renamed- 'Blaze' is 'Frizz,' etc., and these names did not take the same tilt, refreshingly enough. The spell names are quite navigable and intuitive.

I would find this acceptable in a more recent Dragon Quest game. After all, the series has lightened up and been a source of much humor and comic relief. However, I'm pretty sure that the original DQIV was a fairly serious game with a deep and substantial story, and the excessive puns only serve for the game to not take itself seriously, which is really a shame. If the more recent games have grown more light-hearted and childish, great. However, I feel the childishness is unnecessary.

GAMEPLAY

The DS remake shines here. Much shorter playthroughs are possible, mostly due to the lowered difficulty and possibility for fast combat text speeds. Combat is a breeze compared to the old, slow, text-only systems. Also, as far as I could tell, experience and gold payouts were more significant than in the original.

This has a caveat- some monster encounters are bigger, and others flat-out cheap. In Chapter 1, I saw Ragnar run into an army of healies/heal slimes, and in 2, Demon Toadstools (about 7-8 of them). The game tends to throw out large quantities of monsters. Some of the bosses are also rather difficult. However, they are proportionately difficult. Keeleon/Marquis de Leon was always a difficult boss, for one.

EXPLOITS

As I'll detail in a soon-to-be-written mini-FAQ, there are many exploits in DQIV to become overpowered, or at least gain significant headstarts. Some of these are new: take, for example, the new bag, which allows a player to stock Taloon/Torneko with limitless items in Chapter 3 to sell them for near-infinite money near the beginning of Chapter 5.

Others, however, were taken out. No more purchasing Swords of Miracles from the Medal King/Minikin right after getting the ship. The new system is linear, meaning that prizes are dished out at set intervals, and a running count of total medals is kept. Frustrating, as I can't own the game with a Sword of Miracles near the beginning.

The casino has been revamped. The new grand prize, the Falcon Blade (not the most powerful sword, but pretty powerful, and allows for 2 attacks/round) is ludicrously expensive and one turns up elsewhere in the game anyway. The double-for-nothing system in Poker has been changed and requires less strategy and more luck. Instead of choosing high/low, one card is flipped over and one must choose from four randomly. Oftentimes the flipped card will be a King or Ace, meaning you're screwed out of your money essentially. Not to worry, most of the prizes show up in the game later, making the casino nearly moot apart from Magic Potions and Wizard Rings/Prayer Rings.

Perhaps not so much an exploit, but speedruns are ridiculously easy now. As aforementioned, the battle system can be sped up to lightning speed (compared to the NES) by raising the battle message speed. Also, since map distances are kept proportional, but characters no longer travel tile-by-tile (rather, at a pace comparable to running in the original), dungeons effectively shrink to a fraction of the size and length to what would have taken them to complete. On a given floor, separate rooms are no longer distinguished by 'shroud' that you half to walk through to reveal the room. Most dungeons flow as one large map. As a frame of reference, my first games took me 30+ hours which included substantial grinding and lots of game overs. My first playthrough here, rather brisk but far from a speedrun, was completed in approximately 14 hours upon defeating the normal last boss, and 16 hours for all bonus content.

SECRETS

There is a secret dungeon, a secret character, two secret bosses, and a 'secret ending,' if you could call it that (more of an additional cutscene in the normal ending). These were actually finely done. I found that I liked the 'secret ending' more than the original. The secret bosses are challenging, but not as hard as analogous bosses in other Dragon Quests or other RPG's. The secret dungeon is fun and amusing at points. The secret character is complete, utter, badassness. The secrets don't disappoint. Any further details would be considerable spoilers.

PRESENTATION

The visuals are vivid. Having sprites adjacent to item names is refreshing, and descriptions are included to remove the ambiguity from a lot of items from the original. The dual screens are used quite well. On a normal map, the upper screen lets one see forward, a feature useful in some dungeons (allowing one to rotate and scan the area to find dead ends without moving and entering more encounters).

EXTRAS

Some other extras, that are additions to the game that wouldn't constitute 'secrets.' They add some accessories, including a 'Mighty Armlet' which raises strength, 'Fishnet Stockings' which girls can wear, and a couple new weapons and armor near the end of the game. Nothing too new. There is also a monster compilation that displays the monsters fought so far, and different stats. The big extra is "Follow Orders." "Follow Orders" is a tactics option in Chapter 5, allowing for manual control of parties. This is pivotal for some battles. Absolutely pivotal. Finally, it's possible to get Cristo/Kyril to cast Increase/Kabuff, Brey/Boyra to cast Bikill/Oomph!, and characters to use 'try out' items in unique ways.

Taloon learns 0-MP spells which he can use on the field. Some, like his "Nose for Treasure," are quite useful for Mini Medal hunting.

CONCLUSIONS

I don't know if this game would be fun for me if I had never played IV before. However, if you were a fan of IV and it stood out for you, I would greatly recommend getting this game. Several parts of it will be annoying, I promise that, but it's a fun way to replay a classic RPG, and there are several additional elements to keep it shorter, refreshing, and still challenging.

For giggles, my party for game completion was Hero-Alena-Cristo/Kyril-Mara and Hero-Alena-Cristo/Kyril-secret character. The way the remake plays, Mara's attack magic is much less pivotal and I can understand why many opt for Brey/Boyra instead.

I digress. The general question now- is this worth playing more than the NES version? If you haven't played the NES, there are probably several other RPG's floating around Gamestop that will entertain you more. If you did, drop the $40 bucks, and if you're on the edge, wait for it used.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/08

Game Release: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (US, 09/16/08)