Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

"An epic quest worthy of any RPG fan's collection."

Unlike most people who love this game, I have never played the original, nor have I played any of the original Dragon Quest/Warrior games, for that matter. The first game in the series I experienced was Monsters 2, which I loved. I never bothered with any other games in the series, until 2005 when Dragon Quest VIII came out for the Playstation 2. It looked beautiful and played beautifully, too. Now, Dragon Quest IV, which is a remake of the original game that came out for the NES back in 1992, is available for the DS with updated graphics and added features. Since the Dragon Quest series is known for it's classic gameplay, many people who have not experienced the RPG's of the early 90's would perhaps be turned off. Well, no, this isn't necessarily true. I have not played too many RPG's, in fact the first one I played was Pokemon Blue. The RPG's I usually play consist of modern action-based stuff like Kingdom Hearts, Fable, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which is why it may come as a surprise to some people to see that I greatly enjoyed playing such a classic, "archaic" title like this. I feel as if I need to express this, as most of the other reviews that have given this game a high score are by those who experienced the original title, or have grew up with classic RPG's. This is simply not the case for me.

Anyway, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen's story consists of five chapters, and the prologue. The prologue is a short introductory sequence where you will name and control the hero of the game for a short while. Then, it's chapter one, where you'll play as a knight named Ragnar. Chapter two consists of yourself playing as Alena, who is warrior despite looking like a mage and being a princess, along with her friends, Borya and Kiryl, and in chapter three, you're a merchant named Torneko who is trying to make a living by operating his own store. In chapter four, you control the twin sisters Maya and Meena, one of which is a dancer and the other a fortune teller. In chapter five, you're in control of the hero again, and you'll meet up with all of these characters as the main story progresses. The fifth chapter is the longest of the bunch. The main point of the separate chapters as those characters were to get you to better understand them and what their lives are like, in the little sub-plots that occur during them. I thought this was a really good idea, as it allows for some character development (which there hardly isn't any of later in the game.) The main story, though, revolves around the hero character (who is supposed to be you), that's the "chosen one", said to be able to save the world and stop the evil Underworld lord named Estark, and the evil character named Psaro the Manslayer, who plans on unleashing the 'secret of evolution' on himself to destroy the world. The game's story starts out with the hero's hometown getting destroyed. It becomes attacked by monsters, all of which are searching for you, since they know you are the chosen one, and thus they fear you can stop their fiendish plans of world domination. Your best friend disguises herself as you, in order to save your life. So, the evil ones think you're dead. Little do they know, you're on your way to stopping them. Now, it's not necessarily a breath-taking, amazing story, but it is really well done overall and has some emotional events which are sure to be liked by anyone that plays RPG's for their plots. 8/10

In terms of graphics, the game looks great. There was a remake of this very same game released for the Playstation years ago, exclusively for Japan. When you compare the appearance of this game to it, it looks near-identical. The anime-inspired characters look crisp and detailed, much like the dungeons, land, and sea you'll be traveling through. The monsters themselves are great to look at. The game is very colorful, much more colorful than most RPG's. Overall, the graphics are very well done. 8/10

In the music/sound department, some of the game's soundtrack has some very memorable tunes, though you'll mostly be hearing the same tunes over and over again until it gets to a point of repetition. The sounds of swords slashing, magic being casted, and monster encounters, are all there. Those who have played any of the other Dragon Quest games will find some very familiar music and sounds. Overall, the music and sound is decent. 7/10

Now for the gameplay....being a turn-based RPG, you're going to be selecting options from menus. There's the plain 'ol attacking, casting magic spells, using items, or defending, and running. Your other party members are given commands as well, though you can configure them to be AI controlled, and select to let them focus on attacking or healing and such. The point of the game is to visit towns on the world map, talking to people who will have you do things for them in order for yourself to progress the plot. Going through dungeons, fighting monsters in random battles until you get to the end and get the special item, that type of stuff. Since this is unchanged gameplay from 1992, you can't expect anything complicated or diverse. The game is not linear in the sense that it lets you freely explore other areas of the map and other dungeons and towns before progressing through the main plot. There's also a few side quests here and there, and a fun casino that is featured in other Dragon Quest games. The flow of the game has you exploring, leveling up from lots of battles, visiting a new town then using the gold you gained from battling to buy new equipment for your characters, then going to a new area or dungeon to progress the plot. It's very simple stuff, but it works, and it works really well. I couldn't put the game down ever since I had bought it. It's really addictive and really fun. It actually makes me feel accomplished when I slay a new boss or buy a new set of armor for one of my characters from all the gold I've saved from battles. Yes, grinding for experience is pretty much required in this game, if you plan on getting more gold and defeating the upcoming boss, but you don't have to do it for hours on end like some people would have you believe. In short the gameplay is fun, rewarding, and addictive. 8/10

Overall:

Pros....
-Decent storyline and interesting chapter-to-character break up.
-Great graphics.
-The music and sounds are decent.
-Awarding gameplay.
-Very addictive.
-Lengthy game with a good amount of replay value.

Cons....
-Music may get repetitive.
-Dated gameplay mechanics may turn off some people.
-Level grinding is boring, though at least there isn't too much of it.


I'd still say this game is a must-play if you own a DS and like RPG's. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is a worthy and fun experience, that will last you over 25 hours your first time through. If you liked any of the other Dragon Quest games, then you should love this. It's classic RPG goodness at it's finest.

8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/08, Updated 09/29/08

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