Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

"A Classic Epic Adventure with a New Look..."

Part of a classic series Dragon Quest IV : Chapters of the Chosen is a DS remake. Hopefully, it will appeal to today's crowd but also it gives a chance for players like me, who have miss out the original version to play a game such as this one.

The plot of the game is your usual hero is the chosen one and with his teammates, he is going to saved the world from destruction. The story is divided into chapters where it tells the story of each characters, giving the players some background history and how their journey intertwined with the hero's which leads them working towards saving the world from destruction. While the story is not a complicate, nevertheless, it is a very solid story.

The graphics of the game is very nice and colorful. The characters are depicted like 2d sprites in a 3d world. Amazing, the world is vast and is fill with many people. The interface of the game is very clean and easy to understand. Each item has a description so it will let you know what item does. The script is interesting because depending on the city or area, some of the folks have different dialects. Although I don't quite understand why some of the characters are written in another dialect but I guess it gives the script a bit of variety and it gives the characters some personality.

Although I am not an serious Dragon Quest fan, I have always love the music of the game. The game always contains majestic orchestrated pieces which always have set the pace and atmosphere of the game. Although the DS does a good job in depicted the music of Dragon Quest, it does feels like it lacks something.

The biggest problem with the game play of Dragon Quest IV is the fact that you can tell that the mechanics of the game still feels quite a bit outdated and slow. This game is your generic RPG with a traditional turn based battle system where your characters needs to level up so they can learn their set of skills and you can equipped different weapons. When RPGS have battle systems that are more face paced and with elaborate mechanic, your generic turned based battle system might not appeal to the masses. However, battling and leveling up the traditional way is not so bad due to the fact that it is not complicated and it is easier to get into the mechanics of the game without having to learn a complicated system.

Although this game is a remake, it does feels a bit outdated due to the fact that the mechanics of the game doesn't feel like it has changed over the years. Whether or not if this is a good thing or not, depends on the player themselves. Some might play the game for nostalgic values or there are some people who are playing the game for the first time after so many years. However, keep an open mind or maybe you feel like you are missing out.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/08

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