Accessories

Dragon Warrior Redux
It is good to have this excellent RPG back in circulation. The story and gameplay are intact, with the handful of new features we have come to expect with 2000's reissues of 1990's games: a tough bonus dungeon, a town to develop as in Dragon Warrior 7, and lots more statistics-keeping. Also, one of the original DW4's weak points has been eliminated; you can now control all characters in the last chapter.

The strong point of this game, as of all Dragon Warrior/DragonQuest games except DW1, is the battle gameplay. The variety of different groupings, spells, and abilities that the enemies bring to bear on each instance of combat bring interest even to the lengthiest level-building sessions. The updated graphics vary from excellent (the battle backgrounds and monster portrayals/animations) to dreary (the towns).

The one thing undone I wish they had done is to rethink the whole story structure. Since the least interesting section of an RPG tends to be the beginning levels, when characters have the fewest spells and abilities and face the weakest and smallest groups of monsters, it is of questionable gaming value to make us go through these stages five times.

Still highly recommended, especially for those who have not played the original DW4.

Slime after Slime
I was fairly excited about this release. I tore the box open this week, ready and willing to relive hours upon hours of my wasted youth. I squeed with delight as the Dragon Quest theme began playing in all its tinny regal splendor. And then the game began.

Let me say, first and foremost, that I did enjoy playing Dragon Quest IV. Arte Piazza, the art directors from Dragon Quest VII, took the lead on this remake, and it shows. The refresh on the art is welcome, but not intrusive or overdone. Akira Toriyama's monster design is still charming and bright, including the bosses. The sound is a near-perfect translation of the original and still rings true after fifteen years. The problem is that most of the mechanics are also still the same after fifteen years, and they don't quite stand the test of time.

JRPGs are known for slow-paced combat, and DQ is the grandaddy of them all. Twelve year-old me had no problem with this, probably because I didn't know anything else. DQIV is turn-based, and forces you to go through several menus to choose exactly what everyone wants to do, every time. Unlike the recent re-release of Final Fantasy IV, there is no Auto-Attack option. This means is that early fights can take forever as you whittle down slime after slime.

Inventory is annoying. When I didn't know that only being able to hold eight items per person (plus one overflow bag) was an arbitrary difficulty modifier, it didn't bother me. Today, trying to stock up on Medicinal Herbs that don't stack and cannot be used except by the player who is holding them is nearly unforgiveable. This is particularly true in the early stages, when those herbs are your lifeline, and its a long way back to the save point.

Ah, yes, saving. Another "fun" DQ innovation. In DQ, you save by "confessing" at a church. That's it. No save points in dungeons, no way to port out and port back in, nothing. This means that if you trudged all the way out to some Light forsaken tower and spent two hours grinding through it just to die on the final boss, you are out of luck. Do it all again. This time with feeling. And mana regeneration? Forget it, until you can obtain items that will do restore your juice. So make those spells last. They're the only ones you've got.

Finally, level grinding. I'm a 4-year WoW player, so level grinding is nothing new to me. That being said, years of playing WoW and Final Fantasy games have conditioned me to expect that if I play through a game normally, entering dungeons and facing bosses in sequence as I meet them, I stand at least a fair chance of prevailing. Not so in DQ. Most of the time, if you try to take on a challenge as soon as you encounter it, you're going to die. End of story. Expect to wander around aimlessly looking for fights for at least an extra level, better two, beyond the level you are when you first encounter The Next Big Thing. Oh well, at least you make lots of gold, right? Wrong. Forget being able to get the latest and greatest gear available from each new town, at least at first. DQ is stingy with the money, and dungeons drops are rare. Be prepared to wander.

I knew all of this going into the game, though. I knew that there were things that were going to bug the heck out of me because I've come to expect more from my RPGs since 1992. That's why I still enjoyed DQIV so much.

The storyline is still fairly epic, even by today's standards. The characters have life, and feeling, and the localization teams have done their best to make each Chapter feel like it takes place in a completely different part of the game world. Even if this does lead to some horribly funny Japanese-to-Russianesque-to-Rusjapenglish in Chapter 2, it gives you the feeling that you are a large world with varied ethnicities and real danger.

My favorite Chapter is still 3, the tale of Mara and Nara, the dancer and the fortuneteller. As a kid, these ladies inspired me even more than warrior princess Alena. That part hasn't changed a bit. Fighting with clubs and daggers is de rigeur, but using fans, claws and cards as weapons is a blast. Grinding through the merchant quest still sucks, though.

I also have to give credit where credit is due. What little new stuff there is here really works. The DS two-screen approach offers a lot of screen real estate for this game. This is invaluable in dungeons because it lets you get a better sense of where you are going, and cuts down on the random lost roaming of the original. The towns look lovely, almost on par with Dragon Quest VII. There is an online Chance Encounter mode that allows you to expand your own town through Nintendo WiFi play. If you have other nostalgia-starved friends who pick this title up, you'll enjoy sharing your own little piece of Heaven with them.

All in all, I think Arte Piazza did a good job updating this classic for the modern era. I hope this brings a new generation of proto-geeks to DQ, and to the appreciation of substance over style (I'm looking at you, Final Fantasy X-2). I'm looking forward to the ports of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie, the second and third titles in the so-called "Zenithia trilogy". Most Americans (including me) have never had the chance to play DQV and VI. DQV was released in Japan in July, so hopefully the U.S. release isn't far behind. Maybe they'll even evolve out some of the rough parts this time.

(From PlayingWithMyWeiner.com - gaming at the mercy of miniature daschunds.)

Simply amazing
If you loved the old school rpgs from the nes and snes days then you'll love this game. As stated in other reviews, if you're a new gen gamer into awesome graphics and cut scenes with minimum strategy and storyline, then you may want to look somwhere else.
The other reviews pretty much hit it dead on so i'd just like to add a little more about the extra content that wasn't mentioned.

The original game consisted of 5 chapters and when you beat the Final boss in chapter five you completed the game. Now there are 6 chapters. After you beat the main game and finish the credits you can't start chapter 6. I don't want to spoil too much for you so i'll just say that there is an extra(and really long) dungeon with access to new items. There is also a mini game where you build your own village kind of like the one in DQVII. If you build your village to its maximum level, you will have access to some really strong items not found in the main story. There is also a secret character you can recruit. Again i won't spoil too much but this character is a powerhouse and an amazing addition to your entourage. Lastly, there is a new final boss, but you can only fight him with the addition of the secret character in your party.

I really think anyone could get into this game as long as they can get over the outdated graphics, but i think DQIV was already one of the best rpgs i've ever played, and the DS version perfected it in my opinion.

Yes!
Great old school RPG fun! You can't go wrong with Dragon Quest 4! I love it and I'm positive you will too!

A must have for RPG lovers!!

Great Old School RPG
I cut my teeth on games such as Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, and Phantasy Star in the late 80's on 8-bit systems. So it is nice to see a remake of a game that I have very fond memories of.

Dragon Quest IV, as with most DQ games, it's simply executed but an engaging game. What it lacks in stunning 7th gen graphics it makes up for with a high degree of charm and polish, that makes this one of the best RPGs for the NDS (IMHO), and possibly for handhelds altogether.

The game is broken down into five chapters; six if you include the epilogue. The story unfolds as you discover the past stories of the supporting characters. Eventually, everyone comes together with the main hero in the fifth chapter as the group tries to save the world. The story is nothing new, a group of people join to stop and evil force threatening the world however, and it still works and is interesting enough to keep you playing.

The graphics are updated from and unreleased, in the US, Playstation port of the game. If you've played Dragon Warrior 7 you can expect similar graphics. Some of the rough edges have been smoothed out. The screen has also been adjusted for the small DS screen. The colors are vibrant and each environment is beautifully rendered.

The music is simple yet catchy. My only complaint is that the music starts over after every battle. Considering the frequent battles, you don't get too far into each piece unless you stand in one place until the entire song plays.

Battle sequences are the old, tried and true, choose the commanda for you party members and watch the action play out. No real time or active time, this is great for strategy but, may seem out dated to some. In the original NES version you could only select commands for the hero however, now you can select commands for all your party members.

There have been complaints about the save system and churches. You can only save at churches, which is also the only place to check XP to next level. This doesn't bother me because, that's the way the original games were. There is a quicksave function if you have to save in a pinch. The quicksave is destroyed after resuming so; if you die you have to restart from your last church save position.

My only real complaint about the game is the music starting over after each battle, and that's not really a big deal. Touch screen control would have been nice for those who use them.

If you're interested in old school rpg's, long quests with level grinding, tough battles and nostalgic music or, if you started playing rpgs after Final Fantasy VII and you want to check out something a bit more old school than DQIV is for you. If you like easy, modern rpgs with great graphics and orchestrated music, DQIV may not be for you.