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Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen: Difference between revisions
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{{Translation|'''Dragon Quest IV'''|ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たち|Doragon Kuesuto Fō Michibikareshi Monotachi|literally meaning; ''The People Who Are Shown the Way''}} is a role-playing game and the fourth installment of the {{Main Series}} video game series. The game was originally released for the {{NES}} | {{Translation|'''Dragon Quest IV'''|ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たち|Doragon Kuesuto Fō Michibikareshi Monotachi|literally meaning; ''The People Who Are Shown the Way''}} is a role-playing game and the fourth installment of the {{Main Series}} video game series. The game was originally released for the {{NES}} and earned acclaim for pioneering the advancement of [[artificial intelligence]] in the video game industry. It begins the ''Tenkuu'' (''Celestial'') trilogy, known better as the ''[[Zenithia trilogy]]'' in English. | ||
It was originally released for the {{Famicom}} on February 11, 1990 in Japan. The North American version, titled {{Dragon Warrior IV}}, was released for the {{NES}} in October 1992. | It was originally released for the {{Famicom}} on February 11, 1990 in Japan. The North American version, titled {{Dragon Warrior IV}}, was released for the {{NES}} in October 1992. | ||
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{{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 6{{!}}Chapter 6}} | {{main|Dragon Quest IV Chapter 6{{!}}Chapter 6}} | ||
{{DQ4 Chapter 6}} is a post-epilogue continuation of the game's storyline. Originally appearing in the {{PlayStation}} remake of ''Dragon Quest IV'', Chapter 6 offers a lengthy bonus dungeon, and the culmination of certain plot points that were left ambiguous in the original release. | {{DQ4 Chapter 6}} is a post-epilogue continuation of the game's storyline. Originally appearing in the {{PlayStation}} remake of ''Dragon Quest IV'', {{DQ4 Chapter 6}} offers a lengthy [[bonus dungeon]], and the culmination of certain plot points that were left ambiguous in the original release. | ||
==New features== | ==New features== | ||
===Artificial intelligence=== | ===Artificial intelligence=== | ||
In | In Chapter 5, party members beside the Hero are no longer directly controlled, their behavior instead being dictated by options in the Tactics menu (Normal, Defensive, Offensive, Save {{MP}}, Use No MP, Try Out). The ensuing actions are controlled by an intricate [[artificial intelligence]] system, which takes up a significant amount of the game's memory. The other chapters, except {{DQ4 Chapter 2}}, also contain [[Non-Player Character|computer-controlled party members]] that act alongside the player in battle. | ||
===Party expansion=== | ===Party expansion=== | ||
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*The [[Bag]] has been added for unlimited item storage, which can carry up to 99 for each item. | *The [[Bag]] has been added for unlimited item storage, which can carry up to 99 for each item. | ||
*A ''{{DQ4 Prologue}}'' chapter is added to introduce the {{Hero 4}} before chapter one begins, as well as a 6th chapter with a bonus dungeon and alternate ending. There is also a new Tactics feature to manually control your party in {{DQ4 Chapter 5}}. The PlayStation version uses the graphics engine from {{DQ7}}. | *A ''{{DQ4 Prologue}}'' chapter is added to introduce the {{Hero 4}} before chapter one begins, as well as a 6th chapter with a [[bonus dungeon]] and alternate ending. There is also a new Tactics feature to manually control your party in {{DQ4 Chapter 5}}. The PlayStation version uses the graphics engine from {{DQ7}}. | ||
*A [[Pioneer Town]] was added, similar to [[The Haven]] in {{DQ7}}. It is located in place of the [[Desert Bazaar]] (which in the {{NES}} version served no purpose in Chapter 5). It is run by [[Hank Hoffman Jr.]] (who remains in the Inn at [[Mintos]] in the NES version). | *A [[Pioneer Town]] was added, similar to [[The Haven]] in {{DQ7}}. It is located in place of the [[Desert Bazaar]] (which in the {{NES}} version served no purpose in Chapter 5). It is run by [[Hank Hoffman Jr.]] (who remains in the Inn at [[Mintos]] in the NES version). | ||
*A new dungeon, the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] was added in the "after-game", along with a new [[Zoom]] point within. The floors aside from the bosses room are taken from areas from the previous dungeons, the shop from Zalenagrad and areas from {{DQ7}}. | *A new dungeon, the [[Fungeon (Dragon Quest IV)|Fungeon]] was added in the "after-game", along with a new [[Zoom]] point within. The floors aside from the bosses room are taken from areas from the previous dungeons, the shop from Zalenagrad and areas from {{DQ7}}. | ||
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*[[Liquid metal armour]] now costs 35,000 [[gold]] coins, as opposed to the 15,000 in the {{NES}} version. | *[[Liquid metal armour]] now costs 35,000 [[gold]] coins, as opposed to the 15,000 in the {{NES}} version. | ||
*The [[Gospel ring]] accessory is now included at the Pioneer town which is upgraded to a castle and is sold for 250,000 coins at the casino. | *The [[Gospel ring]] accessory is now included at the Pioneer town which is upgraded to a castle and is sold for 250,000 coins at the casino. | ||
*[['The Big Book of | *[['The Big Book of Beasts']] is now included for the monster bestiary and the player will be rewarded 250,000 coins if they complete the list of monsters. | ||
[[File:DQ4-DS-OVERWORLD-SCREENSHOT.jpg|250px|thumb|Exploring the world in the {{DS}} version of ''Dragon Quest IV'']] | [[File:DQ4-DS-OVERWORLD-SCREENSHOT.jpg|250px|thumb|Exploring the world in the {{DS}} version of ''Dragon Quest IV'']] | ||
On November 22, 2007, this PlayStation remake was ported to the [[Nintendo DS]]. No significant changes were made to the game's story, gameplay, or bonus features, aside from modifying the boom town's immigration aspects to reflect the lack of memory cards in the DS hardware and the calculation method for [[Alena]]'s [[Critical Hit]]s. The [[ | On November 22, 2007, this PlayStation remake was ported to the [[Nintendo DS]]. No significant changes were made to the game's story, gameplay, or bonus features, aside from modifying the boom town's immigration aspects to reflect the lack of memory cards in the DS hardware and the calculation method for [[Alena]]'s [[Critical Hit]]s. The {{Fungeon 4}} ([[bonus dungeon]]) changed it's layout to random locations for each floor, whereas the {{PlayStation}} version was a mix of previous areas from the game and from {{DQ7}}. This portable version was released internationally in September of 2008, but without the party chat feature. This was due to Square Enix's uncertainty regarding the reception of the title, and the budget to translate the two-thirds of the script that the chat contained was slashed. However, the international release performed well and the budget for localization was expanded to allow the feature to be retained in {{V}} and {{VI}}. | ||
*The [[Nintendo DS]] remake uses nearly the same style as the {{PS1}} version, with some minor compression to account for the handheld's screen size. | *The [[Nintendo DS]] remake uses nearly the same style as the {{PS1}} version, with some minor compression to account for the handheld's screen size. | ||
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*Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula was changed from ''level/256'' to ''(level(0.75))/256'', rendering her maximum chance at level 64 to be 19%. | *Alena's [[Critical Hit]] formula was changed from ''level/256'' to ''(level(0.75))/256'', rendering her maximum chance at level 64 to be 19%. | ||
On April 7, 2014, the PlayStation remake was ported to iOS and Android compatible devices. This version features significantly sharper graphics than before, as well as a fully orchestrated soundtrack. No significant gameplay changes were made aside from yet another tweaking of the Tsarevna's [[Critical Hit]] formula, and a slight change adding a detour in the boom town development. The bonus dungeon layout from the {{DS}} port was retained. This version was released world wide on August 7, 2014, and most importantly restored the long-lost party chat to much critical acclaim. | On April 7, 2014, the PlayStation remake was ported to iOS and Android compatible devices. This version features significantly sharper graphics than before, as well as a fully orchestrated soundtrack. No significant gameplay changes were made aside from yet another tweaking of the Tsarevna's [[Critical Hit]] formula, and a slight change adding a detour in the boom town development. The [[bonus dungeon]] layout from the {{DS}} port was retained. This version was released world wide on August 7, 2014, and most importantly restored the long-lost party chat to much critical acclaim. | ||
*The Android and iOS uses touch screen features and the game uses a portrait screen setting instead of the landscape screen. | *The Android and iOS uses touch screen features and the game uses a portrait screen setting instead of the landscape screen. | ||
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#''Battle for the Glory'' (7:51) | #''Battle for the Glory'' (7:51) | ||
#''The End'' (5:12) | #''The End'' (5:12) | ||
==Development== | |||
As the Erdrick trilogy had reached a definite conclusion with the twist ending of {{DQ3}}, [[Yuji Horii]] decided that ''Dragon Quest IV'' would begin a new story unconnected to the previous games, musing that it could be the start of a new trilogy<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>. Development on the title began in February of 1988, followed by a tour of Spanish castles to get into the proper mindset for crafting a fantasy world. | |||
''IV'''s development began with the intent of exploring [[artificial intelligence]], which was a growing trend in Japan at the time. Meetings on the topic were held from February—June 1988<ref>・・・・・・今回イロイロと新しいことにチャレンジしてますけど、なかでもいちばん苦労したところはどこですか? | |||
堀井: やっぱりAIでしょう。できあがるのに1年以上かかってますから。とにかくAIを使うっていうことは、最初からほとんど決まってたんですよね。それまでまず、'88年の2月頃から会議を初めて、延々と会議を繰り返したわけです。 | |||
最初のうちは、ほとんどAIのことばかり話しあっていたんですね。 | |||
堀井: そうです。どんな方法があるかっていうのを何回も話し合って詰めていって、6月の段階で、これだというものがやっとできあがったんです。その後プログラムに移ったわけなんですけど、実際にプログラムをする山名くんがかなり苦労をして、1年以上かかたっと思いますよ。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 4, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, in which the team also reflected on player feedback from ''III''. As a result, the gameplay flow was streamlined, with changes including a simplified [[Command Menu]] and the return of the door-opening command, changed to automatically select the highest-tier key for the player<ref>堀井さんて、今までも常に反響を生かしてゲームを作っていますよね。 | |||
堀井: 反響の中でも特に、不満の部分を生かしますね。なんとかがめんどくさかったとか、それはある程度自分たちでも反省会を開いたりするんですけどね。るそういう意味では今回、コマンド体系をさらに使いやすくしたつもりです。カギを使うのがめんどくさいとか、そういった部分をすべて改善しましたから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The save points were also moved from castles to [[church]]es placed close to town entrances; because the kings and queens of each region no longer saved games, the developers were able to flesh out those characters' personalities<ref>''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 9, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. | |||
The party's artificial intelligence system, written by series veteran Manabu Yamana with an emphasis on player convenience, took approximately a year to be fully implemented. Because Horii considered it tedious to switch characters in and out of the wagon to learn monsters' weaknesses, Yamana programmed the AI so that any battle information would be automatically passed to every party member, which pleased Horii, as he considered it immersive to imagine the party members sharing advice among each other<ref>堀井: あとね、みんなが誤解してるかもしれないんで、これだけは言っておきたいんです。たとえば8人いますよね。で、ブライばかり出して戦闘してて、マーニャは馬車の中にばかりいたと。だからマーニャは、このモンスターと戦うのは初めてだという場合でも、マーニャはいちおう馬車の中から今までの戦いを見ている、という設定のもとに学習しているんです。それはナゼかって言うと、1人ずつ出して学習させるのはダルいと思ったからなんです。だから、パーティとして覚えちゃう。1人の知識はみんなの知識というような、学習機能にしちゃったんですね。結果的にはこれでよかったと思いますよ。やっぱり、それぞれのキャラクターを外に出して、何回も同じモンスターと戦うのってダルいですから。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. This emphasis on convenience also allowed party members in the wagon to obtain the same amounts of experience as the active characters<ref>逆に、中にいる人は学習できないとなると、必然的に外に出すキャラって固定されますよね。 | |||
堀井: そうなんですよね。役に立つキャラばかり使うことになるから、役に立たないキャラはいつまでたっても育たないし、役に立たないままになっちゃうでしょう。それじゃ困りますからね。馬車の中のキャラも経験値がもらえるっていうのも、そのせいなんです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. The AI feature in the final chapter was deliberately not implemented for the protagonists in the first four to allow the players to empathize with the characters as they controlled them, and to keep players from being bored by not having any influence during battle<ref>もう1つ目立って新しい要素として、5章構成のストーリーっていうのがあるんですけど、そもそもどうしてシナリオを5つに分けたんですか? | |||
堀井: これもイロんな要因があるんですよ。まず、メモリーが増えるぶん、ΙIよりも長い話になりそうだと。そうすると、IIIより長い1本の話っていうのは、けっこうヘビーだと思ったわけです。長いぶん、終盤になってダレたりとかしちゃうんじゃないかとね。それだったら、スパンスパンと区切って、1本1本の話しとしてはそれほど長くないけど、全体のボリュームとしては川よるもあるという方法をとろうと思ったんです。それで何章かに分けたいというのが出てきたんですね。また、それと並行してAIを使うということになったんですよね。AIで仲間が勝手に動くと。ただ、初めから勝手に動かれたんじゃ、あまり感情移入ができないんじゃないかと思ったんです。何か変なことをやっても、プレイヤーはろくに見もせずに、ボタンを押していくだけじゃないかとね。やっぱりAIをおもしろいと感じるのは、そのAIのキャラに思い入れができないといけないわけですよね。それじゃあ、章に分けたのと合わせて、最初はAIじゃなくて、それぞれのキャラに対する思い入れをつくる部分にしようって、そう考えたわけです。コイツはこんなヤツだということがわかってこそ、5章になってからAIで動かれても、楽しめると思うんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 5, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. | |||
The game's storyline, with self-contained chapters leading up to a greater finale, came about because Horii did not want to overwhelm players with a single long campaign that was twice as long as ''Dragon Quest III'''s. He also wanted to examine the lives of the Hero's companions before they joined forces, a deliberate contrast to the blank slates created at [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] in ''III''<ref>"What was the inspiration for dividing ''Dragon Quest IV'' into five stand-alone chapters?" | |||
Horii: In ''Dragon Quest III'', you went on an adventure with three companions, but these characters were simply created from scratch by the player. I thought it would be interesting to explore the lives of your comrades, which became the inspiration for ''Dragon Quest IV''. Nintendo Power issue 230, page 55</ref>. | |||
The chapter structure was also intended to ease players into the structure of a ''Dragon Quest'' game and the AI system<ref>確かに1章なんか、イロイロな面で入門用にもピッタリという感じはしますね。 | |||
堀井: ただ、あんまりドラクエすぎてもちょっとつまらないので、ホイミンをつけてみたりとか。(笑)ちょっとだけNPC(ノンプレイヤーキャラ)の練習をさせたりもしてるんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, as Horii believed the systems had evolved too fast between the previous games. Due to this, Chapters 1 and 2 were intentionally structured similarly to {{DQ}} and {{DQ2}}, with its simple combat and three-man party respectively. Chapter 1's simplicity proved an ideal place to introduce players to AI-controlled allies through Healie the healslime. Chapter 2 proved to be the most difficult to balance, with the continent of [[Terrestria|Maestral]] receiving mountainous terrain to increase encounter rates and [[Zalenagrad]] getting a conspicuous sign post warning players to level up before moving forward with their journey<ref>今のところ2章までやらせてもらったんですけど、今回は結構イベントが多そうですね。2章なんていきなりイベントがあったりして...。 | |||
堀井: そうですね。2章はバランスどりもけっこう苦労しました。というのは、町の数が多いものですから、隣の町までの距離もあまりなくて、ヘタすると1回もエンカウントせずに行けてしまう可能性があったんですよ。 | |||
それで最初の町に、注意のメッセージがあったりするわけなんですね。 | |||
堀井: あのサランの町の武器屋にはアリーナが装備できる“いばらのムチ"を売るようにしたり....。地形もモンスターに会いやすいように山を多くしたりと、いろんなことをやりました。で“いばらのムチ”を買うために戦っていると、ちょうど次の村にいっても大丈夫なレベルになっていると・・・・・・。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. | |||
Because the chapter structure meant that the series staple of gathering sacred artifacts (like the [[5 Sigils]] and the [[Six Orbs]]) could no longer be implemented, the [[mini medals]] were created as a replacement to satisfy players that enjoyed the collection aspect<ref>週刊少年ジャンプ issue 45, page 8, 1989</ref>. The slot machines and monster-betting cards expanded on similar minigames from ''II'' and ''III'' respectively; the betting cards were suggested to programmer Kazuya Asano. Asano wanted the monster arena to be based on more than pure chance, thus he tested each monster's winning probability to ensure every monster had a chance to win a battle and assigned the odds accordingly<ref>あと、カジノもやらせてもらったんですけど、あれはオトナがハマるんじゃないかと思います。 | |||
堀井: けっこう凝ってるでしょ。 | |||
・・あれは絶対ハマりますよ。** | |||
堀井: いやあ、ボクはあそこまでチュンソフトが疑ってくれるとは思わなかったですよ。 | |||
特に格闘場が、前よりオモシロイんじゃないかなって感じがするんですが...。 | |||
堀井: 前はランダムで対戦カードを作ってたんですけど、今回は前もってある程度のカードを用意してあるんです。で、オッズ(倍率)もちゃんと設定してあるし。 | |||
オッズを調べるのが、かなり大変だったという話を聞いてますけど。 | |||
堀井: チュンソフトの浅野くんっていう人がいるんですけど、彼が、こっちのスタッフが作ったカードを何度もためしてみて、確率を計算して、オッズを作ってくれたんですよ。 | |||
**ということは逆に言えば、それだけ確かめてあるから、いくら倍率が高いとはいっても、決して勝てないというわけではないですよね。 | |||
堀井 そうです、勝つこともあります。勝つ確率が0っていうカードはないです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 7, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. | |||
Development of ''Dragon Quest IV'' wrapped up in August of 1989, with focus shifting to {{Dragon Quest V}}'s planning stage after a two month break. Chunsoft struggled to fit the game on to the cartridge despite having twice as much memory capacity as ''Dragon Quest III'', with Koichi Nakamura admitting that only a scant 100 bytes remained by the end of development<ref>IVはどうなんでしょう。IIIは2メガでエラく大変だったって聞いていますけど。 | |||
中村: 大変は大変でしたけど、無事にタイトルも入りましたし。(笑)数バイトしか残ってないなんて事はないけど、まともなプログラムが組めるほど、空いてないです。全部で100バイト位、空いてるかな? ''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 11, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. In a December 1990 interview with Famitsu magazine promoting ''Dragon Quest V'', Horii revealed that he intended for {{Psaro C}} to join the Chosen at one point, but the scenario was scrapped due to the strict memory limit<ref>— じつは『V』の主人公はデスピ○ロで人間に復讐するという・・・・・。そんなシナリオも想像できるんですがどうですか?よく、「あれではデスピ○ロがかわいそうだ」という意見も耳にしますから。 | |||
堀井: なるほど。アイデアとしてはおもしろいね。本当のこと言っちゃうと、ピ○ロは途中で仲間になる予定だったんだよ。でも、容量の関係でどんどん削られてしまって。で、結局ああいうことになったの。ファミ通 No. 117 December 21st 1990, page 43</ref>. Whether this original scenario was revived for chapter 6 in the 2001 {{PlayStation}} remake or remained scrapped in lieu of a new story altogether is unknown. | |||
==Credits== | ==Credits== | ||
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|Yasuhiro Fukushima | |Yasuhiro Fukushima | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Trivia== | |||
*''IV'' is the only one of the original four games released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] to not be remade for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], and the only title in the [[Zenithia trilogy]] to not have been originally developed for the 16-bit hardware | |||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
===Title Screens=== | ===Title Screens=== | ||
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{{ScreenshotGallery/End}} | {{ScreenshotGallery/End}} | ||
</center> | </center> | ||
===Box art=== | ===Box art=== | ||
<center><gallery> | <center><gallery> | ||
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DQIV_DS_Box.png|[[Nintendo DS]] box art. | DQIV_DS_Box.png|[[Nintendo DS]] box art. | ||
</gallery></center> | </gallery></center> | ||
=== | |||
===Miscellaneous=== | |||
<center><gallery> | <center><gallery> | ||
Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IV.png|Symphonic Suite. | Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IV.png|Symphonic Suite. | ||
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*[http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dw4nes/ Dragon's Den] | *[http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dw4nes/ Dragon's Den] | ||
*[http://www.dqshrine.com/dq/dq4/ DQ Shrine] | *[http://www.dqshrine.com/dq/dq4/ DQ Shrine] | ||
==References== | |||
<references/> | |||
{{DQIV}} | {{DQIV}} | ||