Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen: Difference between revisions

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:''Main article: [[Dragon Quest IV Prologue|Prologue]]''
:''Main article: [[Dragon Quest IV Prologue|Prologue]]''


We are introduced to [[Hero (Dragon Quest IV)|the Hero]] and his/her friend [[Eliza]].  This portion of the story was introduced in the PlayStation version, and became standard in later remakes.
We are introduced to the[[Hero (Dragon Quest IV)|Hero]] and his/her friend [[Eliza]].  This portion of the story was introduced in the PlayStation version, and became standard in later remakes.


===Chapter 1===  
===Chapter 1===  

Revision as of 20:30, 12 June 2019


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 Dragon Quest video game series. The game was originally released for the NES, but has been remade several times for different systems. It begins the Tenkuu (Celestial) trilogy, known better as the Zenithian 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.

Setting

IV is the first of the series to not be related to the lineage of Erdrick--the game is the first of a new trilogy revolving around the legend of a castle in the sky that watches over the world below. The world map is of a comparable size to that of III, but has no direct parallels to the real world in regards to the shape of the continents and nature of the kingdoms.


Plot

The story in IV is a more character-focused tale centered around the lives of the chosen ones prior to and during their quest to prevent the resurrection of the ruler of evil, Estark. The first four chapters of the story are about the hero's companions and their own challenges and hardships. While they each travel with their own goals and dreams in mind, they all eventually discover the conspiracy of Psaro the Manslayer to drive the human race to extinction via Estark's hellish power.

Prologue

Main article: Prologue

We are introduced to theHero and his/her friend Eliza. This portion of the story was introduced in the PlayStation version, and became standard in later remakes.

Chapter 1

Main article: Chapter 1

Ragnar McRyan, one of the soldiers in the royal palace of Burland, is sent by the king on a journey to find out why children are disappearing across the kingdom.

Chapter 2

Main article: Chapter 2

Alena, princess (Tsarevna in the Nintendo DS localization) of Zamoksva, who slips out of the castle in hopes of seeing the world that exists beyond the castle walls. She is accompanied by the priest Kiryl and the mage Borya.

Chapter 3

Main article: Chapter 3

Torneko Taloon lives in Lakanaba with his wife and son, and works part-time in the local weapon shop. He aims to become the best merchant in the world, and begins his chapter in search of a regional treasure that could help him accomplish his goal.

Chapter 4

Main article: Chapter 4

Maya the dancer and her younger sister Meena, the fortune teller, have left Laissez Fayre in search of vengeance against Balzack, their father's traitorous apprentice.

Chapter 5

Main article: Chapter 5

The Hero has been brought up by the inhabitants of a remote and nameless mountain village. But Psaro and his legions destroy the village, leaving only the hidden hero alive. The hero leaves in search of his seven companions, in the hopes of defeating Psaro and saving the world.

Chapter 6

Main article: Chapter 6

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.


New features

Artificial intelligence

In a bold move for an NES title, a significant portion of the game's memory was dedicated to an intricate artificial intelligence that controls party members during the fifth chapter. In the fifth chapter of the NES version of the game, the player no longer directly controls any of the previous characters; instead using the Tactics menu to deliver a loose set of instructions (Normal, Defensive, Offensive, Save MP, Use No MP, Try Out). The only character directly controlled is the Hero. All chapters except chapter 2 also contain Non-Player Characters, which travel with the player, but cannot be directly controlled. They act on their own, guided by the game's AI.

Party expansion

  • Every chapter save the second includes a non-chosen party member who will assist the group temporarily during their travels together. Each is tied to a story element of the chapter and reflect that section of the story's tone.
  • A wagon was implemented to transport up to eight party members at the same time, allowing for battle configurations to be rearranged to suit any encounter at will. Certain dungeons will not allow the wagon to enter the area, however.

Collectibles

  • Mini medals are scattered throughout the world for the player to gather at their leisure, which can be exchanged for incredible equipment at the palace of the Medal king.
  • Items are now hidden in drawers, cabinets, and urns in addition to chests. Contents range from stat boosting seeds to common item and small sums of gold.

Casino

Building upon the gambling featured in the monster arenas of III, the fourth game allows players to explore a large casino in the city of Endor. Redeemable tokens can be won at slot machines, poker, and monster betting, which can be spent on exclusive items and equipment.


Legacy

The characters of Dragon Quest IV. From left to right: Kiryl, Ragnar, Alena, the Hero (female and male), Borya, Maya, Meena, and Torneko.

Remakes

Dragon Quest IV was remade for the Sony PlayStation on November 22, 2001 in Japan. It was developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix. The remake was developed using Dragon Quest VII 's 3D graphics engine. With this remake came new features; among them were a new chapter, a new character, a boom town reminiscent of VII's, an inter-party talk command similar to Dragon Quest VII, and the ability to turn off the artificial intelligence for party members. The Enix of America Corporation originally planned to bring the remake to North America in 2002, but it was later cancelled due to Heartbeat closing its video game development operations.

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 Hits. The Fungeon (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 Dragon Quest VII. This portable version was released internationally in September of 2008. An oversight in the localization process created a bug in the programming that made it impossible to access the party chat, despite all dialogue being fully translated into English.

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 ratio, 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.

Sequels

Dragon Quest V has some references to Dragon Quest IV, but is mostly an independent story that does not heavily rely on the previous entry. The adventure of the chosen is known only by a scant few individuals, which further separates the Zenithian trilogy from it's predecessor.

Soundtrack

Monster Battle Victory DQ IV group.png

Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all the associated spin-offs. This is the track listing of the Symphonic Suite:

  1. Overture (1:55)
  2. Minuet (3:07)
  3. Comrades (10:28)
  4. In a Town (8:16)
  5. Homeland ~ Wagon Wheels' March (5:58)
  6. Frightening Dungeons ~ Cursed Towers (5:19)
  7. Elegy ~ Mysterious Shrine (5:03)
  8. Balloon's Flight (4:32)
  9. Sea Breeze (4:31)
  10. The Unknown Castle (4:37)
  11. Battle for the Glory (7:51)
  12. The End (5:12)

Version Differences

PlayStation and DS

The characters of Dragon Quest IV
  • Both the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo DS versions have a Prologue chapter to introduce the hero 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 chapter 5. The PlayStation version uses the graphics engine from Dragon Quest VII and the Nintendo DS remake uses nearly the same style, with some minor compression to account for the handheld's screen size.
  • A new dungeon was added in the "after-game", along with a new Zoom point within. Completing this dungeon a certain number of times grants access to get Psaro's equipment and causes a separate Psaro, a naked and gender-confused man, to appear in the Pioneer Town.
  • In the NES Version, Hank Hoffman Jr. leaves the party after Alena and her companions join. In the PlayStation and DS Version, he leaves immediately upon entering Mintos.
  • The first floor of the Imperial Pantry of Parthenia has a Thief's Key door blocking off the rest of the cave. To get it opened, Borya has to be recruited, which triggers a scene where Alena kicks the door down despite having the key. The NES version of the cave lacks the door and can be completed without recruiting Borya.
Exploring the world in the DS version of Dragon Quest IV
  • While still uncontrollable during combat, Healing Spells known by Healie, Laurel and Orifiela can be used manually out of battle.
  • The PS and DS, iOS, Android version include The Bag for unlimited item storage which can carry up to 99 for each item.
  • In the PS and DS version, only Eliza and Float-o-copiers can use the Morph Spell, whereas in the NES Version, the Hero could also learn it.
  • In the Nintendo Version, Marquis de Léon dies after his defeat, whereas in the remakes, he reverts to his human form and forgets his time as a monster.
  • In the remakes, the player no longer loses Gold Coins after being defeated by Marquis de Léon in Chapter 4.
  • There's only one Liquid metal shield in the Nintendo DS, iOS, Android game that you can get by trading in 52 mini medals to the medal king.
  • Mild profanity such as damnedest, hell, helliva is used in the DS, Android, iOS versions of the game.
  • The DS uses 2 separate screens in the game.
  • The Android and iOS uses touch screen features and the game uses a portrait screen setting instead of the landscape screen.
  • Religious references that were removed from Dragon Warrior IV NES are now included in the game.
  • Name changes to Weapons, Armor, items is made in the DS, iOS, Android version.
  • The bonus Chapter 6 is now included in the DS, iOS, Android version including Psaro being a playable character and brand new dungeons.
  • 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 Beast is now included for the monster bestiary and the player will be rewarded 250,000 coins if they complete the list of monsters.

See also

Gallery

Title Screens

Box art

  • Original artwork of the Famicom release

  • NES box art

  • PlayStation box art

  • Nintendo DS box art

Miscellaneous

  • Symphonic Suite

  • Famicom guide

  • Cast

  • DQIV Cast battling monsters.png
  • DQIV Into The Fray.png
  • DQIV Camping.png
  • DQIV Group cheering.png
  • DQIVCharacters.png
  • DQIV Random Encounter.png

  • CD Theater

  • CD Theater

  • CD Theater

  • "Legend in the Dark" novel

  • 4koma comics

  • 4koma comics

  • 4koma comics

  • 4koma comics

  • 4koma comics

  • 4koma comics

  • PlayStation guide

  • PlayStation art

  • PlayStation group

  • iOS/Android

  • "Bosses" Trading Card Game sleeve

External links


Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Chapters
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