Dragon Quest IV

Main series games Developer(s) Chunsoft
Heartbeat, ArtePiazza (PS)
ArtePiazza, Cattle Call(NDS) Publisher(s) Enix
Square Enix (NDS) Designer(s) Yūji Horii Artist(s) Akira Toriyama Composer(s) Koichi Sugiyama Series Dragon Quest Platform(s) Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, PlayStation, Nintendo DS Release date(s) Famicom/NES
^JP February 11, 1990
^NA October 1992
PlayStation
^JP November 22, 2001
Nintendo DS
^JP November 22, 2007
^NA September 16, 2008
^EU September 12, 2008
^AUS September 11, 2008
Genre(s) Console role-playing game Mode(s) Single-player Rating(s) CERO: A (PS1, DS)
ESRB: E10+ (DS)
OFLC: PG
Media 4-megabit NES cartridge
CD (PS1)
Nintendo DS Game Card

Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi (Japanese: 導かれし者たち, lit. 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 was remade for the PlayStation and later Nintendo DS. It begins the Tenkuu no Shiro (Castle in the Sky) trilogy.

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 December 1992.

Gameplay

Dragon Quest IV had a unique way of advancing the story. It was split into five chapters. The first four chapters were told from the perspective of the hero's future companions. The fifth chapter was the hero's quest. During that quest, you would meet with and join with the companions whose stories were told in earlier chapters. Then, with a full cast of companions the group would begin their journey to save the world.

Unlike the previous dragon quest games however, it appears that the storyline of Dragon Quest IV does not relate to the storyline of Dragon Quest I, II, and III.

Dragon Quest IV introduced several new features over the first three titles. The new chapter-based story telling system was one of them. Also the inclusion of the, now common, casino. In addition, there were party member artificial intelligence options, which allows the player to give strategies to his party while still directly controlling the hero character. Finally, the wagon which allowed extra characters to wait and be exchanged during battle if needed.

Plot

Chapter 1

Main article: Chapter 1

Ragnar (ライアン), 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 (アリーナ), princess/tsarevna of Santohaim, slips out of the castle in hopes of attending a tournament in the castle of Endor. She is accompanied by the priest Kiryl(クリフト, Cristo in the NES Localization) and the mage Borya (ブライ, Brey in the NES Localization).

Chapter 3

Main article: Chapter 3

Torneko (トルネコ, Taloon in the NES localisation) lives in Lakanaba with his wife and son, and works part-time in the local weapon shop. He wants to become the best merchant in the world, so he leaves his hometown in search of profit.

Chapter 4

Main article: Chapter 4

Maya (マーニャ, Mara in the NES localization of the game) the dancer and her younger sister Meena (ミネア, Nara in the NES localization of the game), the fortune teller, have left Monbaraba in search of vengeance against Balzack, their father's traitorous apprentice.

Chapter 5

Main article: Chapter 5

The Hero (Dragon Quest IV) 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 hero alive. The hero leaves in search of his seven companions, in the hopes of defeating Psaro and saving the world.

Legacy

Remakes

Dragon Quest IV was remade for the PlayStation on November 22, 2001 in Japan. It was developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix. The remake was developed using the Dragon Quest VII's 3D graphics engine, but was still Dragon Quest IV's story and world. With this remake came new features. Among these features were a new chapter, a new character, 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 canceled due to Heartbeat closing its video game development operations.

Sequels

Dragon Quest IV is the fourth game in the Dragon Quest series. The next game in the series is Dragon Quest V, which has some references to Dragon Quest IV, but is mostly an independent story.

Soundtrack

Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all the associated spinoffs. Here is the tracklisting 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

• A sixth chapter was added.
• An Immigrant Town was added, similar to Sim's Town in Dragon Quest VII.
• Boomerangs were replaced by crossbows.
• Instead of the Liquid Metal Shield, the casino sells Falcon Swords.
• A new dungeon was added in the "after-game," along with a new Return Point. Completing this dungeon a certain number of times grants access to get Psaro's equipment and causes Psaro, a naked and gender-confused man, to appear in the Immigrant Town.

External links

• RPG Classics shrine
• Dragon's Den
• DQ Shrine