Borya

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Borya
Dragon Quest IV
BoryaDQIVDSArtwork.png
Sprite(s) Dq4brey-sprite-NES.gif
Japanese name ブライ
Romaji Burai
Title Retainer
Class Mage
Race Human
Age 60s
Voice actor Jōji Yanami (CD Theater)

Borya (ブライ, Burai in Japanese, Brey in the NES localization) is a character in Dragon Quest IV. He, along with Kiryl, is a retainer to Princess Alena, and follows her when she sets out on her journey to try and ensure her safety.

Appearance and Personality

Borya is extremely old and wizened, hinting to his long history of the study of magic. He carries a staff everywhere, topped with a jewel that he presumably uses in some way for spellcasting, though it may be a mundane walking stick. During his life in Castle Zamoksva he served as the court magician and personal tutor to Princess Alena, instructing her in several subjects.

He is very loyal to Princess Alena, as evidenced by how he immediately rushes after her when she escapes the castle confines. He is deeply concerned for her future as the ruler of Zamoksva, and disapproves of her capricious attitude. He often laments what the young princess' late mother would say if she say her daughter acting so unbecomingly, and has spent some considerable time trying to encourage her to behave in a more traditionally appropriate fashion. Despite failing routinely at this, the old man is genuinely fond his charge and cares for her as a grandfather would. True to his age, he is a grumpy and cantankerous senior who will not hesitate to voice his complaints, ranging from the courting rituals of the younger generations to the idiosyncrasies of his fellow chosen. Despite his vitriolic tongue these personal criticisms are meant to help his companions improve themselves, showing that his grandfatherly nature is not limited to his tsarevna.

Story

Chapter 2 begins with Alena begging her father, the King of Zamoksva, to let her explore the world, since strong fighters are needed more and more in their troubled times, with the Underworld creeping out of dormancy. However, he refuses, saying that with monsters showing increasing aggression, it's simply too dangerous to let her leave the safety of the castle. Alena goes back to her room, but within a few minutes is overcome with frustration and escapes the castle.

Kiryl and Borya, her retainers, give chase; they're resigned to not being able to make her stay put, but if she's going to leave, they can't allow her to travel alone. The three set out and soon come to a small village being terrorized by a local monster continually demanding young girls as a sacrifice. Alena immediately heads to the local church to offer herself as the next sacrifice, but she has no intention of dying; as soon as the demon shows its face, she, Kiryl and Borya spring into action and take it out, saving the village.

After journeying straight to the far ends of Zamoksva, the nomadic Desert Bazaar, she gets a summons from her father, who, upon receiving her, admits that he was mistaken in his over-protectiveness, and opens the Teleportal to a nearby country. Here, Alena finds the local princess bemoaning her fate, because her father has promised her hand to the winner of the Endor Tournament, an annual fighting competition, and her father seriously regretting this promise. Though she hears rumblings of an extremely dangerous entrant named Psaro, Alena enters and gets to the finals, only to find that her opponent, who would have been Psaro, has disappeared. By winning the tournament, Alena absolve the Princess of her duty.

However, as she is celebrating her victory a severely wounded Zamoksvian soldier rushes in and cries that she must return to the castle at once before dying on the scene. The party returns to the Castle but finds it completely devoid of life; together, they set out to investigate and the chapter ends abruptly.

Alena and her companions are not seen again until Chapter 5, when Kiryl has fallen under a dangerous fever while in Mintos (from which they traveled to from Porthtrunnel). Alena and a band of three mercenaries set out to the Feverfew root's reported location to try and recover some to cure Kiryl, but fails. However, The Hero succeeds, and upon learning of their destiny the three immediately join the party for the remainder of the game. Some time later, they return to Zamoksva, finding the cause of its troubles to be the demon Baalzack, whom they kill in retribution and for the greater good.

Abilities

As one can tell from a glance, Borya is a mage. He has high MP and Wisdom, but low physical attributes. Borya is one of the more popular characters in the game due to the powerful beneficial status effects he can infer on the party, as well as his ice-based offensive spells. However, the weapons and armour he can equip are quite limited, and he can only equip three shields.

Earliest Lvl Learned Latest Lvl Learned Japanese Name DW IV DQ IV DS Spanish Name
1 1 Hyado Icebolt Crack Minihelada
3 5 Rukani Sap Sap Debilitacion
5 7 Rariho Sleep Snooze Sueño
7 8 Riremito Outside Evac Telehuida
8 10 Mahoton Bounce Bounce Rebote
9 10 Rura Return Zoom Teleregreso
11 12 Hyadoruko Snowstorm Crackle Helada
14 16 Piorimu Speedup Acceleratle
15 16 Peep
17 19 Day-Night Tick-Tock
19 19 Bikill Oomph
21 23 Rukanan Defense Kasap
23 23 X-Ray Snoop
25 27 Robmagic Drain Magic
27 28 Hyadain Icespears Kacrack
30 31 Medapani Chaos Fuddle
32 32 Mahyado Blizzard Kacrackle

Stats

  • PSX version.
Attribute Starting Stats Maximum Stats
Level 1 99
HP 16 552
MP 10 447
Strength 3 82
Agility 5 198
Resilience 7 132
Wisdom 8 237
Luck 2 206
Initial gear Cypress stick, Plain clothes

Name translation

In the original NES version of Dragon Quest IV, Borya was known as Brey. It is notable that this name translation stays truer to the original Japanese Dragon Quest IV. Plus Alpha's more recent translation of the game for the Nintendo DS took many more liberties with the original translation, adding things such as regional accents and other small changes. Thus the name 'Borya' is not quite the same name as in the original Japanese version of the game.

Remake

In the NES version of the game, recruiting Borya can be delayed until Kiryl is cured. The Sony PlayStation and Nintendo DS version has a Thief's Key door placed in the Imperial Pantry of Parthenia, which Alena & her allies will only show up to open if Borya is recruited in The Hero's party.

Other Appearances

Dragon Quest IX

Borya appears as one of the special guests at the Quester's Rest in Stornway. This could be obtained when the DQVC was available using Nintendo's Wi-Fi Channel. When spoken to, he gives the player different pieces of his outfit for fulfilling certain conditions.

See also

Gallery