I primarily fell in love with role-playing games because I love storytelling. Since I was a wee child, I would always write stories. Even in early elementary school I found myself penning fanfiction for “Peep and the Big, Wide World.” It’s always been my calling, and while, now in my late twenties, I am getting more okay with the fact that it may not be my career, storytelling will always my thing. Dragon Warrior IV really caused me to be enamored with it very quickly, and it 100% has to do with how this game not only tells its story in a non-traditional way, Dragon Quest-wise, but also video-game-wise.
The way the scenario is split up in its titular chapters is perfect. Beginning with Ragnar, and telling a simple story of a normal soldier doing his job and protecting citizens and then having the main plot creep up until Ragnar is the first chosen to be called to a higher destiny. Having the protagonist and chief antagonist completely hidden from the player as they control a cast of supporting characters that one would normally encounter as the protagonist just is perfect. It shifts the player from controlling a singular role; this installment is simulating something a little more omnipotent. In the first four chapters, you find yourself piloting four different characters and setting them onto a path that would have them eventually meet with the Hero they’ve been told, by fate, that they are to soon accompany.
You aren’t just playing as these characters, the player is almost acting as fate, as one of the goddess’ upper servants, leading and commanding the chosen ones so that they will be able to cross paths with the Hero. It still plays like any other classic JRPG, but it shifts the perspective just a smidge to contort the role the player is in, and it just makes it that much more interesting to me. And, besides how it can be used to examine the relationship between player and game, it’s also just really cool to spend extra time alone with supporting characters so that when the Hero meets them, the player gets a little more excited than how one normally might be when gaining a party member. Having a larger cast of characters along for the ride just gives it a more fleshed out fantasy story feel. Along with the episodic format, it feels like I’m reading a series of novels, or watching a show, with a larger cast of characters than the 1-4 that this series has stuck to up to this point. Which, by the way, through the last half of Chapter 5 I was mostly using the Hero, Ragnar, Cristo, and Mara as my main quartet.
I wanted to play the NES version instead of the NDS version of this game just because I didn’t want every single Dragon Quest playthrough of mine to be played on either iOS or NDS, and this one seemed like a fun venture. The classical feel was just really nice. The emulator I was using (fceux) had some really nice video settings that allowed me to give this a CRT look that just made me lose myself in the charm of NES aesthetics, which I don’t usually do! This is, of course, a late NES title, which helps it a lot, but this is easily one of the best looking 8-bit games I’ve ever laid eyes on. The party members’ sprites are so nice, monster sprites look great (EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE), it’s just a real treat. The most interesting part of this playthrough was experiencing the localization differences between modern Dragon Quest, which I grew up with, and the elder Dragon Warrior script. There are tiny differences, of course, but it made it really funny deciphering online guides because every FAQ and Wiki is up to date with script from the Nintendo DS version, which might as well be the only one that exists in the west.
It was also kind of a blast playing an old RPG. This might actually be my first RPG where the version I’m playing actually pre-dates my life. I’m so used to playing older games through newer collections with standard UI and mechanics. The command screen, at first, made it feel archaic, but that kind of thing also helps in these old school RPGs because you’re basically given a list of options on how to progress. Did I talk to everyone? Search everywhere? Try every door? Town citizens give you plenty of information, and there’s a lot of good instincts that the game gives the player that helps out.
For instance, in chapter five, you find a seaside village named, well, Seaside Village. Villagers speak of how the tide gets high at night, and that there is a special item that the town used to have in its possession. At night, the tide rolls in and covers every tile of beach except for one tile. Obviously, the next morning you search that tile and, lo and behold, there’s a little village heirloom that’ll help you access another area. Though, a problem I encountered here that is definitely just a part of this series’ overall design choice, is that once you get access to a ship, the scenario becomes insanely less linear and I did have some moments where I encountered things out of order and it caused a lot of confusion. The country of Gartenburgh is surrounded by mountains, I travel around and find a place speaking of a flying vessel! Ah! That will get me there, surely. However, the person who makes said vessels needs a Gas Canister to build it. Right, right… Travel around with no luck and decide just to look it up. Oh, okay it’s in the mine I once traveled to in another chapter. Though, when I last went there in this chapter, nothing had changed? I look up maps and something should’ve changed. Turns out you hear how it changes in… a place I’ve never been? Apparently that place is accessible once you get the master key! Wait that’s in Femiscyra, that’s why… wait… Oh, turns out an item I got already was the key to get to Gartenburgh, and I just didn’t talk to the guy in Burland who tells the player that. Fuck. Oh, and the spot where you use this item was this little nook in the mountain range that I noticed while exploring and just knew was important.
So, yeah, besides those few hang-ups, this game flows really well for an old RPG without modern-day game design’s more player-friendly trends. Dragon Quest has always charmed me like crazy, it’s easily in my top favorite series now after replaying some of my childhood games and playing other installments for the first time. It’s always been tough for me to get through Final Fantasy, I even shelved a playthrough of ‘FFIV’, the Final Fantasy game that I’ve been most intrigued in, just because I got a hankering to play this instead. I’m a DQ-head through and through, and this installment is definitely a new favorite, although I’ve yet to play the game in this series that completely enraptures me to the point that I would call it an all-time favorite. Though, I did play this in anticipation for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, which is my most anticipated new game of the rest of the year, and was excited to realize how much more of that game is connected to this installment than I initially realized just after that announcement trailer. Safe to say this is probably my favorite storyline in the series so far, and considering I grew up with the ‘Monsters’ spin-offs much more than the main series, I think ‘Dark Prince’ is gonna be a great time for me.
The way the scenario is split up in its titular chapters is perfect. Beginning with Ragnar, and telling a simple story of a normal soldier doing his job and protecting citizens and then having the main plot creep up until Ragnar is the first chosen to be called to a higher destiny. Having the protagonist and chief antagonist completely hidden from the player as they control a cast of supporting characters that one would normally encounter as the protagonist just is perfect. It shifts the player from controlling a singular role; this installment is simulating something a little more omnipotent. In the first four chapters, you find yourself piloting four different characters and setting them onto a path that would have them eventually meet with the Hero they’ve been told, by fate, that they are to soon accompany.
You aren’t just playing as these characters, the player is almost acting as fate, as one of the goddess’ upper servants, leading and commanding the chosen ones so that they will be able to cross paths with the Hero. It still plays like any other classic JRPG, but it shifts the perspective just a smidge to contort the role the player is in, and it just makes it that much more interesting to me. And, besides how it can be used to examine the relationship between player and game, it’s also just really cool to spend extra time alone with supporting characters so that when the Hero meets them, the player gets a little more excited than how one normally might be when gaining a party member. Having a larger cast of characters along for the ride just gives it a more fleshed out fantasy story feel. Along with the episodic format, it feels like I’m reading a series of novels, or watching a show, with a larger cast of characters than the 1-4 that this series has stuck to up to this point. Which, by the way, through the last half of Chapter 5 I was mostly using the Hero, Ragnar, Cristo, and Mara as my main quartet.
I wanted to play the NES version instead of the NDS version of this game just because I didn’t want every single Dragon Quest playthrough of mine to be played on either iOS or NDS, and this one seemed like a fun venture. The classical feel was just really nice. The emulator I was using (fceux) had some really nice video settings that allowed me to give this a CRT look that just made me lose myself in the charm of NES aesthetics, which I don’t usually do! This is, of course, a late NES title, which helps it a lot, but this is easily one of the best looking 8-bit games I’ve ever laid eyes on. The party members’ sprites are so nice, monster sprites look great (EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE), it’s just a real treat. The most interesting part of this playthrough was experiencing the localization differences between modern Dragon Quest, which I grew up with, and the elder Dragon Warrior script. There are tiny differences, of course, but it made it really funny deciphering online guides because every FAQ and Wiki is up to date with script from the Nintendo DS version, which might as well be the only one that exists in the west.
It was also kind of a blast playing an old RPG. This might actually be my first RPG where the version I’m playing actually pre-dates my life. I’m so used to playing older games through newer collections with standard UI and mechanics. The command screen, at first, made it feel archaic, but that kind of thing also helps in these old school RPGs because you’re basically given a list of options on how to progress. Did I talk to everyone? Search everywhere? Try every door? Town citizens give you plenty of information, and there’s a lot of good instincts that the game gives the player that helps out.
For instance, in chapter five, you find a seaside village named, well, Seaside Village. Villagers speak of how the tide gets high at night, and that there is a special item that the town used to have in its possession. At night, the tide rolls in and covers every tile of beach except for one tile. Obviously, the next morning you search that tile and, lo and behold, there’s a little village heirloom that’ll help you access another area. Though, a problem I encountered here that is definitely just a part of this series’ overall design choice, is that once you get access to a ship, the scenario becomes insanely less linear and I did have some moments where I encountered things out of order and it caused a lot of confusion. The country of Gartenburgh is surrounded by mountains, I travel around and find a place speaking of a flying vessel! Ah! That will get me there, surely. However, the person who makes said vessels needs a Gas Canister to build it. Right, right… Travel around with no luck and decide just to look it up. Oh, okay it’s in the mine I once traveled to in another chapter. Though, when I last went there in this chapter, nothing had changed? I look up maps and something should’ve changed. Turns out you hear how it changes in… a place I’ve never been? Apparently that place is accessible once you get the master key! Wait that’s in Femiscyra, that’s why… wait… Oh, turns out an item I got already was the key to get to Gartenburgh, and I just didn’t talk to the guy in Burland who tells the player that. Fuck. Oh, and the spot where you use this item was this little nook in the mountain range that I noticed while exploring and just knew was important.
So, yeah, besides those few hang-ups, this game flows really well for an old RPG without modern-day game design’s more player-friendly trends. Dragon Quest has always charmed me like crazy, it’s easily in my top favorite series now after replaying some of my childhood games and playing other installments for the first time. It’s always been tough for me to get through Final Fantasy, I even shelved a playthrough of ‘FFIV’, the Final Fantasy game that I’ve been most intrigued in, just because I got a hankering to play this instead. I’m a DQ-head through and through, and this installment is definitely a new favorite, although I’ve yet to play the game in this series that completely enraptures me to the point that I would call it an all-time favorite. Though, I did play this in anticipation for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, which is my most anticipated new game of the rest of the year, and was excited to realize how much more of that game is connected to this installment than I initially realized just after that announcement trailer. Safe to say this is probably my favorite storyline in the series so far, and considering I grew up with the ‘Monsters’ spin-offs much more than the main series, I think ‘Dark Prince’ is gonna be a great time for me.