After 14 years or so of avoiding this game only for the looks of the main character on the front cover (c’mon, the Zenithian helm looks ridiculous on this guy. He seems like a freaking merman!), I finally got to experience DQIV for the first time, and what I found was the comfort food type of fun that is a trademark of this series.
Not as fun as III, though. And far from the masterpiece that is V as well. Even so, DQIV was quite an enjoyable experience, and I think that if the player keeps reminding themselves that they are indeed playing a NES game, the game’s qualities become more apparent.
The most notable of them all is the huge focus on narrative that this title tried to achieve. Coming from the first three games, all with very light story elements and a larger focus on gameplay, it is very nice to reach to a point where, even on the NES, you are presented to an episodic storytelling (much like what MOTHER 3 did years later), with each chapter featuring characters with their own personalities and motivations, all coming together in the final one to defeat their common enemy.
In its execution, the plot elements are still quite simplistic, and the tale that’s being told is nothing to write home about, but it’s undeniably charming to see how this was implemented in a game of its era.
As a bonus to this feeling - and one which I think that hugely increases its enjoyment - this specific iOS/Android port has party chat, a feature not present in the original Nintendo DS localisation for western releases. With the single press of a button, you can check out what your party members have to say about what’s going on in the world, and it’s amazing how they ALWAYS have something to tell, always reacting to almost anything. Be sure to keep pressing this button a lot, because it really brings more meat to the story.
I had some little annoyances with this episodic format, though. The first chapter was harmless, but the second and fourth ones were quite tedious, with their clear focus on combat and the need for grinding.
The second one might be the longest of the four initial chapters, but the worst DQ IV chapter trophy has to go to the fourth one. Meena and Maya are super, super weak, and having to grind just to go through simple monsters (and later, the most annoying ones in these chapters) was deceptively boring, and I really do not care a single bit for this part of the game.
The third chapter, though, was a bliss. Torneko’s adventure was unique, gimmicky, funny and with the perfect length. I’m glad I picked the game up for this chapter alone, to be honest.
That said, these four initial chapters are only representative of the first half of the game. Once you reach the fifth one, it turns into a “normal” Dragon Quest experience, and it goes on quite fine in that regard, with a nice length. The world map may be a bit small in comparison to other titles, but it’s not less fun to explore because of it.
There’s not too much I’ve got to say, though. I wouldn’t mark this game’s story as remarkable, memorable, but it was cute and fun to go through, and the funny cast of characters is part of that charm.
The game wasn’t difficult, delivering a fair challenge. I’d say the extra chapter after the base game’s final boss is worth checking out though, since it presents a new dungeon with a very satisfactory and challenging fight against an unique boss duo, and a better closure to the original game’s story after defeating the “true” final boss.
I think they could have done more in this post-game content, but what’s here is nice and harmless.
Not my favourite in the series, but a fun little JRPG to play through.
(guys, seriously, am I the only one who hates the male protagonist’s design? You gotta pick the girl up. She looks way more badass.)
Not as fun as III, though. And far from the masterpiece that is V as well. Even so, DQIV was quite an enjoyable experience, and I think that if the player keeps reminding themselves that they are indeed playing a NES game, the game’s qualities become more apparent.
The most notable of them all is the huge focus on narrative that this title tried to achieve. Coming from the first three games, all with very light story elements and a larger focus on gameplay, it is very nice to reach to a point where, even on the NES, you are presented to an episodic storytelling (much like what MOTHER 3 did years later), with each chapter featuring characters with their own personalities and motivations, all coming together in the final one to defeat their common enemy.
In its execution, the plot elements are still quite simplistic, and the tale that’s being told is nothing to write home about, but it’s undeniably charming to see how this was implemented in a game of its era.
As a bonus to this feeling - and one which I think that hugely increases its enjoyment - this specific iOS/Android port has party chat, a feature not present in the original Nintendo DS localisation for western releases. With the single press of a button, you can check out what your party members have to say about what’s going on in the world, and it’s amazing how they ALWAYS have something to tell, always reacting to almost anything. Be sure to keep pressing this button a lot, because it really brings more meat to the story.
I had some little annoyances with this episodic format, though. The first chapter was harmless, but the second and fourth ones were quite tedious, with their clear focus on combat and the need for grinding.
The second one might be the longest of the four initial chapters, but the worst DQ IV chapter trophy has to go to the fourth one. Meena and Maya are super, super weak, and having to grind just to go through simple monsters (and later, the most annoying ones in these chapters) was deceptively boring, and I really do not care a single bit for this part of the game.
The third chapter, though, was a bliss. Torneko’s adventure was unique, gimmicky, funny and with the perfect length. I’m glad I picked the game up for this chapter alone, to be honest.
That said, these four initial chapters are only representative of the first half of the game. Once you reach the fifth one, it turns into a “normal” Dragon Quest experience, and it goes on quite fine in that regard, with a nice length. The world map may be a bit small in comparison to other titles, but it’s not less fun to explore because of it.
There’s not too much I’ve got to say, though. I wouldn’t mark this game’s story as remarkable, memorable, but it was cute and fun to go through, and the funny cast of characters is part of that charm.
The game wasn’t difficult, delivering a fair challenge. I’d say the extra chapter after the base game’s final boss is worth checking out though, since it presents a new dungeon with a very satisfactory and challenging fight against an unique boss duo, and a better closure to the original game’s story after defeating the “true” final boss.
I think they could have done more in this post-game content, but what’s here is nice and harmless.
Not my favourite in the series, but a fun little JRPG to play through.
(guys, seriously, am I the only one who hates the male protagonist’s design? You gotta pick the girl up. She looks way more badass.)