really great entry to the dragon quest series. after having only beaten the original trilogy all of the new animations and 3d environments and everything just feel like such a step up and really add to the character of dragon quest. there's just so much here to love and it all feels elevated with huge upgrades in a lot of this game's departments compared to the previous titles.
the gameplay is still pretty simple for this series by this entry, not a whole lot has changed in this one since 3. the new party system with a lot of choices to make is cool but eventually towards the end of the game and the post game you figure out a party that is really just better than any other combination in every way just because of what spells they have, their stat growth, or what equipment theyre able to use. i still have fun with this super simplistic gameplay style though. it did start to wear on me a bit especially during the post game when you break down the combat to a science in order to beat this games superbosses. speaking of the post game, i did grow to enjoy it after not too long of playing it, especially once you get to a certain point, but i will say it was really demoralizing to have to sit there and farm metal slimes when i realized it wasnt feasible for me to beat the first superboss with where my levels were after beating the base game. the true final boss was also a real challenge, i beat him in one try but it was very close
with this game's exploration and atmosphere they really did a great job at creating such a lively world with a lot of spectacle and cool setpieces. its especially cool with the chapter structure early on and getting to see how the world changes with the passage of time in each chapter. i also really like the ability to rotate the camera in this game, it allows for the ability to hide some cool secrets and see the world in different ways that i find really cool, it feels like an early version of the hd 2d rpg artstyle
the characters and story here are well done, they're nothing complex but i think the way they structure the story in chapters and introduce each new party member/set of party members is really cool. having a dedicated section to each character’s story and their motivations for eventually joining the hero are all well told. once you get to chapter 5 though each character’s dialogue is pretty much solely found in the game’s party chat feature and i think without it the game’s characters would feel a lot more flat. even with party chat the characters dont really have great revelations or developments, they just make things feel less empty by having them comment on the surroundings like characters would in any other rpg with a cast of unique characters. that said there are some things that really stick out to me that these characters do outside of the dialogue. one example is torneko and his actions in battle, i love visualizing in my head all of the funny actions he can take like a leg sweep or tripping, dropping his weapon, and accidentally critting an enemy, it’s stuff like that that they do a few times outside of characters themselves talking that i love and helps make characters feel so much more lively. this is one of the reasons why i think that for a silent protagonist they do a great job at making the hero feel like a real character and it makes me happy they did more than just make the hero a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, i think this is something they did well in dq3 too and i hope more games in the rest of the series are like that as well. additionally, with this game’s villain i think he’s a character that goes from pretty eh to a lot better characterized with the post game story which is one of the aspects i loved most about the post game and made it feel worthwhile and happy that i had more dq4 to play.
while i do think this game isn’t perfect, it’s battle system isn’t without criticism because of its simplicity that gets boiled down way too much when you need to play optimally for the endgame and i do wish they did a little more with the characters to make me care about them more, i think it’s still really damn good. i adore the simplistic battle system prior to the endgame and the game’s world, characters, and overarching story are also fantastic. this game was the first in a little while where before i fought the base game final boss i was thinking about how sad i was about to be that the game was gonna be over, so much so that i felt like pushing off the final boss until the next day. this was before i decided i was gonna play the post game and when i did play it i was just happy to be playing more of this game and now that its actually over over and i did all the side content i have a sense of completeness after beating it and i feel great affection for it.
the gameplay is still pretty simple for this series by this entry, not a whole lot has changed in this one since 3. the new party system with a lot of choices to make is cool but eventually towards the end of the game and the post game you figure out a party that is really just better than any other combination in every way just because of what spells they have, their stat growth, or what equipment theyre able to use. i still have fun with this super simplistic gameplay style though. it did start to wear on me a bit especially during the post game when you break down the combat to a science in order to beat this games superbosses. speaking of the post game, i did grow to enjoy it after not too long of playing it, especially once you get to a certain point, but i will say it was really demoralizing to have to sit there and farm metal slimes when i realized it wasnt feasible for me to beat the first superboss with where my levels were after beating the base game. the true final boss was also a real challenge, i beat him in one try but it was very close
with this game's exploration and atmosphere they really did a great job at creating such a lively world with a lot of spectacle and cool setpieces. its especially cool with the chapter structure early on and getting to see how the world changes with the passage of time in each chapter. i also really like the ability to rotate the camera in this game, it allows for the ability to hide some cool secrets and see the world in different ways that i find really cool, it feels like an early version of the hd 2d rpg artstyle
the characters and story here are well done, they're nothing complex but i think the way they structure the story in chapters and introduce each new party member/set of party members is really cool. having a dedicated section to each character’s story and their motivations for eventually joining the hero are all well told. once you get to chapter 5 though each character’s dialogue is pretty much solely found in the game’s party chat feature and i think without it the game’s characters would feel a lot more flat. even with party chat the characters dont really have great revelations or developments, they just make things feel less empty by having them comment on the surroundings like characters would in any other rpg with a cast of unique characters. that said there are some things that really stick out to me that these characters do outside of the dialogue. one example is torneko and his actions in battle, i love visualizing in my head all of the funny actions he can take like a leg sweep or tripping, dropping his weapon, and accidentally critting an enemy, it’s stuff like that that they do a few times outside of characters themselves talking that i love and helps make characters feel so much more lively. this is one of the reasons why i think that for a silent protagonist they do a great job at making the hero feel like a real character and it makes me happy they did more than just make the hero a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, i think this is something they did well in dq3 too and i hope more games in the rest of the series are like that as well. additionally, with this game’s villain i think he’s a character that goes from pretty eh to a lot better characterized with the post game story which is one of the aspects i loved most about the post game and made it feel worthwhile and happy that i had more dq4 to play.
while i do think this game isn’t perfect, it’s battle system isn’t without criticism because of its simplicity that gets boiled down way too much when you need to play optimally for the endgame and i do wish they did a little more with the characters to make me care about them more, i think it’s still really damn good. i adore the simplistic battle system prior to the endgame and the game’s world, characters, and overarching story are also fantastic. this game was the first in a little while where before i fought the base game final boss i was thinking about how sad i was about to be that the game was gonna be over, so much so that i felt like pushing off the final boss until the next day. this was before i decided i was gonna play the post game and when i did play it i was just happy to be playing more of this game and now that its actually over over and i did all the side content i have a sense of completeness after beating it and i feel great affection for it.