Customer Reviews

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

UPDATED 10/5

OK.

I'm figuring you, the reader, are in one of three categories:

A: A "newbie" who never played this game, either because it came out before you were born or you skipped it because you were too busy playing Mortal Kombat and Virtua Cop.

B: A non-RPG'er who got converted sometime in the past, and now is trying to make up for lost time.

C: Someone who played the original, and want to know if this game fits the bill.

I'll be as detailed as I can for all of you.

First, Dragon Warrior is indeed the 4th in the series, however it is the first in a trilogy called the Zenithia Trilogy. Part 4 we received stateside way back years ago on the NES. We never got parts 5 and 6; in my opinion, neither really had the appeal of part 4. This one attempts to tell a story the way I feel a story should be told: introduce each core character separately, as 'chapters', then bring them all together and finish on a strong note. IF you've ever played Phantasy Star III, it's kind of the same thing, only these peeps aren't related to one another. Note that when you beat Chapter 5, there is an additional Chapter which you must save after the credits and load to get access to. The NES version had no such additional Chapter.

Sometime in the late 90's-early 2k, Enix announced it was remaking Part 4 on the PlayStation. Needless to say, fans were absolutely ecstatic. It released in Japan, and it was like the world had ended...mobs of people picking up the game. Shortly before its US release date...Enix announced that we were not getting it due to what they claimed was the lack of ability to work with the translation and code. Needless to say, fans were absolutely irate. It wasn't pretty, trust me.

Now, here we are, almost a decade later. The reason I told you the background, is that this is the exact same game as the PlayStation version. That's important, because if you're expecting some touch screen controls to navigate, you'll be sorely disappointed. "Port" is a perfect word for this. If you're the kind of person who doesn't care, great. Keep reading....

Your first task is Ragnar. He's a soldier in a kingdom where the children seem to have gone missing. It's up to you to find them...and to help a creature in need. Next is the tomboy princess Alena, who along with her companions wants to be free from the burdens of being royalty, and prove herself in the tournament. Next up is "Torneko" (more on why I quoted that later), who is on a quest to be the world's greatest merchant. Rounding out the crew is "Maya" and "Meena", twin sisters who are trying to solve their father's murder, and lastly, your hero, where you'll meet up with all of the previously named and embark on the final quest.

If you've played the original, you've played this one; there are few differences in the core gameplay. Of note is the now-common addition of the Tiny Medal sidequest to the game. Find enough and you'll be rewarded with various specialty items. There is one very unexpected change...in the NES version, during the final chapter, you only had control over the Hero, none of your party members. In this version, you can control everyone individually. The auto control wasn't really a big issue except at the last boss, because Brey (more on why you're just now hearing that name later) would always cast that ice spell on him which did almost no damage instead of using Bikill which would have resulted in an easy win. There were ways around this, but still, it was annoying.

The music is now orchestrated, and tracks that you may remember from the NES version make quite the triumphant return. It's immediately evident that at the time, it would have stood out in a lot of people's eyes had we gotten it stateside.

Graphically, the game looks way dated; almost a mirror image of Dragon Quest VII, if you ever bothered to play that game (I did, never beat it). It uses a 3D environment, and 2D sprites stretched to 3D (but still 2D when you look directly at them). Pixels abound, and small things are a little difficult to see, but not too much.

You can see pictures for the weapons, armor and items! This is a great thing for me. I used to love looking at the pictures of the things as I equipped them, from the instruction book. After a point you had no picture to reference, and you were left wondering what certain weapons looked like. Now you can see them in the game, and it's pretty cool. Also, the shop tells you in advance what sell price you can get for your stuff before you sell it, so you don't have to pick each one and guess. Major improvement; that annoyed me before.

Now, for the complaints. And there are a few - mind you, I'm an old school gamer, and Dragon Quest IV was designed with me in mind; I've never played a more enthralling RPG in my life, not even the mighty Chrono Trigger.

- Game is TOO EASY. I don't know what happened, but in Ragnar's scenario in particular, I distinctly recall it being much more challenging; I even remember the minor strategy guide that was in the back of the book on the NES version. You needed to be at least level 3 or higher to go to the second town, like level 6 or something to go through the first true "dungeon", and then some higher levels to even stand a chance at the tower. I'm waxing through people like it's nothing, half trying. Plus with the items now scattered all over the place it negates you having to really grind for money to buy those healing herbs you needed; just break some jars.

- The dialogue was screwed up BIG time. I know a lot of people hated the Old English way of speaking before, but I much preferred it over this. I can barely understand anyone in some parts of the game. You've got Scottish speakers, slang speakers, etc. And what's worse is that the translators thought it'd be funny to purposely misspell certain words to "emphasize the accent". I find it just way too hard to understand what they're saying. Stuff like "I dinnae kno any wee bit o path up the hill". Come on now.

- Names were changed; detracts from the nostalgia. Ragnar did not have a last name. Everyone else's first name was changed besides Alena. No "Brey", "Cristo", "Taloon" (I HATE the name Torneko), "Mara", or "Nara". I'd say more, but I'd spoil stuff. It felt like you have friends growing up, go into a cryogenic unit for 20 years, come back and your friends are all dead, but their children who look just like them but with different names are there now. I didn't care for this at all, as minor as it may seem to some of you.

- Creature names not true to the original. It's not "Bubble Slime", it's Babble. There are others, trust me. It really bothers me, I don't know why.

- They changed some of the Weapons/Armors. Not just the items themselves, but their locations and names. "Sword of Malice" is now "Cautery Sword". I can't tell you how much I hate the new name. "Malice" is automatically equated to pain. "Cautery" makes me think of a chef in a kitchen. Again, there are others. In the NES version you could buy all of the Metal Babble Equipment with the right key and enough cash; now you can buy the armor, but the helmet takes the development of a town that's otherwise useless, and I only found one shield. Just a couple of examples of butchering things that should have been left well enough alone.

In short: do I recommend it? Absolutely. But just know...this is old school at its finest. IF you can't handle a TRADITIONAL RPG, one that sticks to the basics as close as it can...skip this game, please.

I'm a HUGE fan of Dragon Warrior IV on the NES. This is an updated version.

Dungeons seem shorter, but are laid out exactly the same.
I think that shorter impression is due to the double screen on the DS...sometimes it's easier to not walk into dead ends which saves some time. Also, the characters walk a lot faster than the original NES game which makes dungeons seem a lot shorter.

The difficulty has been weakened in the early chapters, especially IMO Chapters 1 & 2. There's more money being handed out for sure, which also makes the curve easier as most of the time you can afford the best equipment - or get it pretty easily.

This did mean I got through the whole game with very little grinding of any sort.

Chapter 5 remains difficult at times. The tough spots in the original remain so. Unlike the earlier chapters, many Ch. 5 bosses are still tough and killed me on occasion. The end boss seemed a bit toned down but still tough - it took me twice to beat him using some very careful play the second time.

Overall, it's a very good update of the best NES RPG. Difficulty is a bit easier but bosses can still be tough.

Cons: The new accented translation ranges from silly to, in the case of the Ch. 2 area, downright awful. The easier difficulty is a minor con for me because I like games to stay tough, but it will probably be fine for DQ4 newbies or folks used to newer, easier games that seem to be the trend these days.

If you loved the old school rpgs from the nes and snes days then you'll love this game. As stated in other reviews, if you're a new gen gamer into awesome graphics and cut scenes with minimum strategy and storyline, then you may want to look somwhere else.
The other reviews pretty much hit it dead on so i'd just like to add a little more about the extra content that wasn't mentioned.

The original game consisted of 5 chapters and when you beat the Final boss in chapter five you completed the game. Now there are 6 chapters. After you beat the main game and finish the credits you can't start chapter 6. I don't want to spoil too much for you so i'll just say that there is an extra(and really long) dungeon with access to new items. There is also a mini game where you build your own village kind of like the one in DQVII. If you build your village to its maximum level, you will have access to some really strong items not found in the main story. There is also a secret character you can recruit. Again i won't spoil too much but this character is a powerhouse and an amazing addition to your entourage. Lastly, there is a new final boss, but you can only fight him with the addition of the secret character in your party.

I really think anyone could get into this game as long as they can get over the outdated graphics, but i think DQIV was already one of the best rpgs i've ever played, and the DS version perfected it in my opinion.

I like rpg's that aren't too complicated. Usually by that I mean turn based rpgs. I find them relaxing. I also enjoy a good plot. I'm about 1/3 of a way through this game, and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

The plot's fun so far. It's a cool twist to switch between characters every chapter. The accents were weird at first (and took a minute or two to understand since they don't warn you what's going on), but now I really like it. The different dialects make it seem like you really are traveling all around a world rather than one country that they call a world. (maybe the fact that I've done some world traveling and dealt with broken english in real life helps)

The graphics in town and in battle are very good. The map graphics are just ok. I like the 2-d characters on 3-d towns and dungeons. I thought that final fantasy 3 had pretty good ds graphics, but now I'm going to miss any game that doesn't use both screens for towns/dungeons. In most 3-d places, you can spin the screen with L or R which really lets you find your way in the dungeons. It also lets you find tons of doors and stuff that you wouldn't find otherwise. Even though I don't think the map graphics are anything to praise, I do like that fact that you can't rotate the world map since I'd get lost all the time... :)

I was disappointed that the enemies in the battles are so small, but really they're very well animated. The enemies don't have many attacks but this is a remake of a pretty old game so I'm sure that's the way it was in the original.

The music's very good, and I enjoy it through headphones more. Sometimes I just turn the music off, but I wear my headphones for this game!

The challenge hasn't been very high, but I have had to level up a little bit so far (run around and fight a bit to get stronger before going on). Again, I play these games to relax so I'm not looking for some challenge but not a huge challenge. Perfect for me!

I never played dragon warrior 4 on the nes, but I think this is a great game (back in the nes era the dragon quest American games were called dragon warrior due to a trademark on dragon quest). I heard that most of the name changes were to bring it closer to the original japanese (like really the the nes version wasn't a great translation).

So basically, if you like rpg games, or are looking for a good starting point in the rpg world, I don't think you can do much better than this.

Edit on June 5, 2009: Just wanted to add that I almost made it to the end of the game and have enjoyed it all the way through! Still A great game! Can't wait to try Dragon Quest V!

great game. brings me back to 1992. enix decided to remove all level grinding so now you basically just walk through the game, hitting your cue marks along the way. i'm about 30 hours into the game and will be finishing the main quest soon. regardless, the game looks look beautiful and is fun.

Dragon Quest is a legendary RPG series from Japan that nearly every gamer has heard of. We may not understand why it's so popular there, but even in the U.S., there is a small audience that is charmed by this series. Let me get this out of the way: I'm not a part of that audience. Before playing the fourth installment of this series, I was a Dragon Quest hater. I had spent 32 hours with Dragon Quest VII, and twenty plus hours with Dragon Quest VIII, but neither of those games hooked me. I tried to convince myself that those were great RPGs, and that there was a reason they received such high review scores, but I just could not be swayed, no matter how much I played. To me, Dragon Quest felt like a boring NES RPG with a barebones story, a bland battle system, and very little character development. Even the supposedly grand musical scores, felt uninspired. Well, a few months ago, I ended up having a heated debate with some Dragon Quest fans over at 1UP. I felt that they were giving the series too much credit, but someone convinced me to give Dragon Quest IV and V a shot. He seemed to agree that Dragon Quest VII felt uninspired, but mentioned that Dragon Quest IV and V were innovative RPGs that were comparable to classics like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. A few months later, I decided to pick up a copy of Dragon Quest IV along with a DSi. After spending a few hours with the game, my opinion on the series would change forever....

So how did DQIV single-handedly demolish my hatred for all things Dragon Quest? I mean on the surface, you wouldn't think DQIV would dent my mental barrier with its simplistic sprites, 8-bit sounds, and oodles of random battles--but it did. You'd be surprised at what caused my change of heart--the way in which the story was told.

Now, Dragon Quest is not a series normally known for its story. Usually these games are rather simplistic journeys seeking out a Dragon Lord or baddie of some sort. Dragon Quest VII for example, has you journeying to indistinguishable towns where you often save the populace who has been turned to stone (or some other malady). Your mission is to recover pieces of the world for the purpose of reassembling it. It's a fairly basic affair with few plot twists and hours of boredom. Dragon Quest IV on the other hand, is far from a barebones experience; it takes a unique approach to storytelling that would influence many future RPGs.

If you enjoyed the scenario system in Final Fantasy VI and the chapter system in Mother 3, you have Dragon Quest IV to thank. Like those games (well, part of the game in the case of FFVI), Dragon Quest IV is divided into chapters featuring different characters. At the beginning of the game, you create a hero with a name of your choosing who lives in a peaceful hamlet, but you're soon whisked away to other, less tranquil lands. It's a bit jarring being torn away from your hero so soon, but the other unique characters you get to play as more than make up for it.

During the first chapter, you'll start off as a Royal Knight named, Ragnar McRyan, who is sent on missions by his lord. This lord who speaks in a Scottish accent, sends him on a quest to investigate recent disturbances that have befallen the kingdom. This Royal Knight with a moustache that would put Stalin's hair patch to shame, sets out on a journey to investigate the disappearances of children from villages.

The second chapter is even more exciting. You control the daughter of a Tsar, named Tsarevna Alena, who doesn't enjoy being cooped up inside of the castle. She yearns for adventure, and escapes the castle against her father's will. She brings along a few sidekicks who help her combat royal imposters, uncover mirage villages, and fight in an arena that would put Rome's Coliseum to shame. I believe that DQIV's Coliseum was the first combat arena ever to grace an RPG, and it set a precedent that would be followed by titles such as Final Fantasy VI, Star Ocean, Tales, and Jade Empire.

Chapter 3 is one of the most unique scenarios to ever grace an RPG. You play as a portly merchant named, Torneko who aspires to become a wealthy merchant for the sake of his family. He begins in a quaint village with a wife and child--working a 9-5 shift at a weapon & armor shop. His life is initially quite monotonous with him waking up every day to his packed lunch made by his wife--selling as much equipment as he can. It's a refreshingly unique scenario--helping your RPG character gain upward mobility through other means than slaying monsters. Eventually, if you play your cards right, Torneko will move to other cities and become a big-time player in the financial world.

The final scenario with a unique set of characters has you playing as two attractive dancers: Meena and Maya. Even though they're the best dancers in the land, they're not satisfied with their daily routine. Their father, a famous alchemist was murdered by one of his disciples, and they set off pursuing this elusive assassin.

Chapter 5 brings the scenario system to a close, when you once again step in the shoes of the main male (or female) hero. A disaster befalls the hero's village after an evil force threatening the land discovers the location of the hero, so he sets out on a journey to defeat the lord of the underworld. Eventually, the hero meets up with the rag-tag band of heroes you controlled in previous chapters, and you set out on a journey solving each character's problems, before the ultimate confrontation. In Dragon Quest IV, you won't get an airship, but you'll travel to several unique villages and dungeons, just as you would in most RPGs. Dragon Quest IV also takes you to other lands in the sky and below ground, so it's fairly lengthy considering that it was originally an NES adventure. Despite not having an airship to roam the skies, you will have access to a sea vessel and a hot air balloon.

By the end of Chapter 5, you'll have reached the game's original conclusion, but Chapter 6 is new to the DS version. Chapter 6 is relatively weak compared to previous chapters; it's more of a grindfest that gives you access to new bosses, characters, and equipment. It's only really worth playing if you're a completist, but most adventurers will probably want to stick with the main quest and avoid the hundreds of extra battles you'll have to fight.

Clearly, the way in which the story was told was quite unique for its time, but how does the 8-bit gameplay hold up? It's actually quite enjoyable. I hate random battles as much as the next guy, but Dragon Quest doesn't really force you to fight much more than most Final Fantasy games. I rarely had to run around in circles fighting enemies--that was only necessary before the final showdown. Unlike later installments of Dragon Quest, the battle system is fast-paced, yet strategic, so you won't have to worry about battles lasting over a minute unlike, this recent game.

Each of your characters' abilities are unique, so it's up to you who you want to mix and match, once you obtain your entire party. You'll have access to characters who have healing spells, defensive spells, offensive and stat boosting spells, and an assortment of fighters. The strategic gameplay found in DQIV is quite refreshing, and partially illustrates why Dragon Quest IV was ahead of its time.

I didn't really like the visuals of the NES Dragon Quest games, or Dragon Quest VII for that matter, so I was quite surprised when I booted up DQIV. The visuals really weren't all that different from its Playstation brethren, but it looks quite nice on the DS screen; the combination of hand drawn 2D sprites and 3D rotatable backgrounds are a perfect fit for the DS. The visuals display on both screens, so it makes excellent use of the dual-screened handheld. I really liked the character designs, and they helped add to the characters' charming personalities.

I loved the characters' personalities and DQIV's accents, but some gamers will utterly despise the accented dialogue. In each kingdom you visit, the townspeople have a different accent: Scottish, Russian, French, etc., but it may be difficult for some people to understand, depending on how familiar you are with various accents. Some of the words are spelled incorrectly, and there are grammatical inaccuracies, so this will likely infuriate many intellectuals. I really didn't mind on the other hand, and thought it added to the experience (although the accents were a bit stereotypical).

Finally, I'd like to briefly mention DQIV's music. The music found in this 8-bit remake isn't as moving as what you'll find in a game like FFIV, but it sounds lovely due to part of it being orchestrated. It's not as engaging or emotionally charged as the music in some RPGs, but it really fits the "grand adventure" vibe of Dragon Quest.

Having now completed Dragon Quest IV (even the optional sidequests), I'd like to retract what I've previously said about the series. Some of the later DQ games failed to innovate and felt quite lackluster in comparison to other RPGs, but DQIV put to rest my negative thoughts of the series as a whole. DQIV's innovative approach to storytelling (and charming story underneath), provide for a grand experience that will stick with you for years. Regardless of one's perspective on the dialogue system, Dragon Quest IV's unique set of characters will also have a lasting impact on most players. Thankfully, this thirty hour quest isn't ruined by endless random encounters--they're there, but not to the extent that they'll detract from your enjoyment of the experience; just make sure to take a little time at the end of the game to gain some levels, so you can bludgeon the final boss with your Level 99 whoopin' stick. If you're a Dragon Quest hater, but an RPG fan, I encourage you to try this landmark game in a genre that some claim is growing stagnant. I doubt that you'll be disappointed.

Score: 9.0/10

Pros:

* An innovative approach to storytelling
* Charming characters
* A fast-paced, tactical battle system
* Orchestrated music
* A grand sense of adventure
* A thirty-hour quest

Cons:

* Too much grinding at the end of the game
* The extra chapter feels tacked on
* Dying and losing half of your money can be a pain
* A map with named locations would have been nice

I just completed the regular 5 chapters of DQIV and thoroughly enjoyed it. According to my DS I logged 58 hours and 30 minutes into this game. I definitely consider it worth the money!

I thought the graphics, sound, and story were excellent. I love the turn based battle system and did not find the menu hard to navigate. I am a relative "latcomer" to the RPG genre. I don't play consoles (my kids do---but I prefer the DS) so I never played a FF or DQ or other popular RPG. I got very attached to some characters (for some reason I was VERY attached to the merchant guy Torneko). I loved the ending. I have not yet played the 6th chapter so I can't speak to it but i generally find that these "extra" chapters are not something I usually enjoy. I am satisfied and happy to have beaten the game.

I thougtht this game had an excellent save system. Your characters (some of them) can learn spells like Evac and Zoom. Evac can be used in most dungeons to get you out of there right away and zoom takes you to any place you visited before. As a newcomer to the RPG genre I did not have any problems completing this Quest. I did have to pay attention to what I was doing and I did use a guide to assist me--but I found that, as good as the guide was, I liked choosing my own team and equipping them the way I wanted to in the boss battles so most of the time what I had was very different than what the guide had. Mostly the guide was useful for the dungeon's so I didn't get lost.

I found the learning curve acceptable. I was able to beat all bosses on the first try BUT I spent a lot of time leveling up. I prefer to have fun using strategy in the battles and not have to keep reviving fallen team members. I have to admit that I spent probably 6-7 hours before the final sets of boss battles going after those liquid metal slimes and king slimes----I leveled my hero up to 38 before I knew it so the final battles were not bad. My team was all at level 38 or above for the final battle.

If you've read my past reviews you know I write from a 40 something mom's perspective. I really loved The World Ends with You (hence my interest in RPG) and I would say this one rates up there as well---it does not have as original a story and there weren't any surprises for me along the way so it was predictable but the fact you first play each chapter as someone new is very cool and keeps it from getting stale. I will say I had a much harder time leveling up Maya and Meena than anyone else in thier chapter. Don't know why (magic users maybe?)

I can highly recommend this title. I think anyone from about age 10 or up would enjoy it as long as they understand that it is easier if you level up..I like that repetition so relish these types of games. While I do not think anyone needs to level up as much as I did (you can get through the game without it) this does make the game more forgiving and lets you have a couple of lapses in judgement (I used Thwack on a boss...what was I thinking!). If you like turn based RPG I think this one deserves to be picked up!

I considered the original NA release of "Dragon Warrior IV" my favorite game of the 8-bit NES era. This Nintendo DS port of the PSX re-release is quite excellent.

Graphics are great. The beautiful 2D sprites have been updated to include animation. The towns/castles/dungeons/towers are now 3D (you can rotate the camera 360 degrees). Music is slightly reworked, and still wonderful. The battle, boss battle, and dungeon/tower tunes are among my favorite of any RPG.

My only possible disappointment is that the names of some characters and monsters has been changed. For example, "Cristo" is now "Kiryl", "Healers" are now "Healslimes", etc. Also many items and spells have new names. These updates are normal for older games being re-released, but I guess I'm stuck in the past :-)

For those of you who have never played it, these title breaks the story down into 6 chapters. The first 4 chapters are mostly independent of each other - not until chapter 5 do the main characters unite and save the world.

Highly recommended!!!!

I was fairly excited about this release. I tore the box open this week, ready and willing to relive hours upon hours of my wasted youth. I squeed with delight as the Dragon Quest theme began playing in all its tinny regal splendor. And then the game began.

Let me say, first and foremost, that I did enjoy playing Dragon Quest IV. Arte Piazza, the art directors from Dragon Quest VII, took the lead on this remake, and it shows. The refresh on the art is welcome, but not intrusive or overdone. Akira Toriyama's monster design is still charming and bright, including the bosses. The sound is a near-perfect translation of the original and still rings true after fifteen years. The problem is that most of the mechanics are also still the same after fifteen years, and they don't quite stand the test of time.

JRPGs are known for slow-paced combat, and DQ is the grandaddy of them all. Twelve year-old me had no problem with this, probably because I didn't know anything else. DQIV is turn-based, and forces you to go through several menus to choose exactly what everyone wants to do, every time. Unlike the recent re-release of Final Fantasy IV, there is no Auto-Attack option. This means is that early fights can take forever as you whittle down slime after slime.

Inventory is annoying. When I didn't know that only being able to hold eight items per person (plus one overflow bag) was an arbitrary difficulty modifier, it didn't bother me. Today, trying to stock up on Medicinal Herbs that don't stack and cannot be used except by the player who is holding them is nearly unforgiveable. This is particularly true in the early stages, when those herbs are your lifeline, and its a long way back to the save point.

Ah, yes, saving. Another "fun" DQ innovation. In DQ, you save by "confessing" at a church. That's it. No save points in dungeons, no way to port out and port back in, nothing. This means that if you trudged all the way out to some Light forsaken tower and spent two hours grinding through it just to die on the final boss, you are out of luck. Do it all again. This time with feeling. And mana regeneration? Forget it, until you can obtain items that will do restore your juice. So make those spells last. They're the only ones you've got.

Finally, level grinding. I'm a 4-year WoW player, so level grinding is nothing new to me. That being said, years of playing WoW and Final Fantasy games have conditioned me to expect that if I play through a game normally, entering dungeons and facing bosses in sequence as I meet them, I stand at least a fair chance of prevailing. Not so in DQ. Most of the time, if you try to take on a challenge as soon as you encounter it, you're going to die. End of story. Expect to wander around aimlessly looking for fights for at least an extra level, better two, beyond the level you are when you first encounter The Next Big Thing. Oh well, at least you make lots of gold, right? Wrong. Forget being able to get the latest and greatest gear available from each new town, at least at first. DQ is stingy with the money, and dungeons drops are rare. Be prepared to wander.

I knew all of this going into the game, though. I knew that there were things that were going to bug the heck out of me because I've come to expect more from my RPGs since 1992. That's why I still enjoyed DQIV so much.

The storyline is still fairly epic, even by today's standards. The characters have life, and feeling, and the localization teams have done their best to make each Chapter feel like it takes place in a completely different part of the game world. Even if this does lead to some horribly funny Japanese-to-Russianesque-to-Rusjapenglish in Chapter 2, it gives you the feeling that you are a large world with varied ethnicities and real danger.

My favorite Chapter is still 3, the tale of Mara and Nara, the dancer and the fortuneteller. As a kid, these ladies inspired me even more than warrior princess Alena. That part hasn't changed a bit. Fighting with clubs and daggers is de rigeur, but using fans, claws and cards as weapons is a blast. Grinding through the merchant quest still sucks, though.

I also have to give credit where credit is due. What little new stuff there is here really works. The DS two-screen approach offers a lot of screen real estate for this game. This is invaluable in dungeons because it lets you get a better sense of where you are going, and cuts down on the random lost roaming of the original. The towns look lovely, almost on par with Dragon Quest VII. There is an online Chance Encounter mode that allows you to expand your own town through Nintendo WiFi play. If you have other nostalgia-starved friends who pick this title up, you'll enjoy sharing your own little piece of Heaven with them.

All in all, I think Arte Piazza did a good job updating this classic for the modern era. I hope this brings a new generation of proto-geeks to DQ, and to the appreciation of substance over style (I'm looking at you, Final Fantasy X-2). I'm looking forward to the ports of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie, the second and third titles in the so-called "Zenithia trilogy". Most Americans (including me) have never had the chance to play DQV and VI. DQV was released in Japan in July, so hopefully the U.S. release isn't far behind. Maybe they'll even evolve out some of the rough parts this time.

(From PlayingWithMyWeiner.com - gaming at the mercy of miniature daschunds.)

I missed out playing this game on the NES because it wasn't widely available, and, to be honest, I had given the Dragon Quest games a pass since until I played the Sentinals of the Starry Skies game, which I liked so much I replayed it upon finishing! I then picked up Dragon Quest VI and enjoyed it equally as much, but when I found out it was the last chapter of a trilogy, I went back and purchased the first two games and decided to play them in order.

The Dragon Quest games are much more lighthearted and humorous than their more famous competition (read that Final Fantasy) and unlike the FF games, don't take themselves too seriously. Also, they are, for the most part, significantly shorter, which I appreciate since I no longer have 100+ hours to devote to a single game. And, except for the Dragon Quest game that was released for the PS2 the difficulty hasn't been increased for the American audience to the point that the game becomes virtually impossible to beat, like most FF games unless you cheat or spend 50+ hours leveling up just so you can beat the final boss. If you encounter a boss you can't defeat, in a DQ game, you only need to level up one or two levels and you'll have a chance to win the fight.

Chapters of the Chosen is unique in that it is divided up into 5 distinct chapters (6 if you count the bonus chapter you get after defeating the main game). This means that you have to begin leveling up your party from level 1 five times, the only thing really annoying about this game. If you like starting over and over and over again, this game is for you! Almost all the Dragon Quest games have characters and monsters designed by Akira Toriyama, the artist who drew the Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball manga, and his style is instantly recognizable. All your favorite monsters are here, from the simple slimes to dangerous dragons. The designers of this game took the final boss to extremes, and I think they are poking fun at the RPG cliche where the final boss resurrects three times. Pisaro the Manslayer has no fewer than seven resurrections but he isn't impossible to beat. You have to carefully manage your resources to beat him, though. I managed on my second attempt.

It's a pity that this game is becoming difficult to find in the stores. It's a fun game and well worth playing. This makes it difficult to get any benefit from the online portion of the game because you aren't likely to find another DQ IV player to connect with. I have to admit, I haven't finished the last three Final Fantasy games I started and the Dragon Quest series has supplanted Final Fantasy as my RPG series of choice.