Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, known as Dragon Warrior IV when first released in North America, is a role-playing video game from 1990. It is the fourth game in the Dragon Quest series, created by Chunsoft and published by Enix. It is also the first game in the Zenithian Trilogy. The game was first released for the Famicom in Japan on February 11, 1990. A version for the North American NES was released in October 1992. This was the last Dragon Quest game translated and published by Enix America Corporation before the company closed in November 1995. It was also the last Dragon Quest game translated into English until Dragon Warrior Monsters in December 1999. The game was recreated by Heartbeat for the PlayStation and later released as an Ultimate Hits game. A version for the Nintendo DS was made by ArtePiazza and released in Japan in November 2007 and worldwide in September 2008. A mobile version based on the Nintendo DS remake was released in 2014 for Android and iOS devices.
Dragon Quest IV is different from other games in the series because it is divided into five separate chapters. Each chapter focuses on different characters. The first four chapters tell the story from the perspectives of the Hero’s future companions. The fifth chapter shows the Hero’s point of view and brings all the characters together as they begin their journey to save the world. The remake added a sixth chapter.
Gameplay
Dragon Quest IV introduced several new features compared to the first three games, while keeping many elements from earlier titles. Features that remained included day and night cycles, the ability to travel by ship and a flying vehicle (a hot air balloon in this game), and three types of keys: Thief, Magic, and Ultimate (originally called Final). Travel doors were also added, allowing the party to move long distances on the world map quickly. Unlike the Hero in Dragon Warrior III, the Hero in Dragon Quest IV is not required to be in the party once the wagon becomes available. However, the Hero still has the strongest healing and attack spells. Many spells, weapons, armor, and shops (including the vault or bank) work the same as in previous games.
New chapter-based storylines were added, along with an AI system called "Tactics" that let players give strategies to party members (who become NPCs in the final chapter), such as focusing on damage, healing, or saving magic points, while still controlling the Hero directly. Dragon Quest V, Dragon Quest VI, and remakes of IV allow individual tactics settings for characters and include a "Follow Orders" mode for manual control. This "Tactics" system is considered an early version of the "Gambits" system in Final Fantasy XII. The wagon, first introduced in this game, lets players choose which characters join battles. The wagon also appears in Dragon Quest V, Dragon Quest VI, and Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart (JP release only). The first casino in the series lets players play mini-games like slot machines, poker, and Monster Betting (from Dragon Warrior III) using tokens to trade for special items. Searching drawers and jars was first added as a way to find items. Small Medals (later called Mini Medals) were introduced as items to search for and trade with a secluded king.
Saving the game became easier by allowing players to save at a House of Healing instead of talking to a king. The save command ("Confession" in the DS remake) and the EXP point to the next level-up ("Divination" in the DS remake) are now separate actions. The game returned to a format similar to the original North American Dragon Warrior, where players could open doors using a command in the top menu instead of searching through characters' inventories for keys. At least one character needed the correct key in their inventory to unlock a door. This change added unlocked doors and large Castle Doors to the game. However, this feature was removed in later games and remakes, where doors could be opened by walking through them directly.
Synopsis
The game is split into five chapters. The first four chapters tell the background stories of the Hero’s party members, while the fifth chapter follows the Hero as they join the other characters.
Chapter One follows Ragnar McRyan, a soldier who is sent by the King of Burland to find missing children in a nearby town. He befriends a creature named Healie, who wants to become human. Ragnar finds and defeats the monster responsible for the abductions and returns the children to their homes. He learns the monsters were searching for the Legendary Hero, a child, to kill them. Ragnar decides to leave his home and begin a journey to protect the Hero.
Chapter Two follows Princess Alena, a tomboyish girl, and her friends, tutor Borya and chancellor Kiryl, as she travels to prove her strength. During her journey, her father loses his voice after talking about a dream he had about the end of the world. After restoring his voice, Alena goes to the town of Endor to compete in a fighting tournament. She defeats all competitors except a warrior named Psaro the Manslayer, who does not appear. After winning, she returns to her castle and finds everyone missing. She then sets out to discover what happened.
Chapter Three follows Torneko, a merchant who works in a weapon shop with his wife and son. His goal is to own his own shop and become the greatest merchant in the world. As he travels and helps towns, Torneko earns money to buy a shop in Endor. After moving his family there, he successfully builds a business. He then learns about legendary weapons and funds the construction of an underground tunnel to a neighboring continent to find them.
Chapter Four follows Maya and Meena, two sisters seeking revenge for their father’s murder by his former student, Balzack. With help from their father’s former student, Oojam, they plan to enter the Palais de Léon and find Balzack. They try to defeat him but are stopped by Balzack’s master, the Marquis de Léon, and are imprisoned. Oojam sacrifices himself to let the sisters escape. They then flee to Endor to learn more about the Legendary Hero.
Chapter Five follows the game’s protagonist, known as “the Hero.” It begins with the Hero’s hometown being attacked by monsters led by Psaro the Manslayer. The Hero escapes and is joined by the characters from the previous chapters. Together, they defeat enemies like the Marquis de Léon and Balzack, and gather pieces of Zenithian Armor, special equipment only the chosen Hero can wear. They later learn that Estark, the Ruler of Evil, has been awakened. The group travels to Estark’s palace and defeats him as Psaro’s followers discover him.
In the town of Strathbaile, the heroes dream about Psaro’s plan. After his elven girlfriend, Rose, was killed by humans, Psaro became angry and wants to become the next Ruler of Evil using power from the “Armlet of Transmutation.” The group completes the Zenithian Armor and enters Zenithian Castle, where they meet the Zenith Dragon, who guides them to Nadiria. There, they defeat Psaro’s generals and fight Psaro in his evolving forms until he is defeated.
The PlayStation and DS remakes include a sixth chapter as an alternate ending. In this chapter, the heroes work with Psaro to avenge Rose’s death and restore order. Rose is brought back to life, and the group defeats the Dark Priest Aamon, who was responsible for Rose’s death and planned to take evolution’s power for himself.
Development
Yuji Horii wanted players to collect items in Dragon Quest IV, similar to how earlier games had crests and orbs. However, he did not want players to collect a specific number of items to finish the game. Instead, mini medals were added, but they were not needed to complete the game. The promotional artwork for the Japanese version was created by Akira Toriyama, a well-known manga artist who also designed artwork for previous games in the series and continued to do so for future games.
This version of the game had fewer major changes compared to earlier ones. Some updates included editing religious or violent content, new graphics for the opening and ending credits, and changes to the Casino so players could win more money during bets.
Dragon Quest IV was remade for the PlayStation in Japan on November 22, 2001. The game was developed by Heartbeat and published by Enix. The remake used the 3D graphics engine from Dragon Quest VII. Updates included new character designs, towns, world maps, sound, battles, and enemies. The remake also added new features, such as a chapter where Psaro joins the party, a command for characters to talk to each other, and the option to control party members directly (except UC Party Members). The game sold over one million copies in Japan by the end of 2001.
Enix America planned to release the PlayStation remake in North America in 2002. The company even advertised the release on the back of the Dragon Warrior VII instruction manual. However, the release was canceled because Heartbeat closed its game development operations before the game could be translated. Enix could not find another company willing to take on the project because Heartbeat was most familiar with the game’s design.
Dragon Quest IV was later released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in November 2007. This version combined 2D and 3D graphics, similar to the PlayStation remake. It kept many of the PlayStation updates, such as a slightly redesigned town, and added smoother graphics and improved sound. Players could also control all party members manually in the final two chapters.
After the Nintendo DS release, people discovered that the Japanese game already contained complete translations in English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. On April 9, 2008, Square Enix applied for a trademark for the title Chapters of the Chosen, leading to speculation that this was the subtitle for an American release.
On April 18, 2008, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen received an E10+ rating from the ESRB for content like alcohol references, mild violence, and simulated gambling. The game was officially released in North America on September 16, 2008, and in Europe under the title Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen, without the number IV.
This version included a new translation of the game’s script. Some character, weapon, and town names were changed to match their original Japanese names. It also used a new spell naming system, such as changing the spell "Beat" to "Whack." Some parts of the game were adjusted to remove sexual content, and the party talk feature was removed in Western versions.
The Nintendo DS version included 13 regional dialects, such as Scottish for Burland and Russian for Zamoksva. Simon Carless of Gamasutra noted that using dialects can help players learn about different cultures.
A version of the Nintendo DS remake was released for Android and iOS in Japan on April 17, 2014, and internationally on August 7, 2014. The Android version added features like cloud saving, autosaves, and pause options for mobile play. It also restored the party talk feature, translated into the appropriate language, and replaced the orchestral music with remastered synthesized MIDI music.
Other media
A five-volume manga titled Dragon Quest: Princess Alena was released. It continues the story from Chapter 2, focusing on Alena's adventure, but begins to change during the events at Birdsong Tower. From this point, the story introduces new characters, such as the evil Evil Leather Dominatrix Woman, and new locations, including an Arctic area and a haunted house. The story ends with Alena fighting Psaro and defeating him before he uses the Golden Bracelet to complete the secret of evolution.
As with all Dragon Quest games, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all related spinoffs. The music played during gameplay depends on several factors. A specific track is always used for towns, another for caves or dungeons, and another when the party is riding a hot air balloon. Additionally, while exploring the world, each of the first four acts has its own theme song, as does the Hero. In Act 5, the theme song played depends on which character is first in the formation.
The original Dragon Warrior IV was one of the few NES games to include a crescendo in the battle music, a gradual increase in volume from soft to loud. This technique was uncommon for an NES game. However, the PlayStation and Nintendo DS versions do not include the crescendo in the battle music. This level of detail is present in the NES version's soundtrack, as well as in the 2014 Android and iOS mobile releases.
Dragon Quest IV ~The People Are Shown the Way~ Symphonic Suite is a collection of music from Dragon Quest IV. The first print of the album was released in 1990, and the London Philharmonic version came out the following year. A reprint of the original was released in 2000. In 1991, Enix released a set of videos showing Koichi Sugiyama conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Warwick Castle, performing the soundtrack, along with clips of acting.
Reception
When the game was released in Japan, it sold 1.3 million cartridges and made ¥14 billion in sales within one hour. By 1992, it had sold 3 million copies in Japan. The original Famicom version sold 3.1 million units, becoming the fourth most popular game on that system, behind its earlier version, Dragon Quest III. Worldwide, the original game sold 3.18 million copies, including 3.1 million in Japan and 80,000 in the United States. By 1993, it had earned several hundred million dollars in total sales, which is equal to about $740 million today.
The PlayStation version of Dragon Quest IV sold over 1 million copies in Japan by 2001 and reached nearly 1.2 million copies by December 26, 2004. The DS remake sold 1.15 million copies in Japan by August 8, 2008, and 1.46 million copies worldwide by May 31, 2009.
Dragon Quest IV won the "Best Game Grand Prize" and "Best RPG Game" in Famitsu magazine's 1990 Best Hit Game Awards. It also received "Best Challenge" and second place for "Best Overall Game" (NES) in 1993 from Nintendo Power.
In 1997, editors of Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked Dragon Warrior IV as the 58th best console game of all time, calling it "easily the best RPG ever released for the NES—whether in the U.S. or Japan." They highlighted the game's long story. In 2008, Nintendo Power ranked Dragon Quest IV as the 18th best NES game, praising its five-part story and calling it one of their favorite old-school role-playing games. In 2006, readers of Famitsu voted it the 14th best game of all time. Critics noted that the game's third chapter, Torneko's, differed from typical RPGs by focusing only on collecting money and allowing players to control Torneko working in a store.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen was nominated for Best RPG on the Nintendo DS in IGN's 2008 video game awards. Some critics said the game might feel outdated to players unfamiliar with Dragon Quest games, but others praised characters like Ragnar for making it stand out.
Dragon Quest IV is the first game in the series to inspire spin-offs. The character Torneko (called Taloon in the NES version) became popular enough to star in his own series of games, where he completes quests to grow his store. These games are part of the Torneko no Daibouken sub-series, which are roguelike and random dungeon games made by Enix (and later Square Enix) and developed by Chunsoft. The success of these games led to the creation of the Mystery Dungeon series.
Characters Ragnar, Healie, and Torneko later appeared as cameos in Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King in the Monster Arena. Torneko also appeared as a merchant in Dragon Quest Yangus. In the Dynasty Warriors spin-off Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below, Alena, Kiryl, Maya, and Psaro are playable characters. They are joined by Torneko and Meena in Dragon Quest Heroes II. The compilation Dragon Quest Heroes I·II for Nintendo Switch also includes Ragnar as a console-exclusive character for Heroes II. The male version of the game's main character appeared as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018 through downloadable content. This version features the character's voice for the first time, performed by Takeshi Kusao.