Hype Muffin
A variety of characters provides a lot of plot elements that create the overall story, but in essence the story is flat, basic, and straight-forward. Twist and intrigue opportunities are there, but the characters are not developed so that the player will care about them--certainly an element of older style video game story-telling.
It's hard to get more classic RPG than this: explore towns, accept quests from kings, battle monsters in caves and dungeons, all while constructing a rag tag party to save the world from an ultimate evil. That's not the end of the checklist: combat is in standard DQ first-person perspective, level grinding is a must, side characters will join the party to help occasionally. As an early entry in the series that helped standardize RPG elements, DQIV has plenty, none of which were altered for the DS. While these features may tire some gamers, fans of classic gameplay will feel right at home. Where DQIV does differ, though, is its the chapter structure. Rather than starting with the hero immediately, the game introduces each character in their own chapter until all are ultimately united to work together and face the great evil. In addition, the DS remake provides an extra chapter not found in the NES original.
Despite having eight playable characters to choose from, there is a distinct separation of stronger and weaker characters; more balance could have made character swapping more interesting. One old RPG element no one will be glad to see returning is lack of direction. Often the next step in the game is hidden under vague non-playable character chatter and nondescript caves; finding what to do next can be an unnecessary hassle.
The controls are as simple as they need be for a game originating on a console with a two button controller. The game doesn't take advantage of DS touch features or other hardware specialties, but with no need for them, they're hardly missed. Certainly an upgrade from the NES version, the game features more detailed sprite work and graphical presentation. However, the graphics are unmistakably old fashioned, and though they get the job done, the graphics are nothing special. The sound work runs a similar vein, with little of note.
Playing straight through the game (including the inevitable leveling up you'll need to face the finale) puts the player at around 25 to 30 hours, a healthy RPG length, especially for the DS. The bonus chapter at the end of the game and various side quests (unfortunately often poorly explained by the NPCs, leading to some jumbled directions) extend the game length still further.
Dragon Quest IV is a stroll down nostalgia lane for RPG fans--the less hardcore will no doubt be annoyed by the archaic game design elements. At a $40 price tag the game may have a hard time living up to its cost, but for bargain price, DQIV is a fine addition to the DS's RPG repertoire.
8.0/10
Images from IGN.com
