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Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Travel back in time with an update of a classic.
October 6, 2008 | 10:48 AM PSTby: Matt Furtado
Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
Let's take a trip down memory lane. Nowadays, we are accustomed to tall tales of heroes taking down an evil villain who is trying to conquer the world. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is one of these tales. This tale also originally released nearly twenty years ago and will spark childhood memories. Times have changed and we have become more welcoming to the RPG world.
To help us recall the classic titles of yesteryear, Square Enix is bringing their classic Dragon Quest franchise to the DS with moderate upgrades. After two decades, do these tales stand the test of time?
What's Hot
Essentially, all RPG titles play the same. While they have slowly evolved over the years, they still have the same foundation as the founding fathers of the genre. Chapters of the Chosen follows those exact footsteps. You travel around the world, battle enemies to grow stronger, and ultimately gaining the power to vanquish the evil that threatens the global peace. What Dragon Quest IV introduced years back, and still uses in this port, is the chapter-based gameplay element. By using chapters to introduce new segments of the title, Chapters of the Chosen doesn't seem like a typical RPG in the sense you aren't wandering around aimlessly trying to discover where or when to visit the next portion of the title. The chapter gives you tiny vignettes of what you'll be doing and what you can, or should, anticipate in the upcoming portions.
To help tell this tale of heroic proportions is exquisite dialog. The textual dialog of the title is simply phenomenal. The story is well written and is incredibly in-depth and interesting to read. Most RPG titles lose a lot in their translation from Japanese to English; however, this title doesn't miss a word. Then again, this particular title has been translated numerous times already, so perhaps, that could be a contributor to the wonderful dialog of the title.
The graphics were built from the ground up with the DS in mind. While staying true to the original concept, Square Enix made some good improvements to the environments. Instead of keeping 2D animations, Square Enix decided to opt for a 3D look and feel. While the characters are still 2D animated sprites, buildings now have a 3D models to give a multidimensional illusion. The reworked environments look solid, clean, and crisp on the DS, but also stay true to the original look from the NES title. This is a nice solid addition to appeal to a more modern audience.
What's Not
Even with several new additions to help cater it to the modern gamer, Dragon Quest IV still feels an antique. The presentation, gameplay, and interface didn't receive a face lift in the remake process. This is greatly disappointing because Square Enix has shown great commitment to their previous port jobs like Final Fantasy III and IV. The interface is the most apparent right off the bat. The menus use the same ugly white bordered boxes and attempts to stir up some nostalgia. Sure, you are playing a game from 20 years ago, but this an item that would have taken little effort to make more pleasing to current tastes.
To further the proof the Chapters of the Chosen's dust wasn't totally removed, the presentation is stuck in the 1980's. The character portraits are back and look, well, the same. Unlike Final Fantasy IV, where they went back and created new visions of the cast, the characters in Dragon Quest IV are identical to the legacy. Everything about the presentation of the game has the look and feel of an NES title. Now, this could be beneficial for retro gamers to those of us who played the game when it first came out, but, even so, Square Enix could have and should have made the game with modern mechanics in mind while honoring the past.
Final Word
Despite feeling as aged as it is, Dragon Quest IV is still one of the most engaging and endearing RPG titles in gaming history. When the title originally released, it was revolutionary for the RPG genre and set us up the path for future RPG titles to follow. Sadly, the formula feels stagnant in the day when it competes with more contemporary titles. Nevertheless, the game is like your grandparents, even though they are old, you still love them. The game offers a great story, deep gameplay, and a wonderful adventure to explore. So, like your grandparents, this is a title worth visiting.
What the Game's About
Let's take a trip down memory lane. Nowadays, we are accustomed to tall tales of heroes taking down an evil villain who is trying to conquer the world. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is one of these tales. This tale also originally released nearly twenty years ago and will spark childhood memories. Times have changed and we have become more welcoming to the RPG world.
To help us recall the classic titles of yesteryear, Square Enix is bringing their classic Dragon Quest franchise to the DS with moderate upgrades. After two decades, do these tales stand the test of time?
What's Hot
Essentially, all RPG titles play the same. While they have slowly evolved over the years, they still have the same foundation as the founding fathers of the genre. Chapters of the Chosen follows those exact footsteps. You travel around the world, battle enemies to grow stronger, and ultimately gaining the power to vanquish the evil that threatens the global peace. What Dragon Quest IV introduced years back, and still uses in this port, is the chapter-based gameplay element. By using chapters to introduce new segments of the title, Chapters of the Chosen doesn't seem like a typical RPG in the sense you aren't wandering around aimlessly trying to discover where or when to visit the next portion of the title. The chapter gives you tiny vignettes of what you'll be doing and what you can, or should, anticipate in the upcoming portions.
To help tell this tale of heroic proportions is exquisite dialog. The textual dialog of the title is simply phenomenal. The story is well written and is incredibly in-depth and interesting to read. Most RPG titles lose a lot in their translation from Japanese to English; however, this title doesn't miss a word. Then again, this particular title has been translated numerous times already, so perhaps, that could be a contributor to the wonderful dialog of the title.
The graphics were built from the ground up with the DS in mind. While staying true to the original concept, Square Enix made some good improvements to the environments. Instead of keeping 2D animations, Square Enix decided to opt for a 3D look and feel. While the characters are still 2D animated sprites, buildings now have a 3D models to give a multidimensional illusion. The reworked environments look solid, clean, and crisp on the DS, but also stay true to the original look from the NES title. This is a nice solid addition to appeal to a more modern audience.
What's Not
Even with several new additions to help cater it to the modern gamer, Dragon Quest IV still feels an antique. The presentation, gameplay, and interface didn't receive a face lift in the remake process. This is greatly disappointing because Square Enix has shown great commitment to their previous port jobs like Final Fantasy III and IV. The interface is the most apparent right off the bat. The menus use the same ugly white bordered boxes and attempts to stir up some nostalgia. Sure, you are playing a game from 20 years ago, but this an item that would have taken little effort to make more pleasing to current tastes.
To further the proof the Chapters of the Chosen's dust wasn't totally removed, the presentation is stuck in the 1980's. The character portraits are back and look, well, the same. Unlike Final Fantasy IV, where they went back and created new visions of the cast, the characters in Dragon Quest IV are identical to the legacy. Everything about the presentation of the game has the look and feel of an NES title. Now, this could be beneficial for retro gamers to those of us who played the game when it first came out, but, even so, Square Enix could have and should have made the game with modern mechanics in mind while honoring the past.
Final Word
Despite feeling as aged as it is, Dragon Quest IV is still one of the most engaging and endearing RPG titles in gaming history. When the title originally released, it was revolutionary for the RPG genre and set us up the path for future RPG titles to follow. Sadly, the formula feels stagnant in the day when it competes with more contemporary titles. Nevertheless, the game is like your grandparents, even though they are old, you still love them. The game offers a great story, deep gameplay, and a wonderful adventure to explore. So, like your grandparents, this is a title worth visiting.
February 8, 2010
