A few notes: 1. Since it's buried towards the end of the video, if anyone is wondering what version I think is the best, the Mobile version is the only one in the west that has Party Char intact, so it wins by default. 2. Sorry for some sound fluctuations at certain points. I tried to iron out as many of the issues as possible. And yes, I am aware that a Torneko clip somehow ended up in Alena's section. 3. Thanks for the wait. I'm gonna' go watch the Clone Wars then take a long nap now.
I would agree, buuuuuut...I really don't care for the sixth chapter. Specifically, the way it takes certain tragic elements of the original plot and sort of hits the reset button on them in favor of a happily ever after angle. I'm sure you know the one I mean. It feels cheap and more than a little dumb to me.
The soundtrack is Sugiyama's finest work as a composer, and if you listen to the one he made for "Tetris 2 + Bombliss", a lot of it could have fit in quite nicely with this game.
FINALLY, THE GREAT ONE, HAS COME BACK TO TH-cam!... ...with the long awaited Dragon Quest IV episode of History of RPGs! It's really a damn shame you don't have the millions of subscirbers and views this outstanding content deserves. Here's to hoping 2020 is the year of Mr. Gentleman!
I rented this game as a "joke" when it came out to see how bad it was back before I liked RPGs. I ended up really liking the game. One day in the mid nighties, I saw it with the manual (no box) at a pawn shop for $20, and I was like, yep. Time to hook up my NES. That scene where they hit ruby to try get the rubies from her tears stuck with me, such a fantastic game.
When I saw this in my sub feed months ago I couldn't watch it cus I didn't want anything spoiled in the game for me. Got the DS remake in june and finished it in a few weeks and this is one of my favourite DQ games. I can see why everyone loves Taloon, he's a pretty relateable yet loveable character, even people around the world know him, welcoming him with trades, wondering how him and his family are doing. It's clear that Yuji hori really loves devloping his characters in a more normal way of how people would talk in the real world more than jsut super sci-fi or chosen hero stuff all the time. Meena, Maya and Alena are personal favourites of mine to. I'm not a fan of the main protagonist tho the chapter feature is a good idea to get to know each character in depth. Most rpgs just treat party members like canon fodder, mostly never get any decent story which can really annoy me because in an rpg I like to get to know my partners or even play as them during their segments. Post game was pretty whack, no super bosses to hunt down. But I really enjoyed the story.
I saw an analysis of the Taloon chapter that concluded that he was so popular becuase he was the most realistic DQ protagonist: his life is like ours frustrating because he has to work all day to scrape by but has the chance to achieve purpose by going out on his own.
Dragon Warrior IV is my favorite game of all time. This was such a great video and has, again, made me start a playthrough. I know it's a few years old, but keep up the fantastic work, Mr. Gentleman!
I just finished DQ IV and it is a marvelous achievement especially for an NES title. I love that the game is split up into multiple chapters, and a lot of the characters are some of my favorite in the series. and I also agree with the battle system in chapter 5 both Pros and Cons. But this is without a doubt my favorite out of the 4 on the NES. and possibly among my top DQ games to date. I'll be looking forward to the DQ V video real soon.
Just bought the DS version of this, sealed, for $45, which I picked up from a buyer about an hour from my house. I already opened it, knowing I’d never sell it without opening and playing it. Seems like most ppl agree that either 5, 8, or 11 are the best, but I often find 4 has the most ppl calling it their favorite Seems like the one that has some secret sauce.
Torneko's episode really elevated the game for me. I admit I'm a sucker for the whole episodic storytelling concept in general, but Torneko was where I really became sold on DQIV. Psaro earns the game a load of points with me as well, since I really dislike DQ's tendency to have generic, shallow, repetitive antagonists. I can only do the whole evil underworld king thing so many times. He is a very welcome reprieve from the series traditionally lackluster antagonists.
@@megamike15 Y' know your right. They aren't THAT big compared to like 7, that's true. I just thought that the series got a lot bigger and better around here. *(Also, Please port IV, Please port IV, Please port IV!)*
I hope 4 does 3D standard mode like 11 did. 4 has, in my opinion, the best cast of characters by far (so much better than 11). Advancements of characters in 4 is a must for me, so just putting 4 on Switch isn't enough for me.
This is in my opinion the best entry point for the series if someone is new to RPGS. Yes the final boss is obscenely brutal but the game has a great learning curve and the focus on single characters in each chapter makes it easier for those who want a more involved story to get invested.
it's a toss up between 3 and 4. 3 is the start of what makes dq dq. while 4 was the first one to have a a real story focus. thats something i noticed to alot of early rpg series tend to not have that much of a story until their 4th installment. dq 4 ff4 ultima 4 ps 4
I originally played this via the DS remake, but last year, I got my hands on an original NES cart (not cheap) and played through it entirely. I feel immensely satisfied and proud having played through the original version (I also first played 1-3 via the nes versions) and seeing how the series evolved on such primitive hardware.
Hit the nail on the head when talking about Alena's first village that she rescues. The stories are simplistic, and would be pretty lame if told through cutscenes, but piecing together everyone's point of view on the events going on, and what they have to say after the events conclude, is what makes it so darn charming and entertaining.
I bow before the grand RPG Guru! Mr. Gentleman, You once again`ve made a top notch in - depth review! Thank You for the hard work and making my day! Love Your videos! Best regards!
IV is my favorite of the NES DQ games. Lots of elements of the series debuted here (i.e. the menu music, the flying effects when using a soaring spell, and the priest saving your game instead of the king).
And let's not forget that the *battle theme of DQ4* is the most used battle track in the entire DQ series... And the *Adventure theme from DQ3* is the most used overworld theme
Did you know if you travel alot through the tunnel taloon helped make a npc will come out of no where in the tunnel and give you a bunch of casino tokens
i love your channel - how deep your overview of these games goes and how at the same time you are seeing them zoomed out so to speak, in the wider context. you are doing a very important and valuable project of cultural preservation. keep it up!
His actual reasoning is hilarious. "Thwack is infinity HP damage for only 4 MP. I can't know for sure if this enemy is immune to it until I try it a few times, in case of bad RNG. If I kill the enemy before it can hurt everyone, I won't need to spend more MP on healing them afterward." Combined with him interpreting each form of a transforming boss as a completely different monster with _potentially_ different weakness/resistance to instant death, your healer wastes a lot of time and MP on experimenting with his instant death spell.
I own Dragon Quest IV on DS and I know I'm in for a hell of a ride. Also, I hope you come back. I don't want this retrospective to die. I have been binging this for so long that it's insane.
I remember the AI party system on the NES being mostly a hinderance. Once I got the sword of miracles I almost never had to use outside of the Hero, Ragnar, Alena and Taloon. Maybe swapping out Cristo and Nara to heal or revive. It’s ambitious but am very glad they never went straight AI after this game and fixed it in the remake.
For consoles.....not much, but CRPGs were great then with standouts like Planescape, Ultima, Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, etc., most of which are still talked about and remastered/reimagined today.
I've played every main series Dragon Quest game other then X plus many of the spinoffs and this is still my favorite game in the series. While it lacks the job system from III, which I feel is III's best advancement from II, I think the chapter system and cast make up for it. I never understood why there aren't more RPGs which uses something similar to the chapter system to explain what party members did before joining the main party.
Have you played Live A Live? It does the chapter concept, but perhaps even better and you can even choose what order to do the chapters in. I would only recommend that you do the wrestler and sci-fi chapters later than the others for reasons that will become more apparent once you play them. I consider it one of the best RPGs for the SNES.
Live a Live I would buy in a heart beat if it ever comes to the US offically. I love the Wild Arms series but it is still a very small drop in an ocean.
Final Fantasy VI spilts the party but unless I'm remembering wrong it only shows what members did before joing the party in cutscenes, Octpath does do something kind of like to Dragon Quest IV but even counting it I still wish things like this were more common in RPGs. I never claimed Dragon Quest IV was unique in this way.
I have for years held the opinion that, if you evaluate a game based on the time at which it came out, DQ/DW4 is the best game of all time. From the way it simultaneously builds narrative and game mechanics with the chapter system, to the character driven story and living world, absolutely no game at that point had come close. Few games come close to how much DQ4 stood out from games that came out before it. It did for RPGs what Half Life did for FPS.
Just played replay this game. This time played on the iOS version that has party chat and it was fantastic. I enjoyed it much more than when I first played it.
I played the first three and DW: Monsters on a hand-me-down GBC when I was a kid, and they captured my imagination, but it wasn't until I discovered DQIV for Android and inhaled it that I really became a fan of the series. Now that I've beaten almost all the games available in the West, IV is still my favorite. Something about the tragedy of Psaro and his parallels to the hero/heroine really gets me.
The Western version on NES is so fascinating. One of the best titles on the NES, and arguably the rarest Dragon Quest title ever made. It also seems like such a strange outlier. The start of a new trilogy after DW I-III, and then just abruptly ended. We never got the later ones on SNES, really a damn shame.
I waited to watch this until I had completed the game on NES myself, and man, neither the game nor the vid disappoint. The only thing I’ll say is that I personally found the tactics system to work as a fun means of fleshing out characters, even if accidentally. Maya comes off as a ditz who _would_ waste MP on spells not thinking things through, and Kiryl comes off as a dweeb who uses Thwack even if it shouldn’t work because he panics in battle. It’s not perfect, but it did get me to strategize in ways that other RPGs don’t, since I had to account for AI quirks on top of abilities. (i.e. Kiryl would be used on the overworld, while Maya would be saved for boss battles). I need some more time to stew on it, but it may just be my favorite RPG ever honestly, even having not played the remakes. Great video though! I was so happy to see this series had returned!
My three favorite dragon quest games are two, four, and seven and I can never pick among them which is the best. I was looking forward to this video. Thank you.
Unfortunaty I only played the GBC port. I heard the OG is harder. If I ever get my goal to read Japanese I want to import a Japanese Wii (cheap) and a copy of Dragon Quest 1,2,3 (has OG versions on there). Beat DQ11 on full draconian mode. Love that option.
As someone who tried his first NES DQ game with 3 I'm super glad 4 was miles better, with 3 after 6 hours of playing I felt no attachment to my characters whilst this seems to do what I kinda love FFVI for and that's a good ol' mixed perspective story. I had to stop after watching chapter 1 so thank you for showing me that I'm missing out mate!
Understandable as very different games. DQIII is the equivalent of starting a D&D campaign first by building a party, whereas DQIV gave us prebuilt characters that became the norm for JRPGs (whereas more western RPGs continued the build-character tradition).
I have the DS port for this and love the story, giving time for the characters to develop in each chapter. The NPCs actually have personality too, with stories of their own too. It gives a extra layer to the world in the game.
Yep the removal of party chat from the DS version makes it a sore port. The question was 'why'? When the translation was in tact for the mobile version. I guess a fan translation of the S.Famicom version exsists on ROM, it's not 'quite' the same as having a game in hand. I kind of prefer the NES version because the maps felt 'bigger' than on the DS. Gold was not as easy to obtain, and the casino had the amazing Metal Bable shield which four characters could equip - the four you didn't expect - Cristo, Nara, Mara, Brey. The casino also, only in the NES version, had the staff of happiness which if you attacked with it, made enemies 'smile' which causes them to miss a turn (random chance for effect). Also the NES version had the most useful version of the Mirror Shield, a shield that reflected damage taken regardless of source, back at the one who inflected it. This meant that king metal slimes who cast firebane, would kill themselves if you had the mirror shield equipped on anyone in the party when they cast it. I always gave it to Ragnar for this reason even though he could equip a stronger shield. In later version, the shield reflects the spell itself, therefore negating it's ability to hurt metals. Also in remakes of the game, the hero, even if female, couldn't equip the feather cap - a hidden little helmet you could find in the hero's home village if you searched around the middle of the flower bed. They also removed, in remakes, the female-specific armor to be worn by the hero if she were a heroine, like the dress of radiance. In remakes they seemed to have botched the way the scale shield versus the iron shield work - scale shield has no special properties, while the iron shield, stronger than the scale shield, mitigates some fire and ice spell damage. I feel this is a problem as it should be the other-way around (weaker physical shield with better elemental defense seems a wise trade-off). There's also no real post-game content in remakes to speak of and I wish they had brought back monster medals (as seen ONLY in the DQ 3 remake on gameboy). Those just gave you a sense of accomplishment and a reason to grind every region despite being able to move on (for no real reason other than for trading I admit, but STILL).
As someone who grew up playing from 1 to 4 on NES then wasn’t able to play anything new until DQM Joker or DQVIII, I have never been able to enjoy the ‘addition’ of party chat to any of these games.
@@Keithustus Party chat does add some enjoyment when you've 'done everything' but i understand the pure mindset.. I get it. I just know that it 'does' add.
I have been anticipating this one. One of my favorites for the Torneko chapter alone. I also enjoyed Artepiazza's DS version, though the dialects for each region were a little on the nose. This was actually the first DQ I actually played all the way through so it has a special place in my heart. Love your work!
I kind of wonder what it would be like for a Pokemon RPG to follow this sort of structure, but I guess it would really screw with the collecting aspect. Then again, it would be interesting to see what sort of ecology and variety each hypothetical trainer protagonist would run into.
Again, pretty good in-depth review of DQIV. It’s not my personal favorite on the original NES due to the Party Tactics System though I can see why it is a fan favorite for many DQ fans alongside DQ5. Battles felt really random and not quite under your control as you described so far throughout your review. At least with DQ2 and 3 I can control all my party members. Not so much with this one other than the Hero when arriving at Chapter 5. At least the remakes addressed this issue with the original NES and gave you the option to change your Party Tactics into Manual for manually controlling all party members in battle.
Name 1 game that's better on the nes, because that would be a hidden gem for me. There's a lot of games that may be more popular, but no game is better than dw4 on the nes have I ever found
@@GTSN38 Dragon Warrior 3 is better than 4 IMHO. Dragon Warrior 4 pales in comparison to the legacy 3 left behind. The vocation (job class) system, the worldbuilding looking similar to Real Life Earth, the story concluding the legacy of the Erdrick/Loto trilogy, the day & night cycle, and the cultural impact it left for Japanese people in 1988. 4 can never scratch the same itch as 3 did on a monumental level for Japan which revolutionized JRPGs and RPGs as a whole. Dragon Warrior 4 does have better characters and story I'll give you that compared to 3 which had blank slates, but 3 had the better gameplay compared to 4 because you can control all your party members along with the vocation system. I'm the kind of RPG person who invests more into the gameplay aspect when playing RPGs while the story and worldbuilding is secondary to me at best. Earthbound (aka The Mother Series) is a prime example where I don't need to take the story and worldbuilding seriously as long as the gameplay is good since its a copy of Dragon Warrior 2 & 3's down to the user interface and game mechanics, but if I want to take the story seriously it's pretty good. If I need to invest myself into a story I'd read a book rather than a video game. Give me a basic run of the mill story in a JRPG of you becoming a hero to defeat an Evil Wizard, Dark Dragon, or Demon Lord of some sort and I'd be OK with it as long as the gameplay is stimulating at the very least.
Speaking of Dragon Quest 4 on PS1, it was planned to come to the West but it never happened. The developer Heartbeat announced that they were going on a sabbatical. Turns out, that was a lie. They were actually closing up shop. They blamed rising costs in game development. A shame because Dragon Quest IV is really something else. Many within Heartbeat would go on to form Genius Sorority, responsible for Pokemon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness.
Glad to see you still posting Dragon Quest videos! I binged all your videos about a month ago and was disappointed you didnt have more subs. I just got into the series recently through XI, but Builders 2 has been taking all my time recently. Have you played it yet?
He actually has a few videos dedicated to some of his endeavors in DQ B2! I highly recommend his video while making a King Metal Slime picture, it's both funny yet also insightful.
Might you consider Nara the fortune teller to be more like a 'sage' type class? Not exactly I get it, but other classes fulfill the other DQ3 roles very well. So just felt like those two sisters were almost in combination, the 'sage', class.
These videos are incredible and you should be proud of your research and analysis. Although, I'd urge you to work on the voiceover, your inflections are erratic and somewhat robotic at times, which can be really distracting.
2:30 lol not simpy messengers. Did find DQ4 kinda boring (DQ3 is the only one in the series I like given customization/class changes done well), but this is totally worth learning about.
I remember my brother and I hated part 4 innovation due to averting our expectations. We just wanted our party to grind and make more powerful and didn't understand the new gameplay and story structure. DW 3+4 were so great and different. I haven't play 6,7,9,10 but DQ>FF from what I've played. FF6 is my fav rpg and FF4, FF7(og+remake) are right there. DQ doesn't have low points like FF8(i llike but has issues),FF13,FF15. It is innovative while keeping specific staples. DQ8 is best ps2 rpg. DQ5 created the monster catching genre. DQ3 is the best RPG. DQ also has more great spinoff. FF may have the best with FF tatics. DQ has so many great, like DQM, DQH, DQT, DQB, etc. DQ has high points but I'd rather have guaranteed 8 with several 9 but fewer 10's than few more 10,s but several 6's. Maybe DQ has a couple of 7's but 1st 2 brought so much to genre I wouldn't give them a score below 8 but are flawed today.
I do, as I find the first ambitious, but extremely flawed but really love the 2nd for fixing most problems. And the franchise as a whole is relatively important in Japan and is slowly becoming more well known in the west, especially with Scarlet Grace having gained some popularity. So they'll come in due time.
Makes me sad that the Super Famicom reached End-of-Life before they could do a 16-bit remake of DQIV the way they had for I+II and III... The gap on my shelf _makes my brain itch._ 😫 I'd stick _Torneko no Daibouken_ in there, but then I wouldn't be able to pair it with _Fuurai no Shiren_ followed by the rest of the Mystery Dungeon games.... 😓 #OCDGameCollectingProblems I just got in the PS1 version of DQIV a few days ago (along with its V-Jump guide, and tons of other DQ guides...) haven't had a chance to check it out yet. 🤔 ...though I already know I'd have preferred a 16-bit 2D version to it. 😕
during elementary, I literally spend 3 years to finish this game on NES, rollercoaster ride, between lost save game, and frustration even after hard grinding our party still lost to some of bosses, luckily Esturk is too lazy to fight, Radimvice Bounce is SUCKS!!!! oh and Alena's Terrific Blow is awesome!!!!
@@mr.gentleman2358 Awesome! Thx for letting me know! Also, a side note, you mentioned you wouldn't give out your platinum award often and yet you did with this game despite you not seeming to really like the gameplay. You mentioned you are a gameplay type of person. I'm a little confused that you gave it a GRREAT award yet it has what appears to be a pretty glaring flaw. Did I miss something about the taciturn AI kinda good kinda bad combat? The story looks cool, I like the golem idea. thx
Fingers crossed that either this or Final Fantasy VI are next for the 2D-HD remake treatment after DQ3. Will be so disappointed if they do DQ1&2 instead, since those games....frankly....just aren’t good.
You should get a better microphone, your speech seems really slurred and mushy on this video, but i can tell its not you, just an audio issue. Maybe you already have. Sorry, not trying to be a jerk.
It's incredible how huge in scale Dragon Quest 4 was despite being an NES game.
Honestly. Especially the crowd scenes, I always wonder how it performed so well.
I feel the same about DQ6 on the Super Famicom. Two massive worlds in one game
You would think it would lag at a lot of parts!
Same with FFIII
@@gamerprince-tl5hg the trick may be they are the same world map with some differences. thats the case with alttp and epically ff6.
A few notes:
1. Since it's buried towards the end of the video, if anyone is wondering what version I think is the best, the Mobile version is the only one in the west that has Party Char intact, so it wins by default.
2. Sorry for some sound fluctuations at certain points. I tried to iron out as many of the issues as possible. And yes, I am aware that a Torneko clip somehow ended up in Alena's section.
3. Thanks for the wait. I'm gonna' go watch the Clone Wars then take a long nap now.
I would agree, buuuuuut...I really don't care for the sixth chapter. Specifically, the way it takes certain tragic elements of the original plot and sort of hits the reset button on them in favor of a happily ever after angle. I'm sure you know the one I mean. It feels cheap and more than a little dumb to me.
Not sure how or what your format for these are but will you be doing DQ5?
@@willmistretta you could just not play it and ignore it. it is post game after all.
@@speedychung7501 he is doing them in production order and dq 5 is not till 92 he still has like 4 or 5 games before that.
Excellent video as usual, you made me appreciate DQIV more, especially the final chapter.
I love this game's battle soundtrack and Alena, she's ridiculously op and her theme song is really catchy.
The soundtrack is Sugiyama's finest work as a composer, and if you listen to the one he made for "Tetris 2 + Bombliss", a lot of it could have fit in quite nicely with this game.
FINALLY, THE GREAT ONE, HAS COME BACK TO TH-cam!...
...with the long awaited Dragon Quest IV episode of History of RPGs!
It's really a damn shame you don't have the millions of subscirbers and views this outstanding content deserves. Here's to hoping 2020 is the year of Mr. Gentleman!
I rented this game as a "joke" when it came out to see how bad it was back before I liked RPGs. I ended up really liking the game. One day in the mid nighties, I saw it with the manual (no box) at a pawn shop for $20, and I was like, yep. Time to hook up my NES. That scene where they hit ruby to try get the rubies from her tears stuck with me, such a fantastic game.
When I saw this in my sub feed months ago I couldn't watch it cus I didn't want anything spoiled in the game for me. Got the DS remake in june and finished it in a few weeks and this is one of my favourite DQ games.
I can see why everyone loves Taloon, he's a pretty relateable yet loveable character, even people around the world know him, welcoming him with trades, wondering how him and his family are doing. It's clear that Yuji hori really loves devloping his characters in a more normal way of how people would talk in the real world more than jsut super sci-fi or chosen hero stuff all the time.
Meena, Maya and Alena are personal favourites of mine to.
I'm not a fan of the main protagonist tho the chapter feature is a good idea to get to know each character in depth. Most rpgs just treat party members like canon fodder, mostly never get any decent story which can really annoy me because in an rpg I like to get to know my partners or even play as them during their segments.
Post game was pretty whack, no super bosses to hunt down. But I really enjoyed the story.
I saw an analysis of the Taloon chapter that concluded that he was so popular becuase he was the most realistic DQ protagonist: his life is like ours frustrating because he has to work all day to scrape by but has the chance to achieve purpose by going out on his own.
Dragon Warrior IV is my favorite game of all time. This was such a great video and has, again, made me start a playthrough. I know it's a few years old, but keep up the fantastic work, Mr. Gentleman!
15 bucks on playstore, best buy I ever made on playstore
I must have played through this on my NES cartridge, like 12 times back in the day. Thanks for giving me so much more information about the game!
I just finished DQ IV and it is a marvelous achievement especially for an NES title. I love that the game is split up into multiple chapters, and a lot of the characters are some of my favorite in the series.
and I also agree with the battle system in chapter 5 both Pros and Cons. But this is without a doubt my favorite out of the 4 on the NES. and possibly among my top DQ games to date.
I'll be looking forward to the DQ V video real soon.
Just bought the DS version of this, sealed, for $45, which I picked up from a buyer about an hour from my house. I already opened it, knowing I’d never sell it without opening and playing it.
Seems like most ppl agree that either 5, 8, or 11 are the best, but I often find 4 has the most ppl calling it their favorite
Seems like the one that has some secret sauce.
Torneko's episode really elevated the game for me. I admit I'm a sucker for the whole episodic storytelling concept in general, but Torneko was where I really became sold on DQIV. Psaro earns the game a load of points with me as well, since I really dislike DQ's tendency to have generic, shallow, repetitive antagonists. I can only do the whole evil underworld king thing so many times. He is a very welcome reprieve from the series traditionally lackluster antagonists.
Also, quite unlikely since 4,5, and 6 are much longer and more conplex games, I really hope they port the Zenithian Trilogy to the Switch.
there still 2d games dude. and it's not till 7 that the games become very big we are still in the dq are only 30 hours era.
@@megamike15 Y' know your right. They aren't THAT big compared to like 7, that's true. I just thought that the series got a lot bigger and better around here. *(Also, Please port IV, Please port IV, Please port IV!)*
I hope 4 does 3D standard mode like 11 did. 4 has, in my opinion, the best cast of characters by far (so much better than 11). Advancements of characters in 4 is a must for me, so just putting 4 on Switch isn't enough for me.
Same. I love the Zenithian trilogy
This is in my opinion the best entry point for the series if someone is new to RPGS. Yes the final boss is obscenely brutal but the game has a great learning curve and the focus on single characters in each chapter makes it easier for those who want a more involved story to get invested.
it's a toss up between 3 and 4. 3 is the start of what makes dq dq. while 4 was the first one to have a a real story focus.
thats something i noticed to alot of early rpg series tend to not have that much of a story until their 4th installment.
dq 4
ff4
ultima 4
ps 4
Can't wait for Dragon Quest V
I originally played this via the DS remake, but last year, I got my hands on an original NES cart (not cheap) and played through it entirely. I feel immensely satisfied and proud having played through the original version (I also first played 1-3 via the nes versions) and seeing how the series evolved on such primitive hardware.
Hit the nail on the head when talking about Alena's first village that she rescues. The stories are simplistic, and would be pretty lame if told through cutscenes, but piecing together everyone's point of view on the events going on, and what they have to say after the events conclude, is what makes it so darn charming and entertaining.
I bow before the grand RPG Guru! Mr. Gentleman, You once again`ve made a top notch in - depth review! Thank You for the hard work and making my day! Love Your videos! Best regards!
IV is my favorite of the NES DQ games. Lots of elements of the series debuted here (i.e. the menu music, the flying effects when using a soaring spell, and the priest saving your game instead of the king).
And let's not forget that the *battle theme of DQ4* is the most used battle track in the entire DQ series...
And the *Adventure theme from DQ3* is the most used overworld theme
Did you know if you travel alot through the tunnel taloon helped make a npc will come out of no where in the tunnel and give you a bunch of casino tokens
Always love your videos man. I love these long documentary style videos on things I love.
i love your channel - how deep your overview of these games goes and how at the same time you are seeing them zoomed out so to speak, in the wider context. you are doing a very important and valuable project of cultural preservation. keep it up!
So good to have a you back
These amazing hour long epics that you make it truly awe inspiring.
I wish the DS version had party chat ngl, but this is still currently my favorite Dragon Quest game
Well, good news, there is a English patch for the Japanese version of the game, that has the party chat, you should give it a look.
I love your Dragon Quest videos. They're so thorough and well made. I look forward to watching a long video about one of my favorites in the series.
So happy you're still making these videos. Keep up the great work.
The whole party: No you can't cast Thwack on a boss!!
Kyril: Haha thwack go miss.
His actual reasoning is hilarious. "Thwack is infinity HP damage for only 4 MP. I can't know for sure if this enemy is immune to it until I try it a few times, in case of bad RNG. If I kill the enemy before it can hurt everyone, I won't need to spend more MP on healing them afterward." Combined with him interpreting each form of a transforming boss as a completely different monster with _potentially_ different weakness/resistance to instant death, your healer wastes a lot of time and MP on experimenting with his instant death spell.
Great game, great in depth overview! Please keep it up. I very glad I found this channel
Thank you for the definitive retrospective and analysis of one of my favorites. Party on, dude!
I own Dragon Quest IV on DS and I know I'm in for a hell of a ride. Also, I hope you come back. I don't want this retrospective to die. I have been binging this for so long that it's insane.
I remember the AI party system on the NES being mostly a hinderance. Once I got the sword of miracles I almost never had to use outside of the Hero, Ragnar, Alena and Taloon. Maybe swapping out Cristo and Nara to heal or revive. It’s ambitious but am very glad they never went straight AI after this game and fixed it in the remake.
Wonderfully researched with attention to detail.
Will you do any more of these Dragon Quest analysis videos? I am really enjoying them.
Another fantastic dragon quest review keep it up.
Japan had both Dragon Quest IV, Final Fantasy IV, Phantasy Star II, & other shit at the time.
What did North America & Europe had for RPGs?
For consoles.....not much, but CRPGs were great then with standouts like Planescape, Ultima, Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, etc., most of which are still talked about and remastered/reimagined today.
@@Keithustus Fallout and Baldur's Gate were made during the early 90's?
@@Keithustus balurs gate and fallout was 98 and 97.
It feels like I have waited years for this video haha! Thank you for all your hard work Mr. Gentleman!
I've played every main series Dragon Quest game other then X plus many of the spinoffs and this is still my favorite game in the series. While it lacks the job system from III, which I feel is III's best advancement from II, I think the chapter system and cast make up for it. I never understood why there aren't more RPGs which uses something similar to the chapter system to explain what party members did before joining the main party.
Rogue Rifter Wild arms is kinda like this in a smaller scale. I love it though..
Have you played Live A Live? It does the chapter concept, but perhaps even better and you can even choose what order to do the chapters in. I would only recommend that you do the wrestler and sci-fi chapters later than the others for reasons that will become more apparent once you play them. I consider it one of the best RPGs for the SNES.
Live a Live I would buy in a heart beat if it ever comes to the US offically. I love the Wild Arms series but it is still a very small drop in an ocean.
Final Fantasy 6 does this separate stories at a point in the game...and Octopath Traveller does that in a way
Final Fantasy VI spilts the party but unless I'm remembering wrong it only shows what members did before joing the party in cutscenes, Octpath does do something kind of like to Dragon Quest IV but even counting it I still wish things like this were more common in RPGs. I never claimed Dragon Quest IV was unique in this way.
I have for years held the opinion that, if you evaluate a game based on the time at which it came out, DQ/DW4 is the best game of all time. From the way it simultaneously builds narrative and game mechanics with the chapter system, to the character driven story and living world, absolutely no game at that point had come close. Few games come close to how much DQ4 stood out from games that came out before it. It did for RPGs what Half Life did for FPS.
Just played replay this game. This time played on the iOS version that has party chat and it was fantastic. I enjoyed it much more than when I first played it.
Unrelated: I just finished DQV and I am desperately craving your review of the game
"She's the first RPG tomboy princess."
And.
A.
Trope.
Is.
Born.
Excellent video! I'm looking forward to future videos!
I played the first three and DW: Monsters on a hand-me-down GBC when I was a kid, and they captured my imagination, but it wasn't until I discovered DQIV for Android and inhaled it that I really became a fan of the series. Now that I've beaten almost all the games available in the West, IV is still my favorite. Something about the tragedy of Psaro and his parallels to the hero/heroine really gets me.
The Western version on NES is so fascinating. One of the best titles on the NES, and arguably the rarest Dragon Quest title ever made. It also seems like such a strange outlier. The start of a new trilogy after DW I-III, and then just abruptly ended. We never got the later ones on SNES, really a damn shame.
I waited to watch this until I had completed the game on NES myself, and man, neither the game nor the vid disappoint. The only thing I’ll say is that I personally found the tactics system to work as a fun means of fleshing out characters, even if accidentally. Maya comes off as a ditz who _would_ waste MP on spells not thinking things through, and Kiryl comes off as a dweeb who uses Thwack even if it shouldn’t work because he panics in battle. It’s not perfect, but it did get me to strategize in ways that other RPGs don’t, since I had to account for AI quirks on top of abilities. (i.e. Kiryl would be used on the overworld, while Maya would be saved for boss battles). I need some more time to stew on it, but it may just be my favorite RPG ever honestly, even having not played the remakes.
Great video though! I was so happy to see this series had returned!
My three favorite dragon quest games are two, four, and seven and I can never pick among them which is the best. I was looking forward to this video. Thank you.
I like 2 actually due to the difficulty spike at rhone. Like good build up that this place ia no joke.
Unfortunaty I only played the GBC port. I heard the OG is harder. If I ever get my goal to read Japanese I want to import a Japanese Wii (cheap) and a copy of Dragon Quest 1,2,3 (has OG versions on there). Beat DQ11 on full draconian mode. Love that option.
As someone who tried his first NES DQ game with 3 I'm super glad 4 was miles better, with 3 after 6 hours of playing I felt no attachment to my characters whilst this seems to do what I kinda love FFVI for and that's a good ol' mixed perspective story.
I had to stop after watching chapter 1 so thank you for showing me that I'm missing out mate!
Understandable as very different games. DQIII is the equivalent of starting a D&D campaign first by building a party, whereas DQIV gave us prebuilt characters that became the norm for JRPGs (whereas more western RPGs continued the build-character tradition).
@@Keithustus That's a great comparison
I have the DS port for this and love the story, giving time for the characters to develop in each chapter. The NPCs actually have personality too, with stories of their own too. It gives a extra layer to the world in the game.
I love this game. I was so blown away by it when it came out.
"About three hours" - was I accidentally speedrunning Ragnar's chapter this whole time?
As a kid I played the shopkeeper chapter so wrong. I remember feeling I was grinding forever
Thank u for coming back I've been so long to see u cover this! One of my first rpgs i beaten
Now this is a nice surprise to wake up to. A comfy video to go with my morning coffee. :D
In recognition of the DQ5 movie, please do the DQ5 History of RPGS video
Good insight. Can't wait for FF Adventures, which is a game I've never played, but have heard a few things about.
The village you were raised in was brutal murdered because a poet got lost in the mountains.
Poet: "Let me sing you a song...Thwack song"
*Everyone fails vibe check and dies*
Poet: "That was easy"
I am so excited for Dragon Quest 5 🤩 I loved this game on the DS as well
Yep the removal of party chat from the DS version makes it a sore port. The question was 'why'? When the translation was in tact for the mobile version.
I guess a fan translation of the S.Famicom version exsists on ROM, it's not 'quite' the same as having a game in hand.
I kind of prefer the NES version because the maps felt 'bigger' than on the DS.
Gold was not as easy to obtain, and the casino had the amazing Metal Bable shield which four characters could equip - the four you didn't expect - Cristo, Nara, Mara, Brey. The casino also, only in the NES version, had the staff of happiness which if you attacked with it, made enemies 'smile' which causes them to miss a turn (random chance for effect).
Also the NES version had the most useful version of the Mirror Shield, a shield that reflected damage taken regardless of source, back at the one who inflected it. This meant that king metal slimes who cast firebane, would kill themselves if you had the mirror shield equipped on anyone in the party when they cast it. I always gave it to Ragnar for this reason even though he could equip a stronger shield. In later version, the shield reflects the spell itself, therefore negating it's ability to hurt metals.
Also in remakes of the game, the hero, even if female, couldn't equip the feather cap - a hidden little helmet you could find in the hero's home village if you searched around the middle of the flower bed. They also removed, in remakes, the female-specific armor to be worn by the hero if she were a heroine, like the dress of radiance.
In remakes they seemed to have botched the way the scale shield versus the iron shield work - scale shield has no special properties, while the iron shield, stronger than the scale shield, mitigates some fire and ice spell damage. I feel this is a problem as it should be the other-way around (weaker physical shield with better elemental defense seems a wise trade-off).
There's also no real post-game content in remakes to speak of and I wish they had brought back monster medals (as seen ONLY in the DQ 3 remake on gameboy). Those just gave you a sense of accomplishment and a reason to grind every region despite being able to move on (for no real reason other than for trading I admit, but STILL).
The party chat in the mobile version also had a lot of grammatical errors and misplacement with letters
As someone who grew up playing from 1 to 4 on NES then wasn’t able to play anything new until DQM Joker or DQVIII, I have never been able to enjoy the ‘addition’ of party chat to any of these games.
@@Keithustus
Party chat does add some enjoyment when you've 'done everything' but i understand the pure mindset.. I get it. I just know that it 'does' add.
I really like DQ4, great video.
I have been anticipating this one. One of my favorites for the Torneko chapter alone. I also enjoyed Artepiazza's DS version, though the dialects for each region were a little on the nose. This was actually the first DQ I actually played all the way through so it has a special place in my heart. Love your work!
I kind of wonder what it would be like for a Pokemon RPG to follow this sort of structure, but I guess it would really screw with the collecting aspect.
Then again, it would be interesting to see what sort of ecology and variety each hypothetical trainer protagonist would run into.
Thank you very much! Love your videos!
Again, pretty good in-depth review of DQIV. It’s not my personal favorite on the original NES due to the Party Tactics System though I can see why it is a fan favorite for many DQ fans alongside DQ5. Battles felt really random and not quite under your control as you described so far throughout your review.
At least with DQ2 and 3 I can control all my party members. Not so much with this one other than the Hero when arriving at Chapter 5. At least the remakes addressed this issue with the original NES and gave you the option to change your Party Tactics into Manual for manually controlling all party members in battle.
Name 1 game that's better on the nes, because that would be a hidden gem for me. There's a lot of games that may be more popular, but no game is better than dw4 on the nes have I ever found
@@GTSN38 Dragon Warrior 3 is better than 4 IMHO. Dragon Warrior 4 pales in comparison to the legacy 3 left behind. The vocation (job class) system, the worldbuilding looking similar to Real Life Earth, the story concluding the legacy of the Erdrick/Loto trilogy, the day & night cycle, and the cultural impact it left for Japanese people in 1988.
4 can never scratch the same itch as 3 did on a monumental level for Japan which revolutionized JRPGs and RPGs as a whole.
Dragon Warrior 4 does have better characters and story I'll give you that compared to 3 which had blank slates, but 3 had the better gameplay compared to 4 because you can control all your party members along with the vocation system.
I'm the kind of RPG person who invests more into the gameplay aspect when playing RPGs while the story and worldbuilding is secondary to me at best. Earthbound (aka The Mother Series) is a prime example where I don't need to take the story and worldbuilding seriously as long as the gameplay is good since its a copy of Dragon Warrior 2 & 3's down to the user interface and game mechanics, but if I want to take the story seriously it's pretty good.
If I need to invest myself into a story I'd read a book rather than a video game. Give me a basic run of the mill story in a JRPG of you becoming a hero to defeat an Evil Wizard, Dark Dragon, or Demon Lord of some sort and I'd be OK with it as long as the gameplay is stimulating at the very least.
Cant wait for the video on DQ11 in 2146!
Ill just say for now... GREAT VIDEO and one of my favorites rpg series: HORPG
#THORPG i correct...
I got to chapter 5 and i watched this and im going "holy crap i missed so much"
I can’t wait until dragon quest fourteen
Know what I’m saying?
This is the game for me
45:09 Is Ragnar okay or is he just channeling his inner crab?
Speaking of Dragon Quest 4 on PS1, it was planned to come to the West but it never happened. The developer Heartbeat announced that they were going on a sabbatical. Turns out, that was a lie. They were actually closing up shop. They blamed rising costs in game development. A shame because Dragon Quest IV is really something else. Many within Heartbeat would go on to form Genius Sorority, responsible for Pokemon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness.
Thank you fot this awesome video! :3
My personal favorite in the series and I've played 1-8.
Is there an 8 bit rpg with a better, more engrossing story than DQ4?
Maybe one of the first Ultimas? Otherwise I’d think not.
Dragon Quest/Warrior 1, 3, and 4 are all amazing. 2? We don't talk about 2.
Glad to see you still posting Dragon Quest videos! I binged all your videos about a month ago and was disappointed you didnt have more subs.
I just got into the series recently through XI, but Builders 2 has been taking all my time recently. Have you played it yet?
He actually has a few videos dedicated to some of his endeavors in DQ B2!
I highly recommend his video while making a King Metal Slime picture, it's both funny yet also insightful.
As GBAer said, I do indeed have a few Builders videos. I may do more, but it depends on what time I have.
Might you consider Nara the fortune teller to be more like a 'sage' type class? Not exactly I get it, but other classes fulfill the other DQ3 roles very well.
So just felt like those two sisters were almost in combination, the 'sage', class.
The chad De Gardi 16:16 from NES versus the virgin Archie o'Tect on DS.
One of my top 5 DQ games 😊
I named my daughter Alena. Nuff said.
Fun game wish it(and all the other DQ games) was on PS4/5.
These videos are incredible and you should be proud of your research and analysis. Although, I'd urge you to work on the voiceover, your inflections are erratic and somewhat robotic at times, which can be really distracting.
Right. Even just from the excellent excellent DQIII video the enunciation in this one is quite at times indecipherable.
2:30 lol not simpy messengers. Did find DQ4 kinda boring (DQ3 is the only one in the series I like given customization/class changes done well), but this is totally worth learning about.
I remember my brother and I hated part 4 innovation due to averting our expectations. We just wanted our party to grind and make more powerful and didn't understand the new gameplay and story structure. DW 3+4 were so great and different. I haven't play 6,7,9,10 but DQ>FF from what I've played. FF6 is my fav rpg and FF4, FF7(og+remake) are right there. DQ doesn't have low points like FF8(i llike but has issues),FF13,FF15. It is innovative while keeping specific staples. DQ8 is best ps2 rpg. DQ5 created the monster catching genre. DQ3 is the best RPG. DQ also has more great spinoff. FF may have the best with FF tatics. DQ has so many great, like DQM, DQH, DQT, DQB, etc. DQ has high points but I'd rather have guaranteed 8 with several 9 but fewer 10's than few more 10,s but several 6's. Maybe DQ has a couple of 7's but 1st 2 brought so much to genre I wouldn't give them a score below 8 but are flawed today.
I remember a while back you said that you were going to do a video on Final Fantasy Legend aka SaGa 1. Do you plan on still making that video?
I do, as I find the first ambitious, but extremely flawed but really love the 2nd for fixing most problems. And the franchise as a whole is relatively important in Japan and is slowly becoming more well known in the west, especially with Scarlet Grace having gained some popularity. So they'll come in due time.
Finally watched it.
Bro fully form your words holy shit
"There's more, in dragon quest 4"
-GC positive
We don't deserve GC
Makes me sad that the Super Famicom reached End-of-Life before they could do a 16-bit remake of DQIV the way they had for I+II and III... The gap on my shelf _makes my brain itch._ 😫 I'd stick _Torneko no Daibouken_ in there, but then I wouldn't be able to pair it with _Fuurai no Shiren_ followed by the rest of the Mystery Dungeon games.... 😓 #OCDGameCollectingProblems
I just got in the PS1 version of DQIV a few days ago (along with its V-Jump guide, and tons of other DQ guides...) haven't had a chance to check it out yet. 🤔 ...though I already know I'd have preferred a 16-bit 2D version to it. 😕
Plz do more DQ :)
during elementary, I literally spend 3 years to finish this game on NES, rollercoaster ride, between lost save game, and frustration even after hard grinding our party still lost to some of bosses, luckily Esturk is too lazy to fight, Radimvice Bounce is SUCKS!!!! oh and Alena's Terrific Blow is awesome!!!!
Do levels stay the save across chapters?
Yes. They keep the levels they had from before you received them.
@@mr.gentleman2358 Awesome! Thx for letting me know! Also, a side note, you mentioned you wouldn't give out your platinum award often and yet you did with this game despite you not seeming to really like the gameplay. You mentioned you are a gameplay type of person. I'm a little confused that you gave it a GRREAT award yet it has what appears to be a pretty glaring flaw. Did I miss something about the taciturn AI kinda good kinda bad combat? The story looks cool, I like the golem idea. thx
I liked this.
DQM3 brought me here.
YES
IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER HOUR LONG COMMITMENT. THANK YOU MR. GENTLEMAN.
P.S. PLEASE OPEN YOUR DM'S ON TWITTER SO I CAN SEND YOU A COPY OF MY GAME.
Alena said lesbian rights
Fingers crossed that either this or Final Fantasy VI are next for the 2D-HD remake treatment after DQ3. Will be so disappointed if they do DQ1&2 instead, since those games....frankly....just aren’t good.
I am playing this game right now so I better stop watching, I don't want any spoilers
Dq 4 did Ff 6
You should get a better microphone, your speech seems really slurred and mushy on this video, but i can tell its not you, just an audio issue. Maybe you already have. Sorry, not trying to be a jerk.