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Last year I played Dragon Quest 1-3. I’d only ever beaten DQ1 before, but I was a huge fan of it as a kid, so I was excited to finally sit down and beat DQ2 and 3. I’d played them, but never got very far. This one I had barely played at ALL, and put off until this year because it’s the start of a new series! Dragon Quest 4 is a new step for the series, and I’d heard it was good, but I REALLY liked 3, so I didn’t expect it to quite reach those heights.

Uh, I was fucking wrong. Dragon Quest 4 blew my fucking mind. This might actually just straight up be my favorite RPG on the NES now. Mother 1 is still holding on, but I’ll be real, it’s close.

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Dragon Quest 4 tries for a new thing for the series: a plot! That’s a joke, but also kinda not. DQ1-3 had very mild plots. 3 had a bit more of it, but it was really about the scene to scene stuff. This game not only has a plot, but it also goes about it in a unique and interesting way. This game has like 7 heroes, and it introduces you to each of them by each chapter, as they’re doing their own things. Finally, after all their chapters, you’re introduced to YOU, the main character, the chosen hero, and the game fully opens up, with you collecting the crew and saving the world. Notably, you can also be a woman! And the game actually acknowledges that fact and doesn’t just fucking ignore it, like it did in DQ3!

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The different chapters range from your typical kinda fantasy story to very unique weird shit. Like, it starts with a knight trying to find kids who’ve been kidnapped by monsters. By the later chapters you’re a merchant trying to save up money for his own store, with unique mechanics exclusive to him about trying to get as much money as you can.

So, other than the story, what does this game have going for it? Well, it’s more Dragon Quest! And I really like NES Dragon Quest. It plays well, is well balanced, has fun progression, and has a LOT of extra content. This is the first game with little medals, for example. And they’re VERY well hidden, too, as they usually are.

Frankly, I don’t have that much more to add?? Like… it’s just an EXTREMELY high quality NES RPG. It’s still an NES RPG. You will have to grind. You will get confused about where to go on occasion, though it’s got a lot of QOL shit that earlier games REALLY did not have. Shout outs to the Return spell taking you to any town, yay. I’m excited to replay this someday with the DS version. But for now, it’s just fantastic, and I highly recommend it.