Dragon Quest IV: Official Strategy Guide [Paperback]

Whether you are an old school DQIV player like I am, or a neophyte getting your feet wet with this new DQIV port, I would seriously recommend picking up this guide while it is still available. Not only is it simply GORGEOUS, filled with detailed, full color illustrations of the characters, towns, weapons, armor, etc, it is an incredibly useful tool for getting the most out of your DQIV experience.

It's true that as far as RPGs go, DQIV is not all that difficult---- I was in 6th grade when the game was first released and I did just fine without a guide. However, if you don't have months on end to stumble around caves trying to find magic switches which lead to the next floor or trying to find the best way to earn even SOME coins at the casino so you can get the best weapons and armor, I believe you will be quite grateful for the assistance this book offers. Not only does it have thorough lists of characters, weapons, armor, items, and monsters, it has a full walk-through, detailed maps, and best of all, helpful advice for sidequests such as how to get the best items from the first casino, how to build your immigrant town in order to find the hidden casino, etc. For those of you who are familiar with the old version of the game and who are caught off-guard by the 6th chapter, there is a full walk-through for that as well.

This book loses one star because while the items list is thorough and beautifuly illustrated, it does fail to list where each item can be found. However, for each town, dungeon, etc, there is a more detailed list that shows all the items that can be obtained there, so the book DOES contain information on where all of the items (including all the special new items created just for this new version) are located, however, it's not quite as convenient as it should be.

As a side note, I'd also like to say that I'm disappointed that this is the only DQIV strategy guide being released in the US. When the PS1 remake of this game was released in Japan, there were TWO guides released for it: one containing a walk-through and maps, the other focusing on characters, items, and monsters. Because there were two different volumes the books were able to go into much more detail, and they went a lot more in depth in terms of discussing strategy for which characters to use in ones party, which weapons and armor to use, etc. However, this is still an excellent guide, an excellent tool for getting the most out of this outstanding game, and a crown jewel in ANY DQ fan's collection, and as such it is HIGHLY recommended.

Dragon Quest games are huge. The world is vast, filled with tons of side areas to go through and secrets. Finding all that stuff on your own can be tricky. Luckily, there's this helpful little guide that can help you along just about every step of the way.

The guide begins with details on all the characters. It doesn't just list their spells, but all the things they can equip through the journey as well as their stat growth (though it looks a little weird looking at their HP as the line for every character is literally off the chart). So there's a good deal of information. The guide also gives a bio for each of the supporting characters as well.

After that we get into all the preliminary things about the game. This is where all the basics get explained. The guide doesn't spend too much time here, and any veteran of the RPG genre won't really need it at all. However, if for some reason you find there's something you don't quite understand about Dragon Quest IV's mechanics, it's here.

The walkthrough itself is very well done. It's divided into chapters. First there is the prologue and then there is each and every character's prologue explained as well. The main quest is also broken up into little chapters. Each chapter begins with a quick run through of all the things you'll eventually have to do and all the places you'll have to go. You can think of it like a flowchart. There's much more, of course. The guide does have sections for each town and dungeon. There's an items list for each area you have to venture to. It'll also tell you where to find the item. Unfortunately, despite some pretty detailed maps (especially of the towns) the guide doesn't exactly show you where the items are on the map. It simply tells you.

At the very least you get all the basic necessities from the walkthrough. They call out new monsters when you see them and provide some excellent boss strategies. It's also helpful that the guide is always suggesting a level for your characters to be at as well as what equipment they should have. It's pretty helpful stuff.

After the walkthrough we get into all the side quests and mini games. There are some pretty good descriptions here with some clear screen shots. The data for all this is very well laid out. There's also a complete list of Mini-Medals if you're interested in finding each and every one of them. Also, there's coverage of Hoffman's Place.

Afterwards the guide goes into a list of all the items and equipment. It's a pretty good, standard list that just about every RPG guide includes. Although there are some tips on how to effectively use some of the items. There's also an all inclusive bestiary that covers every creature in the game. Unfortunately it's done by number and not alphabetically. It can cause for some page flipping, but with new enemies constantly being called out in the walkthrough, it's really not such a bad thing.

Finally, at the very back is a list of secrets and other goodies such as hidden bosses. The difference between this secrets section and the side quests section is that here is where the guide covers all that there is to do after the final boss has been defeated. So there's good reason why they didn't mesh it in with all the other side quests.

When all is said and done, this is almost a perfect guide for Dragon Quest IV. All the basic information is here as well as plenty of useful tips to help you through the game.

Got this for my granddaughter as a surprise to just help her out. When she home from school and found it on her bed she squealed with delight. She was frustrated with the game because she kept getting stuck. Then went back to the beginning of the game and is loving the book. Having as much fun reading the book as playing the game. I don't know how to play these games, but she is sure loving it. And the book arrived VERY fast.