Dragon Warrior IV

As the title implies this is Enix at it's very best. THe last Dragon Warrior game to appear on the NES and it goes out with a bang. Lets start with the length of the game, 5 chapters, five stories all eventually intertwined. A crew of 7 main characters, and at least 7 or more alternate/ incontrollable characters. Literally over 50 or more hours of gameplay guarentee, and an incredible story that rivals even the Great Final Fantasy of today. Obviously to a gamer who is just entering or was weened on the likes of Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9 they might be disgusted by the repetitive level building, or need to actually search for a few things, or ancient graphics, but the masterful story will keep most in tuined. In fact if my memory serves me right ENIX is remaking this title for the PSX and plans to have it out before the sytem dies (They had an SNES remake but the system died before it was released). If this game does return to Amercian shores it will be worth purchasing no matter what. Own this, buy this, steal it, import it, it doesn't matter oen this title. YOu will not be disapointed. I still play it to this day (When my system works).

Dragon Warrior 4 is quite possibly the most complex RPG ever to grace the NES. The storyline consists of five chapters, eight characters, a small gang of playable auxiliary characters (that have a personality), and a ton of places to visit and explore.

The first four chapters of the game serve as a prelude to the final, main chapter. In the first four chapters, you are introduced to the supporting characters in the game as they tackle subquest after subquest without being aware of their larger purpose of restoring peace and serenity to the world. This part of the game can go a bit slowly because you have to literally level up four different parties, which means fighting lots of basic enemies like Slimes and Kaskos Hoppers and Giant Worms. However, the storylines make sense and there are some tough dungeons to contend with.

The fifth and final chapter introduces the hero and starts off with a bang. You then spend the rest of the game locating the supporting characters, finding the legendary weapons, and putting an end to Necrosaro and his evil designs. This quest is very long and involves lots of subquests and plot twists. The game's difficulty ramps up considerably in this chapter and you'll have a lot of tough fights.

Technically speaking, the graphics are only a slight improvement compared to the previous games in the series, but they are a bit brighter and more colorful. The enemies are well-drawn and the dungeons are expansive. The sound effects are adequate and the music does a good job of matching the situation. The ship music in particular is good.

My biggest complaint with this game is the tactics system in Chapter 5. This system makes it impossible to directly control the supporting members of your team, which means they have to rely on the computer's AI while only being "guided" by the tactic you select. Only being able to directly control the hero makes for some rather frustrating battles, particularly with boss-type foes. It is not fun to be fighting the master archfiend and then watching one of your wizards waste a turn by deciding to try and put him to sleep instead of healing a wounded teammate.

However, the sheer size of the game, the complexity of the storyline, and the special features it offers (collecting the small medals, the casino in Endor), more than make up for this. This game is probably too rare to find at a flea market, but if you are able to purchase it somewhere, it would be a worthy addition to your RPG library. Along with Final Fantasy 1 and Dragon Warrior 3, this game completes the trio of the top RPGs available for the NES.

This is an epic adventure like no other. The game is broken down into 5 chapters, each of which has a quest that goes along with it. In Chapters 1 through 4 you play as different characters ranging from a royal soldier to a princess to a merchant. Each of these chapters is unique. The fifth and final chapter finds you controlling the hero at long last. Eventually, you meet up with the other characters you controlled in the previous 4 chapters. This is where the ultimate fun begins. The battle system is basically the same as in the previous Dragon Warrior games in the NES. The one and only drawback I found in the game came in chapter 5. You only control the hero, while the other characters in your party are automatically controlled. You do have the ability to change the overall strategy of the party, but not with the complete control that one desires. Overall though, the game and story are very entertaining and I recommend this game to any fan of the true RPG genre.

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