TLDR review: This is peak gaming.

Actual in depth review:
The story is completely unlike anything that came before it. The characters actually had unique goals and personalities. The story structure switched protags every few hours to get you accustomed to their tales and gameplay mechanics. Even the main antagonist had a reason behind his beliefs which was very uncommon in video games that were initially released before 1990.

Chapter 1 didn't particularly stand out to me but looking back it was a fine tutorial. It was there as a quick intro to teach players all the fundamentals before suddenly every single chapter that followed was a banger in every possible way. I can forgive an ok hour long tutorial when the rest of the game is nonstop peak gaming.

Chapter 2 introduced one of my favorite characters in the franchise, Alena. Think of any early video game that has anything even remotely close to a strong martial artist princess. There really weren't many even close. There were barely even woman leads in games back then, let alone princesses that were more than just kidnapped plot devices. But Alena? Nah she gonna punch those demon lords into oblivion. This is something I think Dragon Quest and especially this game shine at. The woman are actually super vital to the plot and I love that. Even the main hero can be a woman at the player's chice (kinda wish more DQ games had that option but that's besides the point). Kiryl was introduced in this chapter too and he grew on me quite aw bit too. Spin-offs like to build off his whack memes (his AI would cast that spell constantly in the original NES version) which is neat. Boyra is the only let down party member story wise but meh it's whatever. This chapter had a few surprises near the end that made me go "oh wait yeah this game might actually be pretty dark".

Chapter 3 blew all expectations away. What I mean by that is you play as merchant named Torneko whom has almost no good combat qualities. What you do for this chapter is try to make money and set up shops. You can even play a sell items mini game to make money, but it's definitely worth actually exploring for gold. I have to this day never played another RPG where you actually play as a merchant behind the counter selling items to heroes. There were quite a few neat discoveries I found in this chapter too like a town that only exists at a certain time of day. This chapter is also the first one where a setting is reoccurring which I think adds nice world building. So far each story felt semi standalone minus he main antag's schemes, but now you actually see things line up.

Chapters2 and 3 were good but 4 is where the ball really starts rolling. Two sibling protags trying to get revenge on their father's killer is a really good concept. Meena and Maya ae once again central woman in the story and they both have super fun move pools. Meena is a fortune teller and Maya is a spell casting dancer. Together they are powerful magic users, they add racial diversity to the cast, and they continue the family oriented kind of tales DQ likes to tell (1-3 all about a bloodline, 5 super family oriented, 6 has sibling party members, etc). Narratively and setting wise I really enjoyed chapter 4's revenge tale.

Chapter 5 begins with one of the most icon scenes in the game. Wasn't what I was expecting at all and really proved the game was going for a dark tone but with a sense of "keep moving forward even in the darkest of times". From there you make your way around the world to gather all the previous major party members. This segment is really cool because everything you've worked for so far finally comes together. You meet many legendary characters in this game like the Zenith Dragon and Estark who continue to reappear and connect multiple games in the series together. You also start learning about the main antagonist Psaro. I will really surprised to see his motivation being to protect Rose from humans that constantly abuse her. DQ is very much a story about protecting those important to you and opening one's mind to different perspectives. Not everything is black and white. Even the real world is full of conflict where both sides thin they're doing the right thing, and I think this game portrays that excellently.

The final boss is actually raw the way it transforms throughout the boss fight. DQ1 was the first RPG where a final boss had a second phase and tis game cranks that up to so many more. This is a good time to talk about the fact that this is actually a remake review because oh gosh the remake has such good DS era pixel art, especially during that final boss phase. The remake is such a vast improvement on the original in nearly every way but unfortunately within the DS version a feature called Party Chat was cut from international releases. That's why the mobile version which this review is actually for is the very best version. It lets you talk to allies at any point and they will always have something neat to say about the setting or events that transpired. It adds additional personality and world building to a game that was already full of both.

The biggest addition these remake versions have is an entirely new chapter. After beating the final boss you typically go back to right before the fight when reloading the game, which is true still, but now a new dungeon is opened up. This dungeon is difficult and a bit weird but it adds a new duo boss that upon beating, gives you access to an entirely new storyline. The rawest party member in the franchise's history joins you as you go take down an evil mastermind that is the reason most of the conflict in game occurred in the first place. The actually post credits isn't too different besides a few more characters being alive but it's such a beautiful addition nonetheless. The best part is this new story direction doesn't even break the canon of later games in any way whatsoever so you can interpret either ending as canon.

Sequels and spin-offs have greatly expanded how much I love this game too. 5 and 6 reference and build connections to 4 in such fun and unique ways. Heroes and other games also love including 4 content due to how great and large its main cast is. The game that makes me appreciate 4 the most though is Monsters The Dark Prince due to it basically being D4 from Psaro's perspective. It actually adds new twists and lore even fans of 4 would not see coming at all. DQ4 was a timeless classic by itself but even today it continues to become better and better as its legacy impacts modern games in the series immensely. Heck its not even this game that it has a vast legacy in. Games like Live A Live were directly inspired by it and that had a domino effect leading to Chrono Trigger, Xeno, Trails, etc. This game is such an important part of RPG history. It truly is the Chapters of the Chosen.

PS: I love this game so much that I have a replica of the sword, my boyfriend made me bead art of multiple party members, and I talk about the game so actively I grew a modest sized social media following. DQ4 genuinely impacted my life for the better and I'm happy thinking about it. Such a beautiful game with a great legacy. Will always be one of my favorite games of all time and that has absolutely 0 nostalgia bias behind it. In fact, it was one of the last mainline DQ games I got into. It really was just the perfect game for me.

Fairly decent pool game but it involves a bit too much gacha for my taste. Still, had a solid bit of fun with it.

I was expecting to like the third game the most but honestly the series kinda just felt repetitive after multiple installments back to back with only a miniscule amount of time for devs to hear criticism to improve the following entry. I really think this one could've benefited from being developed at a later date.

The Forsaken Maiden is in improvement over the first Voice of Cards in multiple ways. Most notably the story, characters, and combat have more to offer. If I could only recommend one game in this series it would be this one, although I do kinda miss how the previous game had a true ending. This one has multiple endings based on a choice near the end but there's no ultimate good finale. It does add to the emotional value but there's really not much reason to do all endings since they're nigh identical in concept.

The person that told me this was Yoko Taro's version of remaking Dragon Quest 1 were not lying. The story is very "1986 RPG"-esc until near the end with a few changes but even then it was pretty predictable. Still, there is something charming about the card aesthetic. Def needed some gameplay improvements though which thankfully sequels followed up on.

What if the average Mario story of Bowser kidnapping Peach was told in the form of an RPG? Well there's now more notable characters than the traditional platforming Mario games have but ultimately it felt like it was a game that played it safe. The story doesn't get as crazy as the next game in the series The Thousand Year Door and a lot of SNES era RPGs had greater stories too. Gameplay wise this game was a little unique but some ideas were borrowed from Mario RPG which had a better cast, story, and mechanics. Overall this is just an alright RPG.

A lot of RPG devs started to developing for the PlayStation 1 after the Nintendo 64 screwed over the RPG genre via being super limiting. So many in fact that there are only 3 true RPGs released worldwide on the Nintendo 64. Those being Quest 64, Paper Mario 64, and this game Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage. This game released so late in the consoles life that it was destined to be the final RPG even if that was more common in the platform. Could this game prove the console could have an above average RPG or was the console destined to be doomed in this regard?

The graphics work but the art style doesn't have any of the charm that Quest 64 or Paper Mario 64 had. It actively was uninteresting to look at.

Non-combat gameplay like moving around massive maps and getting lost easily is unpleasant. Combat also has weird quirks like only being able to load a certain amount of enemies t a time but sometimes more spawn after you kill a few. I don't really have much positive to stay here since it's got the most part subpar. I guess the one pro I can say this has is it actually has party members until Quest 64 and they're more fleshed out gameplay wise than Paper Mario 64.

The other RPGs on the console were more fun to look at and play for me so the ultimate redeeming quality could've been the story but unfortunately that too is weak until near the end when there's mild twists I guess. I genuinely didn't feel attached to any character, the setting, or narrative at all.

In the end this game to me represents the lost potential that Nintendo chose to accept when creating the 64. They were the bosses of RPGs back on NES and SNES with so much third party support but their decision to create the 64 the way it is ultimately lead to a lackluster line up for the genre. While the PS1 thrived with RPGs, the Nintendo 64 was left in the dust with a miniscule amount that are average at best if not outright underwhelming.

I went into this game knowing many people had mixed feelings on it and knowing it was one of the only RPGs in a console that is known for not having RPGs because it screwed the genre over.

Instantly I liked the art style aesthetic. Kinda looked vaguely like a medieval magic version of the charming 64 style Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie went for. I genuinely wish the 64 had more RPGs and that they looked somewhat like this.

The story was a little basic but I tried to just compare to Paper Mario since that's the only other N64 RPG I had played and when comparing to it this game is equally as just ok. Your main objective is quite cut and dry. The story is very town by town-esc which is actually quite common in RPGs but it did feel like there wasn't much outside of that. Plot twists aren't crazy so if that's why you want to play then I wouldn't really recommend this game.

As it turns out it though this game actually has quite a few unique ideas for turn based games like being able to move slightly during your opponent's magic attacks to try to dodge. I quite liked that. Unfortunately the level up system was also equally unique for the worse. Needing to level up your HP by being hit isn't exactly fun. The same can be said for other stats but some fo actually benefit from this style.

Regardless, I can definitely understand the mixed feelings people have in this game. My own opinion is I think this is a super unique and somewhat charming experience on a console with absolutely nothing else like it. It feels like a lost piece of history that I genuinely enjoyed despite some difficulty. It's an average tier RPG in a console that barely had any RPGs at all, and I think that makes it at least somewhat special.

I love the new modes added. Had so much multiplayer fun with Lego, Racing, and Festival. This game and season in particular genuinely helped me connect better with my boyfriend's family which is nice. New skin crossovers like Metal Gear were fantastic. The new map felt a bit too basic though. A lot of the POIs don't stick out enough from each other. It was carried by thinks like the ever moving train and floating island but the train takes way too long to circle around so sometimes players don't even see it. I'm glad it was super easy to level up in this season though because I got to 250 which I had never done before. I barely ever got above 215 before after grinding hard but I don't even think i really grinded this time.

This story was surprisingly good and better than the first arc. I like the protagonist duo's dynamic and how their stories bounce off each other. Witch backstory very engaging too. Also Babe was quite a funny ally. Overall this is a short but great Yoko Taro storyline. Unfortunately it is still held back by being a mobile game with uninteresting combat.

I've played this multiple times with friends and it's been quite fun. I can't really see myself playing in solo and there other other multiplayer games I'd prefer to play but every now and again it makes for a nice mix up game.

Movement feels slow and boring which feels really weird to say for a Mario game because even the worst usually still feel engaging. I know it's cause this was meant to focus more on puzzles but most of the puzzles require minimalistic thought. There's not even much charm here. Feels like one of the most filler Nintendo releases in a while.

90% of this game shares similar pros and cons to the first part of the Remake trilogy. The story is extremely dragged out via a much larger map, an entire chapter of filler, and unnecessary changes. For what it's worth though they did make some good changes like making Yuffie and Vincent main story characters instead of optional like they used to be. Unfortunately though Vincent and Cid are both not playable. They really should have been. The dev time was all put into developing unnecessarily long roads, mountains, and caves, along with filler beach scenes, instead of fleshing out the combat with characters that walk by your side and were playable in the original. I still wish they just made a real remake of FF7 with just minor changes at most like the previously mentioned inclusion of Yuffie and Vincent in the main narrative, but instead they decided to shove brand new timeline shenanigans into the plot. The worst part is it's usually just for shock value. Characters dying or not dying often leads to nothing significant in the long run. Why are multiple timelines being included out of nowhere? It genuinely comes off as pure shock value without any substance at times. There are some hype moments to be had via these and I am intrigued by some. Heck I do actually think one character's timeline shenanigans is actually modestly used well (compared to the others at least), but a lot of these additions do nothing for me. At the end of the day though this is still Final Fantasy 7 for the most part. It's filled with moments I love like Barret's backstory, Red XIII's backstory, and more. I loved seeing iconic moments like Sephiroth walking through fire in HD, but I wish they actually kept all the iconic moments instead of replacing them with what can only be described as completely nonsensical narratives. Now we have to wait years to know what any of these scenes even mean.

A good remake in terms of how much it enhanced the original experience but still not a game I care for much.