Sonic Adventure 1 had many flaws, most of which you're probably aware if you've ever had interest in the Sonic franchise, but despite all of that, it stayed for the longest time my favorite 3D Sonic game for one main reason: the movement. Characters in SA1 were so fun to control and move around that I'd just wander for hours in the hub world or in the levels. Call it dumb nostalgia maybe, but when I played it again recently, it just felt right, and I'd keep wishing they would make a Sonic game that would be all about controlling a fast little guy in a huge world.

More than a decade after they introduced the boost formula, it seemed impossible for them to make a game that open. Sure, boost games felt great and were like a mix between platforming and a fast-racing game, which is rad af, but due to how quick the levels are traversed, they have to be short and there has to be padding in some shape or form in order for the games to have a decent beating time. So, beside the Lost World and Boom experiments, that's what they did until Forces and its catastrophic reception. While I think it was kinda overblown, perhaps it was necessary for pushing Sega to actually give enough development time to Sonic Team, and after 5 years of development they finally came up with Sonic Frontiers, the game I have long dreamed of.


The way Sonic Frontiers manages to have a boost-type gameplay without the usual shortcomings of the previous games is by incorporating the open-levelness of games like the recent Pokémon: Legends Arceus with your typical boost-games platforming sections. While traversing the huge areas the game has to offer, you will encounter a plethora of rails, boost pads, climbable walls, springs and other typical 3D Sonic elements, which will let you play for a short time what could be otherwise a short section of a typical boost-game level. While these aren't the most challenging things in the world, they still test your reaction-time by jumping over obstacles or homing attacking at the right time. This is the main gameplay element of the game as you will do it over and over again, making these areas feel like a never-ending boost-game level. Some will hate it I'm sure, but I personnally really enjoyed doing that throughout the game.


This is the core-component of this game, so as to not get repetitive, Sonic Frontiers also incorporate other gameplay elements.

The first one that comes to mind is the combat system, which when it got revealed completely baffled me but at the same time made so much sense. Attacks have extremely basic inputs and yet feel so satisfying to pull off, as you see the blue rat punching, shooting energy waves, stomping and parrying all sort of enemies. This, along with the bosses which I don't want to spoil but believe me are the raddest things the series has done in so forever, really makes Sonic a shonen protagonist which fucking rules and, like I wrote earlier, makes complete sense. The mini-bosses were fun too, as well as the enemies which relied on figuring out the winning skill against them.

The other main element the game has to diverge from the main gameplay loop are the Cyberspace levels. These felt like more open Forces levels, as unlike Generations levels, these feel very restrictive with tight lanes for Sonic to run, few (but still existing and sometime very cool looking) diverging paths, Sonic feeling more heavy when trying to turn (which isn't the case in the overworld so it's weird), and the lack of drifting and sliding which would make these levels and the ones in Forces feel more distinct. Nonetheless, I still had a blast going through them as for the first time, S-ranking levels is actually challening, and there is actual meaningful rewards for finishing levels with certain conditions met, which encourages replayability, or at least did for me. While it can be argued that the Cyberspace levels are more or less the same as the boost platforming sections in the overworld, seeing these incorporated within a level-layout, with differing textures and a godtier OST playing in the background made it different enough for me to distinguish them.


Despite how long I wanted a game like this and how much I actually like about Sonic Frontiers, its execution in some places is still left to be desired and just makes me wish the game was delayed, even if the 5 years gap between this and the last Sonic game is already unprecedented.

For one, while I had so much fun simply boosting around the map like it's nothing, whether I wanted to go somewhere or not, there was many instances where I would interact with a boosting pad by mistake and trap myself in a platforming challenge. This happened a lot and eventually got me really annoyed despite having fun just before running into that. When in a platforming challenge, the game sometime locks your camera and trying to flee if you don't want to do it can be really tedious, as the game REALLY wants you to go ride that rail for 8 seconds and pop a ballon at the end. This is especially hard to get out when the game becomes 2D and boy you can yell all you want at Sonic to go to the z-axis and that blue rodent won't care.

Another negative part of the game was how bland everything is. Yes, like I said earlier, running around and that was enough for me to have fun, but I wish the areas themself were more diverse and wouldn't stick to 1 extremely generic theme. Along with that, I also wished the platforming sections didn't use the exact same textures and models all throughout the game and varied depending on the areas. I don't even ask for them to be more naturally incorporated into the open levels, I just want for example the ones in the desert level to have a sand or stone texture, instead of the generic futuristic shit they got going on. Also why is there no good music in the overworld. I felt there was only one track per area and the only memorable one was the first one because it sounded like the BotW theme.


I feel this game has a lot of common with Pokémon: Legends Arceus: they're both open-level games which came out this year, at a time where their own series is considered at a low-point, and which heavily change their traditional series formula while incorporating its main elements. They also lack polish in many aspects, and they're both ugly too lmao but for different reasons.

Because of the monster-catching RPG nature of Pokémon, Legends Arceus felt more enjoyable as an open-level game than Sonic Frontiers. The latter, obviously more focused on action, can eventually get boring and stale. Though maybe all this development time would have gotten a better Sonic game if they focused on making a Sonic Generations with actual new levels, so a non-rushed Sonic Forces, this is still a breath of fresh air for the series.

Whether they continue down the path of open-level boost games, go back to strict boost-games, or experiment with an even newer way of playing Sonic, I think the real lesson we learnt today was PLEASE SEGA LET THEM HAVE ENOUGH DEVELOPMENT TIME LIKE YOU JUST DID, LET THEM COOK.

Since the release of this game I've been hearing about how bad it is, that's it's just a corridor walking simulator, that the combat is just mashing one button all the time and how it's the worst final fantasy and the downfall of the series.

Then I tried it.
While it is not perfect none of the final fantasy games were perfect, even VI.
Honestly either this game is the most underrated videogame I know of or my taste is horrible but I absolutely loved it.
The graphics are beautiful even by today's standard and this is a ps3 game.
The combat is honestly probably my favourite in the series, very unique and fun, I just wish there was more to it, like meteor or ultima spells (it might still be there in the last dungeon I'm still yet to play).
I love the world and monster designs, not your typical final fantasy but it doesn't have to be, there were more than 12 titles in the series by that time.
The story i can't comment about to the fullest since i haven't seen the ending yet, but so far I loved it, though it's quite sad so might not be for everybody. Oh and while the game tells you to read the datalog (ingame encyclopedia) and it explains all the terms the game throws at you at the beginning well, I wish it would be explained during the dialogue or cutscenes but that's a minor thing, do yourself a favor and read entries on all those strange terms sometime doing the first act.
The characters... Hmm... I like Sazh and Fang. Lightning and Snow I like about 50% of the time and I don't really care for Vanille and Hope.
The music is as good as always, with some real bangers like the battle theme.

Overall, if not for xiv this would be my favourite final fantasy, not objectively the best but the one I like the most.

High hopes for ffxiii-2,3 and xv

For anyone wanting to get into the older Dragon Quest titles, IV seems like the best starting point, personally. Think about this: You have an RPG that originally came out in 1990 for the NES, with an actual attempt at character development. Not only that, but they took it a step further by dividing it up into chapters. The first four specifically focus on certain characters, giving you a nice introduction to each one and their basic jobs in a party setting. As an introduction to the series, this works really well, as the chapter system allows for a big window of time to familiarize yourself with the world exploration and battle mechanics in a relatively linear fashion. Many RPGs from this era can be intimidating due to the lack of direction, but DQ IV makes it feel accessible and welcoming. For reference, there are five main chapters in this remake (with an optional post-game chapter), and it took me around 10 hours to finish the first 4. The fifth chapter is where everyone finally comes together and the real journey begins. By that point, you've spent a good chunk of time with the game and opening up the world is no
longer so intimidating.

Granted, while dividing up the game like this is a very innovative storytelling technique for the time, some may be curious if drags out for too long. I will admit, some character's chapters are certainly more interesting than others. Chapter 3 in particular is pretty slow as you take control of a merchant character who goes about his day selling weapons at a shop to make some money. You'll be doing this for a while at the start of it just to afford proper gear to go out and fight some baddies. While certain sections like this can be rather sluggish, they often don't drag on for too long, and they provide some really cool immersion into these characters' lives. By the time you reach Chapter 5, I feel that you will be invested enough in these characters (provided you are enjoying the game), to make the final chapter all the more interesting.

I spent enough time trying to sell you on the game's main storytelling gimmick, but how does the game itself play? If you've never played a Dragon Quest game, it's pretty standard classic JRPG fare. You talk to people and receive valuable hints, traverse dungeons, fight bosses, the works. DQ IV's bright and colorful world keeps things fun. No dungeons ever truly feel tedious, and while grinding is certainly necessary at points, it's nothing too bad. The great thing about this series in general is how valuable level ups can be. Leveling up even once can make all the difference when confronted with a difficult area/boss. And with the ability to swap out characters even during battle once you have your full team with you in the latter half of the game, the game feels quite forgiving for the most part. With this remake, you get some great quality of life improvements too, such as quick saving in most places, even within dungeons. Besides this, you also get full party control in the final two chapters (this includes the post-game chapter). In the original game, you could only control the hero while the rest of your party was AI-controlled. The option is still there for anyone that wants to go the traditional route, though.

Overall, while I think some of the chapters could have benefitted from being a bit more fleshed out or cutting some minor fluff, it still does a great job on worldbuilding and keeping things fresh with some variety in its gameplay and character POV. The world is vibrant and charming, boss fights are a joy to conquer, and the story and characters have enough depth for a 30+ year old game to be worth the time. Also, this game seriously has one of the coolest final boss fights I've ever encountered in any JRPG. I recommend the mobile version due to it including the party chat feature, which serves to slightly flesh out character personalities more through fun side banter. It's not necessary to enjoy the game, but the option is there. Whichever version you play, you're still in for a great classic DQ experience, just with the added modern QOL improvements.

I should have hated this game. DQ XI was my first for the series.I didn’t think there was anything interesting left to experience in DQ. Very simple combat and being way too generic were my main criticisms. Somehow DQ IV keeps the simple combat but is anything but generic.

The story is split into 5 main chapters(6 being additional content) with the 5th chapter being about half the length of the game. For the first 4 chapters you are playing as a different character in each with their own goals and story. They meet up with some sort of ally and continue towards their goal on different sides of the continent. Chapter 1 was the most basic but it makes sense as the start of the game. 2 became more interesting with your trio and the final location was very memorable for multiple reasons. 3rd chapter was the highlight personally as it was so unique for me. Playing as a shopkeeper and choosing to do the mundane tasks at the start was great. Going out and exploring when you get some money only to find a town that requires a shopkeeper and will reward you handsomely. After getting the reward you understand what the larger point of this chapter is. You can stay and choose to become insanely rich or continue again exploring. Chapter 4 was an ok chapter but didn’t really stand out other than the boss.

It’s only in the 5th chapter when you get to play as the main protagonist of the story as you go around the world recruiting each of previous chapter protagonists. The game becomes a bit more open as you can do lots of events out of order towards a linear goal. After your short trek throughout the various islands you will be powerful enough to fight the final boss. This final boss and the post game boss were a nice challenge assuming you don’t grind hard.

After playing this I am looking forward to DQ V (monster collecting) and DQ XIII(althought it might be a mini DQ XI) which I didn't think I would say in 2022.

There's no hero without the people

It's a comfort to always come back to a Dragon Quest game after going through such eccentric titles and returning into something familiar with a twist in a sense. If Dragon Quest was a Coca-Cola then each entry would be a flavor twist into the formula. Class systems, singular combat, monster collecting and so forth in that each of these always made the experience a little different but at the heart you knew it's the turn based series that for the most part started it all. I expected a good time with IV and that's exactly what I got, the new ideas weren't really up to snuff but it's enough that I can't criticize it too much considering the undertaking the team had to go through after the triumphant third entry. The heart and soul was definitely there but the ideas it tried to bring were almost left half baked and it makes me a bit sad seeing they had the right idea but didn't think of enough to really flesh it out more.

The story is your standard japanese role playing fare, you are the legendary hero and you must defeat the great evil. A story as old as time itself and almost never as simple as that. Here is where Dragon Quest IV differentiates itself. In this version of IV, you only really play as the hero for the first several minutes until you're thrown into another person's perspective completely with a different story to tell. The game is divided into chapters and you don't play as the iconic hero until what is essentially the half-way point or one third depending on how fast you are. The first chapter reminded me of the original Dragon Quest in a sense. A sole hero figuring out what happened and doing what is right all in an area that isn't too big and the adventure never overstaying its welcome. The second chapter is more traditional in a sense that you have a three person party and finally going around and exploring the world, a princess trying to prove her mettle and becoming the hero in her own story before her true calling would appear. The fourth chapter follows a revenge tale of two sisters with the format returning into what we expect. I have neglected the third chapter and for good reason here. The third chapter is radically different in tone and almost gameplay in a sense, you play as a merchant trying to achieve his dream of opening his store from a humble beginning as a cashier at the weapon store in his little town. I really wish the chapters were as gameplay and tonally different as this chapter since you don't really fight for evil yet but just to have a big wallet and I think that's what the chapters really do for me here. It builds up the world a lot that areas definitely feel more interesting especially revisiting them with new characters. The fifth chapter is everything coming together and I won't say much more on that. The problem I have with this format is that after their arcs, they don't really develop anymore and I might argue that it might be the point considering they already achieved their initial goal in the chapter before. I just feel like the game really built up these characters for the first half just to drop them off as your usual party members for the "true" adventure later on and the fact there isn't much until the ending is pretty jarring for me. I really enjoyed Dragon Quest IV's world and the story was the usual delight but I find myself a little more disappointed in the characters just because they built them up so much just to be paper stands for the rest of the game.

The gameplay is your standard fare here with turn based combat, random encounters and unique characters essentially serving as a different class here. The soldier is essentially Fighter from Dragon Quest III, the princess is Martial Artist and so on and so forth. The hero is still an incredible all rounder which I'm feeling is par for the course at this point considering it's my sixth entry I've completed in the whole series so far. Dungeons are mostly here as well and kind of a simple affair here possibly due to the origins of the DS version I've played being a NES title. Nothing felt too obtuse or labyrinthe which I feel doesn't fit the series but that's what I enjoy about this series since Dragon Quest never felt like a stressful series compared to other series in the genre except being critically underleveled. I'll admit the game does make you grind a little bit in the end but metal slimes being a mechanic can make this the most seamless thing or the most tedious if you were unlucky like I was. If anything I wish they were more prevalent right before the end so it would be less taxing on the player and not ruin the pace. Nothing feels like a pace killer in these games as finally reaching the final boss only to feel a whopping five or more levels underleveled. It could be a skill issue but I never had this problem with any of the other titles as bad as this one given I was just extremely unlucky with metal slimes.

The soundtrack doesn't disappoint either with the battle theme starting with strings that give the impression you're falling into something dangerous while afterwards feeling the fast melody almost give a sense of anxiety into the bombastic battle themes we've heard before. The sailing theme probably is the crown jewel of the music for me as entering the sea plays calming yet mysterious strings. I didn't expect a sailing theme to go this hard even though I've technically heard it before in Dragon Quest XI.

I always feel bad about pointing the negatives in a game because I don't want to be someone that becomes incredibly nitpicky to the point that I'll be unable to enjoy something for what it is at all anymore. Despite the odd pacing, the chapters I wish were a bit more and maybe more to the characters barring a party chat system in that it was still Dragon Quest, becoming the legendary hero and defeat the evil darkness. I got what I wanted and I'm pretty happy about that in that sense and I'll give them credit for trying something different after the lauded third entry. Instead of asking for more, I'll enjoy what I was given. Not like I was given anything lackluster either. I was give another adventure in Yuji Horii's creation.

After making the Erdrick trilogy, Yuji Horii and his team decided making one of the best and most ambitious game in the series (which is saying a lot): Dragon Quest IV.

The game features a somewhat generic story about a hero (you) on a journey to defeat evil from the world, alongside his/her companions. That last part is essentially important, as it is what makes this originally NES game truly shine.

Indeed, after a brief prologue (only present in the remakes) where you familiarize with the hero and their neighbours, the games now opens Chapter 1 and makes you play Ragnar McRyan, a soldier on a quest to find and rescue missing childs from the kingdom. This surprising turn of event is far from over, as the 4 first chapters of the game each makes you play a different cast of characters, each having their own separate background, musical theme and journey. These chapters all serve as a subtle tutorial to the game different mechanics, a buildup for the main plot and Psaro, the main antagonist constantly mentioned but never shown yet, and most importantly an introduction to all of the hero's companions: the "chosen" you play during those chapters.

This unconventional method of storytelling is really effective, as we are always extremely attached to each and every characters despite the fact they almost never talk or interact with each other, or at least until the iOS and Android version that introduces a neat party chat system to the game in the West. The chapters also serve on the gameplay perspective, as throughout them we ultimately get used to all the different class each companions have.

But after those are over, the game may now truly begins in chapter 5, the last chapter of the game where you finally get to play the main character, the hero you named at the very beginning of the game. Throughout this chapter, you gradually encounter the 7 companions you played earlier and once you get all of them, the game now plays an amazing and triumphant overworld song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSRnyb858dg&t=169s), celebrating your journey and your imminent victory.

As I wrote earlier, chapter 5 is where the game truly begins. Once you get a ship, the world map is now almost entirely open for exploration, much like in Dragon Quest II and III. You get to explore new towns with each having their own unique element, venture in dungeons/towers where the same can be said about them, revisit locations you familiarized in the previous chapters with most of them having something new to see, watch the plot unfolds as the events are happening... The traditional but damn enjoyable Dragon Quest formula.

As for the combat, it is the Dragon Quest menu you ordered as usual: simple, snappy, gratifying when the number goes up, and mostly relying on buffs/debuffs spells. The party customization is still as strong and amazing as in Dragon Quest III, because you have at your disposal so many characters with all the different jobs you need. There is tons of different weapons and equipments to buy or find in a chest, and many of them during the late-game have special capacities other than growing the defense stat, so some thinking must be done before battling.

The artstyle of the remake is amazing and even if the NES version sure looks like an NES game, the enemy designs by Akira Toriyama is really noticeable and excellent. The same can be said about the soundtrack. Originally composed as a symphonic piece, this is one of my favorite from the series and really sets the tone for the game (despite being composed by a warcrime denier but we don't talk about that...).

The remakes also add multiple features, most notably the possibily to control party members (rip persona 3 fans), gorgeous animated 2D sprites for the ennemies, a cool growing city you own, many QoL improvements and most importantly a 6th chapter after you finish the game that offers a new ending.

So overall, Dragon Quest IV is an absolute gem that every RPG fans should play. This is for me the game you should absolutely get if you wanna get into the series. But despite all of that, this game is often overshadowed by other entries in the franchise. And you know what? I completely agree with that, even though I just wrote a giant review praising it.

Dragon Quest is just that good.

It seems that with Dragon Quest III, Yuji Horii had essentially refined the Dragon Quest formula to the point where something more transformative had to be done to make a sequel that felt truly significant in the grander scheme of the series. Enter Dragon Quest IV, which didn't just feel like a more polished and ambitious version of the previous DQ incarnations, but ended up redefining the structure of the series as a whole. Rather than giving the player a large, expansive map to approach in whatever order you felt like, Chapters of The Chosen instead goes for a somewhat more linear, plot driven experience that emphasises the storytelling above contributing to a more player-driven narrative like the previous games would be more conducive to. Of course this isn't to say that the game also didn't make a bunch of other changes and refinements to ensure that things wouldn't stagnate, with that core gameplay loop yet again being improved, especially when talking about the DS version of the game which does away with a lot of the janky early gen conventions that these games would regularly embody.

This is what feels like the first of the DQ games that doesn't feel as if it's included little bits and pieces that are intentionally vague to the point of needing to look things up or read a strategy guide or whatever, yet it manages to do this without ever feeling overly handholdy in its approach either. The player will still have to hunt down information on how to progress and often use their intuition in a variety of ways to fully understand what their next goal is, but the information feels presented in a more overt way that makes it more clear what pieces of information are actually significant. This is definitely a welcome change over putting the player in a bit of a situation where they're burdened with endless amounts of useless information that they need to sift through to find what truly requires some more attention. This is further aided by the fact that the game more strongly encourages talking with all the NPCs and interacting with as much as possible through the amount of additional flavour text added, which provides that bit more of an intrinsic reward that goes a long way for an experience this expansive.

This is further elevated by the party chat mechanic in the game, having it so your party members will have remarks to utter in response to almost any situation if you talk to them, which not only leads to more moments of dialogue that's either funny or provides deeper insight into certain concepts that are being explored, but it contributes extremely strongly to the characterisation of all these characters. Your party don't just feel like faceless figures silently following the chosen one along, they each feel like their own individual characters with their own sets of perspectives and approaches to every given situation, and it leads to being able to form a much deeper connection with them as a result.

The praise I have for the chapter structure of this game also can't be understated, and I think that that feature alone is a big part of why the world of DQ4 feels as rich and evocative as it does. Along with being able to more clearly define individual character motives, the smaller stories told in each chapter before you're properly introduced to the main character allow a large portion of the map to have a stronger sense of familiarity when the entirety of the world ends up opening up to the player once they've completed these chapters. It feels like each of these chapters has a very different theme to it, Ragnar having to solve a mystery about children disappearing, Alena doing anything in her power to break free of the confines that keep her shackles down, Torneko wanting to live his own life and prove that he is worthy of pursuing his dreams, the twins on a bloody revenge story to avenge their father, and of course, the chosen one and their journey to save the world. The sense of unity between these characters despite their different motives is a really great idea to me due to how this essentially further solidifies the main character as a truly legendary force while also being able to perfectly embody the sheer danger of the threat that's upon the world as a whole.

Seeing the tangible differences each character has had in this world is another nice touch in making the world feel ever-changing and alive, often feeling as if it's moving forward in real-time, rather than what could often feel like a bit more of a static environment in past titles. I feel the idea of moving in real-time ties into the narrative progression game as a whole as well, being about the process of change in real-time as opposed to trying to fix problems that had already cemented themselves in the past. This isn't just visible in the way that the world feels considerably cheerier at first, with the progression into bleak territory occurring throughout the adventure, but even the antagonist himself differs from past titles by not having come even close to completing his plan at the start of the adventure. Rather than destroying an established, oppressive entity, Chapters of the Chosen sees the player instead relentlessly following its villain and doing all they can to slowly break apart a plan that is still being put in motion, stopping the world from falling into a purely dark, decrepit state rather than trying to pull the world out of one. While one method isn't necessarily better than another to me, I do like the sense of urgency that this approach provides, and it's also great for getting further insight into the motivations and personality of the villain himself rather than his entire presence being "I am a powerful force of evil".

I also found it lovely how this is the first game in the series to truly start messing around with adding some optional content and side quest content in some big ways, not just having some extra minigames to spice things up, but actually going and adding a few other questlines and secret locations to the game that reward exploration even further. It felt so cool to play the game and not just have everything contribute to the main story, but actually have these other plot elements going on to make the world feel that much more dynamic. While Dragon Quest 3 had already made strides in making a world that didn't just revolve around the player character, this one just goes that step further and is all the better for it, especially since in this game they're still often pretty obscure for the most part, as to never feel like an intrusive element of the game, but being really cool once you discover one of them.

Gameplay also feels like it's been majorly improved here in certain regards, though this one feels like a somewhat more divisive part of the game. Rather than having the massive, intricate character customisation of the last game, the archetype of each character in DQ4 is set in stone from the start and cannot be changed. I feel like your mileage with this decision will depend entirely on how much you love micromanaging to perfectly optimise and/or break things, but for me personally, I think this is a fantastic decision that is conducive to more strategic gameplay. A single support character is unable to cover all the options you need in this game, but the player can switch out party members at the start of each turn, which leads to a more dynamic combat experience that gives the player the option to minmax during battle without becoming overly slow-paced. The encounter design is often tailored around this mechanic as well, fully putting it to the forefront rather than just having it be a mostly useless but neat mechanic. If there are enemies that are physically resistant, then switch them out for the more magic-oriented characters, if the enemy has an extraordinarily powerful attack, then it might be worth exchanging a warrior for another support class to more effectively withstand the onslaught etc. While there are still some elements that feel a bit half-baked, especially with the way that there still doesn't feel like a fully consistent and effective way to mitigate magic attacks beyond grinding to become stronger, on the whole the gameplay loop just feels far more deep and engaging despite the fact that the party system has been mechanically simplified.

There are some other miscellaneous elements of the game that are worth talking about here as well, such as the way that the ending sequences of this game are yet again the most overwhelmingly great part of the game, or the fact that I do wish the dungeons were a bit more complex than they are here, but I feel like I'm already pushing it with how much I've said here so I'll just mostly leave it there. On the whole, Dragon Quest IV once again represents how a core gameplay loop that stays so consistent can still be utilised to craft such a wide range of experiences that are each worth the time spent exploring them. While not without its flaws inherent to the series, I still must say that Chapters of the Chosen is yet another absolute triumph in the Dragon Quest series and to think that this is a remake of an NES game that doesn't really change a ton beyond its presentation (and allowing the player to actually control all their party members) is mind-blowing given how ambitious and polished this would have been for the time. Undoubtedly worth playing and it's not too long or arduous either, so it's pretty approachable on top of being a wonderful time.

Going into Dragon Quest IV I had one big question: where do you go after Dragon Quest III? In the span of only a year and a half the DQ team had released the first 3 entries, and not only kickstarted the genre but arguably reached its peak. To this day the influence of DQ3 is still felt permeating throughout the genre - from the job system, to the episodic structure, and beyond. I never hear people talk about DQ4, and seeing as it was the last one on the NES, following up DQ3 I was worried it'd kinda be phoned in. I couldn't be more wrong, DQ4 feels more like a victory lap than anything else, and it might be the peak of the series up to this point.

The moment that I knew DQ4 was special was only like 10 minutes into the game. It starts like any other Dragon Quest game, you name your protagonist, wander around your home town talking to everyone, and just as you think you're getting ready to set out on an adventure the prologue ends and chapter 1 begins. You're suddenly in control of a middled aged Scottish knight and from that point on you don't step back into the shoes of the "protagonist" for 10+ hours. This kind of narrative misdirect is something I still rarely see, and here they were doing it 30+ years ago, absolutely brilliant stuff. From here on out you cycle through all your different party members, carrying out their own little main quest lines akin to a mini DQ game, before culminating with everyone coming together with the protagonist. I really cannot heap enough praise on this structure, I feel like this game influenced the narrative design of the genre almost as much as early entries influenced the mechanical design of the genre.

How did I get through that entire section without bringing up Torneko? In Torneko's chapter you begin by working at a weapon shop, buying and selling gear like any shopkeeper would do, but only seeing a small commission off of every sale. By the end of Torneko's chapter you're a billionaire philanthropist funding infrastructure projects. It rules, it's probably worth playing the game for that chapter alone, and it's no wonder that Torneko ended up getting his own spin off series.

As much as I liked the job system in DQ3 I think the choice of having a party with set abilities makes a lot of sense for the structure they're going for here. Everyone has their own use in battle, and they function well in the context of the chapter they're introduced in as well as later on. I had to think about my team composition for boss fights a lot more than just "ok I need a fighter and 2 sages" which I really appreciate. This is also the first entry in the series that has an obvious progression through the world, so I think from that perspective having a set party allows them to be a lot more creative with encounter design.

I feel like I could go on about this even more, I think this is the most notes I've taken on any game since I started posting reviews on here. Dragon Quest IV is definitely an overlooked piece of JRPG history, but to me I think it's where everything I love about the series and genre really started to come together.

WHAT TOP 25 YOU SMOKING ON KENDRICK BECAUSE MY TOP 25 IS

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