Dragon Quest

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The narrative of Dragon Quest IV diverges from its predecessors by structuring the story into five distinct chapters. The first four chronicle the lives of the Hero's future companions: Ragnar McRyan, a soldier seeking missing children; Princess Alena, a tomboyish fighter proving her strength; Torneko, a merchant chasing his dream of owning a shop; and sisters Maya and Meena, dancers seeking revenge for their father's murder. These chapters reveal that monsters are hunting the Legendary Hero, who is still a child. The fifth chapter shifts perspective to the Hero themselves, whose hometown is attacked by Psaro the Manslayer. Joined by the companions from previous chapters, the party defeats Marquis de Léon and Balzack while collecting pieces of Zenithian Armor. They discover that Estark, the Ruler of Evil, has awakened. In Strathbaile, a dream reveals Psaro's plan to become the next Ruler of Evil using the Armlet of Transmutation after his elven girlfriend Rose was killed by humans. The party defeats his generals and challenges his evolving form in Nadiria.

In Their Own Story

In Chapter One, soldier Ragnar McRyan is tasked with finding missing children, befriending a Healslime named Healie who aspires to be human. After defeating the abductor, he learns monsters seek to kill the Legendary Hero and sets out to protect them. Chapter Two follows Princess Alena and her mentors Borya and Kiryl; after her father loses his voice following a doomsday dream, she enters a tournament in Endor but finds her castle empty upon returning. Chapter Three details merchant Torneko's rise from a humble shopkeeper to purchasing a store in Endor, eventually funding an underground passageway to find legendary weapons. Chapter Four sees sisters Maya and Meena team up with Oojam to infiltrate the Palais de Léon; they are defeated by Balzack's master, the Marquis de Léon, leading to Oojam's sacrifice so the sisters can escape to Endor. The fifth chapter unites these characters as they join the Hero against Psaro. In the PlayStation and DS remakes, a sixth chapter serves as an alternate ending where the heroes aid Psaro in avenging Rose by defeating the Dark Priest Aamon, who manipulated events to usurp Psaro.

Reader's Guide

Dragon Quest IV introduces a unique 'Tactics' system, allowing players to assign AI strategies like prioritizing damage or healing for party members who become NPCs in the final chapter. Unlike Dragon Warrior III, the Hero is not required in the party once the wagon becomes available, though they possess the most powerful spells. The game retains day/night cycles and travel via ship and hot air balloon. New features include a casino with slot machines, poker, and Monster Betting; searching drawers and jars for items; and Small Medals (later Mini Medals) traded to a secluded king. Saving is simplified through Houses of Healing rather than kings, with separate commands for saving ('Confession' in DS) and level-up prediction ('Divination' in DS). The door-opening command was moved to the top menu layer, requiring only one character to hold the key, though this mechanic was removed in later games where doors are opened by walking through them.

Did You Know?

• The North American NES version was the last Dragon Quest game localized by Enix America Corporation before its closure in November 1995.
• The game's unique structure includes five chapters focusing on different protagonists, with a sixth chapter added exclusively to the PlayStation and DS remakes.
• Small Medals were introduced in this title as items to search for and trade to a secluded king for special unique items.
• A 'Tactics' system allows players to set strategies for NPCs who join the party, serving as a precursor to Final Fantasy XII's Gambits system.