This revamped classic holds true to the old and abides to the new.
Dragon quest is a long running Japanese RPG series that has had success in both markets. Dragon Quest IV was originally on the Nintendo and has since got through a remake on the Playstation 2. This version, has enhanced graphics and sound.
Dragon Quest IV starts the game off with many different characters but this game is slightly different because instead of starting off with one character and following them through the entire game, the game plays off with chapters. Each chapter puts you in the lead with a different character and then eventually, they will meet in the final parts of the game together. It was sort of a put off that I had to start off at level one so many times and fight the same weak enemies over and over. It was really gratifying to start off the chapter where all the characters finally meet each other but until then, there was a loss of accomplishment starting over each chapter.
With enhanced graphics, the game does look really beautiful on the handheld system. It's vibrant, bright and colourful easily setting the mood no matter the environment. The sun rises and descends and it's never a problem trying to identify where you are or where you're going. It's similarly easy to see where you're going in dungeons as both of the screens can be used for viewing. There's very few hangups and very few areas with slowdown but in some areas with lots of sprites, the game considerable frame rate issues.
In addition to that, each time you enter a town, instead of wandering around town trying to find the item shop, you can press a button and get a map of the town. This little feature is very helpful and should be implemented in further RPGs.
Battles are of the old-school variety where wandering around in dungeons and the overworld will lead into random encounters. The battles are all turn based and have your heroes on the bottom of the screen with the enemies slightly above. On the top screen, are the stats and what the characters will do that turn. Unfortunately, the graphics are lacking in the department regarding your characters as all of their attacks are simply animated by lines. Spells are more explosive as fire effects are large bursts of red attack your enemy. Enemy attacks are much better and never seem to slow down the battle.
Soundwise, the game is okay. The music is delightful and sets most environments very well. Sometimes, the battle music can get a little annoying because you will be running into so many random encounters and the boss battle music could be a little more intimidating. The sounds of battle are frequent and adequate but could have been improved. Other than the same sounds over and over again, it would have been nice to have some different sounds.
The game will probably take you about 20-25 hours to complete and maybe an additional 5-10 with all the extra content that has been added to version. The game is virtually the same as the original Nes version except with a few new side quests and some new items. There isn't a lot of incentive to go back as the game is fairly straight forward with a few side quests to further increase the time playing this game.
In the end, Dragon Quest IV is a competent RPG for the DS. There have been many remakes that are good representations of their former selves except with updated graphics and playability and Dragon Quest IV, is another one of those games. If you're looking for a better than average RPG for the DS, give this one a whirl.