History VideoGame / DragonQuestIV

* Meena and Maya (Nara and Mara in the NES version), sisters seeking to avenge their father's death. Meena is a FortuneTeller and Maya is a [[BellyDancer dancer]].

* BellyDancer: Maya, {{Stripperiffic}} midriff-baring and all. Maya's IconicOutfit would persist into later installments as the "dancer's costume".

** The remake added the Bag from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'', which means you don't have to worry about inventory management with party members.

** Torneko gains the Whistle ability in the remake, which cuts down walking around while grinding.

** In Chapter 5 and 6, if the active party is killed and the wagon is around, any backup party members will arrive. This gives players another chance to

** In the remake, Torneko's Appraise option is expanded to allow him to appraise other party members' items and what's in the Bag. He just needs to be alive or in the active party for it to work.
** Torneko gains the Whistle ability in the remake, which cuts down grinding.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The puff-puff room is a fortune-telling room in the remakes. This doesn't really make sense, as the guy in the next room reacts appropriately. You still need to go in alone to do it, and girls can not receive it. The player also has no idea what is going on, even though he has received a fortune before.

* HeelFaceTurn: In the remakes, [[spoiler:a 6th chapter is added in which allows you to revive Rose, and use The Power of Love to convince Psaro the Manslayer to not only stop his plans for world domination/destruction, but also to join your team! His Evil Chancellor Aamon, then takes over the main villain position.]]

* {{Nerf}}: Beginning with the [=PlayStation=] remake, Puff only deals 1 damage to Metal family enemies.
* NeverSayDie: In the NES version, Psaro/Saro's nickname Death Pizzaro/Psaro the Manslayer is rendered as Necrosaro.

Torneko [[AscendedExtra would later star]] in his own SpinOff series called ''Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon'' between 1993 and 2002, the first in a long line of video games now known as the ''VideoGame/MysteryDungeon'' series. Many of the party members are also playable in ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest Heroes|TheWorldTreesWoeAndTheBlightBelow}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest Heroes II|TwinKingsAndTheProphecysEnd}}'' in 2015 and 2016. And over three decades after the game's original release, the villain Psaro would return as the star of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonstersTheDarkPrince'' in 2023, showing his backstory and rise to power.

* SpritePolygonMix: The DS remake features 2D characters and 3D environments which can be rotated 360 degrees.

* BellyDancer: Maya, {{Stripperiffic}} midriff-baring and all.

** Kiryl in particular got the short end of the stick--one of his go-to tactics is to use the PowerfulButInaccurate OneHitKill spells Whack and Thwack, causing him to waste turns using it on each boss he fights. At its absolute worst, because each phase of the {{Sequential|Boss}} {{Marathon|Boss}} FinalBoss counts as a new enemy for the AI's purposes, if Kiryl is in battle, he will {{spam|Attack}} these instant death spells over and over through the fight. This would become an AscendedMeme in {{spin off}}s like ''Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road'' and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroes'', where Kiryl finally pulls one such spell off successfully.

* ArtificialStupidity: The [=AI=] in Chapter 5 of the NES version, no matter what mode you set it to, is ''deeply'' stupid. In fact, Kiryl's AI is so famously stupid that it became an AscendedMeme in later installments. See the Trivia page for details. And there's no option to turn it off and control your party members manually; only TheHero can be given specific instructions each turn. Thankfully, this flaw is rectified in the remakes (as well as in all future installments of the ''Dragon Quest'' series).

''Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen''[[note]]''Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi'' ("The Guided Ones") in Japan[[/note]] is the fourth ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' game, originally released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in 1990 in Japan and 1992 in the United States ([[MarketBasedTitle under the title]] ''Dragon Warrior IV''). It would later receive remakes for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation in 2001 ([[NoExportForYou in Japan only]]) and the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in Western regions.

''Dragon Quest IV'' was notably the ''last'' game in the series to see an official English release until ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' hit the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. An UpdatedRerelease also hit the [=PlayStation=] -- and was advertised on the back of DQVII's manual -- but the plan to bring it over [[NoExportForYou fell through]],[[note]]This was at least {{justified|Trope}} for once; the developer went out of business, so there was no one to program the English text. Getting some other company with no prior knowledge of the game's code to hack it and insert a translation sadly would have been too time-consuming and expensive to be worth it.[[/note]] so English fans didn't see an update until the DS version was ported over.

* BonusBoss: The DS remake adds an extra chapter after defeating Psaro. Explore a new dungeon, beat Foo Yung and Chow Mein, and you have the opportunity to [[spoiler:revive Rosa, get Psaro to join your party, and kick the ''real'' Big Bad's butt]].

** In the [=PS1=]/DS, most characters keep the same design, but are more detailed from their original artwork. Psaro pretty much completely changed from a guy who resembles Weehawk from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' to a dude who's a CaptainErsatz and TakeThat of Sephiroth from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''.

The fourth ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' game, ''Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen''[[note]]''Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi'' ("The Guided Ones") in Japan[[/note]] is the fourth ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' game, originally released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in 1990 in Japan and 1992 in the United States ([[MarketBasedTitle under the title]] ''Dragon Warrior IV''). It would later receive remakes for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation in 2001 ([[NoExportForYou in Japan only]]) and the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in Western regions.

Torneko [[AscendedExtra would later star]] in his own SpinOff series called ''Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon'' between 1993 and 2002, the first in a long line of video games now known as the ''VideoGame/MysteryDungeon'' series. Many of the party members are also playable in ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest Heroes|TheWorldTreesWoeAndTheBlightBelow}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest Heroes II|TwinKingsAndTheProphecysEnd}}'' in 2015 and 2016. And over three decades after the game's original release, the villain Psaro would return as the star of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters: The Dark Prince'' in 2023, showing his backstory and rise to power.

* SpinOff: Torneko went on to star in the first of Chunsoft's "Mysterious Dungeon" series of {{Roguelike}} games which first appeared on the Super NES. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters: The Dark Prince'' also features Psaro.

** Other bad pun names include Archie O'Tect and Archie O'Logist, the prophetess Nun the Wiser, and BewitchedAmphibian [[spoiler:Sultan Farog]].

** Going up to the Birdsong Tower in Chapter 2 gives you an encounter with two clumsy elves who drop the Birdsong Necter you're looking for. Their names? Oopsy and Daisy.
** Other bad pun names include Archie O'Tect and Archie O'Logist, and the prophetess Nun the Wiser.

** In the DS/mobile versions, there is a poet who is mentioned in Chapter 2 who is named [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin Josef Starling]]. In the same chapter, Alena helps out a royal couple named Veronica aka [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan "Ronnie" and Reagan]].

* SixthRanger: [[spoiler:Psaro the Manslayer in the DS remake]], who joins the party in the epilogue chapter.

** Frontier town residents include [[Franchise/{{Rocky}} Rocky and Adrian]], [[Creator/ElvisPresley Prelvis Esley]], [[Series/MrEd Mr. Ned]] the talking horse, and a healslime named [[UsefulNotes/MarieCurie Mary Curey]].

The fourth ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' game, ''Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen''[[note]]''Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi'' ("The Guided Ones") in Japan[[/note]] is the fourth ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' game, originally released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in 1990 in Japan and 1992 in the United States ([[MarketBasedTitle under the title]] ''Dragon Warrior IV''). It would later receive a remake for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS in 2007 in Japan and 2008 in Western regions.

* Ragnar [=McRyan=], Royal Knight of Burland.
* Tsarevna Alena, the [[TomboyPrincess tomboy]] Tsarevna of Zamoksva (Santeem in the NES version).
* Borya (Brey in the NES verison), elderly wizard and Alena's long-suffering retainer.
* Kiryl (Cristo in the NES version), Priest-in-Training and Alena's childhood friend.

* Maya (Mara in the NES version), a [[HotGypsyWoman traveling]] [[BellyDancer dancer]] and talented spellcaster.
* Meena (Nara in the NES version), a FortuneTeller and Maya's sister.

Torneko [[AscendedExtra would later star]] in his own SpinOff series called ''Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon'' between 1993 and 2002, the first in a long line of video games now known as the ''VideoGame/MysteryDungeon'' series. And then over three decades after the game's original release, the villain Psaro would return as the star of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters: The Dark Prince'' in 2023, showing his backstory and rise to power.

* ActionPrologue: The DS and [=PS1=] versions add a prologue chapter in which you play as the hero for a short while as you look around for Eliza.
* AdaptationExpansion: Aamon is given more development in the remakes thanks to the extra chapter which firmly establishes his role in Rose's murder and Psaro's descent into madness.

** As mentioned before, in the DS and [=PS1=] versions, you play as the hero in the prologue chapter for a short while, and then, as in the NES version, you play as each of their companions in the next four chapters before you regain control of the hero again in the fifth chapter.

** In the [=PS1=]/DS, most characters keep the same design, but are more detailed from their original artworks. Psaro pretty much completely changed from a guy who resembles Weehawk from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' to a dude who's a CaptainErsatz and TakeThat of Sephiroth from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''.

* ArtifactName: The Square-Enix localization dubbed the Pizarro-knight Sir Roseguardian, which worked just fine for his role in this game's story as Rose's sole bodyguard--as a proper name, however, it was ill-suited for later appearances in spin-offs where this monster appears as a DegradedBoss and generic enemy type. These later appearances have attempted to fudge the name by reworking it to "roseguardin".
* ArtificialBrilliance: Despite the infamous ArtificialStupidity, Mara/Maya, if she has the spell [=BeDragon=]/Puff!, will use it if you encounter a Metal Slime/Liquid Metal Slime/Metal King Slime, which will always hit them.
* ArtificialStupidity: The [=AI=] in Chapter 5 of the NES version, no matter what mode you set it to, is ''deeply'' stupid. In fact, Kiryl's AI is so famously stupid that it became an AscendedMeme in later installments. See the Trivia page for details. And there's no option to turn it off and control your party members manually; only TheHero can be given specific instructions each turn. Thankfully, this flaw is rectified in the remakes (as well as in all future installments of the Dragon Quest series).

* BewitchedAmphibians: One appears in the prologue claiming to be a cursed princess, but it’s quickly subverted when the "frog" reveals herself to be Eliza, your childhood friend, using her Morph ability.

* BonusBoss: The DS remake adds an extra chapter after defeating Psaro. Explore a new dungeon, beat Foo Yung and Chow Mein, and you have the opportunity to [[spoiler:revive Rosa, get Psaro joining your party and kick the ''real'' Big Bad's butt]].

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: It's heavily implied from the start that Kiryl has a bit of a crush on Alena... and she [[ObliviousToLove doesn't seem to notice]].

* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: The Hero is sixteen is when their journey starts. Averted in the remakes, which has the Hero's foster father mention that she/he is eighteen and almost an adult.

** The Cautery sword in Torneko's Chapter. [[spoiler:Money may not carry over between chapters, but equipment does. With a little patience and several trips between his store and hometown, it's possible to stockpile all the extra equipment you might ever need to sell for cash.]]

* EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:Psaro will join the party in chapter 6 if you resurrect Rose.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Prelude chapter in the remakes is practically ''made'' of this.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:In the remakes, a 6th chapter is added in which allows you to revive Rose, and use The Power of Love to convince Psaro the Manslayer]] to not only stop his plans for world domination/destruction, but also to join your team! His Evil Chancellor Aamon, then takes over the main villain position.

* HeroSecretService: "The Hero" is the title given to the Chosen One prophesied to save the world against the Lord of the Underworld. The first four chapters of the game introduce you to the other Chosen, the Hero's seven future party members before you meet the Hero Him/Herself. Many of them are actively looking for the Hero in order to protect him/her.

* HisNameIs: [[spoiler:After defeating the Marquis de Leon, when you talk to Nun the Wiser in a shrine near Havre Leon, she almost reveals Estark's name before she suddenly chokes up and dies.]]

* ImpassableDesert: The desert near Casabranca\Branka is surrounded by a mountain range, leaving an inn as a choke point. You can't cross until you obtain a wagon, which is conveniently available at that same inn.

* InevitableTournament: In Alena's chapter, [[spoiler:though it's actually a ruse by Psaro the Manslayer to get Alena away from her castle so he can reduce it to smithereens. It's not clear why he needed to lure her away, though; she's strong, but not THAT strong]].

* LadyLand: The Queendom of [[Franchise/WonderWoman Femiscyra (Gardenbur in the NES version)]], filled to the brim with muscular women.

* {{Leitmotif}}: In the remake, each chapter has its own unique adventuring music, specific to the characters and their quest. Once you've assembled all eight of the chosen, changing the party leader will change whose adventuring music you hear.
* LethalJokeItem: Some of Torneko's "goofing-off" actions include [[VideoGameStealing stealing items from the enemy]] (being the only way in the game to do so), performing a Leg Sweep to nullify some of the enemy's turns, calling in an army of fellow merchants he's befriended in his travels (who proceed to beat up on the enemy for a few rounds), covering an enemy's mouth to prevent spellcasting, and tripping. (Yes, tripping. His weapon somehow lands a critical hit on the enemy in the process.) The only thing keeping this power in check is that, again, these goof-offs are completely random.

* LighthousePoint: About halfway through the game. Monsters have taken over the Pharos Beacon and corrupted its beacon with an evil light that ''sinks'' ships. The hero and their party have to clear the monsters out and restore the holy flames.
* LoveRedeems: In the remakes, [[spoiler:beating the boss at the end of the Bonus Dungeon]] for the first time allows the player to obtain a Yggdrasill flower, which is used to [[spoiler:resurrect Rose. Bringing her to where Psaro]] was will not only cause him to revert back to his normal self after a nice flashback, but he will join your party.

* ManualLeaderAIParty: The game uses this as of Chapter 5, with the hero as the only directly controllable character. In the remake, you can assign tactics or manual control as you see fit.

* MinigameZone: The casinos. [[spoiler: Maya even gets {{sidetracked|ByTheGoldSaucer}} by one during the fifth chapter.]][[invoked]]

** It's implied that [[spoiler:the thugs who kidnap and murder Rose only got into her tower because ''you'' figured out the defenses and defeated Roseguardian. Way to shatter that MoralityChain, team.]]

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: in the NES version, the very first room in the Royal Crypt, before going downstairs. Not only are there Liquid Metal Slimes, experience gained from battles in the first room is given to the party members in the wagon as well.
* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: During Chapter 5, everyone who sleeps at the Strathbaile Inn gets these.

* PunnyName: Going up to the Birdsong Tower in Chapter 2 gives you an encounter with two clumsy elves who drop the Birdsong Necter you're looking for. Their names? Oopsy and Daisy.

** [[spoiler:Alena also saves Princess Veronica (Mia in the NES version) from having to marry Psaro the Manslayer. Sort of, anyway; he bows out on his own. [[KillAllHumans Of course]] [[MoralityChain he wasn't interested]].]]
* SequenceBreaking: while the chapter system limits opportunities from sequence breaking, once you get the ship, you can recruit Panon/Tom Foolery, get the Stone of Drought, the Sands of Time, the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Metal Babble Sword]], and the Zenithian Helm ''before'' recruiting Alena. After getting the Magic Key, you can get the Zenithian Armor before defeating Keeleon and recruiting Ragnar.

** In the DS/mobile versions, there is a poet who is mentioned in Chapter 2 who is named [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin Josef Starling]].

* SiblingYinYang: Meena/Nara is more level-headed and focused than her vibrant and outgoing sister Maya/Mara.
* SixthRanger: [[spoiler:Psaro the Manslayer in the DS remake.]] Well, Ninth Ranger, technically, but he joins the party in the epilogue chapter.
* SpinOff: Torneko went on to star in the first of Chunsoft's "Mysterious Dungeon" series of {{Roguelike}} games which first appeared on the Super NES.

* SquishyWizard: Borya/Brey is a strong mage with low defensive stats. Maya/Mara and Meena/Nara also qualify, in more ways than one.

* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Played straight with Necrosaro/Psaro and Rosa/Rose in the NES version. The remakes completely subvert this in Chapter 6, however, when Psaro [[CameBackStrong comes back strong]] and the Hero's party brings Rose BackFromTheDead.]]

** Everyone in the ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsterBattleRoadVictory'' series, but most prevalent in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojq9bga0yQA Kiryl's super-attack]]. After [[MythologyGag unsuccessfully spamming Whack and Thwack]], [[BreakingTheFourthWall he stomps the dialog boxes to the floor]] and uses Kathwack, a wave of darkness that would make [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Cecil's]] jaw drop.
** This is a MythologyGag dating back to the NES game's legendary ArtificialStupidity. You couldn't turn off the party AI in the original NES version (well, you could, but only by using a Game Genie code that was discovered 15 years after it was released) -- and Kiryl was completely useless in battle, as he'd spam instant Death spells that ''would never work, ever''.
** Aamon gets one in the UpdatedRerelease; it's revealed during his boss fight in both versions that [[spoiler:he's the one that had Rose killed; in the bonus chapter, Aamon admits that it was a {{plan}} to become the new Master of Monsterkind, which has since succeeded; now Aamon takes Psaro's place as a boss, except [[NintendoHard much harder]].]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Psaro the Manslayer.

The fourth ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' game, ''Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen'' (DS title) kicks off the Zenithian trilogy with a distinctive twist on the usual [[TheChosenOne Chosen Heroes]] plot... by having the player step into the shoes of ''each'' of {{the Chosen One}}s in turn, rather than dumping you into the role of HelloInsertNameHere and sending you off at the start. Our heroic roster:

Originally for the NES, ''Dragon Quest IV'' was notably the ''last'' game in the series to see an official English release until ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' hit the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. An UpdatedRerelease also hit the [=PlayStation=] -- and was advertised on the back of DQVII's manual -- but the plan to bring it over [[NoExportForYou fell through]][[note]]This was at least {{justified|Trope}} for once; the developer went out of business, so there was no one to program the English text. Getting some other company with no prior knowledge of the game's code to hack it and insert a translation sadly would have been too time-consuming and expensive to be worth it.[[/note]], so English fans didn't see an update until the DS version was ported over.

Torneko [[AscendedExtra would later star]] in his own SpinOff series called ''Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon'', the first in a long line of video games now known as the ''VideoGame/MysteryDungeon'' series.