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Lightning Deal on Dragon Quest IV today →

Update: It’s DQIV again. I expected the “full-fledged Dragon Quest adventure” to be an original one, not a port. Anyway, it’s $11.99 right now.

At 2:15pm PST today (5:15pm EST), Amazon will offer a limited-time Lightning Deal on what is likely to be Dragon Quest IX. “A full-fledged Dragon Quest adventure comes to Nintendo DS for the first time,” according to the hint.

I’m not sure how much it will be — Amazon doesn’t even have any in stock at the moment (except for third party sellers) to compare it to. But I encourage you to check the game out, even if you don’t really do the JRPG thing anymore! I didn’t think I was going to get into it, and it consumed my life for months.

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More Dragon Quest posts

[Image via Chebu]

tags / amazon / deals / dragon quest ix / gaming / jc / dragon quest iv

/ permalink / / 2 months ago / Comments (View)

Dragon Quest V for $19.99 (DQIV for $17) →

Dragon Quest IV and V, two of the best JRPGs of all time (“Of all time!” says Kanye West and other experts on the genre) on any console, are both on sale! There’s a crazy amount of content/fun to be had here, and you’d be paying less for these two than you would on a single 3DS game!

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More Dragon Quest posts

[Via Sevast; Image via Pectin]

tags / dragon quest / dragon quest v / dragon quest iv / gaming / ec / amazon / deals

/ permalink / / 6 months ago / Comments (View)

Dragon Quest IV heroes by Rey Ortega (click for a larger image). This beautiful illustration and other similarly impressive pieces from indie artists are featured in the newest issue of Ray Barnholt’s game zine Scroll.

From Scroll #2’s description:

“For the 25th anniversary of Dragon Quest, we’ve gone all-out with a celebratory double cover story. First, the origins of the JRPG before Dragon Quest came along, including the Dungeons & Dragons fans that were inspired to make their own PC RPGs, and the Japanese creators that were inspired by them. Then, a full recap of all nine Dragon Quest games, featuring essays on the sequels and their places the series’ history, alongside illustrations from talented independent artists.”

You can purchase a print copy of the 52-page issue, which also features some Game Center CX and Pilotwings Resort bits, for $12 (free PDF version included) at MagCloud. You can buy a digital copy by itself, too, for $5.

Buy: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More posts on Scroll

[Via Rey Ortega]

tags / scroll / ray barnholt / dragon quest / rey ortega / fanart / gaming / dragon quest iv / square enix / ec

/ permalink / / 9 months ago / Comments (View)

Torneko Taloon now chillin’ at Quester’s Rest

Everyone’s favorite RPG shopkeeper and the father of the Mystery Dungeon series Torneko Taloon is now available to download as a Dragon Quest IX inn guest.

Just talk to Selma at the Quester’s Rest, download the latest quest/shop data, then hit the inn elevator to visit Torneko’s room (being the RPG equivalent of rapper Rick Ross both in size and ability to move questionable merchandise, he’s naturally staying in the Royal Suites like a bawse).

Once you meet up with the Dragon Quest IV hero, he’ll give you one of his striped muumuus and a purple vest. If you meet certain conditions, he’ll offer you more copies of his gear. Soon, you, too, will be able to roll around Stornway looking like a bawse, an icy Meteorite Bracer decorating your wrist and Dangerous Bustier-wearing elderly women batting their eyelashes at you.

Buy: Dragon Quest IX

See also: More Torneko Taloon posts

[Via Flailthroughs, which is posting an awesome playthrough of Torneko no Daibouken; Image via Junny]

tags / torneko / dragon quest ix / downloadable content / dragon quest iv / level-5 / square enix / ec

/ permalink / / 1 year ago / Comments (View)

Dragon Quest IV for $19.99 →

You probably have enough DS games, especially RPGs, on your plate already, but just in case you haven’t tried this one out yet, Dragon Quest IV is on sale at Amazon. I don’t see the game discounted too often, and it’s certainly worth it — hell, Torneko’s chapter alone is worth the $20!

See also: Tiny Review: Dragon Quest IV

[Image via pixiv]

tags / dragon quest iv / dragon quest / square enix / amazon / deals / matrix / ec

/ permalink / / 1 year ago / Comments (View)

“DQIV, Chapter 3: Torneko’s Song” by Hyadain, subtitled by Enigmaopoeia. Speaking (tangentially) of Chunsoft roguelikes, here’s a song performed by the protagonist of the very first one, singing about his adventures in Dragon Quest IV.

Though I know almost nothing about Dragon Quest storylines (and therefore have little basis for this proclamation), I think Torneko is one of the most interesting RPG protagonists ever. A guy driven not by revenge, or heroism, but the need to stock his shop still seems like a fresh idea. If I could ever get over my fear of endgame grinding enough to play a Dragon Quest game again instead of just reading about them, it would be IV.

Buy: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

tags / hyadain / dragon quest iv / torneko / jc

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

“Picture AeroBiz, just with a clothing boutique. Picture the C64 classic Lemonade, only with 10,000 different ways to create beverages and individual customers with unique tastes and repeat business.

Picture the clothing trend aspect of The World Ends With You crossed with Taloon’s chapter from Dragon Warrior IV. Picture a hard-core business simulator mixed with a puzzle game and then aimed at tween girls.”

A compelling argument for Style Savvy (or Style Boutique in Europe and Girls Mode in Japan). Believe it or not, I’ve heard positive things about this fashion/shop simulator, which releases this week. Those favorable words, however, were likely colored by the glazed eyes of gamers infatuated with any slightly odd title out of Japan — a sentiment I’m sure you’re familiar with, reading this site.

It will take more than comparisons to Taloon’s store from Dragon Quest IV to convince hardcore RPG fans to bring a box that looks like this to the counter, though:

Still, I’m curious to hear how the Taloon comparison holds up — are you a bad enough dude to purchase Style Savvy, pick out (virtual) women’s clothes, and dress your customers? If so, let us know if the game’s just as fun as playing an arms merchant in Dragon Quest IV.

Buy: Style Savvy

See also: Wagamama Fashion Girls’ Mode

[Via Lunker]

tags / taloon / torneko / dragon quest iv / style savvy / girls mode / like rachel zoe but nerdier / like taloons shop but chic / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

“It seems clear that the inclusion of dialects in DQIV is there to colour each township with a distinct linguistic flavour - and the game is no doubt effective at doing so. In western culture though this also reduces the NPCs to a bunch of backwards-sounding, uneducated hicks. Dialects (or even just accents) have different connotations in different cultures (one would wonder if I’d be fretting so much over this issue if this were in a Japanese context).

Therefore when implementing dialects into games, cultural misunderstandings can become a natural occurrence, proving that games are unique to the cultures that interpret them. The DQIV I’m playing is very different to the one being played in Japan. Such a seemingly negligible cultural nuance can blow open one’s perception of the whole product.”

Daniel Johnson, discussing the use of village-specific dialects in Dragon Quest IV for GameSetWatch.

There is simply not enough talk about linguistics as it relates to games. I’d remedy that situation myself but oh man look at the time.

Buy: Dragon Quest IV, Dragon Quest V

See also: Tiny Review: Dragon Quest IV

tags / square enix / dragon quest iv / jc / language

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Short clip of Dragon Quest IV’s save music.

Dragon Quest has been a primary topic of conversation this week, what with DQX announced for Wii and Jeremy Parish’s opinion pieces on the series’ “heart”, which reminded me to post this.

As I mentioned in my review for DQIV, I love that this church organ music plays whenever you save. It fits with the save system — you confess your sins to a clergyperson in a chapel (or cathedral or smaller house of worship, depending on the town’s size) to record your progress.

See also: Inn Music Database

tags / dragon quest / dragon quest iv / square enix / save music / ec

/ permalink / / 3 years ago / Comments (View)

Tiny Review: Dragon Quest IV

Everyone seems to be putting up one of these, so here’s my quick review of DQIV: Chapters of the Chosen!

Three details that are fab:

Rotating the 3D world with the L & R buttons. This is really fun for some reason, and it helps you find doors and other hidden surprises.
The church organ music that plays when you save (to save, you have to confess your sins in a chapel).
*Spoiler* The sense of accomplishment you feel after purchasing a shop for Taloon and moving his family from a meager village to the town of Endor.

Two details that are butt:

Party Talk removed — Taloon’s colorful “Appraise” text makes this feature’s omission sting even more.
Can’t skip repeated dialogue. It’s 2008!

Score:

One Cautery Sword and four sleeping Bullfinches

[Image via Ofqgga]

tags / dragon quest / dragon quest iv / review / square enix / ec / heartbeat / artepiazza

/ permalink / / 3 years ago / Comments (View)

DQIV (US/EU) missing Party Talk feature?

Rumors are circulating that Western releases for Dragon Quest IV might have been shorted out of the remake’s new “intra-party talk” feature. This wouldn’t be the first time Japan received the superior version of a DS title, as was the case with Mr. Driller Drill Spirits and Lunar Knights.

Originally introduced to the series with Dragon Quest VII, the missing feature allows players to consult their party outside of combat for advice, plot points, and some fun dialogue. I’m not familar with the game, but from what I’ve heard, the feature’s exclusion is a bunch of butt.

Though this hasn’t yet been confirmed with U.S. copies, as the game hasn’t shipped stateside yet, reports are already coming in from Europe about the omission, so it’s likely that the North American release will be the same!

[Via CAG, Select Button, GameFAQs]

tags / dragon quest / dragon quest iv / square enix / ec

/ permalink / / 3 years ago / Comments (View)

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