Das IGN Review ist up..
...und Bozon redet wieder mal nur Mist. Wie beim Radiant Dawn Review fixiert er sich auf vollkommen nebensächliche Sachen, fordert Unterstützung der konsolenexklusiven Gimmicks, egal ob es dem Spiel etwas bringen würde oder nicht (Touchscreen Support war schon bei FF III und IV überflüssig) und scheint einfach nicht zu kapieren, worum es bei dem Spiel überhaupt geht.
Square Enix has made a point to take huge advantage of the overwhelming success of DS, already releasing multiple Final Fantasy remakes (not ports), and now moving on to its other list of killer apps with Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen isn't exactly as unique or fresh as its Final Fantasy counterparts, but it's still a great trip down memory lane despite a relatively quick adaptation from the PSX version, and a somewhat sloppy interface.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is a bit of an odd one, since it relies on the whole "new to you" feeling we get from being detached as a gaming society from Square's earlier years. Already releasing as a remake on the original PlayStation, this now "Chapters of the Chosen" adaptation makes its way to DS with many of the same elements, a mixed mash-up of both good and bad graphical conversion from the PSX remake, a wonderfully written new script, but an all-around feeling of déjà vu for anyone that closely follows this franchise's Japanese roots. It's still an impressive graphical offering, a strong remake, and a pretty deep overall package; it's just also a somewhat quick and dirty PSX-to-DS conversion.
This unique, chapter-based hook is something toyed with from time to time nowadays, but was a totally new way of looking at storytelling when it first released, making it an interesting backbone to the experience, and just as fun to play through this time as it was on the original NES. Unfortunately, your overall opinion of whether or not DQIV for DS is worth your while is going to be totally dependant on how much weight you put into that original design, since there's very little done here to truly expand on the story, gameplay, or overall presentation. That isn't to say things haven't changed -- they have -- but when everything boils down, there's less of a revamp here than you'd find with something like Final Fantasy IV's star treatment on Nintendo's touch handheld.
Where the game still feels dated though, and where some players will either cling on or stray from it as a remake, is in its core interface, presentation, and general flow. The interface screen, used for item and character management, is entirely wireframe with generic white boxes overlaid on the playfield. It's classic in design, but also really, really dated when compared to even the most basic of handheld RPGs. Both Final Fantasy remakes on DS thus far have retained their feel, but upped the overall polish of their interface design as well. This isn't the case with Chapters of the Chosen.
The portrait art -- another arguing point for the hardest of hardcore -- is entirely traditional, but the cartoonish vibe rubs us wrong after so many years, and it's admittedly a rougher, lower quality of in-game art than what today's gamers are going to expect. When in battle, the top screen is home to a very simple (again, white wireframe boxes) design, again using the classic icons overtop a single color background. Really? There was nothing else to put back there? So while the battles themselves are intentionally retro, and a mix of new enemy animations and bits and pieces of classically designed control and interface, the whole experience has this feeling of being a quick, rough crossover, rather than a truly revamped take on the series. It's one thing to keep the original feeling of the game, but there's wasted potential here, and that's something a game this legendary shouldn't have in it.
There's no online, no real DS-specific additions to the story or structure of the game (the prologue and Chapter 6 from PSX remain though), with the game even ignoring touch support for menus or battle. Random.
...und Bozon redet wieder mal nur Mist. Wie beim Radiant Dawn Review fixiert er sich auf vollkommen nebensächliche Sachen, fordert Unterstützung der konsolenexklusiven Gimmicks, egal ob es dem Spiel etwas bringen würde oder nicht (Touchscreen Support war schon bei FF III und IV überflüssig) und scheint einfach nicht zu kapieren, worum es bei dem Spiel überhaupt geht.