Play Dragon Quest IV - Michibikareshi Monotachi (Japan) (Rev A) Online

Dragon Quest IV on the NES splits its story into these little self-contained chapters—you start as a soldier, then a princess, even a merchant just trying to make a living. At first it feels disconnected, but slowly everyone’s paths start crossing in ways that actually make sense. The merchant’s wagon becomes your mobile base later, which is way more useful than I expected.

Combat’s classic turn-based stuff, but the AI tactics for your party (you can set them to focus on healing or go all-out aggressive) save so much menu fiddling. Just don’t let the princess cast spells willy-nilly—she burns through MP fast. The final chapter pulls everyone together for this massive, surprisingly dark showdown. Still one of the best NES RPGs for how it handles its huge cast.