Play Dragon Warrior IV Online

Dragon Warrior IV came out on the NES in 1990, developed by Chunsoft. It was a late release for the console, a time when RPGs were starting to get more complex in their storytelling. This one stood out by breaking its narrative into distinct chapters, each focusing on a different character whose path would eventually lead to the main hero.

You control a party of characters, moving them screen by screen across an overworld map and through towns and dungeons. Your main goal is to stop an ancient evil, but the journey involves a lot of exploration, turn based combat against monsters, and gathering better equipment. Two signature mechanics are the AI controlled party members, who act on their own in battle, and the ability to eventually fly a balloon to reach previously inaccessible areas. The pacing is deliberate, and some dungeon crawls can be quite difficult, demanding careful resource management. It feels like guiding a group of distinct individuals through a world that slowly reveals how all their struggles are connected.