Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen: Difference between revisions

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==Development==
==Development==
As the Erdrick trilogy had reached a definite conclusion with the twist ending of {{DQ3}}, [[Yuji Horii]] decided that ''IV'' would begin a new story unconnected to the previous games, even considering starting a new trilogy<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>.
As the Erdrick trilogy had reached a definite conclusion with the twist ending of {{DQ3}}, [[Yuji Horii]] decided that ''Dragon Quest IV'' would begin a new story unconnected to the previous games, musing that it could be the start of a new trilogy<ref>ファミ通, November 1989</ref>. Development on the title began in February of 1988, followed by a tour of Spanish castles to get into the proper mindset for crafting a fantasy world.


''IV'''s development began with the intent of exploring [[artificial intelligence]], which was a growing trend in Japan at the time. Meetings on the topic were held from February—June 1988<ref>・・・・・・今回イロイロと新しいことにチャレンジしてますけど、なかでもいちばん苦労したところはどこですか?
''IV'''s development began with the intent of exploring [[artificial intelligence]], which was a growing trend in Japan at the time. Meetings on the topic were held from February—June 1988<ref>・・・・・・今回イロイロと新しいことにチャレンジしてますけど、なかでもいちばん苦労したところはどこですか?
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The game's storyline, with self-contained chapters leading up to a greater finale, came about because Horii did not want to overwhelm players with a single long campaign that was twice as long as ''Dragon Quest III'''s. He also wanted to examine the lives of the Hero's companions before they joined forces, a deliberate contrast to the blank slates created at [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] in ''III''<ref>"What was the inspiration for dividing ''Dragon Quest IV'' into five stand-alone chapters?"
The game's storyline, with self-contained chapters leading up to a greater finale, came about because Horii did not want to overwhelm players with a single long campaign that was twice as long as ''Dragon Quest III'''s. He also wanted to examine the lives of the Hero's companions before they joined forces, a deliberate contrast to the blank slates created at [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] in ''III''<ref>"What was the inspiration for dividing ''Dragon Quest IV'' into five stand-alone chapters?"
Horii: In ''Dragon Quest III'', you went on an adventure with three companions, but these characters were simply created from scratch by the player. I thought it would be interesting to explore the lives of your comrades, which became the inspiration for ''Dragon Quest IV''</ref>.  
Horii: In ''Dragon Quest III'', you went on an adventure with three companions, but these characters were simply created from scratch by the player. I thought it would be interesting to explore the lives of your comrades, which became the inspiration for ''Dragon Quest IV''. Nintendo Power issue 230, page 55</ref>.  


The chapter structure was also intended to ease players into the structure of a ''Dragon Quest'' game and the AI system<ref>確かに1章なんか、イロイロな面で入門用にもピッタリという感じはしますね。
The chapter structure was also intended to ease players into the structure of a ''Dragon Quest'' game and the AI system<ref>確かに1章なんか、イロイロな面で入門用にもピッタリという感じはしますね。
堀井: ただ、あんまりドラクエすぎてもちょっとつまらないので、ホイミンをつけてみたりとか。(笑)ちょっとだけNPC(ノンプレイヤーキャラ)の練習をさせたりもしてるんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, as Horii believed the systems had evolved too fast between the previous games. Due to this, Chapters 1 and 2 were intentionally structured similarly to {{DQ}} and {{DQ2}}, with its simple combat and three-man party respectively. Chapter 2 proved to be the most difficult to balance, with the continent of [[Terrestria|Maestral]] receiving mountainous terrain to increase encounter rates and [[Zalenagrad]] getting a conspicuous sign post warning players to level up before moving forward with their journey<ref>今のところ2章までやらせてもらったんですけど、今回は結構イベントが多そうですね。2章なんていきなりイベントがあったりして...。
堀井: ただ、あんまりドラクエすぎてもちょっとつまらないので、ホイミンをつけてみたりとか。(笑)ちょっとだけNPC(ノンプレイヤーキャラ)の練習をさせたりもしてるんですよね。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 6, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>, as Horii believed the systems had evolved too fast between the previous games. Due to this, Chapters 1 and 2 were intentionally structured similarly to {{DQ}} and {{DQ2}}, with its simple combat and three-man party respectively. Chapter 1's simplicity proved an ideal place to introduce players to AI-controlled allies through Healie the healslime. Chapter 2 proved to be the most difficult to balance, with the continent of [[Terrestria|Maestral]] receiving mountainous terrain to increase encounter rates and [[Zalenagrad]] getting a conspicuous sign post warning players to level up before moving forward with their journey<ref>今のところ2章までやらせてもらったんですけど、今回は結構イベントが多そうですね。2章なんていきなりイベントがあったりして...。


堀井: そうですね。2章はバランスどりもけっこう苦労しました。というのは、町の数が多いものですから、隣の町までの距離もあまりなくて、ヘタすると1回もエンカウントせずに行けてしまう可能性があったんですよ。
堀井: そうですね。2章はバランスどりもけっこう苦労しました。というのは、町の数が多いものですから、隣の町までの距離もあまりなくて、ヘタすると1回もエンカウントせずに行けてしまう可能性があったんですよ。
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**ということは逆に言えば、それだけ確かめてあるから、いくら倍率が高いとはいっても、決して勝てないというわけではないですよね。
**ということは逆に言えば、それだけ確かめてあるから、いくら倍率が高いとはいっても、決して勝てないというわけではないですよね。
堀井 そうです、勝つこともあります。勝つ確率が0っていうカードはないです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 7, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.
堀井 そうです、勝つこともあります。勝つ確率が0っていうカードはないです。''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 7, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>.
Development of ''Dragon Quest IV'' wrapped up in August of 1989, with focus shifting to {{Dragon Quest V}}'s planning stage after a two month break. Chunsoft struggled to fit the game on to the cartridge despite having twice as much memory capacity as ''Dragon Quest III'', with Koichi Nakamura admitting that only a scant 100 bytes remained by the end of development<ref>IVはどうなんでしょう。IIIは2メガでエラく大変だったって聞いていますけど。
中村: 大変は大変でしたけど、無事にタイトルも入りましたし。(笑)数バイトしか残ってないなんて事はないけど、まともなプログラムが組めるほど、空いてないです。全部で100バイト位、空いてるかな? ''Dragon Quest IV Master's Club'' page 11, ISBN4-7966-0084-1</ref>. In a December 1990 interview with Famitsu magazine promoting ''Dragon Quest V'', Horii revealed that he intended for {{Psaro C}} to join the Chosen at one point, but the scenario was scrapped due to the strict memory limit<ref>— じつは『V』の主人公はデスピ○ロで人間に復讐するという・・・・・。そんなシナリオも想像できるんですがどうですか?よく、「あれではデスピ○ロがかわいそうだ」という意見も耳にしますから。
堀井: なるほど。アイデアとしてはおもしろいね。本当のこと言っちゃうと、ピ○ロは途中で仲間になる予定だったんだよ。でも、容量の関係でどんどん削られてしまって。で、結局ああいうことになったの。ファミ通 No. 117 December 21st 1990, page 43</ref>. Whether this original scenario was revived for chapter 6 in the 2001 {{PlayStation}} remake or remained scrapped in lieu of a new story altogether is unknown.


==Credits==
==Credits==