Dragon Quest IV is a role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and released by Enix on the Famicom in Japan on 11 February 1990, the first Dragon Quest to launch on a Sunday. The first-day stock of 1.3 million copies sold out within an hour, and the game eventually sold 3.1 million copies in Japan.
The story is split into five chapters: the first four follow the hero's future companions, and the fifth follows the hero as the party comes together. Its Tactics system lets the player give strategies to party members while controlling only the hero, an idea later compared to Final Fantasy XII's Gambits. The game also introduced the wagon, the first casino and Small Medals, and was the first Dragon Quest to spawn spin-offs, including the Torneko series.
In North America it came out on the NES in October 1992 as Dragon Warrior IV. Remakes followed on PlayStation in 2001 and on DS in 2007; the DS version reached the West in 2008 as Chapters of the Chosen.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Dragon Warrior IV | NES | October 1992 | Enix | 2 |
| NA | Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen | Nintendo DS | Sep 16, 2008 | Square Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たちDoragon Kuesuto Fō: Michibikareshi MonotachiFamicom | NES | Feb 11, 1990 | Enix | 1 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たちDoragon Kuesuto Fō: Michibikareshi MonotachiRemake by Heartbeat; a planned North American release was cancelled | PlayStation | Nov 22, 2001 | Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たちDoragon Kuesuto Fō: Michibikareshi MonotachiRemake by ArtePiazza based on the PlayStation version | Nintendo DS | Nov 22, 2007 | Square Enix | 2 |
| AU | Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen | Nintendo DS | Sep 11, 2008 | Square Enix | 2 |
| EU | Dragon Quest: Chapters of the ChosenEnglish Wikipedia gives 12 September 2008, Spanish Wikipedia 11 September | Nintendo DS | September 2008 | Square Enix | 2 |
| JP | ドラゴンクエストIV 導かれし者たちAlso iOS; English Wikipedia gives 17 April, Japanese Wikipedia 16 April | Android | April 2014 | Square Enix | 2 |
| WW | Dragon Quest IVAlso iOS; based on the DS remake | Android | Aug 7, 2014 | Square Enix | 2 |
Also known as: Dragon Warrior IV NA2Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen NA2Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen EU2Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi JP2
Box art by region
NA Dragon Warrior IV
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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CensorshipNES (NA)
The North American Dragon Warrior IV cut some religious imagery and violence, got new opening and ending credits and a modified casino betting system.2
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ContentPlayStation
The 2001 PlayStation remake moved to the Dragon Quest VII 3D engine and added a prologue, a new chapter in which Psaro joins the party, a party talk command and an option to switch off party AI.2
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GameplayNintendo DS
The DS remake keeps most PlayStation additions and lets the player control every party member in the last two chapters; it also has a completely new English translation.2
Translations
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English Official
Enix1992NES · Japanese versionReleased · complete
First English version, released in North America as Dragon Warrior IV.2
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English Official
Square Enix2008Nintendo DS · DS remakeReleased · complete
A completely new English translation was made for the DS remake, Chapters of the Chosen.2
Reception
The Famicom version's first-day stock of 1.3 million copies sold out within an hour; it reached 3.1 million copies in Japan and 3.18 million worldwide, including 80,000 in the US. Famitsu named it Best Game and Best RPG of 1990. The PlayStation remake sold nearly 1.2 million copies in Japan, and the DS remake 1.46 million worldwide by May 2009.2
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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