So what's new with this version? Well, at first glance it's easy to see that the visuals have been completely overhauled, using 3D style environments with 2D sprites for monsters and characters, creating something akin to a few PS1 titles back in the day. It works really well on the DS, and for those of you who didn't care for the FFIV remake 3D work, you'll probably enjoy the way Dragon Quest IV looks quite a bit more. The soundtrack is still as solid as it originally was, but one of the bigger overhauls comes in the form of the reworked and retranslated script.

Having not played much of the original, I can't say how bad the script for Dragon Warrior IV was, but with Dragon Quest IV on the DS it's obvious a lot of attention went into the script, especially with the various dialects and styles of speech you'll run across thru each chapter or story. It does a great job of relating the idea that you're participating in a worldwide story, with each nationality having it's own particular way of speaking, accent and all, which is well represented in the dialogue boxes. This goes a long way to sprucing up the story, keeping the player interested, and giving the game a feel that's generally hard to accomplish without voice acting nowadays.

The gameplay hasn't had much of an overhaul, and it keeps to the standard that most Dragon Quest titles possess. Random encounters, world exploring, and a simple battle menu are all present, including quite a few familiar enemy types. Also, combat is pretty swift, with your common enemy encounters on the overworld taking less than a minute for the most part, allowing those of us who enjoy doing a little pre-boss grinding the ability to do so without being completely bored before we finish. It wouldn't be a proper Dragon Quest without a Slime of course, and fans of the series won't be disappointed with the way this one plays.

However, while the overall gameplay is definitely in line with the other titles, the way it all plays out is definitely different. Chapters of the Chosen, as the name might imply, takes place over a variety of stories, each featuring a particular player that will come into play towards the end game. Think of each story as actually participating in a long, long cut scene, devoting quite a bit of time to building up these oftentimes secondary characters, helping to really drive the story home when you reach the end of the game. Each character has a particular strength/weakness, as you might expect, so they don't all play the same way, and of course you'll encounter other party members in these additional tales to round out your group. The build up to the end game is really solid, and I definitely loved this approach to storytelling, and while I do enjoy most of the Dragon Quest titles, this is easily one of the better games in the series, a large part of which is due to how this story plays out.

Of course, I don't want to spoil things for you, and you absolutely should pick this up if you haven't already. Even with the old "Square Enix tax", Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen is well worth the cost of admission, for a chance to glance back at where RPG's have come from, albeit with a new bit of paint and gloss. However, don't look at this classic gameplay as dated, instead appreciate the fact that you don't need to play the old NES title with its slow battles and bland overworld, and instead you'll get to play one of the better remakes on the market today. Highly recommended, and something that every RPG enthusiast should definitely check out.