Chapters of the Choosen!

March is still Dragon Quest month, so we're playing some Dragon Quest. This time around, I want to finish the Zenithian Saga. It's a very loosely linked trilogy, mostly just because of the most powerful gear. I think this is the first one, so we're jumbling it up! Dragon Quest IV was the last game for the NES, so it makes some sense.

A child is seen sparring with her master. She is eager to continue, but it's time to rest for the day. We gain control of the child, and this is our hero. Before I started the game, we got a chance to name them and even pick their gender. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate calls this person Solo, so I will, too. But because I'm not a Hero main, I've chosen a female Solo. Solo walks out of the basement and hears a voice. A frog leaps out of the water and calls itself a princess who was cursed. The frog hears a voice and retreats into the basement. We can follow, but I did some exploring. There's nothing to do, but there's enough world building and character backstory to make it worthwhile. Break some pots for items. Inside the sparring room is not a frog, but our friend. I've forgotten our friend's name, but she informs us that she's learned how to use transformation magic! She's willing to teach us (I think), but it's time for supper. Head home, talk to your parents and enjoy the meal.

And that was the prologue! But I'm not playing the DS version because it runs like butt on my computer.


Chapter One: The Royal Soldiers
A group of sprites in blue, with another in pink, are standing in a grand castle. Their King enters and gives everyone their mission. Children throughout the kingdom have gone missing, and villagers from Izmet have asked the royal guard for aid. Everyone's mission is to find the children and stop their kidnappers. Everyone disperses, and we get control of our first party member.

This is Ragnar, and he's a bit boring. He's a soldier with no magic, so he'll only be able to attack for this chapter. It's nice to get the brute out of the way first, I guess, but it's a terrible tutorial. But at least it makes everything easy.

We can explore around the castle and town of Burland. Everyone gives NES style tips on playing the game and clues as to where to go. There's a dresser in the lower right room of the castle that contains a free medical herb. To the south of town is a red haired woman named Flora. She's been looking for her husband, Alex, who disappeared some time ago. I wonder if he's connected to the children? Since we're poor and the shops have mediocre gear, let's head to Izmet.

I took the long way! I battled around the area for a while until I got to level three. I had just enough money for a shield in Burland, which'll help in the upcoming cave. By level three, you should be able to one hit everything you'll be seeing for a while. En route to the cave, I got to level four! Nothing down here is scary, but there are air rats (as they're called in the DS version) that can summon backup. They're pretty good for money. Northeast of the cave exit is the village of Izmet. By now, I noticed the game has a day/night cycle. I don't know why this surprises me since the other two Dragon Quest games had it, but I just didn't expect a game from early 1990 to have one. This will change who we can talk to and what they might say when we're in town. And it's perfect because we can get all the info we need at night.

Several townsfolk tell us that one of the kids were last seen wearing fancy shoes before they disappeared before everyone's eyes. There's also a man named Alex, who was caught stealing bread, in jail. He's an odd one... For something mildly disturbing, we can catch a peeping tom spying on a fortune teller in the inn's bathhouse. He'll give us a clue we'll need if we get lost, and that's to return to Burland with knowledge of Alex being in jail. Follow through on that and speak to Flora. She'll follow us back to Izmet, but she's not a combatant. Take her to Alex, and he'll have no idea who she is. She'll then slap him, and it'll fix everything. As a reward for finding and fixing them, Alex tells us that he knows where a "secret playground" is. Four squares down and four squares east of the Izmet town sign will take us there. The merchants in Izmet are better than in Burland, so keep track of everything. Find the "playground."

It's a well surrounded by poisoned swamps. The only place to go is down the well, and a voice will guide us through the rest. We can ignore these words, and there are plenty of good things at the end of the offshoots. Unlike the guided path, though, monsters will attack us. The guys are a lot stronger than what we've already seen, so bring herbs and/or love quick save scumming. Watch out for the sizemages the most. They can use Blaze, which hits for twelve HPs to Ragnar. There's also enemy healer slimes!
The first is the way out, which we should ignore for now.
The second dead end is just that.
The third takes us to a room with nothing in it.
The fourth is a medical herb.
The fifth and sixth just loop around to each other.
The seventh takes us to a great partner, Healie. Healie is a healer slime that wants to be human. He thinks that hanging around with them will make him one, so he'll join us. His attack stats are terrible, and he doesn't gain levels, but he can heal. Healing is the most important magic in any game, so I already love him. Could be a bit more useful, though... At least carry some items and level up!
The eighth path is to 650 gold!
If you've followed the voice, then you'll come to the final dead end with a treasure chest surrounded by four pillars (?). In there, we will find Flying Shoes, and the voice no longer talks to us. I have no idea if you can use them in here, but I had all this money sitting in my pocket, and there's plenty of great stuff to buy in Izmet. I purchased a bronze armor and a scale shield. Don't worry about the weapons for now, but I should have got the better hat instead of the shield. There is a reason for this, so don't worry. Once Ragnar and Healie are at full strength, see what those Flying Shoes can do!

We'll sail into the air and land in a tower to the east of Izmet. We'll see a man drag a child away from us, and we'll give chase. It took me a while to notice this, but we're at the top and work our way down. My only word of advice is: if you see a door, go through it. There's plenty of new stuff down here, from seeds to gear. There's a scale shield here, which is why I suggested skipping it in town. There's also a Sword of Malice through the second giant golden doors. This is far stronger than the spear in Izmet. Just south of those golden doors is a stairwell down. It's a dead end, but there's also a healing square at the back of the room. By now, it's incredibly necessary. I died in here when I first tried, but we'll be magically revived and end up back at the priest in Izmet, with the only penalty being losing half of our money. The mobs tend to use a lot of magic (pixie, ozwad) and buffs (lilype). Giant chickens can also put you to sleep. Healie's low defense and HP pool, combined with his slow speed, usually makes him act last. And considering Ragnar is an old man, two sluggish characters are going to get hit a lot. Healie couldn't keep up, and Ragnar fell. It's too bad I walked right past the healing square...

Shortly after the heal spot is a dying soldier from Burland. His final words are the only plot advancement in this chapter, and they warn us why the children are being taken away. The ruler of evil has returned, and it is said that the legendary hero who will defeat him is but a child now. If the BBG takes all the kids and kills them, his rule will last forever. In the room below us is the man responsible for kidnapping the kids. A child will run towards us, and we can see another in a cage off to the side. There's a strange entity in the middle of the room, but it's the guy on the throne who says he has no time for this. This kicks off the first boss fight in the game!

Saro's Shadow and the Giant Eyeball stand before us. Both do a lot of magic damage, but there's nothing we can do about it. All Ragnar can do is attack! I took out Saro's Shadow first, but the eye can be killed in one hit, so I should have done that. I thought it was the real target of this fight and figured shadow was an ad... Guess not. I'd imagine, once Eyeball is gone, Saro becomes easier. Healie nearly survived, but our slow speed meant he couldn't keep up healing. But it doesn't matter, and the jail cell will open once we win. Both kids come running up to us, and we escort them back to Izmet. All the mobs are gone now, so explore to find anything you may have missed. The soldier who told us the legend has passed, but you should have informed the other soldier that he can head home. I doubt it changes anything, but it's the right thing to do. You can climb to the top of the tower and jump off, and this'll set us across the lake. But there's a Wyvern Wing in the tower, which we can use on the world map, and it'll take us away, too.

Once we're in Izmet, the kids will see their mothers waiting for them and run up. Everyone will thank us, and the soldiers will be amazed at our strength. Alex and Flora will be gone, so follow after them and return to the King in Burland. The couple says they're in our debt, and everyone else is much the same. I also think all random encounters are removed at this point, so do what you want. As we enter the castle, we'll automatically walk towards the King. He, too, will say how cool we are and promise to reward us with whatever we want. Ragnar tells his liege that he wants to go on a journey, which the King okays. He also grants us 2000 exp, which gave me two additional levels. And with that, we come to the end of chapter one.

Ragnar not having any special moves, magic, or whatever, really is a bad way to start the game. It makes everything seem like a brain dead experience with no strategy. But I trust the next character or two will add to it, so I guess this is better than going last? The music is fun so far, and I'm glad there's story. As long as we don't start walking about aimlessly like DQVI, I think I'll enjoy this. It feels like a Dragon Quest, and I want to keep playing!

I feel weird not leaving off with a "...tomorrow" It's like I'm doing something wrong...