Keeping true to my reputation as the Fastest Gamer in the West, I'm still playing through Dragon Quest IV. I played the NES original, though I never finished it. I was put off by the fact a Dragon Warrior game had a story, and I just never got into it. I was a very dull child, as you can imagine.
Dragon Quest IV's branching story isn't anything that would throw Stephen King into a jealous rage, but it's fun and ambitious, and I appreciate it very much. Jumping from the flat-rate story in Dragon Warrior III (“Save the world because your father fucked the mission up”) to a headstrong cast of warriors with their own thoughts and feelings just kind of knocked me for a loop back then. The Loto Saga was effectively over with Dragon Warrior III, and I had decided to be a pouting child about Square-Enix's decision to move on.
I know a bit better now. In fact, I admire Enix's methods very much. The story for the first entry in the Zenithian Saga is light but filling, and it keeps impressively well. I get the impression that it was well ahead of its time, at least for North America, where little trolls like myself looked at it and said, “Whatever.” The branched means of storytelling in Dragon Quest IV, which ultimately has everyone meeting at the pub after doing their own thing for a time, isn't a mechanic that's employed to a huge extent today. When it does come into play, you don't stand behind the counter as a fat merchant, selling weapons to earn commission enough for your very own copper sword. It's just a copper sword, yes, but it's damn well the hardest copper sword you'll earn—and a weapon you'll feel a significant amount of affection for. Dragon Quest IV's story is so bold and lovable, it's hard to believe it originated on the 8-bit Famicom.
When I was a little older, I really warmed up to the idea of RPGs having complicated stories and a movie-like cast of characters. It just took some time to accept the idea of supporting actors who were more than a sword or magic staff at my disposal. When it happened though, I felt like a mom who'd finally realised that her kids had grown up and acquired their own motivations and ideas.
Creepy metaphor. Sorry.
Related Links:
The 61FPS Review: Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Anticipation Time: Dragon Quest IV
Unwrapped: Dragon Quest IV