Pyroclastica

Programming note: This finally completes the original 4 Dragon Warrior games, which I didn’t know I would do, and which I started in 2020, apparently
As far as the big picture of the whole series, this one is probably the most underwhelming and also the easiest (if we are being honest those things usually go hand in hand)
HOWEVER, in spite of that, this installment starts out hotter than any of them. It is separated into 5 chapters, where the first 4 are each a separate little story for each of your party members, and the 5th is the “real game” where you take control of the hero and do the kind of quest you expect from DW. Those first 4 chapters are really great
I am not gonna write little spoilers of each of the first four chapters because you will enjoy them if you go into this blind but I will say: Taloon fans have been right all along, he is my guy
When I wrote the Suikoden review, I complained that I thought they made the game too easy because they wanted any party to be viable; toning down the difficulty is easier than doing proper balancing for any given combination of millions of parties. DW4 is similar in this way, though there are fewer possible parties available. The developers wanted you to be able to win with any party, and you pretty much can, and it shows in all aspects of the game. There are fewer decisions to make in combat, the dungeons are the easiest (you don’t even need maps or a strategy guide, you can hold them all in your head), and even the push to the final boss is VERY generous.
If you like a lighter-weight RPG, or enjoy story/characters more than you enjoy gameplay, this is THE Dragon Warrior game for you.

Dragon Warrior IV