Dragon Warrior 4 is one of those NES RPGs that still holds up—mostly because it actually tries something different. Instead of dumping you straight into the hero’s boots, you play through five separate chapters, each following a different character. There’s a merchant haggling his way across towns, a pair of sisters caught up in palace intrigue, even a monster just trying to survive. By the time their stories collide, you’re weirdly invested in all of them.

The combat’s classic turn-based stuff—no surprises there—but the AI-controlled party members in the final chapter were ahead of their time (even if they occasionally make baffling choices). And yeah, the dialogue’s simple by today’s standards, but there’s charm in how the game slowly builds this world through small, scrappy stories before the big fantasy finale. Just don’t expect quick saves—this is an NES game through and through.

If you’ve got the patience for old-school grinding and random encounters, it’s a surprisingly layered take on the hero’s journey.