Dragon Quest IV
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, titled Dragon Warrior IV when initially localized to North America, is a 1990 role-playing video game, the fourth installment of the Dragon Quest video game series developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix, and the first of the Zenithian Trilogy. It was originally released for the Famicom on 11 February 1990 in Japan. A North American NES version followed in October 1992, and would be the last Dragon Quest game localized and published by Enix's Enix America Corporation subsidiary prior to its closure in November 1995, as well as the last Dragon Quest game to be localized into English prior to the localization of Dragon Warrior Monsters in December 1999. The game was remade by Heartbeat for the PlayStation, which eventually was available as an Ultimate Hits game. The remake was ported by ArtePiazza to the Nintendo DS, released in Japan November 2007 and worldwide in September 2008. A mobile version based on the Nintendo DS remake was released in 2014 for Android and iOS.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1990
- Developer
- Chunsoft
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 11 February 1990 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Chunsoft |
| Publisher | Enix |
| Platforms | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Genres | Role-Playing |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q2310470, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Dragon Quest IV? How long to beat it
Total play time for Dragon Quest IV is about 42.9 hours to do everything, and around 27.2 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 27.2h | 239 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 33.9h | 242 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 42.9h | 66 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Dragon Quest IV sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Dragon Quest IV lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 44ahead of 4% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 30ahead of 72% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Dragon Quest IV
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Dragon Quest IV appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Dragon Quest IV qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Dragon Quest IV
What platforms is Dragon Quest IV on?
Dragon Quest IV is available on Nintendo Entertainment System. It first released in 1990.
Who made Dragon Quest IV?
Dragon Quest IV was developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix.
How long does it take to beat Dragon Quest IV?
about 27.2 hours for the main story, 33.9 hours with the main extras, 42.9 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.