Hero | |
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Dragon Quest character | |
![]() Art of the male and female Hero for the remake of Dragon Quest IV | |
First appearance | Dragon Quest IV (1990) |
Created by | Yuji Horii |
Designed by | Akira Toriyama |
Voiced by | Takeshi Kusao (Male) |
The Hero is the protagonist of Dragon Quest IV , and can be male or female. They do not have a default name, and can be given a name by the player. They are the second Hero in Dragon Quest to allow players to make them male or female, and the first to give the female Hero a distinct design. During the course of the story, the game's antagonist, Psaro, causes the death of their village, including their friend Eliza. They journey to defeat Psaro, joining other characters along the way.
Their design was created by Akira Toriyama. There was originally meant to be more differences between the male and female Hero, but the game's designer, Yuji Horii, remembered to do this too late in development to implement this. The Hero has been the subject of discussion by critics, both for their tragic story and the female Hero. Multiple critics appreciated the existence of the female Hero, particularly due to being able to play as a woman in a role-playing game, which was not as common at the time.
In the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Dragon Quest IV , the player has the opportunity to name the Hero, though the game opens with one of the main characters, Ragnar McRyan. In the PlayStation version of the game, a prologue was added that introduces the Hero earlier in the story. Each chapter has a different starring character, with chapter 2 starring Alena, chapter 3 starring Torneko, and chapter 4 starring Maya and Meena, all of whom eventually join the Hero's party. [1]
In the fifth chapter, the Hero's village is attacked by Psaro and his minions, aspiring to kill the prophesized Hero. To protect them, the Hero's friend, Eliza, uses magic to impersonate the Hero, dying in their place, at which point the Hero goes on a quest to defeat Psaro. [2] After one of Psaro's minions called Aamon used humans to murder Rose, the love of Psaro, Psaro loses his mind, using a technique called the Secret of Evolution to become monstrous. He is ultimately defeated by the Hero and their party.
In the PlayStation version, a new sixth chapter is added that involves reviving Rose and having her save Psaro, who becomes an ally of the Hero and helps them defeat Aamon. [3]
The male Hero appears as a playable character in the fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as one of four skins for the character "Hero" alongside the Dragon Quest III Hero and Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Quest XI heroes.
The Hero was designed by Dragon Quest series character artist Akira Toriyama.[ citation needed ] The Hero in Dragon Quest IV can be male or female, similar to the Hero in Dragon Quest III . Similar to the previous Hero, the difference between the dialogue when playing as a male or female Hero is limited. Due to criticism from players about the limited differences in III, the game's designer, Yuji Horii, intended to rectify that with this game's Hero, but never got around to it. Horii noted that he forgot about the feature until midway through development, at which point he didn't bother with it. [4] Where the female Hero in Dragon Quest III was largely indistinguishable from the male Hero, the female Dragon Quest IV could be told apart based on the visuals. [5] [6]
Alongside the Hero of Dragon Quest V , they are considered among the unhappiest protagonists in the Dragon Quest series. [7] Magmix staff felt a connection between Psaro and the Hero, discussing how the similar tragedies of losing someone they cared for turned players' hatred for Psaro into something more complicated. The author found the scene exceptional, noting that role-playing game stories. [8] Magmix staff also discussed whether Eliza reappearing in the ending was a happy ending for the Hero. They noted that the Hero still lose everyone else in the village, but also questioned whether Eliza's appearance was an illusion or not. [9] 4gamer writer Kenichi Maeyamada felt similarly about the scene, speculating that it may be a fantasy of the Hero's. [10] When discussing the new ending where Psaro joins the Hero, Magmix staff felt that the resolution of Psaro's story felt unresolved, namely due to the loss of life as well as the fact that Psaro nevertheless committed atrocities, and that Psaro hated humans even before Aamon's plan. [11]
The female version of the Dragon Quest IV Hero was particularly well-received. Multiple RPGFan writers praised her and her design, including Adura Bowling, Michael Solossi, Wes Issiff, and Alana Hagues. Bowling appreciated the female Hero, commenting that she wished she knew about her as a child due to her desire to play more video games with a female protagonist. She also appreciated her design, calling it wonderful, while Solossi enjoyed her "voluminous hair" and her outfit. [12] [13] Hagues felt that Toriyama was particularly good at female character designs, regarding the female Hero as one of his best, and Issiff regarded her as his favorite Hero designs in the Dragon Quest series. [13] Manga author Kazusa discussed growing up with the idea that video games were for boys, and that girls shouldn't play video games. She added that being able to play as a girl in Dragon Quest IV was a significant moment for her. [5] Huffington Post writer Shino Tanaka identified the female protagonist in both Dragon Quest III and Dragon Quest IV stood out among video games of that era where most protagonists were male, finding it to be a "ray of hope" for female gamers. [5] Futabanet writer Masaki Tsuda found the design for the female Hero more distinct than the male Hero. [14]
Dragon Quest, previously published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama, and composer Koichi Sugiyama and published by Square Enix. Since its inception, development of games in the series have been outsourced to a plethora of external companies until the tenth installment, with localized remakes and ports of later installments for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch being published by Nintendo outside of Japan. With its first game published in 1986, there are eleven main-series games, along with numerous spin-off games. In addition, there have been numerous manga, anime and novels published under the franchise, with nearly every game in the main series having a related adaptation.
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Torneko is a character in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV, one of its heroes. He also appears as the star of multiple games in the Mystery Dungeon series, being used for the first entry to make the series more appealing by using a recognizable brand. He is among the most recurring characters in the Dragon Quest series.
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Psaro is a character in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV. He is the primary antagonist of the story, leading a charge to wipe out humanity for the sake of demons, particularly due to his infatuation for an elf named Rose, who suffered under humans. He wishes to find and kill the human prophesized to one day defeat him, which causes him or his minions to come into contact with one or more of the multiple main heroes of the game who later come to support the prophesized hero in their quest. He comes to assume the form of Psaro the Manslayer after a tragedy pushes him to the brink. A sixth chapter was added to the PlayStation version that expands Psaro's story and features him as a playable character. He is also the protagonist of the 2023 game Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. His design was created by Akira Toriyama. Psaro has been generally well received, praised as a tragic villain and for the multiple forms he goes through in the battle against him.
Alena is a character in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV, one of its main characters. She is the star of the second chapter, going out to explore the world and become a strong warrior with her retainers Kiryl and Borya, before discovering her kingdom wiped out. She later joins with the protagonist of the game in their quest to defeat the leader of the monsters, Psaro, and save the world. Her design was created by Akira Toriyama, and she is voiced in Japanese by Shoko Nakagawa. She is a fan favorite Dragon Quest IV character, noted as a strong female character by multiple critics, one from RPGFan noting how rare this was on the NES.
The Hero is the protagonist of Dragon Quest V. He starts out the story as a child, the son of Pankraz, who suffers through various tragedies before growing up, getting married, and having children. Unlike previous Dragon Quest protagonists, he is not a Legendary Hero, instead being a monster tamer, a mechanic added due to the popularity of Healie from Dragon Quest IV. He was created by Yuji Horii and designed by Akira Toriyama. He appears in other works, including the film Dragon Quest: Your Story. The Hero has received positive reception, with critics commenting on how impactful his tragic life was and how iconic a design he had.
Healie, also known as Hoimin is a character in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV. He is a Healslime, a variant of the Slime monster from the series, who aspires to become a human, joining the warrior Ragnar McRyan in his quest to rescue kidnapped children from minions of Psaro. In promotional media for the franchise, he has been portrayed by Kanna Hashimoto.
Ragnar McRyan, known in Japan as Ryan is a character in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV. He is one of multiple characters who assist the game's Hero in their battle against the monster Psaro. He stars in chapter 1, allying with the monster Healie to rescue children kidnapped by Psaro's minions. He was the first playable character in the NES version of the game. He has appeared in multiple other games, including the Itadaki Street and Dragon Quest Heroes series.
Maya and Meena are two characters in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV. Maya is a dancer and Meena a fortune teller. The two are sisters who set out on a journey to avenge their father's murder. They appear as the lead characters of the fourth chapter, and join the Hero in the fifth chapter to defeat the monster Psaro. They were created by Yuji Horii and designed by Akira Toriyama, and have been the subject of praise for both their designs and concepts, particularly Meena's use of tarot cards as weapons and Maya's beauty. The music played for the pair has also received praise, with critics identifying folk music and Middle Eastern music inspirations for their theme.
The Hero, also known as Loto in Japanese and Erdrick in English, is the protagonist of the 1988 video game Dragon Quest III. Unlike previous Dragon Quest protagonists, this Hero can be male or female, though fans criticized the lack of differences between the two gender options. They are the son of Ortega, who went missing after seeking out the villain Baramos. The Hero assumes this quest on their 16th birthday. The male Hero appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character as part of a character called "Hero," alongside the heroes of Dragon Quest IV, Dragon Quest VIII, and Dragon Quest XI. They are a silent protagonist save for one line, which was not well-received by fans. The lack of differences between the male and female Hero received criticism as well, leading to efforts to improve this in Dragon Quest IV. The Hero has been identified as an iconic Hero, with multiple critics identifying their design as a foundational one, citing the protagonist of the light novel Maoyu as an example.