Dragon Warrior IV (USA) ROM

As the legend of Erdrick slips into the past, it's time to begin anew. Ragnar, the King's General. Alena, the Princess. Taloon, the Merchant. Nara & Mara, the Dancer and the Fortune Teller. A Hero. Fulfill a prophesy. Is this your destiny? Experience this epic, multi-quest RPG!

The fouth installment of the Dragon Warrior series, this game is a LOT different from the first three games. No longer do you have class changing, but you do have different classes of characters. Also, you play the game like a story with 5 chapters.
You play as a soldier who must find out why children are disappearing across the country; a princess, along with her two consorts, trying to prove her strength; a merchant trying to own his own shop; two sisters seeking revenge for their father's death, and finally, you, the hero, who must stop the great evil in the world!
Personally one of my favorite games of the Dragon Quest series, you get a lot more story involved in this game. You learn a little about your partymates thanks to playing as them in each chapter. You get to employ different strategies as your team shifts until they all come together in the final chapter, where you gain a wagon to have 8 characters (and in two cases, 9) to choose from in a four-person party.
This game also features temporary party members you can gain during the chapters, and chapter 5. You cannot control them at all, nor level them, but they can help make a chapter or area easier. Some are also required for the story to progress.
The wagon system itself in quite a marvel, as it makes traveling a lot easier. If one of your partymates dies in battle, you can switch them out with another in the wagon. The diverse party also helps you strategize as needed. You gain a warrior and fighter, two different types of clerics, two different types of wizards, and a merchant with a few unique abilities. For instance, both wizards have the ability to attack all enemies, but one is better used offensively while another is more supportive.
One annoying thing about the party system in Chapter 5 is the characters can only be guided by changing the strategy command. The AI can be quite frustrating at times as well, so you have to learn which partymate is less likely to do stupid moves. (For instance, when Cristo learns Beat/Defeat, he tries to use it on bosses that are immune to it) On the other hand, the AI can make things more exciting in some ways, and even happily surprise you in battle. The AI problem is greatly fixed in the DS version, but the difficulty is also a lot easier (which can be good or bad to some people).
Though the AI can be frustrating, the game itself is quite advanced for its time. Not many games had such a party system or AI at the time it came out. It was alos the last Dragon Warrior game to come to USA for a LONG time before remakes and Dragon Warrior 7 came. There are some fans who prefer 1-3 because of the frustrating AI, but it is worth playing at least once.