A Nihon Falcom action-RPG where an entire family explores dungeons together. Each member has a distinct role. Original and well-thought-out for its era, still honestly recommendable.
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Category
Action RPG1 player7+
Description
Action RPG featuring a family of characters exploring a castle-dungeon to defeat the sorcerer Balzack. Published by Falcom, released in Japan in 1987. Family with distinct roles exploring castle levels, real-time combat and touching family scenario. An original Falcom action RPG on Famicom.
Dragon Slayer IV - Drasle Family review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
The Japanese edition takes particular care over its presentation screens, with framed family portraits and a typographic charter of its own. In play, reading relies on a strict code: each member has a size, a colour and a jump height, and the single dungeon's layout is memorised through these landmarks rather than through a map.
The themes assigned to each family member form the soundtrack's backbone: changing character entirely changes the sonic mood, making the selection as audible as it is visible. The harmonies are richer than the genre average at that date, and the long explorations gain variety.
A whole family of heroes inherits a curse and descends into the dungeon beneath their own house, each bringing what the others cannot do. The story is read in the distribution of roles rather than in dialogue, and the child to be found at the end of the descent gives this domestic quest its real stake.
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"Mild"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Long"
Technical info
💾0,08 MB📅28/11/1987
Published by Square
Dragon Slayer IV - Drasle Family (NES) price, value & rarity
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Is Dragon Slayer IV - Drasle Family still worth playing in 2026?
A Falcom action RPG, Dragon Slayer IV Drasle Family, known in the West as Legacy of the Wizard, has a family of adventurers explore a vast interconnected dungeon, each with their own abilities to clear specific passages. This open, demanding structure, innovative for its time, requires exploration, memorization and character strategy. The abrupt difficulty and the lack of guidance put off the hasty. A choice piece for fans of demanding retro exploration action RPG.
