Enix's role-playing video game Dragon Quest IV (DQIV), features eight permanent player characters in the Nintendo Entertainment System version, and nine in the PlayStation and Nintendo DS versions. The chapter structure of DQIV results in a new set of characters being controlled in each chapter; it is not until the fifth chapter that the Hero becomes the controllable protagonist.
The cast was designed by Akira Toriyama, who served as art designer for the Dragon Quest series. In addition to the nine main characters, there are various helper characters who have temporary stints with the party and then leave after the plot advances. Many non-player characters populate the world of DQIV as well. Most notably, the protagonists are out to stop the villainous Psaro, who plans to get revenge on humanity by resurrecting the Ruler of Evil.