Fans of Dragon Warrior IV, originally released for the NES, may remember a character named Taloon, a shopkeeper who had aspirations to become the world's greatest merchant. Now, Enix has given this character, now known by his Japanese name, Torneko, his own game. Featuring art from Dragon Warrior character designer Akira Toriyama, claymation-style full motion video and pre-rendered backgrounds, and randomly generated dungeons, Torneko: The Last Hope finds a way to depart from its parent series while keeping art and music that will remind players of the time they spent playing Dragon Warrior.

Torneko: The Last Hope is set in the world of Dragon Warrior, where familiar monsters, magic, and characters will make appearances. The story begins with Torneko returning to his village only to have the King ask his help defeating the monsters that have appeared throughout the world. The combat is turn-based and emphasizes tactics and strategy for Torneko must often defeat monsters stronger and faster than he. Thus, Torneko must use weapons and magic wisely in order to succeed in his adventure.

When Torneko enters a new dungeon, he may discover that the dungeon has changed layout from previous visits. This adds immense replay value to the game, which is compounded further by the fact that these layouts may change due to actions taken by Torneko or monsters in his adventure. Within these dungeons, Torneko will find over a hundred unique items to collect and use, ranging from weapons and armor to bread, which Torneko is quite fond of eating. With all of these side items to discover, it is no surprise that the game is not considered complete when the story is finished. To gain the highest ranking, every item on the game's "Mystery List" must be completed, which is composed of situations in which Torneko would not normally find himself, such as robbing the shopkeeper, bringing home monsters as pets and gifts, and getting killed in every way possible. The sheer entertainment value of this "Mystery List" should give hard-core gamers quite a bit to look forward to.

Torneko: The Last Hope looks to be another great RPG from Enix. It sold over 600,000 copies overseas and was considered one of the top 30 PlayStation games ever by Famitsu magazine. To promote the RPG, Enix has created a web feature, done in the style of Torneko's journal, which provides information about the characters, monsters, and items appearing in Torneko: The Last Hope. It is located at Enix's web site.