Main Walkthrough

The Pioneer Town is a side quest chain found in the remakes of Dragon Quest IV. A town-building exercise involving one of the game's more prominent NPCs, the Pioneer Town will task you with recruiting specific people from around the world, and once you've pulled them to your new town they will set up a truly useful location for you to visit. First, though, you need to do some setup.

Early in your trip through the fifth chapter of Dragon Quest IV you'll meet a young man named Hank Hoffman, Jr., and you'll have to help Hank get his groove back. He'll join the party for a short time after that, then leave once you reach the town of Mintos. Hank will stay here until you acquire the Magic Key, at which point he'll move to the small wasteland where you found the Desert Bazaar in the second chapter. You'll find Hank's new home to the east of Zamoksva.

Enter the town - which is now called Hoffman's Place - and speak to Hank, who is standing on the north side of the oasis in the middle of the map. He'll tell you about his aspirations, and send you out to find an NPC for his new town.

Town Phase 1

The first step in setting up Hank's town is pretty simple. Head to Laissez Fayre, the southwestern town where Meena and Maya began their chapter, and visit the Church. There's a nun in here who wants to set up in a new, unestablished settlement. Tell her about Hank's new town and she'll run off to join him.

There will be a few new things in the town, now that you've invited the nun:

  • By the oasis you'll find a frog. He'll tell you about a castle that used to stand in this very place.
  • In the north is a house belonging to Rocky and Adrian, a pair of farmers. Check the barrels outside their house for a Bunny Tail, and check the barrels inside their house for a Mini Medal.
  • On the east side of town is a simple Item Shop. Bust the two barrels beside the shop for a Mini Medal.

In addition to the town itself, Hank will set up a house on the world map. The nun will stay here and perform the usual religious services. Speak to Hank inside his house and he'll suggest naming the town. He'll try to name it after your main character, though if you turn Hank's suggestions down three times you can choose your own name.

At this point Hank will give you the option to send some pioneering soul out to distant lands. You can choose their appearance, name, age, gender, and message. By initiating wireless communication you'll send this brave soul to another player's game, where they will appear in that person's town. You do not need to do this to grow the rest of the town, so if you're not interested in multiplayer interactions, don't worry about it. Creating a single pioneer will suffice.

Town Phase 2

Proceed through the fifth chapter until you've acquired the Ultimate Key, then return to the Pioneer Town. Speak to Rocky - he's always out in his field - and he'll tell you of another potential recruit, over in Burland, the northern kingdom where Ragnar began the game. You'll be picking up two NPCs this time:

  • First off is a pirate fellow. He, too, is hanging out in the Church. Tell him about Hoffman's town and he'll point you towards the Inn...
  • ... where a bard named Prelvis Esley is waiting near the counter. He, too, will join the town.

When you return to the town you'll find two new things have sprung up in your absence:

  • Prelvis will be standing near a sizable Inn. Check the cupboard inside the room on the right to find a Mini Medal. Outside the Inn and a little ways to the east is a dog beside a bush, and if you check the bush you'll find a Mini Medal.
  • You'll find the piratical man building a Church in the southwest of town. Speak to him a few times for some info.
  • Check in the northeast of town and you'll find an empty house. The pots out front contain an Antidotal Herb, the pots inside contain a Seed of Resilience, and the dresser contains a Hairband.
  • The Item Shop will now sell Musk.

Town Phase 3

To trigger the third phase of the town you'll need to defeat Estark, deep within Mamon Mine. You'll also need access to Cascade Cave, which is the subject of a small side quest which you can do once you have the Ultimate Key. Check the Chapter 5 section of the guide for more information. Cascade Cave is located in the northeast of the world map, close to (but not accessible from) Rosehill.

Speak to Prelvis Esley, near the Inn, and he'll tell you about a pair of treasure-seekers who might be interested in joining the town. They're both in Cascade Cave:
  • The wife is on the first floor of the cave. Head north towards the stairs and you'll find her on your left.
  • The husband, Streo Louse, is on the floor just after you cross through the prison gate and reenter the caves. Look northwest of the stairs to find him at a little dead end.
Speak to both NPCs, then travel back to the Pioneer Town again. It will have improved a third time, adding roads and more places to visit. Look the place over for more items - including spots you checked previously:
  • The Church in the southwest is now complete. You'll still need to speak to the nun by Hank's house to save, however.
  • Next to the Inn is an Accessory Shop. It sells a few basic accessories, namely Bunny Tails, Gold Bracers, and Lucida Shards.
  • North of the Inn is a new building. Inside you'll find barrels containing a Mini Medal and a Seed of Life. Later on this will become an Armor Shop, but not yet.
  • The dog will have moved a bit to the east side of the oasis. Check the sparkle it found for another Mini Medal.
  • The barrels outside Rocky and Adrian's house now contain a Seed of Strength.
  • The empty house in the northeast has another Mini Medal in its pots out front, and a Seed of Magic in the pots inside. The wardrobe in the house contains a Chimaera Wing.
  • The Item Shop has added Moonwort Bulbs and Holy Water to its inventory. Destroy the barrel by the stand for Holy Water.
  • The pirate is now building a 'Pioneeratorium' in the northwest of town. You'll find out what that is the next time you perform an upgrade.

Town Phase 4

In order to trigger the fourth phase of the town you need to speak to the Zenith Dragon, up in Zenithia, for the first time. Head back to the town and speak to Zack, the man behind the counter in the building to the north of the Inn. He'll point you to Strathbaile. Check out the jail in Strathbaile - the stairs between the shops and the Church, to the north - and you'll find an imprisoned Medislime named Mary Curey. Point her towards the Pioneer Town.

Return to the Pioneer Town and it will have undergone yet another change:
  • The Pioneeratorium is now built. This is where pioneers from other games will appear. Check the pots on the ground floor for a Packed Lunch and a Seed of Wisdom, and destroy the pots outside the Pioneeratorium and on its west side for a Seed of Magic.
  • Look just south of the Item Shop and you'll find the dog. This time it has uncovered a Mini Medal.
  • Also near the Item Shop are stairs leading into the ground. Bust up barrels on the first level down for a Fur Coat. The second level is much larger, and you can find another Mini Medal in front of the graves to the southwest, as well as 370 gold and Horse Manure from the barrels in the northwest. On the lowest level is a Fire Claw, glinting away in the middle of a poisonous bog.
  • The Inn now has a little pen on its right side, and here you'll find Mr. Ned, a... talking horse? Sure. Check the glint up and to the right from Ned to find a Mini Medal.
  • The Armour Shop is now open in the store north of the Inn, and among some less interesting stock it offers Flowing Dresses and Power Shields.
  • The Accessory Shop will change its stock, and now offers Bunny Tails, Gold Bracers, Mercury's Bandanas, Strength Rings, and Kerplunk Bracers.

Town Phase 5

The fifth and final phase of your Pioneer Town is only accessible after you've defeated Psaro the Manslayer and completed the game. Speak to Princess Pam, in the Inn, and Rocky, in his house in the north, to trigger the appearance of two more recruits:
  • First is a soldier. Travel to Laissez Fayre and check out the Inn. A soldier named Partz (the pun is terrible if you note his rank) is standing by the front door.
  • Next is a king. Travel to Havre Léon and you'll find him hanging out at the Pub. 
When you return to your town you'll find it evolved into a fully-fledged kingdom. The layout is completely different than before, with every building swallowed up by the castle. There's a lot to see and collect inside.
  • Check around the edges of the castle before even entering the front door. There's a tree on the west side that is hiding the glint of a Falcon Blade.
  • You'll find stairs leading to the uppermost floor on the ground floor of the castle. If you look behind these stairs you'll find a hidden staircase down to a treasury. Check the four chests inside the treasury for a Miracle Sword, a Ruby of Protection, a Mirror Shield, and the heart of the Sultan Farog. We'll get to that last one shortly. Also down here is a Casino, which we'll discuss in another guide, and stairs to the dungeon. The barrels in the dungeon contain a Mini Medal, and the chest in the southwest contains a Meteorite Bracer.
  • In the southwest of the castle is a kitchen where Rocky and Adrian now live. Upstairs from the kitchen is a room that's teeming with barrels and pots. Destroy them all to find a Seed of Agility, a Mini Medal, and the body of the Sultan Farog. Again, we'll get to that.
  • On the east side of the castle you'll find the Armor Shop. They've added Tempest Shields to their stock.
  • On the west side of the castle you'll find the guy who used to run the Item Shop, which is now a Weapon Shop. His notable items are the Miracle Sword, the Flail of Destruction, the Angel Leotard, and the Mighty Armlet.
  • In the rear of the castle is a dining room. On the east side of the dining room is the home of a man named Snowy. Check his cabinets and barrels for two Mini Medals.
  • If you climb to the second floor via either of the dining room's side chambers you can exit and find a fountain in the middle of the castle. The dog is circling the fountain, and, sure enough, it found another glinting item: A Mini Medal, by the top-left corner of the fountain.

Climb to the top of the castle once you've freed the Sultan's heart and body. You'll find that the talking frog has changed back into the Sultan Farog. Rejoice! Speak to Farog twice and he'll give you a Mini Medal. Hank will rush up and chat with you briefly as you leave the castle, and at this point you're pretty much done with the Pioneer Town. Pretty lucrative, no?

Main Walkthrough