PC
FM TownsBasic information
Rance IV is an erotic-RPG originally released for the PC in December 1993. As with most of Alicesoft's older titles, it was later rendered Freeware by the company. It received a fan translation in 2013.
Story
Having earned the displeasure of the God of Light through his actions in the previous game, Rance, along with his slave Sill, find themselves stranded on a floating island. Known as Ylapu, the island is a remnant of a historic war between Mages and Dark Lords. Rance's quest to return home is complicated by a military force from the nation of Helman, seeking to exploit the island and its secrets.
Gameplay
Rance 4 is an RPG with some dungeon crawling and SRPG elements. The game revolves around the exploration of 5 towers on the flying island Ylapu. There is one town in the game which acts as a hub for Rance's activities, as he always returns to it following certain events or after a certain time of day. While exploring the ruins, players will often be pulled into random battles. However, these fights are more like those of an SRPG than a regular JRPG as they a grid-like structure which units are moved around. Unlike Rance 3, the player has complete control of all units and not just Rance.
Characters
Rance - The licentious swordsman returns for another adventure. Stranded on a flying island, Rance must find a way back to solid ground, though as always he looks for ways to get his leg over as often as possible.
Sill Plain - Rance's ever dutiful slave stands by him as ever, and does her best to see to his ever unreasonable requests and demands.
Bitch - the sleazy commanding officer of the Helman forces on the island, he and his team are looking for anything on the island that may bolster Helman's military force.
Merim - an unfortunate Helman woman who is a servant of Bitch's army. She is an archaeologist with a great love for knowledge, and as such getting to explore the island is a dream come true for her.
Hubert - a brave and honorable swordsman. He works for Bitch but has no respect for him.
Lia - The princess and ruler of the nation of Leazus, she is totally besotted with Rance. Although she barely appears in the game, she does have a significant role, sending a rescue force to aid Rance.
Maria - The leader of Leazus rescue expedition, she is a genius inventor girl whose flying craft allowed the team to reach the island. She has been involved in several of Rance's previous adventures, and is now trying to deal with her complex feelings for him.
Rick - Another member of the Leazus rescue team, he is his nation's foremost swordsman. Courteous to his allies and ferocious to his enemies, he is the perfect image of a knight. However, a secret lurks beneath his helmet. He is an excellent physical unit whose only shortcoming is his limited movement.
Julia - An air-headed, immature and hyper-active young girl. It would appear that Lia's motivation for sending her aren't her unrefined fighting skills, but in some other value she may have to Rance. A sidequest allows the player to greatly improve Julia's abilities.
