Psaro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Japanese:
- Daisuke Ono
- English:
- Gwilym Lee
| Psaro | |
|---|---|
| Dragon Quest character | |
 Psaro in Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS | |
| First game | Dragon Quest IV (1990) |
| Created by | Yuji Horii |
| Designed by | Akira Toriyama |
| Voiced by |
|
Psaro (Japanese: ピサロ) is a fictional character in the 1990 video game Dragon Quest IV. He is the primary antagonist of the story, leading a charge to wipe out humanity for the sake of demons, particularly due to his infatuation for an elf named Rose, who suffered under humans. He wishes to find and kill the human prophesized to one day defeat him, which causes him or his minions to come into contact with one or more of the multiple main heroes of the game who later come to support the prophesized hero in their quest. He comes to assume the form of Psaro the Manslayer after a tragedy pushes him to the brink. A sixth chapter was added to the PlayStation version that expands Psaro's story and features him as a playable character. He is also the protagonist of the 2023 game Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. His design was created by Akira Toriyama. Psaro has been generally well received, praised as a tragic villain and for the multiple forms he goes through in the battle against him.
Psaro appears as the antagonist of Dragon Quest IV, alluded to during the first chapters of the game.[1] Before the events of the game, Psaro leads an army against humanity in part due to humans' treatment of Rose, an elf he has fallen in love with and faces mistreatment from humans due to her ability to cry ruby tears.[1] Among his army are several high-ranking monsters, including Balzack, Marquis de Leon, and Aamon. To protect Rose from humans, he constructed a fortress to keep her in. Despite Rose's call for Psaro to live in peace with humanity, Psaro persisted in his plan. Aamon eventually convinces Psaro to allow his animosity to take over, preparing to resurrect the Lord of the Underworld, Estark, He was also made aware of a prophecy that said a human hero would defeat Estark, leading Psaro to hunt down young humans to prevent this by killing them.
At the beginning of the fifth chapter, the Hero of the game has their town destroyed by Psaro's minions, killing everyone except them, including the Hero's friend Eliza, who transforms themselves into the Hero to die in their place. The Hero goes on a quest to defeat Psaro, recruiting various characters who fought against Psaro's minions, including Ragnar McRyan, Alena, Kiryl, Borya, Torneko, Maya, and Meena. After he succeeded in resurrecting Estark, the Hero and their allies are able to defeat Estark. Before Psaro can fight the Hero, he is informed that Rose has been kidnapped by humans; he leaves to save her, but she is murdered before he can. Psaro lost control, using the Secret of Evolution which he and his army have been researching to kill all humans. In truth, Aamon orchestrated her death, intending to cause Psaro to descend into madness so he can rule monsterkind himself.[2][citation needed] Psaro went to the underground land of Nadiria, surrounded by his top henchmen, including Aamon. After defeating them, the Hero fights Psaro as the monstrous Psaro the Manslayer who goes through multiple transformations, losing appendages and gaining new ones. The Hero eventually kills Psaro, ending the war.
In the PlayStation remake of the game, a new sixth chapter was added. In this, the Hero pursues an alternative method of overcoming Psaro, which involves resurrecting Rose. After they succeed, they bring Rose to Nadiria to confront Psaro. Upon seeing Psaro's form, she begins to cry, her ruby tears undoing the effects of the Secret of Evolution and turning him back to normal. Upon learning from her of Aamon's involvement in her death, Psaro joined the Hero as a playable character, intending to defeat Aamon. They do battle with Aamon, who has perfected the Secret of Evolution, and eventually defeat him. He decides to abandon his crusade against humans, going to live with Rose in peace.
