It may have taken 20 years, but Dragon Quest fever has finally hit the United States. True, it'll never be as intense--and, at times, frightening--as Japan's fascination with the series, but we only have to look at the past few decades for a reminder of how Dragon Quest used to be a forgotten and overlooked RPG footnote in comparison to cross-cultural hits like Final Fantasy. We've gone from Nintendo Power giving away unwanted copies of the first Dragon Quest (then known as Dragon Warrior in the States) in 1989, to Enix's American branch closing up shop in the mid-90s, to a small push for the outdated and subpar Dragon Quest VII back in 2001; but in 2005, shortly after the Square-Enix merger, the series was essentially re-launched with the phenomenal Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2. Now, nearly four years later, we're in the middle of a DS trilogy remake, the latest release being Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. And, just like DQ's last DS remake (Dragon Quest IV, released in September), DQV stands as proof that there's never been a better time for American Dragon Quest fans.
If you've played a few of the previously-released Dragon Quests, you're going to find yourself very much at home; DQV features the same basic elements of gameplay seen in previous games. Dragon Quest is basically built upon the oldest of old-school JRPG mechanics, including turn-based battles, exploring towns, dungeons, and caves throughout a large overworld, and fighting numerous monsters via random encounters in order to keep both equipment and character levels up to snuff. But, as with all Dragon Quest games, DQV has its own distinct twist on the formula to keep things fresh; this time around, the series offers a Pokemon-esque monster-recruiting system, which is far more interesting than it may initially sound.
"Pokemon-esque" might be a little misleading (and clunky), but it's really the best way to explain DQV's new party-building mechanic. Essentially, any monster you defeat in battle may ask to join your party; and, when accepted, these critters act just like any other party member in an RPG. They follow orders in battle, level up, learn skills and spellls, and can equip weapons and armor, like any human in your party. This system is a particularly huge change for Dragon Quest due to the typically prescribed nature of a DQ party; with DQV, your battle strategy isn't limited to what you can do with the few characters tagging along behind your hero (though you will have guests join your group from time to time). So, instead of having a typical fighter/healer/mage "balanced" party in the traditional Dragon Quest fashion, you can opt for any sort of strategy that you want--including some that are very situation-specific. And, to make things much easier on the player, during most points in the game, your monsters will gain experience even when they're not in the party; this comes as a huge relief to OCD weirdos like me who feel some sick desire to keep my entire team around the same level.
Of course, you're not doing all of this battling and monster recruiting in a complete vacuum; along with adding a slight twist to the mechanics of the game, DQV also tells its story in an atypical manner. Unlike DQIV, the entire game is played through the main character's perspective, though DQV differs from most RPGs in that you play through the hero's life in chronological order. The main character starts out as a child tagging along with his heroic father--who's really more of a DQ hero in the beginning than his son--and, through some surprising twists and turns, our hero journeys through adulthood, gets married (hence the "Heavenly Bride"), and even reproduces. It's a fascinating technique, and one that's far more refreshing than following your typical bunch of spiky-haired 17-19 year-old JRPG characters. Out of all the ways Dragon Quest has been ripped off, it's surprising that very few developers have plagiarized the series' quality of storytelling, which has only really been localized properly with the post-VIII Dragon Quest games. It's amazing to see the charming, storybook nature of the Dragon Quest world that was previously drowned out by the Early Modern English ("But thou must!") and/or workmanlike quality of pre-2005 DQ localizations.
On the subject of translations, it's also worth mentioning the game's "party talk" feature, which adds the same glossy coat of paint to the DQV's story that developer Artepiazza also applied liberally to Hand of the Heavenly Bride's graphics. Basically, if you have any other human in your party, with a simple tap of the "B" button, they will have something interesting to say about nearly every area you enter and person/creature you talk to. The sheer amount of text that went into this feature is mind-boggling--and the reason why it was cut out of the American DQIV DS remake--but it adds so much more to the already-adorable DQ atmosphere, especially when your main character never really has much to say (a DQ tradition). My typical, obsessive time spent chatting with townspeople after every in-game event was only doubled by the fact that someone in my party usually wanted to throw in their two cents as well. And when you consider that townspeople usually have two sets of dialogue (for night and day), DQV's attempts to give its world character are colossal--yet successful.
As a hardcore Dragon Quest fan, it's easy for me to give something like DQV a high score. But, if I try as hard as I can to sidestep my bias, I can safely say that, despite the whole "fifth game in the series" thing, Dagon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is an excellent first step into the franchise for any DQ newbies out there. Even if you've given the series a go in the past and found it far too dated, DQV is fast, fun, and adds just the right amount of complexity and variation to the rigid Dragon Quest formula. And, at about 30-40 hours, Dragon Quest V is worth that steep 40-dollar price of entry--especially if you decide to ruin your life trying to track down and recruit some of the game's more elusive monsters. Just a hint: if liquid metal slimes are all you can see after closing your eyes, it may be time to call it a day.
Rating: A
Past Reviews:
MadWorld
Star Oean: The Last Hope
Killzone 2
Noby Noby Boy - part 1 & part 2
Big Bang Mini
Retro Game Challenge
Edge
Game & Watch Collection
Valkyria Chronicles part 1 & part 2
Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2
Prince of Persia
LittleBigPlanet part 1, part 2
Dead Space
LOL
Dragon Quest IV
Ninja Gaidan 2 part 1 & part 2
Metal Gear Solid 4 part 1 & part 2
Wii Fit
Grand Theft Auto IV part 1, part 2 & part 3