Dragon Quest V -DS- 10

February 20, 2023

I beat DQ5 on the DS. This game originally came out for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1992, but never officially released here until the DS version came out in 2009. I have not yet played through the SF version, but my understanding is that this version is very faithful to the original, but adds party chat, as well as a third wife you can marry. It also revamps the graphics with 3D backgrounds, but keeps the character models as 2D. So anyways, my review of DQ5 for DS…I thought this had one of the best stories in any RPG I’ve ever played, especially from the 16bit era. The only Snes rpg that tops this is Final Fantasy 6. The story here revolves around the hero's family, getting married, and having children, all while exploring the world and fighting against an evil force of demons amassing power. I have never seen an Rpg that focuses on family values like this, and it grabbed me like only the best Rpg's have. It was like reading a book that I could not put down. The backstory stems from the lore set up in the previous entry, and i thought that was also brilliant. I love an Rpg series where the sequels are connected! The graphical style in this version reminded me of Grandia and Shining Force III, with the 2D characters on the beautiful 3D backdrops, and that was perfect. It felt very retro and respectful of the original version, which also looks beautiful for an early release Super Famicom game. The music is remixed here, but still sounds old school with the chip tunes, and is also respectful of the original. The soundtrack overall is outstanding and very worthy fit to this epic old school rpg. The battle system is very solid, and this time you can recruit different monsters to fight with your party, but I mostly stuck to using the human characters. Also, the party chat between you, your wife, and your kids added a lot of extra character development to the story, and really enhanced the experience. Usually, I prefer my plot-heavy rpgs with a lead character that talks, but the party chat helped me not mind the silent protagonist here. I am giving Dragon Quest 5 on the DS the same score I gave Dragon Warrior 4 on the Nes last month…a 10 out of ten. Masterpiece.