Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

"One of the best games for the system."

I bought Dragon Quest V just because I wanted an average RPG to pass time with, you bet I got much more than I expected. Not only does this game have a great and completely different story, it's also loaded with sidequests and fun minigames.

Gameplay 9.5/10
As an experienced RPG player, I would say that the gameplay is perfectly balanced. There is a little grinding but it's never to the point that you'll get bored of it and stop playing. You'll also want to regularly upgrade equipment but that really isn't required if you know what to do. The gameplay in this game is perfectly balanced and it's easily the best for any RPG for this system so far.

Graphics 8/10
It's not really the graphics that are great, but it's more about the dual-screened presentation. It's pleasant to look at and everything is detailed. The characters are 2D and the world is completely 3D, you can also rotate and move the camera to see your surroundings better by using the L and R buttons, there's not much to say for the graphics other than the dual screen presentation looks very good.

Sound 9/10
The music is amazing, it's to be expected of a dragon quest game, you won't be remembering any tunes except for the battle theme but everything sounds very nice. I've never seen myself turning down the sound because every song fits in with the place you're in. It's comparable to the classic RPGs back in the 1990's, probably because the original game came from that time!

Story 8/10
The story is a lot different than most RPG I've played. You start off as a 6 year old child travelling with your father, all I can say besides that is that it's based off of life. The story is much better than the majority of RPG's on this system. The story can be a little simple at times but it never stops being interesting.

Replay value 9.5/10
You'll be spending 30-50 hours on the story depending on how much you grind, you can even get 100+ hours on this game if you do all the sidequests and minigames that the game offers. The best part is that you'll be enjoying all of it!

Overall 8.8/10
This game is easily one of the best RPG that the Nintendo DS offers! I highly recommend you to buy this game if you haven't, regardless if you're an RPG player or not. It's surprising how many people in North America don't know about the Dragon Quest series.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/09

Game Release: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (US, 02/16/09)