Leveling Down

Dragon Quest V makes use of both the DS screens for the world map

On the DS side of my gaming life, Dragon Quest V was the game that finally succeeded in getting me to put Phoenix Wright away. For those unfamiliar with the series, Dragon Quest is a Japanese RPG series that is equal in popularity to Final Fantasy in Japan. Yet on these shores, Dragon Quest never quite got traction for a variety of reasons, so it is relatively unknown to the common gamer. Thanks to the DS re-releases of Dragon Quest IV and V, Americans can now see what they have missed.

Why is Dragon Quest so popular? It’s kind of weird, really. If you look at Final Fantasy, the game has evolved so much over the years – there are new combat systems, different systems for learning skills/abilities, and even games within the game (Blitzball?). Dragon Quest, on the other hand, has stuck to the same basic formula through nine iterations. In fact, it’s stayed so simple that the latest version, Dragon Quest IX, actually came out as a DS exclusive.

So in Dragon Quest you basically get the same type of game you played on the SNES (or even the NES) 15 years ago. Battles are exclusively turn based, your life is in constant danger even against regular enemies, money is an incredibly valuable commodity, and you can never say “no” to anyone’s request (unless you’re supposed to). Yet Dragon Quest V is such a charming game that once you’re into it, you realize that all the above turn into good things for the most part.

The turn-based battles give you time to plot out a strategy and maximize your fighting efficiency, something I personally prefer to the action-based RPGs that are all the rage now. Yes, you die - and die often. When you do you never lose any progress - just 50% of your gold, so you can throw yourself at the same dungeon multiple times until you finally conquer it. But of course, if you die, money becomes even more scarce, but not having money makes you really think about your buying decisions. And finally, yes, the game is on rails for the most part, but the story is enough to make up for that.

There are two notable mechanics that should be noted. First, the story of Dragon Quest V is broken up into “eras”: you start out as a child, then enter your teenage years, and finally finish the game as an adult. During your teen years you have to choose a wife who will be your companion throughout the rest of the game. I actually found the decision pretty difficult on multiple levels; I wanted to choose the best companion in terms of battle skills, but I also wanted to choose the wife with the most amusing dialogue options, AND I wanted to pick the wife that made sense given the story. In some ways it was more difficult than choosing who to marry in real life!

The second mechanic is you need to recruit monsters to your party if you want to survive. It’s actually pretty fun and even though they barely have personalities, I find myself favoring some over others. It’s basically Pokemon before Pokemon existed. The monsters fight like regular playable characters though.

Overall, I think Dragon Quest V is great, but I also loved Dragon Quests I-IV (which I did play as a kid) so I’m a little biased. You get tons of hours of gameplay for your money like any RPG, and even though it follows the same basic formula, there are enough tweaks and changes to make it interesting. We’ll see how things work out with my “wife” though, maybe after twenty years of marriage I will change my tune! I kid…