It's time to review another entry in the series that drives Japanese gamers wild. No, I'm not talking about Monster Hunter, or that series of games where you collect monsters in a ball. I'm talking about the legendary series of games that causes top-notch students to cut class--the one and only Dragon Quest.

Dragon Quest may have a Harry Potter-like following in Japan, but it has gained little ground in the U.S. You could blame this on Enix's failure to release many Dragon Quest titles in the U.S. or on Final Fantasy's dominance, but regardless of what the reason is, it's clearly no blockbuster--and that's a shame.

I first experienced this series famous for its adherence to tradition with Dragon Quest VII. Unfortunately, it didn't leave a good impression. Playing Dragon Quest VII was like going on a blind date with a super model--only to find out that she was a wookie upon meeting. Dragon Quest VII's traditional nature appeared nice from the outside, but trudging around dull environments for seventy plus hours was another story. After thirty hours of hell, I decided to call it quits, but that didn't stop me from trying Satan's beautiful successor.

Dragon Quest VII- Playstation

For once, Dragon Quest VIII actually had visuals that were distinguishable from an Atari 2600 game, so I was willing to give another game in this seemingly crusty series a shot. Unfortunately, its basic storyline, bland environments, and dull gameplay weren't able to win me over. I tried to enjoy it, but by the time I obtained my own rickety ship, I had to retire.

Dragon Quest VIII- Playstation 2

After spending two years in retirement, I thought that my Dragon Quest days were over--until someone convinced me to try what was reportedly one of the NES' most revolutionary RPGs: Dragon Quest IV. I could hardly believe that someone used the terms "revolutionary" and "Dragon Quest" in the same sentence, so I had to discover if this was the truth, or simply an old wives' tale.

Dragon Quest IV- DS

It took me nearly three months to muster up the courage to give Dragon Quest IV's DS remake a shot, but once I did, I was unable to put it down. As this review attests, Dragon Quest IV's innovative scenario system and fast-paced, yet strategic battles quickly won me over. After completing the title, I vowed to give its reportedly equally-innovative successor, Dragon Quest V a shot.

Dragon Quest V for the DS was another Dragon Quest remake, but unlike its predecessor,  it never made it to North America. This 1992 title remained trapped in Japan for over seventeen years, and that's a shame, because like many other 16-bit RPG heavy hitters, it had solid gameplay and a captivating story. And like other early Dragon Quest titles, it inspired numerous imitators, and may have even laid the groundwork for Pokémon.

Dragon Quest V- Super Famicom

Before playing Dragon Quest V, I'd heard great things about the title, so I was psyched to get my Role Playing Game on. But I'll be honest--a sizeable chunk of the early portion of the game didn't leave me with a good impression. The portion of the game I'm referring to was full of seemingly pointless dungeon crawling, but thankfully, the game had many redeeming aspects--most notably its unique approach to storytelling and its innovative battle system.

Unlike Final Fantasy VI, Dragon Quest V doesn't have a deep storyline, but the method in which it's told makes it something special. You begin the game as a young boy who is accompanying his father on a journey. As you travel from place to place, it's clear that your father is seeking something, but what he's searching for is only revealed through dialogue hints and occasional flashbacks.

Dragon Quest V- DS

As a boy, you're quite weak, so you have to rely on your father for protection. However, you're occasionally given the opportunity to wander off on your own. As the journey progresses, you meet up with a young girl who asks you to tag along in saving a Sabrecat that some village children are picking on. With this goal in mind, you're propelled on a quest that will take you to a haunted castle. You'll also seek out several other environments on your own, such as the homeland of the Faeries where cherry blossoms are plentiful, but for the most part, you're with your father.

Eventually, you'll accompany your father on a rescue mission that occurs due to a royal family quarrel, and at the end, you'll discover a surprising result. Soon thereafter, you find yourself separated from your father, and as a slave of demons.

You spend ten years toiling away in the service of demons, but eventually, you discover a method of escape. Without spoiling the events of the entire journey, your mission is to seek out the Zenithian equipment and the legendary hero who will save humankind from the Grandmaster of the Underworld. You're given no clue as to who this hero is, but wandering through the world is an enjoyable experience, because you get to see the changes your character makes as he grows older.

Eventually, you will have the choice of asking a woman's hand in marriage, and depending on who you marry, you'll have different children. This feature alone helps Dragon Quest V feel entirely different from any of its Super NES contemporaries. The Sega Genesis RPG, Phantasy Star III may have had players pass through generations as well, but I believe that is the only other '90s era RPG that was about a human being's progression from childhood to adulthood.

Besides the protagonist's journey from childhood to adulthood, there isn't much else that is interesting about Dragon Quest V's story. Still, the game's humorous dialogue plays an important role in keeping the player in the journey.

As with Dragon Quest IV, character and NPC dialogue is written in a variety of accents that players will either find humorous or offensive. For example, a wealthy manor owner with an Italian name makes an analogy to the meat inside Ravioli when describing an enormous monster stuck inside a pot. Another character speaks in an accent similar to Jack Black's in Nacho Libre. I felt that these accents added much- needed humor to Dragon Quest V's world, but they are fairly ridiculous stereotypes that could offend some players.

When discussing the accented dialogue, it's also worth noting that some players might find the text difficult to comprehend. This shouldn't be an issue with most older players, but younger kids might have a difficult time understanding what is being said at times.

Accents certainly play an important part in Dragon Quest V's humor, but occasionally, it's able to deliver humorous lines without relying on different dialects. One moment in particular that I found quite humorous is when you stay at a mountain inn. 

After the elderly lady running the inn takes you to your room, she cackles, then leaves. You then begin to panic thinking you made a mistake by staying at this inn. It then begins to seem like your fears aren't completely unfounded when you wake up in the middle of the night hearing a knife being sharpened followed by footsteps. This is made worse by the fact that you find yourself unable to move. It turns out that the old hag simply cast a spell on you to put you in a deep sleep, and did you a favor by sharpening your weapons. Moments like this make the player forget even the dreariest of dungeons.

It's a shame that there aren't more moments like these and less dungeon crawling, because some of Dragon Quest V's enemy strongholds are downright boring. There's the occasional mysterious forest or mountainside trek that will brighten your mood, but most of the game's dungeons are found deep beneath the Earth. Many of these caverns feel like mundane creations that were placed in your path to artificially lengthen the game. It's a shame, because there are so many other areas in which Dragon Quest V excels.

Take the battle system for example. Dragon Quest IV allowed you to form complex parties where every character had unique abilities that would aid you in battle. Its system was perfect for tacticians, and it ran at a rapid-fire face, so combat-averse players didn't have much to complain about. Well, Dragon Quest V changed the game once again.

I wasn't happy with all the changes that were made--your party members don't have as many valuable abilities, and you sometimes have to go for long periods without other human characters, but I still appreciated some of the additions to the battle system. One of these new features is the ability to raise monster characters.

In Dragon Quest V, you can obtain monster characters by winning battles when you're at a high enough level. If you can clearly demonstrate your ability to send slimes packin', they'll willingly join your party after battle. If you choose to say yes, the slime you've obtained will either join your party, enter your wagon (where your back-up party members are lazing about), or go to your local monster rancher.

Even though you can only have a four-member party, you can have a back-up set of monsters to get you out of sticky situations. Fortunately, all characters in your wagon gain levels along with the four characters in your party, so you don't have to worry about leveling up monsters you rarely use, separately.

Unlike in Pokémon, capturing good monsters isn't much of a hassle. You don't need any special Pokéballs to capture that King Slime you want--you merely need to defeat him when you're at a high enough level. I was able to find a decent band of monsters including two strong fighters and a healer/fighter hybrid in a matter of minutes, so it's unnecessary to spend hours searching for a particular creature. However, if players want to collect Dragon Quest V's 100+ monsters, there's plenty of replay value to be found.

As you probably gathered earlier, I prefer having human characters over monsters, so I was happy to obtain more human allies in the latter portion of the adventure. As in Dragon Quest IV, these characters had an assortment of useful spells (once they gained enough levels anyway), so I preferred them to my monsters who typically had limited skill sets. Fortunately, gaining levels with these human allies wasn't a chore, because I could keep them in my back-up party until their levels were comparable to that of my hero.

Even though Dragon Quest V contained numerous dungeons and monster hunting, there were only brief periods where the game felt like a chore. Some dungeons were a pain to trudge through (especially due to their lack of save points), but I never had to spend hours running around in circles to gain levels. Fortunately, fighting most battles in my path was enough for me to stand a chance against the game's final boss. Enix apparently learned their lesson after Dragon Quest IV by making the end less of a grindfest, and by giving us a boss with less than seven forms.

It took me nearly twenty-three hours to beat Dragon Quest V, but that was without completing the game's numerous side quests. I did seek out carefully hidden uber-gear, but there were some lengthy casino and board game-like mini-games that I chose to ignore. It wasn't that these were bad games--they just weren't my thing.

After experiencing most of what Dragon Quest V has to offer, I can safely recommend it to fans of Super NES RPGs, Pokémaniacs, and those who prefer games with a unique storytelling approach. I didn't enjoy Dragon Quest V quite as much as its predecessor, which featured a revolutionary chapter system that told characters' stories from their own perspectives, but it was still a generally solid experience. If I had designed Dragon Quest V, I would have done away with a few seemingly pointless dungeons to remove some of the drag I experienced, but the occasional dull moment was worth trudging through to experience this generational tale. Besides, what journey into adulthood isn't without its trials?

Score: 8.5

Pros:

• One of the only RPGs that spans generations
• Being able to choose your wife and father children
• Dragon Quest V has a darker tone than its predecessor
• Features humorous, accented dialogue
• Soothing musical tracks enhance the experience
• You can recruit monsters as party members
• Features more colorful lands than its predecessor (the cherry blossoms are stunning)
• You rarely have to grind

Cons:

• Too much dungeon crawling
• Some players may find the accented dialogue offensive
• You have to spend a significant portion of the game without human allies
• Underwhelming side-quests (unless you like gambling and bland caves)
• The basic story outline isn't that impressive

Did you know? Dragon Quest V is the second part of the Zenithia trilogy that begins with Dragon Quest IV.