Simply put, one of the most AMAZING R.P.G. video game experiences available to play! :D
User Rating: 10 | Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome DS
Although I have had the fortunate pleasure of playing many different video games from many different video game series, I have to be honest in admitting that other than "Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime;" I have never played an actual "Dragon Quest" video game. That has changed with my triumphing over this game! :D I REALLY can't understand WHY this game was NOT released in the U.S. shortly after it was released in Japan, on Japan's equivalent of the Super N.E.S. no less! :shock: Then again, there's a good chance I wouldn't have been able to beat this game in the 1990's. The objectives of what the main characters have to do throughout the story can be a little confusing if the player is unsure of what exactly has to be done next in order to advance through the game. I really have to thank the Internet for all the advice I gleaned in order to win over this game; a strategy that I have not needed to use for any game prior, although it's probably safe to say that I wouldn't hesitate to use the strategy again if I had to! :lol: Anyways, this video game is very different from many other games of its type, and in a good way, too! 8) The way it is different is in just HOW deeply written the story is, and not only is it deep, but the story is very good to, as it really shows the main characters being able to progress throughout the story. The most important character in this game is a (male) character that can be totally customized by the player. In this way, the game feels more personal to the player in the simple fact; that in a matter of speaking, the player IS the hero questing throughout the game. The male character starts out as a young boy, traveling throughout a strange world with his father Pankraz, who is secretly a King of a place called Gotha Castle, and the world is filled with many strange monsters and maze dungeons to quest through, and to explore. The hero is on a quest to find his mother. On his journeys, he meets a young girl called Bianca, a saber cat tiger named Sabre, a helpful fairy named Honey, and a young rapscallion Prince named Harry. The first phase (or generation) of the game ends when the heroes are unable to destroy a deadly enemy by the name of Bishop Ladja, Sabre is turned wild and feral, King Pankraz is killed, and the hero and Prince Harry are captured by the Bishop's lackeys and forced into slavery. Fast-forward ten years later, the Hero and Prince Harry are still slaves, forced to work in hard labor to build a temple, for some great, nefarious purpose. With the help of a girl named Maria, the trio manage to escape the shackles of slavery, and they wind up in a place called Heaven's Above Abbey. From here, is where the game gets REALLY interesting! :) The game gets more customizable after that point, as the hero is free to go wherever he (AKA: the player) wants to go (although there are certain recommended places he should go in a certain order, so that he is NOT totally destroyed by tougher bad guys!) :idea: The first stop is a city of Fortuna, where the hero can buy a wagon and a helpful book on a list of all the monsters that the hero can meet while traveling around the world. The reason the hero buys a wagon, is because it gives him the ability to recruit certain monsters who will offer to reform their monstrous ways, and help the hero out on what becomes THEIR journey, as well as the hero's! :!: (Personally, I recommend recruiting at the VERY least, a Slime, a Knight Slime, a Dracky, a Lazy Eyes, a Golem, a Brownie, a Rotten Apple, an Orc King, and a Moustafa, not necessarily in that order.) The main goals to accomplish in this phase (or generation) of the game, is to help Prince Harry reclaim his kingdom, recruit Sabre with the help of Bianca's Ribbon, learn the Zoom spell, accept a 'Wedding Quest' on behalf of the rich Mr. Briscolotti, choose a bride (I recommend marrying for TRUE Love, not money, by choosing Bianca, especially since she has the ADVANTAGE of having already leveled up from fights that occurred back in the first generation, gain the Zenithinian Sword and Shield, pass the Trial of becoming the King of Gotha, start a family, and try to rescue your wife from a kidnapping by the evil Bishop Ladja! The second phase/generation of this game ends with Bishop Ladja turning the King and Queen into stone, a spell that lasts for eight long years! It's finally broken by the King's son and daughter (who have default names, but they can be changed into something different at the initial naming.) In order to bring true peace and prosperity back into the world, the three main characters need to find the Zenithinian Helmet, level up (a lot!!!!), eventually destroy the Monster Bjorn in order to gain the Ultimate Key, look for previously locked away treasures, rescue a man named Dr. Agon, find the Fairy Palace, go back in time, re-obtain the Golden Orb (from the younger Hero!), raise Zenithia back into the sky, head into the Dragon Temple, obtain the Dragon Orb, use the Orb on Dr. Agon to turn him into the Zenithinian Dragon, head to the Temple of the Zugzwang Believers, obtain the Zenithinian Armor, cure the hero's wife of her petrification, obtain the Circle of Life, open the gateway into the underworld of Nadira, level up more (I recommend at least Level 43 for the Hero, Level 40+ for the Hero's son, Level 43 for the Knight Slime, and high Level 30's for any other character that is available at the moment, make sure that all the characters are equipped with the best armor, weapons, healing/magic restoring and life restoring items possible, and defeat both Bishop Ladja and the ultimate enemy, Grandmaster Nizmo!!!! :D It's a long journey, but the graphics are absolutely incredible (they look especially stunning on a Nintendo 3DS XL,) the music is amazing, and there is certainly no shortage of side quests and/or bonus games that can be played, which equals for many hours of fun (in my case, about 86, but I was enjoying the time I was taking) which all equals to one great game experience that I highly recommend to players who are fans of GREAT R.P.G. games; especially games that have characters and monsters designed by famed, legendary Anime Master and creator of "Chrono Trigger," the "Dragon Quest" video game series, and the legendary "Dragonball Z!!!!" :!: This game is absolutely EPIC and will NEVER disappoint ANYONE who plays it! I did, and I absolutely ENJOYED it! 8) Enough said, true believers! ;)
