Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

To quote Bud Light's dumb catchphrase, "here we go!" The first three Dragon Quest games ranged from not-so-good to decent, but after skipping ahead to one of the most acclaimed entries in the series, I can see what the hype is about. Dragon Quest V has all the trappings of a classic top-down RPG straight out of the 16-bit days, and its DS remake made for an all-around very enjoyable role-playing experience. There's still a few odd choices that I assume will stick around throughout the Dragon Quest series like silent protagonists and first-person view in battle, but in every other way this is a huge step up from the first three games. First off, there's some unique storytelling elements- the game is divided into three parts as you control the protagonist at three different times in his life- starting with a fast-paced journey through the world as a little kid with your father in search of a 'legendary hero', then again 15 years later, and finally a third long after that. It wasn't quite Chrono Trigger where you get to hop around through time and change the past, but it was pretty cool to see the changes in the world as time passes. Also along the way, you get married to a woman of your choosing, who then joins in with your party. Sure, something like that is old hat at this point, but for 1992 when the game first came out that's an impressive level of customization. Speaking of which, Dragon Quest V also basically set the table for the Pokemon franchise that would come out five years later- for most of the game you only have one or two set members in a 4-man party, so some monsters will randomly request to join your party. By endgame they're usually not viable main-party members, but it's another cool level of customization- any non-boss enemy can join the team, so many people play the game in a 'catch-em-all' style. Other than that, it's classic RPG trappings all the way. The grind-y nature of the previous games has been toned down, and there's no ridiculous quests that require use of a walk-through- Dragon Quest V is a no-bullshit game. Also of note- this is one of the few RPGs that I felt really encouraged experimenting with magic spells. Usually when I play an RPG I'm going all-out on the offensive, but buff and defense spells in Dragon Quest V actually felt effective and worth using. I was really hoping that things would improve after the Loto Trilogy (the lightly-connected first three Dragon Quest games) with the Zenithia Trilogy (4-6, even more lightly connected apparently), and it looks like this is so. I'll step back and play Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen sometime in the next few months.