Anniversary: Dragon Quest V Is 30 Years Old Today

Was never really into romancing in games so I didn’t bother getting too far into this one. I really liked the presentation of VI on the DS. Much preferred over V.

But II will always be my favorite Pixel remaster when?

I would love to have this on Switch. Couldn't they at least port the mobile/DS version?

Love DQ so much!

@chipia I mean, the screen has room for it. Put top screen on left, bottom screen on right, make them interchangeable for preference. Seems like a no brainer to me!

Played this on the DS and I also played the PS2 version just a few months ago (Which, my recommendation is to just stick with the DS version).

It's a great game for sure but personally I do prefer 4 and 3 when it comes to this series.

Would be awesome to have a port or remastered of this for Switch and PC even though I already got them all on DS and 3DS. The entire Dragon Quest 4-9 needs a Switch remastered collection, it's injustice that these games are stuck on the DS and 3DS for so long.

Last year I played Dragon Quest 4 on both NES and DS. (DS version is way way better).
I recently managed to acquire the (very expensive) DS version of DQ5, so I may very well give it a go one of these days.

They need to do a Dragon Quest IV-VI collection on Switch to follow on from the I-III collection. Been trying to get the DS releases for years and only got VI.

I can't wait for the article where you tell me the switch is 30 years old! Yay I'm ancient! Thanks for making me feel old!

VI and IV are my favorites but V is pretty amazing.

V’s story was my favorite by far in the series. I have played DQ since the 1st game on NES, and I have more nostalgia for other entries in the series. But of the games I’ve played thru V had the best story, to me.

@Mauzuri It's probably not for you, the game was meant to be old school, weird and wacky, and generic. It had a very medievel European flavor to its story and presentation, something the Japanese and the Asian culture loves but not the European audience themselves.

Is Dragon Quest V worth to play on the SFC, or do you guys recommend just going off of the DS version?

Are both versions at least similar graphically?

@BloodNinja The mobile version has only one screen. For Switch they just have to change the camera orientation.

I know this is not a popular opinion, but I actually enjoyed VI more than V. Sure, V had a better storyline, but I found the boss battles in VI to be more challenging. I felt like I mostly coasted through V with little difficulty.

I played it on DS and loved it. I married Debora, which is 100% worth it – she's hilarious. I sold my copy last year for $300 because I couldn't justify keeping it at that price, but I might get the mobile port at some point if I feel like playing it again. As others have said, the DS/mobile version would be great on Switch.

@chipia Say. No. To. Mobile. Versions. Of. Classic. Games.

I got this one for the DS and to this day it's still one of my favorite RPGs. The story, the monster taming and the general charm make something really special.

Also, it's kind of a minor thing but I always loved the protagonist's design with the purple turban and the fact that he mainly weilds a staff instead of a sword. Saber is also another incredibly iconic design.

My favourite Dragon Quest.

Put all the DS games on Switch plz k thnx.

Wow, what a coincidence. Not even an hour ago, I decided to finally dig into this game (on the DS). I had no idea. Happy birthday!

@BloodNinja I know, right?? Weird that they're remaking III (again) but skipping I & II.
If I had the time, I would love to try to hack I & II and the newer translations into one of the DS engines, or maybe try to at least fix the terribly scaled graphics in the newer mobile versions. Yuck. (the 3DS ports are even WORSE)
Hopefully SE will get to it long before I do... ¬_¬

@EarthboundBenjy I got IV and V pretty cheap from one of the Black Friday sales at the Square Enix store...but they didn't have VI =( Found a loose cart of it at Game Stop for $30, still need a case for it (maybe manual too, if possible).

@Magrane Graphics and music are completely overhauled for the DS remake. I'm usually a "the original was better" kind of guy, but I really do love the DQ remakes...I got about halfway through DQIV NES before switching to the DS re-remake.

This is ridiculously expensive on ds. Eventually I will get it for around 100 pounds or just under. It is insane that it costs so much but if it is as good as they say, it's prob worth paying for more than 4 and 6 put together

Not the best Dragon Quest, but certainly the best 2D one. Melody of Love is one of the greatest tunes in the series.

Happy birthday to one of the best games of all time.

I played the DS version a while ago and picked Bianca cause she had the most well rounded personality out of the three and was the canon option.
I love this game and couldn't recommend it enough to people that like RPGs and I hope it gets a remake in the future; either in HD 2D or in DQ11's engine.

Also if you're planning on playing this please just emulate the DS version, its not worth playing hundreds of dollars for a single game no matter how good it is, being a DQ fan is unfortunately pretty expensive. Also the PS2 version did not age well at all.

@BloodNinja @chipia
Blood Ninja, normally I agree with you here but...
If the mobile version:
A) Is very well ported
B) Does not have micro transactions (pay once and own)
C) Does not have ads
Then I am okay with it.
The 16-bit DQ mobile ports were very well done and the type of game DQ is works well enough on a touch screen.

Enix must've had a localization kicking around for some time back in the day. Some mail-order sellers had the game listed as "coming soon" as late as 1995.

It is arguably the best Dragon Quest yes, up there with VIII and XI, the game is just so very good.

NintendoLife's weekly reminder: You are Old (or getting there).

So wait, this game has actual marriage? Like with options to choose from, instead of one option and then a group of party members that just live with you after your quest like in DQXI? Because that was one thing that bugged me about an otherwise perfect game, was that I couldn't marry Erik, and he could only live with me, oh and I guess the fact that I could only marry Gemma.

I'm literally playing it right now.
I'm like 13 hours in. I take my time so I'm at the beginning still.

@Boldfoxrd I picked up 4 5 and 6 back in 2016.
they were like 20 bucks a pop then at the store that goes unnamed here.

@Doctor-Moo Now you got me wondering how much my sealed copy is worth!

I was planning to get around to it one of these decades, but if I can get the price of a Switch for it, then I'll just do that and emulate the game, lol.

@MJF same thing, got those games during a Black Friday or Christmas sale, then got 8 and 9 a couple of years later for the same thing. Had no idea they'd fly up in value that much at the time.

@KayFiOS Yeah, you choose between three potential brides a little ways into the game (DS version, only two in the SFC and PS2 versions). Unfortunately you only get to know one of the three before you pick so the decision is skewed hard in Bianca's favor, but the choice is cool for replays regardless.

One of my personal favorites. DQV is legendary, don't care how you do it, just play it.

@Asaki Indeed! And excellent icon

@Gitface Under those guidelines, I agree.

5 to me was better then 3 a very long quest...

Played it just a few years ago and was blown away by the storytelling. Way above the typical DQ fare, especially for that era.
Although in typical DQ fashion there’s not much buildup to the true boss.

graphically and the one Im most interested in, x but never played it

played switch xi but 3ds chibi graphics are better and seems like a cozier game overall

thanks square

DQV didn't quite live up to all the hype in my mind, but I still had a lot of fun with it. It's Dragon Quest, after all! Can't go wrong there. I played it on DS a year or two ago, and I'd love to see it brought to the Switch in any form. I married Nera in my run personally, though it was tough to choose between her and Bianca. I liked that the romance played a big role in both the plot and gameplay as opposed to just feeling thrown in. I feel like romance options in JRPGs tend to be very hit or miss, but I think DQV handled it very well. I do want to do another run at some point and choose Bianca just to see how that goes!

"I don't really need it right now. I'll pick it up for cheap when it's used," I said...

5 is definitely the best of the 2D Dragon Quests. Whether it's better than 8 or 11 is up to personal taste.

Played the Super Famicom fan translation, the DS version and then finally a few years ago I finally played through the PS2 remake as well.

Not one of my favorite DQ games but its a good and memorable title, and the music is just amazing.

I wish they would release some ports of dragon quest iv-vi, ds versions are hard to get and their prices are ridiculous, and playing on smartphone doesn't seem appealing to me.

@Asaki Thank you for that. I think I’m going to play the original (translated) version first then dive into the DS one.

@Magrane I think I'm going to, as well. Plus, stupid Long Covid's got my eyes blurring again, so it's difficult looking at my smaller DS screens.

There are two different translations for the SFC version, BTW. One is supposed to be a bit more loose, but I think I'm going to go with the more literal one, just because Byuu did the programming (R.I.P.).

Just playing through the intro a bit, the two translations don't seem vastly different from each other, and they're not too far off from the official translation either.

@Asaki thank you for that comparison! Where would the literal one be found?

@Magrane This one: https://www.romhacking.net/translations/342/

I was playing through a tiny bit more of the other translation, and I think it's just a bit -too- loose for my tastes. This "more literal" one has a couple tiny bugs in it (sometimes text boxes will have an extra blank paragraph), but nothing that's been a problem so far, and I like the translation a whole lot better.

I'm playing on real hardware though, so Idunno if the blank text boxes happen in emulation too.

Awesome game. DQ6 felt like a bit of a letdown after this one imo.