Info

Dragon Quest is said to be the "bread and butter" of RPG games, and Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is one of thethose that gave it its reputation. It's a remake of the original Dragon Quest V for the SNES which never made it to Western audiences. It features some new plot twists, updated graphics (compared to the original), and new items such as knick-knacks to collect and trade with other Dragon Quest V players.

Gameplay

Dragon Quest V has a large medieval open-world, with lots of kingdoms and towns dotted around. There are also about 200 different monsters to fight, and around 50 to try and recruit. That way there's always a new place to explore, new enemies to destroy, and new friends to make. In addition to the monsters, the game has a lot of human characters that can be recruited and join your party. The game's turn-based gameplay depends on the HP (hit points) and MP (magic points) of each fighter. While some characters' main focus is to attack and survive, others may rely more on their MP to heal other party members and cast supportive and/or battle spells. One of the few cons about this game is the cluttered items menu. After collecting a lot of items, the party bag and individual characters' bags get cluttered with scattered items and equipment, this also makes finding and equipping the best armor for each party member difficult, since you can't see any equipment that might have ended up in the wrong character's bag.

Story

Most RPG games need a good story. Dragon Quest does not have a good story, but a great one! The story has a very interesting and absorbing plot. You start your adventure as young boy who's traveling with his much more experienced dad to try and search for something. The story is long, yet engaging, and as the story grows with shocking events so does your character with age. At one point in the story, you even get to get married to one of three possible wives (hence the name of the game). The story is slightly different for each bride, giving you a reason to play the game once again.

Graphics/Music

Hand of the Heavenly Bride has significantly improved graphics compared to the original Dragon Quest V. When walking around inside towns and dungeons the camera can be turned 360° to reveal the 3D graphics of the place. The battle animations are not very good, but it makes up for it for it with nice character and monster art. The music is great, original, fitting, but it falls a little in the quality of sound effects.

Play Time

It's important for a game (or most games) to have a good amount of fulfilled play (not repetitive play). Dragon Quest V has relatively little to no bonus features, but it will still fulfill enough play time to make it worthwhile. And, like I said before, the game has some replayability with three slightly different alternate stories.

Overall (out of 10)Gameplay- 8.5
Story- 10
Graphics- 8
Music- 9.4
Play Time-8
Overall-8.7

Final recommendations:

Dragon Quest fans will love this game. However, if you're not already a fan of turn-based RPG games, Dragon Quest V might not be the best start, as there are better Dragon Quest titles.
Final Statement: It's a solid game