4.5/5 ★ – Lancey's review of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is a remake from an old SNES game that was never released for Americans. It is worth the wait if you like the older structure that RPG's used to have. The graphics are gorgeous, with an awesome mix of 2D and 3D. the sprites are adorable, and the towns are intracate in their design. No real complaints about the graphics. The Sound is a mix of both old and new. The music is quite new sounding, with a full orchestra playing many of the more grand tunes. The tunes aren't particularly memorable, but they are quite nice to listen to. The sound effects are a lot more old school, sounding almost 8 bit at points. However, this enhances the nostalgic presentation of the game, rather than detract from its quality. The story is, basically, a typical old school RPG. You are the main hero, chosen by destiny (well, in this case, you aren't. You're searching for the hero.) to defeat an evil demon lord person. However, this game starts out in the character's childhood. You meet many friends and people as you travel with your father Pankraz. The personal element makes the story much more enjoyable than it ought to be. The gameplay holds very little surprises. Random encounters, exploring towns and dungeons, grinding for gold, leveling up and more await you. If you hate this kind of RPG, the game will do nothing to change your mind. But if you love it, this game is right up your alley. A random luck based monster catching system helps to add some customization to the otherwise linear character/ party progression. Addiitonally, there are some side tasks, like finding Mini Medals for great rewards, gambling at some casinos, playing a life size board game and more! The game is quite enjoyable as long as you like the older presentation style. I'd reccomend it to anyone who likes games like Final Fantasy and Pokemon.