Product Description

Born a prince but raised a pauper, you will know tragedy long before triumph. Do not be daunted though, for you will become a man on this path through adversity and hardship, and through your life's work, the world shall once more know hope...

The fifth chapter in the legendary adventure series comes to Europe for the first time, complete with updated 3D graphics and orchestral sound. Live the life of a true hero and go on a generation-spanning quest, taking you from childhood to fatherhood and beyond!

• The first appearance of a never-before-seen, classic Dragon Quest adventure in Europe!
• Experience a unique, charming story that follows the life of a young boy on his journey to become a hero. Along the way you will meet various friends, enemies, and even find a bride and build a family!
• A vast, beautiful and colourful world to explore - with even more colourful characters to meet, monsters to battle and secret treasures to find!
• A complete audio/visual overhaul breathes new life into a classic with advanced 3D graphics and an arranged orchestral score.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1860 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Square Enix
• Released on: 2009-02-20
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Format: Unknown format
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
Beloved by role-playing game fans around the world, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is the second installment in the Dragon Quest, Zenithia Trilogy. Follow a journey that crosses three generations of a family's legacy in a classic Nintendo DS RPG brimming with new ideas, numerous lands to explore, multiple branches to enhance replayability, and dozens of your favorite Dragon Quest monsters.

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Story
In Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, what begins as an innocent childhood voyage of a boy accompanying his father on a journey soon develops into an eye-opening adventure of a brave young man traveling the world as he faces life-altering decisions that transcend generations. You - a hero in the making - determine your own path, choose your wife, and befriend a wagonload of quirky monsters along the way. Indulge in the colorful Dragon Quest world created by Yuji Horii, combined with the charming characters and monsters designed by Akira Toriyama and memorable soundtrack from famed composer Koichi Sugiyama to create an unforgettable gaming experience.

Characters
Although players will make the acquaintance of many characters and monsters throughout during their travels, here are just a few of the faces they can hope to see.

	Young Hero (You) As a child you discover a world filled with bizarre creatures and fantastical realms while traveling with your father. The owner of a truly pure heart, you have an unusual affinity with monsters.
	Pankraz Pankraz is your father, with whom you travel with as a boy. He has a hardened look and a talent for magic. What is the purpose of his quest? There is more to Pankraz than meets the eye.
	Young Bianca You meet young Bianca in the town of Roundbeck while traveling with your father. Bianca is one of your oldest friends and has an animated personality overflowing with curiosity.
	Great Sabrecub Saved from the hands of the town bullies as a cub by you (The Hero), this great sabrecub travels and fights by your side during his youth and will mature along with you.

Gameplay
Although Hand of the Heavenly Bride is based in standard turn-based RPG gameplay mechanics like character leveling through with increased experience points and armor and weapon equipping for use in combat, it does add something new to the Dragon Quest series, monster taming. Throughout your quests you will encounter monsters both known and new to the Dragon Quest universe. Once tamed, these can join your party, level up just like your other party members and provide valuable aid in combat.

Key Game Features:

• Journey through a beautifully rendered 3D world, with dynamic dual-screen presentation and newly animated monsters.
• Recruit a unique cast of Dragon Quest monsters and create an indestructible party of your own.
• Brace yourself for some life-altering decision making - a key decision will affect the outcome of the game, and change the course of the hero's life forever.
• Take a breather from the main quest with addicting mini-games like Bruise the Ooze, T 'n' T, the Slurpodrome, and the Tombola.
• Collect and customize knick-knacks from around the Dragon Quest world to create a personalized knick-knackatory.
• Use the wireless capabilities of Nintendo DS to exchange in-game creations and one-of-a-kind collection of rare items with friends.

Customer Reviews

An epic tale of a brave family
Once voted as the best Dragon Quest of the lot in Japan, it was the first DQ instalment on Japanese SNES and it quickly became popular. That's saying something, especially in those days when every new release was met with a stampede of impatient gamers skipping school and work to get their mitts on a copy.

And I can see why.

All the trademark Dragon Quest/Warrior charm is intact. The world has a cosy, homey feel to it which seeps through my skin to the point that, at the end, I was sorry to have to leave. I dipped myself into it so deeply that it became scary to come back out into real life. Some NPCs can't quite take themselves seriously, with their juvenile sense of humour you'd come to expect, yet peculiarly they are always ever so excruciatingly likable and heart warming. Classical, Baroque style music is beautiful too, complementing its already-cosy feeling.

At times Dragon Quest V is a grind, both in experience and money, but the strange coexistence of its trademark quirk and passion somehow glue everything together to lure you back again and again. This is further reinforced by a remarkable story - a story I would dare not give away here - which is truly Epic to say the least. The span of generations and the depth of main characters are remarkable.

Sentimentalism is sometimes lost on me in recent years, but this brought it right back for me. I would beg you not to read any spoilers or hear anything about the story from your friends/colleagues/family/priests as you will enjoy it far more that way. I thought DQIV was pretty good, but for me, in depth this one blows it out of the water. It's tempting to give a fuller explanation, but it's so hard to do so without mentioning the story as it is pivotal in this journey. So I'll leave it to you to discover it. I trust that you will not regret it.

The game system/battle is good too, but be warned that it remains to be old school. Or rather, typically Dragon-Quest-esque (if that's the right word). You are presented with a simple interface that sometimes feels a bit fiddly, especially with items, but it's a small detail that you can overlook - or even grow fond of. The battle too has a simple presentation, but this time the monster animation is very pleasant to the eye and deepens your involvement. This sort of system really grows on me. It's interesting how simplicity, in today's complicated world, can work well and complements even a mammoth title like DQV.

Oh, and later on you will acquire the ability to befriend monsters who you can nurture like a character. It felt a bit like a gimmick at first, but this turns out to be expansive and I haven't yet uncovered everything despite the fact that I've completed it. I suspect you would be in a similar position the first time, so clearly there is a replay/lasting value here.

Overall, it's a very fine game and a highly refined package. If you like console RPGs and don't mind an old school grind, this title will reward you hugely with its mesmerizing tale of an awesome family ... and the bride.

Better than number 4
Yet again a Dragon Quest game has stopped me doing all the things a 48 year old woman should be doing in her home and for her family. I had to peel myself away from it to get meals etc - not good when you're a diabetic I hasten to add. This is just brilliant and what games should be. Too many focus on stealing and killing these days and we wonder why our young people are doing that in the real world. The characters are believable and likeable, the graphics superb and the story as good as many books I've read, if not better. This is just fantastic.

i love it.
this game has a beautifull story told with a lot of heart.the characters are great i really liked them.as its a remake of an old game theres a bit of grinding to be done but it was'nt to bad and mostly happens organically when you get stuck on a dungeon.there are also a few puzzle's to mix things up.i've only played this and chapters of the chosen from the dragon quest games and this the better of the two.but their both great games and im now a massive fan.im going to have to borrow my nephews ps2 so i can play dragon quest viii and the sooner part 9 comes out on ds the better.