The Best Nintendo Game Every Year 1983 - 2024
33. 1992 - Dragon Quest V
It’s important to note that the likes of Zelda and Final Fantasy don’t get to where they are without Yuji Horii and Dragon Quest. The originator of the Japanese RPG, most entries in the franchise are in the running for gold in their respective years.
But Dragon Quest V was particularly special.
The game starts with the birth of the player character and follows them through the transitional moments of their life; the death of their parents, marriage and childbirth, and a search for identity that pervades through it all. Your wife and kids being part of the story and playable characters, rather than a roving pack of wandering heroes, was a simple stroke of genius. It makes for an incredibly intimate and personal tale set within the familiar framework of a bombastic adventure
On top of this, the adventure introduces the now-series staple monster-collecting to serve as the bulk of your party and a revised and more customisable tactics system for battles.
Sure, Dragon Quest V was criticised for not evolving its visuals or UI as a debut entry for the system. However, it was easy to forgive the game’s faults when the story was this touching and personal.
The only thing unforgivable was making players outside of Japan wait over sixteen years for a port!