A Heavenly Game!Intro:
This is my favorite Dragon Quest game, and my second favorite game (my favorite game being MOTHER 3). This Dragon Quest game was not originally released here for the Super Nintendo, but eventually the world had the chance to experience this gem in the wonderful DS remake, but didn't sell very well (it did okay). This is such a shame, the reason for this (not releasing on the SNES, that is) was because Enix of America gave up on selling RPGs here. If they released it here at the time, people would probably see why this game is so amazing!
Presentation:
The presentation of the game overall is nice. The soundtrack is one of Sugiyama's greatest, with tunes that will never leave your head....EVER. A few rememberable compositions are the Over-world theme (fitting for when you are going to the next town), the Faerie world theme (It is so..bouncy and jolly, it makes me just wanna dance!), the Boat theme (it is very fitting for its nautical melody), and the Castle theme (really fitting as well, for it is fanfare-like tune). The graphics on the other hand, are...okay. They didn't really improve much compared to the NES games, besides colour, which is still "solid." In game like Chrono Trigger, for example, you could look at any character's face and see many shades of a colour. This game just uses a single block of colour (or two colours) for each area. (Look at screenshots for further analysis). Nevertheless, the graphics are still suitable. While the graphics are average, the soundtrack of the game makes up for it, resulting in (as stated) a nice presentation.
Addictiveness:
Once I started this game, I was determined to complete it from the start. The story engaged me in such a way that I felt a "bond" with the Hero. The game also has replay value, because during the game you choose your own bride. (Tenkuu no Hanayome means Hand of the Heavenly Bride). In the game you also get to recruit monsters, which leads to dozens and dozens of parties and a range of how difficult the game will be (depending on the monsters you catch, that is) (a monster list is here: [url]http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/snes/dq5/monstercatch.shtml[/url] which is by Kagon and Hiryuu). On the DS version of the game, I played it on an eight hour car ride nonstop (I'm not even kidding)! And also, there is a casino with very addictive mini games, which lead to excellent prizes.
Story:
IN DEPTH EXPLANATION (SPOILERS): The story is about The life of a boy, from infant to adult. It starts off when Lord Papas is waiting anxiously for the arrival of his child. His wife, Martha, finally gives birth, but then states she doesn't feel well. The next day, she is nowhere! The story then jumps to 6 years later, and the baby, (for the remainder of this review he will be entitled as "Madason"), is now a little kid, on a journey with his father Papas. While on their journey, Madason and his friend Henry, the Prince of Reinhart, get confronted by Gema, an evil cult. Papas comes to the rescue, but Gema threatens to kill Madason if Papas attacks. Gema sends his minions to kill Papas, with Papas's final words to Madason are "Your mother is still alive!". Madason and Henry then become slaves for Gema's cult following. Ten years pass, and Henry and Madason escape with another slave, Maria, in a barrel, and end up in a nunnery. Eventually, (I'm skipping some events) Madason gets married (To either Flora, a rich woman, or Bianca, a childhood friend) and has kids. His son, (Let's call him Parry) is actually a chosen Zenithian hero, who will stop Gema's group and save Martha. The following night, Flora/Bianca disappears! Madason finds out she was actually kidnapped by Gema's minions. He journeys out to save her, and confronts the culprit. But to their dismay, Madason and his wife then get turned to stone by Gema's minions. Later, some thieves find the statues of the couple and them at an auction (with Madason being bought by a man at the auction). His wife instead is taken by Gema....OH NO! Ten years later, Madason's children find him in the man's courtyard and turn him to normal. Madason and his children then try to get to Gema's sky temple, but to do that, they need to revive the lost kingdom of Zenithia. Once they do (thanks to time travel) the party meets a man that transforms into a Dragon. He travels to Gema's sky temple with them, but learn Gema isn't the main villian. It is Ivol, a higher rank of Gema. Once the party defeats Ivol, Madason's wife is freed from her stone state, but Martha is still kidnapped. Madason later gains knowledge Martha was taken to the Demon World, and Martha begs Madason not to go (in a dream, of course). Not listening to her plead, Madason enters anyway. The party then travels to the "Evil Mountain" (that is probably the most creative name. Ever.) and sees a ghost of Martha and Papas, who give Madason words of encouragement and then travel to Heaven together. Madason then confronts the Demon King, Mildrath, and defeats him, which brings peace to the world! The game ends with Madason dancing with his wife. Is that the end? NO! You can still enter a "Bonus Dungeon" with a RIDICULOUSLY HARD boss (You might recognize him fron Dragon Quest IV, it is Esturk). Have fun!
QUICK EXPLANATION (SPOILER-FREE): It's the story of a man's life, going through from right when he is born, to parenthood. The game chronicles each event in this similar fashion.
Depth:
As shown by my explanation of the story above the game is an average amount for a super famicom game. It took me around 30 hours (my first time, my second took me 20). The game has a long side quest throughout the whole entire game which requires you in collecting mini-medals. They are scattered across the land, and depending on how much you collect, you can trade it in for different items. This side quest kept me busy for a long time! In the game, there is a casino in which you can gamble for more useful items, and may take a while to get the ones that cost 10000-50000 coins (if you're not a cheater). After you beat the game there is also an extra dungeon with Esturk as a boss (He is extremely hard)!
Difficulty:
This game is the easiest Dragon Quest, so if you've never played one, you should start here (I did). The game is fairly easy the whole time, but then takes a SHARP difficulty turn once you enter the Demon World (if you're not prepared, as in, equipment, or what monsters you have in your party, etc.). The "bonus dungeon" on the other hand, is...IMPOSSIBLE. I haven't beaten it yet, but I have faced Esturk. I died after a minute. This boss/dungeon is not required to beat the game though, so this results in a very easy game (but not post-game).
Overall:
This game has a great plot, is addictive with classic rpg/turn-based gameplay and replayability, has long side quests and an extra dungeon, amazing music, suitable graphics, and an easy difficulty (though can be hard if you don't catch powerful monsters). This game deserves the amazing score of 9.8
Graphics
7 Sound
10 Addictive
10 Depth
10 Story
10 Difficulty
4
User Notice 
-1.png "Dragon Quest V (English by DeJap) Title Screen")
-2-full.png "Dragon Quest V (English by DeJap) Screenshot 1")
.jpg "Dragon Quest V (English by DeJap) Box Art Front")
.jpg "Dragon Quest V (English by DeJap) Box Art Back")
-3.png "Dragon Quest V (English by DeJap) Screenthot 2")
-2.png "Dragon Quest I & II (English Translation)"){kind=spacer}
-2.png "Dragon Quest VI (English Translation)"){kind=spacer}
-2-full.png "Dragon Quest 3 (English RC1 Beta)")
-2-full.png "Lennus II - Fuuin no Shito (English translation)"){kind=spacer}
-2-full.png "Laplace no Ma (English beta 0.95)")
-2-full.png "Romancing SaGa 3 (English beta 0.30)")
-2-full.png "Sweet Home (English by Gaijin Productions)")
-2-full.png "Final Fantasy III (english translation)"){kind=spacer}
-2.png "Sted (English Translation)"){kind=spacer}
