DRAGON QUEST V

In a time when RPGs are obsessed with slick cutscenes and cinematic intros, Dragon Quest V kicks down the door, hands you a wooden stick, and quietly says, “This is your life now.” And what a life it is.

Originally a Japan-only treasure, DQV finally comes to Western hands 17 years later, and not a pixel of its heart has aged. You start as a child adventuring with your dad, grow into a man, choose a wife (yes, seriously), raise kids, and try to stop a timeless evil while bonding with slimes, sabrecats, and every monster in between. It’s Pokémon meets Shakespeare, if Shakespeare had casinos.

There’s something strangely radical about how Dragon Quest V lets its story breathe. Time skips? Check. Real emotional stakes? Absolutely. A floating barrel that’ll break you emotionally? You bet. The grind can be brutal and the menus feel like they were coded by ghosts, but none of that matters when the story hits this hard.

You’ll lose hours to mini-games like “Bruise the Ooze” and “Treasures ‘n’ Trapdoors,” then another dozen recruiting monsters for your party. And when your kid finally joins the fight and throws hands with a demon lord? You’ll cry. Guaranteed.

Yes, it’s old. Yes, it’s clunky. But Dragon Quest V is an RPG that earns every minute of its 100-hour journey. And if that sounds like too much? You’re not the hero it’s waiting for.