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Dragon
Quest V
Developer:
Armor Project/Chunsoft/Enix
Publisher:
Enix (1992, SNES)
As
of this writing, there are eight installments in Enix's Dragon
Quest series, all of which are notable to some extent. While most
longtime Final Fantasy fans can probably agree that FFVI
(or FFVII, depending on who you talk to) was the standout of
the series, the line grows much blurrier with the Dragon Quest
games.
This may seem a bit strange to those outside the DQ fan
circle. The series has prided itself on its consistency in every
aspect from its game world to its character designs to its soundtrack
to its battle system, yet each of them remains distinctive to those
that know and love them.
Dragon
Quest III is heralded by Japanese gamers as one of the best
titles on the Famicom for its then-epic plot and customizable
characters, while others prefer Dragon Quest IV for its
chapter-based storytelling and memorable cast of characters.
Most
English fans may more fondly remember 2005's Dragon Quest VIII,
which finally gave into modern influence by featuring luscious
cel-shaded graphics, a cinematic battle system, and, for the American
release, splendidly charming voice acting.
Yet
amongst the entire series, one of the most significant is the
Japan-only Dragon Quest V. Coming of age is a common theme in
JRPGs, yet never has it been executed so magnificently as Dragon
Quest V. Your hero starts as a young child, barely unable to
fight a pack of slimes on his own without his father's help, and goes
on crazy adventures before even learning to read.
By the end of the
game, he's lived through a slave labor camp, explored the world,
fallen in love, raised a family, and entered into another evil
dimension, for the sake of not only saving the world, but growing up.
Effectively, it's the RPG equivalent of an epic, detailing the story
the story of three generations of heroes. Sega's Phantasy Star III
for the Genesis tried something similar around the same time, but
Dragon Quest V is a much more personal story, and also happens
to be a far stronger game overall.
Although
the game ditches the class system introduced in DQIII (later
reused for both DQVI and DQVII), it allows you to build
a party consisting of defeated monsters. Although it's a bit
haphazard trying to draft foes on to your team, it's a lot more
customizable than most RPGs when you have dozens of playable party
members at your disposal.
It's essentially the same mechanic used in
the Megami Tensei series, although it doesn't require that you
memorize huge charts of enemy abilities to succeed.
Far
too many games (including Dragon Quest's own spinoff, the
Monsters line, as well as Nintendo's Pokémon
series) focus on the monster collection as the primary game mechanic.
On the other hand, all subsequent Dragon Quest games have
utilized some similar method of drafting enemy monsters, but they're
largely afterthoughts to other character customization systems.
In
Dragon Quest V, it's so seamlessly integrated into the main
system, without becoming overwhelming, that it's a textbook example
of how to do the monster collection thing right.
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What about Star Ocean? Tales of Phantasia? The hentai RPGs? the horror RPGs? The intro talks big about "studying" the japanese rpg primers but the content seem more like one person's list of favorite rpg instead of a comprehensive overview.
There's a reason it's called an "opinion" piece... it's this guy's "opinion" of the top 20 JRPGs. And he did define the requirements to be included in the list early on.
To the Author,
Thank for this illumination. Sadly, I don't play as many RPGs as I would like, and Gamasutra continues to inform me about games that I never knew existed. This is no different. I agree and disagree about a few choices, but all-in-all it's a good read. Thanks!
Also, this list needs some Disgaea on it, or just any sort of recognition towards Nippon Ichi Software.
i would agree that the most obvious series not covered (as he did specifically define JRPG for the article) is something from the Tales series.
It really highlights the benefit of the genre, which is an almost absurd level of depth when it comes to atmosphere and a sense of a larger world.
The main frustration of this article is that the games I was not already familiar with are by in large titles that I can't purchase legitimately without throwing down a large amount of cash.
That said, I love ToP. I play both versions of Sakuraba's Solo on the piano :D
I haven't played a JRPG for quite some time (Dragon Quest VIII was my last), the reason being that I find the genre may have already past its best, recent titles just don't seem to have the edge that made many of the games on your list so memorable - though I suppose it could just be a bout of nostalgia kicking in.
Still, one thing's for sure: The article's made me fall in love with Skies of Arcadia again...oh and I had my weekend all planned out. Curse you and your eloquent words!
By the way, isn't Pokémon a JRPG? And I would have mentioned Lufia instead of Final Fantasy VIII. The game starts in the final tower, with your characters at level 70. Back in 1993, that was revolutionary.
Could have dropped FF all but Final Fantasy VI and replaced them with the above.
Final Fantasy V is far from essential.
Really the only one listed here that I don't agree with is Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Didn't care for the ring system much. It makes every action a gamble when things like using items and doing basic attacks shouldn't be.
I'm a huge SMT fan for many reasons and Nocturne had many small but key elements that made it by far my favourite game. One of which having a demon that can cast estoma and riberama for exploration and levelling up. Took a lot of the frustration from random encounters right out but kept a huge level of tension due to the brilliant difficulty level because you always had to be on the ball, and if you were even flicking on 'Auto' was a great feature.
The plot(s) also grabbed me more because not only was it complex, it was dark and sometimes optional. For me a guide is essential for this game because its absolutely huge.
Devil Summoner was also great as it had a fantastic and distinct atmosphere that almost felt tangible at times.
Anyway a fantastic list, some of which I havn't played. You can use this list as a must play quality RPG list.
AND Vagrant Story!?!? OMG and Secret of Mana and oh i'm sure everyone above me said something too that you didn't have. You really shouldn't have combined 4, 6 and 7 into one. And 5, 8, and 12 are HARDLY worth playing. Sorry Kurt, but your list fails.
The author seems heavily biased in favor of Square Enix games. I saw multiple Final Fantasies and such.
Still more into Computer RPGs myself, though.
PS you left one thing out -- its a bigger mystery than not releasing FF V, another Chrono, etc etc combined that Earthbound II(Mother 3 if you prefer) was indefinitely delayed, then pissed away on a Japanese Cell Phone.
Shame on you, NIntendo!!
Other than that I don't have much of a problem with the list at all. I would have grouped all the final fantasies together to make room for some others (yes I know a lot of FF games are very diffrent from each other, so sue me it's still the same name they should be together) but it's a minor gripe.