Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, also known as Dragon Quest: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride in Europe and Dragon Quest V: Bride of Heaven in Japan, is a 1992 role-playing video game created by Chunsoft and published by Enix for the Super Famicom. It is the fifth main game in the Dragon Quest series. The game was not released in North America at first because of technical problems.
An improved version of the game was released only in Japan for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. This version was made by ArtePiazza and Matrix Software. Another version was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in July 2008 and worldwide in February 2009. This was the first time the game was officially released in English. Later, versions for Android and iOS devices were released in Japan in December 2014 and globally the next month.
The story follows the main character’s life over about thirty years, from birth to marriage and family. The game introduced a feature where monsters from random encounters could join the player’s team. This idea was later used in other Dragon Quest games and in the Dragon Quest Monsters series. Similar ideas had appeared earlier in the Megami Tensei series and later influenced games like Pokémon, Digimon, and Dokapon. Collecting items or completing tasks to earn rewards has since become a common feature in many video games. Dragon Quest V is also known as the first video game to include a playable pregnancy, a feature later seen in games like Story of Seasons, The Sims 2, and Fable II. In 2019, an animated movie called Dragon Quest: Your Story was released in Japan. The film later became available on Netflix for other regions.
Gameplay
Dragon Quest V uses simple role-playing game features found in other games in the series, such as gaining experience points from battles to level up, turn-based battles viewed from a first-person perspective, and using weapons and armor. A new addition to the series is the ability to tame monsters and add them to the player's party. These monsters can fight in battles and gain levels like human characters. Some monsters may ask to join the Hero's party after battles if the group is strong enough. The Super Famicom version includes 40 monsters that can join the Hero's party, while the PlayStation 2 remake includes 71 monsters.
Features from Dragon Quest IV, such as a wagon where party members can rest while exploring, are included in this game. The tactics system returns, but players can now control allies manually throughout the game. The tactics system was also expanded to allow individual settings for each ally’s artificial intelligence, rather than settings for the entire party. Unlike Dragon Quest IV, the original Super Famicom version of Dragon Quest V allows only three active party members at a time. This was changed in the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS remakes, which allow up to four active party members.
After completing the game, players can access a bonus dungeon. Dragon Quest V was the first game in the series to include a bonus dungeon, although later remakes of Dragon Quest III and IV also added bonus dungeons.
Story
The Hero (主人公, shujinkō) is a six-year-old boy at the start of the game. He travels with his father, Pankraz, around the world. After Pankraz dies, the Hero is forced into slavery and must work hard to build a large temple. Ten years later, he escapes and begins a journey to learn about his father's past. He discovers that his mother, Mada (マーサ, Māsa), who was believed to have died when he was born, is still alive. He then sets out to rescue her from the underworld and find the Legendary Hero.
Pankraz Gotha (パパス, Papasu) is the Hero's father. He was once the king of Gotha (グランバニア, Guranbania) but left his homeland to search for his wife and the Legendary Hero.
Sancho (サンチョ) is Pankraz's loyal attendant. Later, he helps the Hero and his children.
Bianca Whitaker (ビアンカ, Bianka) is the tomboy daughter of innkeepers in Roundbeck (アルカパ, Arukapa). She is a childhood friend of the Hero. She helps him save the Great Sabercub from bullies and asks him to take it with him. As an adult, she moves to a mountainside village to help her father recover after her mother's death. She briefly joins the Hero's quest after meeting him as an adult. Bianca is one of two (three in the Nintendo DS version) women the player can choose to marry the Hero.
Nera Briscoletti (フローラ, Furōra) is a gentle and modest girl and the daughter of Rodrigo Briscoletti (ルドマン, Rudoman). Her father is wealthy and wants to find a husband for her. He will only accept a man who can pass his trial. She is the second choice for the Hero's bride.
Debora Briscoletti (デボラ, Debora) is Nera's older sister and the third choice for the Hero's bride. She is haughty and materialistic but has a motherly side when with the Hero's children. She supports the Hero in his quest to save his mother. Debora was not in the original version or the PS2 remake but was added in the Nintendo DS version.
Prince Harry (ヘンリー, Henrī) is the eldest son of the King of Coburg. He is initially mean to the Hero but becomes more responsible after being sold into slavery. He forms a strong friendship with the Hero. He joins the Hero's quest to find his mother but leaves to take care of his people. He later falls in love with Maria, a slave they saved, and proposes to her after restoring order to Coburg. Harry and Maria have a son named Kendrick, who resembles Harry as a boy.
The Hero's Son (男の子, otokonoko) is the Legendary Hero that Pankraz was searching for. He is born much later and wields the Zenithian Sword and wears Zenithian armor.
The Hero's Daughter (女の子, onnanoko) is the twin sister of the Hero's Son. Like her father, she can understand animals and monsters.
Like the first three Dragon Quest games, where the land of Alefgard appears in each with similar geography, the worlds of games IV, V, and VI are connected by the sky castle Zenithia, which appears in each. However, the geography of these games is different. All Dragon Quest games take place in a medieval world with very little modern technology. Characters use swords, clubs, and magic instead of guns or other modern weapons.
The Hero and his party travel to many unusual places, such as a fairy village, an ice mansion, caves, and a volcano. They eventually reach Zenithia, a sky castle that appears in each game of the Zenithian Trilogy. As in previous games, the final enemies live in a dark world separate from the main map.
Dragon Quest V begins with a short scene showing the Hero's birth, where the player gives him a name. As a child, the Hero and his father, Pankraz, meet Sancho, an old friend. The Hero meets Bianca, and they explore the haunted Uptaten Towers (レヌール, Renūru), where they find a Golden Orb. The next day, the Hero sees a man who looks like him but is older. The man asks the Hero to return the Golden Orb and then asks him to care for his father, Pankraz. The story ends with Pankraz being killed by Ladja (ゲマ, Gema), a member of the Order of Zugzwang, when he tries to protect his son and Prince Harry. The two children are then taken into slavery.
Ten years later, the Hero and Harry grow up and work on a giant temple. They escape when the story resumes. The Hero travels to Mostroferrato, where Rodrigo Briscoletti and his daughter Nera live. Rodrigo sends the Hero on a quest to retrieve two magic rings, the Circle of Fire and the Circle of Water, as a test of his worthiness to marry Nera. The Hero completes the task, and Rodrigo offers him the chance to marry Nera. He can also marry Bianca or Debora (in the DS version). After marrying, the Hero returns to his homeland, Gotha, where he is made king. His wife has two children, but they are kidnapped by monsters. When the Hero rescues her, both are turned to stone by the monsters.
Eight years later, the Hero is found by his two children and revived. He travels the world to collect legendary Zenithian armaments for the Legendary Hero. He learns that his son is the Legendary Hero Pankraz was searching for. During this journey, the Hero kills Ladja to avenge Pankraz and restores the Dragon God and Zenithia castle to the sky. To do this, he must travel back in time to retrieve the Golden Orb from his younger self.
After returning to the temple he built as a slave, the Hero finds the Zenithian armor and a statue of his wife. After defeating the king of the Order of Zugzwang, Korol (イブール, Ibuul), the party learns that the Hero's mother, Madalena (マーサ, Martha), is trapped in the dark world of Nadiria. There, the god of darkness, Grandmaster Nimzo (ミルドラース, Mirudorāsu), waits for the Legendary Hero. The Hero, his wife, and their children decide to rescue Madalena. They travel to Nadiria through a portal near Lofty Peak and reach Mt. Zugzwang. Madalena is found but is killed by Nimzo shortly after meeting the Hero and his family. The party then confronts and destroys Nimzo. They return to Gotha and celebrate joyfully. As the family celebrates, Pankraz and Mada watch their son and his family from the heavens, happy and content with their children.
Development
Dragon Quest V was created by Yuji Horii, who designed the story, and Akira Toriyama, known for his work on Dragon Ball, who created the artwork. The game's characters were drawn with outlines to give them a style similar to comic books. Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed related games. A music album called Dragon Quest V ~Bride of the Heavens~ Symphonic Suite was released in Japan in October 1992. It included both the original soundtrack and an orchestral version. This was the first Dragon Quest game on the Super Famicom, which had better graphics and sound because of its advanced hardware and more memory. After this game, Chunsoft, the developer, left the Dragon Quest series to make their own games.
In 2004, Square Enix released a PlayStation 2 version of Dragon Quest V. It sold 722,000 copies on its first day and over 1.5 million copies by April 2004, making it the best-selling Dragon Quest remake. The game was developed by Artepiazza, the art team from Dragon Quest VII. It used 3D graphics similar to Dragon Quest VII but took advantage of the PlayStation 2's improved technology. The remake allowed players to have four characters in a party instead of three, and included more monsters than the original game. The original version had only 40 monsters due to memory limits, but the remake did not have this restriction. The music was performed by the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
A new feature in the remake was a museum where players collected special items from around the world and returned them to a character named "Yuujii" to earn rewards. This remake was the third Dragon Quest game released under Square Enix's name. It also included a preview of Dragon Quest VIII in its Japanese version.
A Nintendo DS version of Dragon Quest V was announced in late 2007 and developed by ArtePiazza. It used the same game engine as the DS version of Dragon Quest IV.
In 2008, Square Enix applied for a trademark called "Hand of the Heavenly Bride," which was confirmed to refer to Dragon Quest V. The game was released in Japan on July 17, 2008, in North America on February 17, 2009, and in Europe on February 20, 2009. The DS version included the ability to have four party members and introduced a new character named Debora Briscoletti, whom Yuji Horii described as a challenging choice for players.
The iOS and Android versions of the game used synthesized music instead of the orchestral version. The music was performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and was remastered for these platforms, except for the DS version.
Manga
Doragon Kuesuto Tenkū Monogatari (also known as Dragon Quest: Tale of Heaven) is an 11-volume manga series created by Chino Yukimiya. It was first published in 1997 and later republished in 2001. The story follows the journey of the Hero’s children, Sora (the daughter) and Ten (the son), along with their companion Sancho, as they search for the Hero, who has been turned to stone. This manga explains what happened during the 10-year period between the second and third parts of the game Dragon Quest V.
Reception
Dragon Quest V was very popular in Japan, just like other games in the series. Before it was released, the game had 300,000 orders. When it came out, long lines formed outside stores across Japan. Some lines were up to 3 miles long, and there were ten reported thefts on the day of release. The game sold 1.3 million copies in Japan within one day, more than the Super Famicom version of Street Fighter II sold the same year. From October to November 1992, Dragon Quest V was Japan's top-selling game. By December 1992, it became a multi-million seller and was the best-selling home video game in Japan for that year. The game's success increased demand for the Super Famicom, causing its price to rise. In South Korea, Dragon Quest V was the third best-selling game of 1992, behind Street Fighter II and Final Fantasy V. By 1993, the original Super Famicom version sold 2.8 million copies in Japan and nearly 3 million worldwide, earning several hundred million dollars (about $690 million when adjusted for inflation).
The PS2 remake sold an additional 1.64 million copies. The Nintendo DS remake, titled Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, was the seventh best-selling game in Japan in 2008, selling 1,176,082 copies that year. By 2009, it sold 1.35 million copies worldwide, including 1.22 million in Japan, 70,000 in Europe, and 60,000 in North America. To date, it has sold 1.36 million copies in Japan, totaling 1.49 million worldwide for the DS version. All three versions of the game combined sold 5.8 million units in Japan and at least 5.93 million worldwide.
Dragon Quest V received high praise from critics. Famitsu's reviewers gave the original Super Famicom version scores of 9, 10, 9, and 8 out of 10, totaling 36 out of 40. This made it one of the three highest-rated games of 1992, along with Shin Megami Tensei and World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Dragon Quest V was one of only eleven games to receive a Famitsu score of 36 or higher by 1992. The PS2 remake scored 34 out of 40, while the DS remake scored 36 out of 40, with all four reviewers giving it 9 out of 10.
The story is divided into different time periods, a feature rarely seen in video games. Critics praised how the game handles its coming-of-age theme, with Gamasutra stating that "never has it been executed so magnificently as Dragon Quest V." The game is also recognized as Yuji Horii's favorite in the series.
The Nintendo DS remake was called one of the best RPGs on the DS and praised for its storytelling. While some critics noted the interface felt old-fashioned and simple, many said the emotional story made up for these flaws, calling it one of the "greatest classic RPGs." 1UP praised its mature storytelling, which "gets better with age" and connects with players who have experienced similar life phases. The updated 3D environments with a rotatable camera also received praise.
In 2006, Famitsu readers voted Dragon Quest V the 11th best game of all time, with the PS2 remake at 40th. In 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment asked over 10,000 Japanese fans to vote, and Dragon Quest V was named the favorite PlayStation game of all time, the fourth best game that "impressed more than a movie or a novel," and the sixth most wanted remake. In 2021, TV Asahi asked over 50,000 Japanese users to vote, and Dragon Quest V was named the second best console game of all time, just behind The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Film adaptation
A 3D computer-generated animated movie called Dragon Quest: Your Story, which is based on Dragon Quest V, was released in Japan on August 2, 2019.