Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride has gorgeous audio and visual presentation, but might be a little slow in pace for many North American gamers use to a adrenalin filled experience. Gamers who have patience will find a vibrant game world filled with well drawn and written characters.
| The story line | Rating  |
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride has a story line that tells a quaint coming of age story that certainly doesn't break any new ground, but is extremely well told and shows the hand of a master story teller. The dialogue is also innovative and it's clear that the localization people put a lot of time, energy and love into crafting clever and intelligent dialogue that adds to the entertainment.
| The graphical story | Rating |
The amazing imagination and style of Yoriyama shines in the colorful and stylistic look of all the characters and monsters in Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
The graphical presentation and details of the environments is flawless, with no bugs or fluctuations of any kind in the game play.
Screenshots
| Sounds in the game | Rating  |
The sound track rises and fall suitably to the flow of the action and there were several orchestral tracks that sounded wonderful and helped to pick up the pace of the game.
| Playability | Rating |
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is a very well designed and developed game that has everything you expect in the right places, but you will need to spend a lot of time playing to work your way through the story.
Combat is the same as earlier titles, with monsters appearing in a first-person perspective on the screen, and a few basic commands for taking care of them. Where Dragon Quest V departs from earlier titles in this area is the addition of your ability to recruit enemy monsters
| The good parts | Rating |
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride does an excellent job of updating the franchise for the Nintendo DS, with gorgeous and funny character designs and a few new twists that give it a new experience feeling.
Challenging game concept has steep learning curve and difficulty of game make this uncompromising title a true gem that just keeps giving and giving every time I play it.
| Parts that could be improved | Rating |
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride can be a slow and laborious climb through levels that requires a devotion you might not have had since your fanatical RPG days. Many gamers will pull back from the need for an intense grind to progress through Dragon Quest V.
| The final mark | Rating |
Having had the pleasure of playing all the titles of Dragon Quest V I have an advantage over many North American gamers, but Hand of the Heavenly bride does an admirable job of improving the experience I remember, and giving the game play a few entertaining twists that make the experience even more enjoyable. Gamers who love an the style and game play of many old time RPG titles will love the experience, while gamers who prefer a faster pace will be reaching for a title with more energy.