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The 61FPS Review: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

It may have taken 20 years, but Dragon Quest fever has finally hit the United States. True, it'll never be as intense--and, at times, frightening--as Japan's fascination with the series, but we only have to look at the past few decades for a reminder of how Dragon Quest used to be a forgotten and overlooked RPG footnote in comparison to cross-cultural hits like Final Fantasy. We've gone from Nintendo Power giving away unwanted copies of the first Dragon Quest (then known as Dragon Warrior in the States) in 1989, to Enix's American branch closing up shop in the mid-90s, to a small push for the outdated and subpar Dragon Quest VII back in 2001; but in 2005, shortly after the Square-Enix merger, the series was essentially re-launched with the phenomenal Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2. Now, nearly four years later, we're in the middle of a DS trilogy remake, the latest release being Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. And, just like DQ's last DS remake (Dragon Quest IV, released in September), DQV stands as proof that there's never been a better time for American Dragon Quest fans.

Posted Mar 17 2009, 10:00 AM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments

Filed under: 61fps review, ds, dragon quest, dragon warrior, bob mackey, dragon quest iv, dragon quest viii, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen

The Things We Do For Levels

It all started about 10 years ago with a little game called Final Fantasy VII--actually, it started many years before that, but in my head the origin of this particular issue starts with Square's world-changing blockbuster. You see, as a teenager with a lot of time on his hands and no real income to speak of, I felt obligated to get the most out of every game I purchased; and with Final Fantasy VII, this meant I eventually invested hours and hours in the delightful field of Chocobo breeding. But there was just one problem: the racing necessary to beef up your breeding Chocobo's stats was extremely boring, and, if I remember correctly, only required the mashing of a single button.

My solution to combat this boredom? Whenever a race started, I would entertain myself by hitting "play" on the nearest VCR remote control--usually with a recent episode of The Simpsons--and come back to my game minutes later, already in progress. But the problem of needing backup entertainment to entertain me when my regular entertainment wasn't cutting the mustard didn't really dawn on me until later in life. Let's just say that I'm happy I never played video games on a picture-in-picture set; it probably would have corrupted my gaming habits permanently.

Posted Feb 23 2009, 12:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 5 comment(s)

Filed under: rpg, jrpg, gaming habits, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen, grinding

The Why, God, Why Report: Dragon Quest IX Delayed in Japan

I shouldn't have to point this out here, but Japan takes their Dragon Quest seriously. Very seriously. It's been quite a long time since the country has seen an installment of the franchise that's such a national craze; the mega-awesome Dragon Quest VIII came out in late 2004, which means that fans have now been waiting over 4 years to destroy cute little slimes in a whole new incarnation. And, unfortunately, it looks like they'll be waiting just a bit longer with today's announcement (via a NEOGaf tip) that Dragon Quest IX's release date has been pushed all the way back to July 11--quite a ways away from the intended release date of March 28th. It goes without saying that this is bad news for Japan, and bad news for us; I was personally hoping for a Fall 2009 release in the States, but this substantial delay could make that a bit tricky.

Posted Feb 12 2009, 07:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments

Filed under: dragon quest, dragon quest iv, dragon quest ix, delays, square enix, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen, dragon quest v

Whatcha Playing: Holiday Blessings…and Curses

A few days before we each make the traditional pilgrimage to our ancestral homes, my gaming friends and I take an evening to party and exchange an assortment of strange and geeky presents. It’s always a good time, but even more so because we all leave with bags full of eclectic goodies we wouldn’t have sought out ourselves.

I left the event cradling many wonderful things in my arms, including a Penny Arcade print, an Aperture Science poster pack, and a quaffable bottle of golden rum. Of course, there were also some games in there. My friends know that I revel in the best and the worst of the medium, and so apparently colluded to give me a selection from each end of this vast spectrum.

From the side cast in beauty and light I received Valkyria Chronicles, the critically acclaimed retail failure from Sega’s talented Overworks team. I really feel for these guys; the last time they got to flex their creative muscles they made Skies of Arcadia, my favorite non-taxi oriented Dreamcast game. Then the Dreamcast died, so they got to remake that cult classic—exclusively for the third place GameCube. And now, with Valkyria Chronicles, they’ve gotten to make another gorgeous, innovative, and apparently beloved game—exclusively for the third place PS3. For the holidays, the Sega home office should gift these guys an Xbox 360 development kit and a blank check.

From the malignant, reprehensible side of the medium came Jumper: Griffin’s Story. Now, I was not given the current-gen version of the game, the one that trades your pain for achievement points. No, I got the Wii version, a completely different and even worse (at least, I think it’s even worse—the majority of the internet was too scared to find out for itself) game that takes your pound of flesh and gives you nothing in return. Keep in mind that this was the flagship product from Brash, the licensed game publisher that imploded when (among other reasons) it couldn’t even live up to the low bar of its chosen niche. This game should pair nicely with that bottle of rum.

Now thanks to the aforementioned pilgrimage I won’t be able to actually play these games over the holiday hiatus—though when I do get to them you will be the first to know. After the jump is the holiday travel pack that will sustain me in the last days of 2008.

Posted Dec 23 2008, 01:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with 1 comment(s)

Filed under: whatcha playing, castelvania, joe keiser, holidays, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen, dungeon maker, jumper

Unwrapped: Dragon Quest IV

Ahhh, Christmas. This is a nice time of year for a freelance writer. I’m going to ingest fermented liquids that take the edge off my passion for writing, and editors don’t feel like wading through my crazy letter soup to ball together the few sensible words that congealed in the broth. So I’m told “That’s enough, get outta here. Merry Christmas.” And I start blubbering about my little son Tim dying slowly of acidosis and rickets. Then I settle down and finally, finally get caught up on the games I was too busy writing about to actually sit and play.

First task: Finish Chrono Trigger DS and set aside the five thousand hours that’s required to sweep through the “bonus” dungeons. I’ve not experienced them fully, but I’ve been made to understand that the quotation marks are richly deserved. I can’t wait to find out why. I hear it has something to do with a fetch quest! Boy oh boy!

Second: break out and play Dragon Quest IV. Hell yes, Akira Toriyama double-feature. I’m an unapologetic fan girl and will remain thus until I drop my love for human-devouring dinosaurs bristling with spikes and unscientific add-ons.

STATUS, 22/12/2008: I still think dinosaurs are rad. Associated love for Akira Toriyama: Stable.

The original Dragon Quest III/Dragon Warrior III for the NES left an indelible impression on me; ask me sometime about the story I wrote that featured an original plot but lifted monsters straight from the game. On second thought, don’t.

Posted Dec 22 2008, 09:03 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with no comments

Filed under: nintendo ds, square-enix, 8-bit, retro, nostalgia, nadia oxford, christmas, dragon quest III, dragon warrior iv, dragon warrior III, dragon quest iv: chapters of the chosen

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.