Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Chapters of the Chosen was the shortest of the DS Dragon Quest games. True to its name, the game's chapters, except the finale, followed different playable characters. One of the game's strengths was its variety of playable characters, making way for many play styles. I went with Hero, Kyril, Maya, and Ragnar as my main party, although I rotated through the benched characters too. After the exposition chapters, the game has a fast pace to the finish line with one of the series' best boss battle.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
The fifth Dragon Quest game is one of the best video games I played. The story is an epic in three acts, telling the life of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood. The quality of writing and characters is consistent from beginning to end, as is the music. The gameplay can also be seen as a reflection of the narrative. During Hero's childhood, Pankraz, Hero's father, was a prominent party member, doing most of the work. In the second act, there was an emphasis on having monster party members, mirroring the solitude of Hero's journey. And in the third act, Hero was joined by family, friends, and unlikely allies. For the story's sake, I had the whole family fight the final boss fight. Contrary to the melancholic ending of IV, V had a more definitely happy ending. I could still say plenty of positive things about Dragon Quest V, and the game deserves its sustained acclaimed through the years.
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
While it seemed that Dragon Quest VI placed its story at a lower priority, the vocation system made this entry shine with as much luster as the preceding ones. I consider my experience with VI as a complete opposite of that of IV. Where I found myself initially bored but completely engaged by the end of IV, the initial hook and wonder of VI were eventually lost when the game opened up. The premise of having two worlds was intriguing, but the linear structure of the story progression erased all of my interest. (I feel Dragon Quest VII avoids this by showing less ambition than Dragon Quests IV and VI in its story premise.)
Overall, among the Zenithian trilogy entries, I'd recommend V the strongest, followed by IV.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Dragon Quest IX follows the typical Dragon Quest story template, with emphasis on short, episodic story arcs similar to Dragon Quest VII. With just one main playable character relevant to the story, Hero gets to have a more engaging character arc. Near the end of the story, Hero reverts to a regular human to fight against his superior (which I think is a good symbol to portray how different this entry is compared to its predecessors). I'd say I had a greater time with IX than IV or VI.
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