The Dragon Quest series has been slowly gaining popularity in the West. It remains lesser-known than other roleplaying games, such as Final Fantasy, Pokemon or even The Elder Scrolls. Consistently high-quality entries in the series have won over many to its old-school RPG charm. The series is undoubtedly far more popular in its native Japan. The most recent evidence for this is a trailer for a new movie based on Dragon Quest V: The Hand of the Heavenly Bride. The trailer boasts some impressive CGI visuals and looks like a unique and charming fantasy adventure. The film’s title is Dragon Quest: Your Story. As one would expect the film’s trailer is in Japanese, with no word on whether it will receive an English dub. You can view the trailer for yourself below:
At this point it seems safest to assume we’re not going to see this released outside of Japan. Even with the series’ increasing popularity Square Enix does not always release games in the UK or even the US. Dragon Quest X, for example, was very well received in Japan on the Wii and later re-released for the starved Wii U. Neither version hit US or European shores. Dragon Quest V was exclusive to Japan back when it originally released on the Super Nintendo in 1992. A Playstation 2 remake followed in 2004 – which also did not make it outside Japan. Finally the DS remake did see an international release in 2009, with an iOS version following in 2015. The fact you can play Dragon Quest V is good news, but given how long it passed Western audiences by a proper release of the movie seems a lot to hope for. Still, that’s what fan subtitles are for.
The game has been singled out as among the best in the Dragon Quest series. In a Famitsu poll conducted in 2006 the game hit the top 40. Twice. The PS2 version landed in the number 40 spot, while the SNES original was voted number 11. If the trailer has piqued your interest and you want to check the original game for yourself the most affordable option is the £15 mobile phone version. If you’re looking for the DS version you’re going to need to pay a little more; its one of the most expensive Dragon Quest games.
