As my first JRPG, this game holds a special place in my heart, despite its flaws. As a kid, even I could comprehend the story, surprisingly, and I found it enjoyable. The combat mechanics are fine tuned and near perfection, in my opinion, but the coup de grace generation is too random for my tastes.

Obviously being a DS game, the visuals look how you'd expect them to, but I find a certain charm in them, thanks to Akira Toriyama's ageless art style. The sound design is also top notch. Sometimes I boot up my copy just to hear the theme song, wonderfully compressed onto a DS cartridge.

Dragon Quest remains the top dog of JRPGs with the ninth entry, and I certainly need to indulge the series more to fully enjoy it.