The Citizen Kane of Video Games -- Dragon Quest V 

You are the summoning salt of the design of video games

Yo Debora is actually my favorite part of the game. Thanks for mentioning her despite her not being in the original version

I've come to the realization that if DQ5 is the Citizen Kane of video games, then FF7 is the Star Wars. Both FF7 and Star Wars -Have a fleshed out world that gets expanded with mixed results -Contain the most spoiled moment in their respective mediums (I don't even have to tell you what they are because I know you know) -Are always parodied (How many sitcoms and the like have a Star Wars parody? When RPGs are parodied, how often do people make fun of the name "Final Fantasy" or make fun of Cloud's distinctive hair and giant Buster Sword?) The similarities are astounding. At least that's how I see it personally.

>designer for releases a 50 minute video >6 minutes in is a Pekora reference Aight, I’m watching this 7 times.

I married Deborah when I played DQ5 because I wanted to go with the « troll » option I ended up loving her character ! Her party chat is hilarious and by the end of the game she becomes softer around the Hero and the kids Also her equipment is awesome for LMS and MKS hunting

I think the "Citizen Kane" framing of the video undersells the content. I thought this would be a lesser video but it's a great Designing For analysis as always.

Dude...that petrification part had me in tears...

The twist of *Dragon Quest: Your Story* is something you would expect out of something who’s art was done by Akira Toriyama.

Oh my god DQ YOUR STORY was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, dear lord. Also, this video is literally the reason I even bought DQ5, so thanks a ton! Great video as always!

man its enough to make me cry this video is fantastic, absolutely crazy you deserve so much much much more views good work

Wow! This game is amazing! I NEED TO PLAY THIS! Also, this video is so well made. 11/10

I think discovering this game at the point I did is the reason it is probably my favorite game. I still agree on the citizen kane point and I think without the DS port the game has significantly more flaws, but the SNES version did something that games before it tried very hard to do but failed. I could gush about this game for an hour, and while I think the DS game is a masterpiece and stands up to almost every modern RPG, respecting the roots of it is interesting to see. Story through gameplay, interaction, party chat, and long stretches of 30+ hours is what makes video games work. This is why people play games and why they can go from simple entertainment to an art form in my opinion. Everyone has a different experience with the games they play and what they prefer, and I think a lot of that comes down to personal taste and the standout points. For me this game does it, it shows something personal I didn't think attainable by games. This video not only shows that (and elaborates on how your story failed due to it) but it explains why and how this happens, this is my favorite retrospective of this game I've seen so far and will definitely earn you a sub. Great work

Holy shit, the sheer breadth of your knowledge of video games is insane, its extremely rare to find the combination of the hundreds of games shown in this video in one place. There's a whole generation of people who dont know that there were plenty of game consoles before the NES. Meanwhile, Ultima, Wizardry, YU-NO, and others are mentioned here. Would love to hear your thoughts on the Ultima series as well, because I've been working my way through it recently. I highly recommend checking out Ultima Underworld as an example of player choice giving a different meaning to each person's unique experience. Not sure what the film equivalent of Ultima Underworld would be...something only recognizable to older generations, but still technologically and conceptually innovative, and copied across the rest of the medium.

The Narrative structure of Dragon Quest V alone was so revolutionary to me when I first played it. It genuinely feels like an operatic tragedy in three parts, and the fact that it is not only in RPG but a monster collector to boot?

Your succinct description of why narrative-driven video games are merely borrowing Kane's wheel is brilliant, and exactly what I've been trying to say for years. You've earned this staunch curmudgeon's rare subscription, and I look forward to diving into a rabbit hole of your videos/perspective

... I do have admit, that twist at the end of the movie there did actually sound like an interesting direction to take things at first before it completely went off the rails. Anyways, great video! Don't have much to say really since I've never played Dragon Quest V (or any Dragon Quest, really) before, but you definitely make a very strong case for it.

GG my man, i didn't realize you had structured the video in a similar 3-act structure to the game until talking with a friend about it. Well played.

Now gathering a crew to remake Citizen Kane starring Dragon Quest Slimes of all sorts. Sign up here. We're looking to go machinima, but we're open to stop motion if we get people who can pull it off.

21:00 Story, not Saga! DDSaga is unrlated to DDStory - strange, I know. DDSaga is actually an incredible pair of games, highly recommend.

No the citizen kane of video games is citizen kane 2 for the wii

aight, ya sold me with those first 15 minutes. I'll play it and then come back for the rest of the vid. Killer work!!

Congrats on Live A Live getting remade. I hope to see it become an anime series some day where each era is done by a different studio.

For my money, I would say the game that is closer to the Citizen Kane of Video Games would be The Portopia Serial Murder Case. After all unlike Dragon Quest V it was not part of a well regarded franchise that was expected to be excellent, it was a one of the firsts titles from an up and coming director that proved his talent and allow him to make Dragon Quest. It expanded video game storytelling beyond anything else of its time, and use video games to enhance the story in ways that only games could. It was one of the first to allow true agency to the player with various techniques that are still seen to this day. If this game did not exist, then it would have taken far longer for video game storytelling to be seen not as something ancillary to gameplay but as something that games can focus and and excelled at all their own. Thanks to this game, the entire sub genre of visual novels exists, and several legendary developers has this to thank for getting them interested in becoming developers. Now I do think that Dragon Quest V is an important game in the history of the medium, but to me the better analogy is with Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. Both where themselves influenceable works within their own mediums that inspired many projects themselves and has been referenced in many more, but they are also from experienced and respected directors who had already made several classics, and so their was no reason to think that these works would be any different. Dragon Quest V in particular was coming out for the Super Famicom, and given what other developers where making for the system (Super Mario World, A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Megaman X, and other JRPG Final Fantasy IV), it would have been more surprising if the game was not as excellent as it was. It stands out less as a game that redefied what it means to be a game, and more like a excellent classic for a medium that was already redefied on what it meant to be a video game. For me, the Citizen Kane of Video Games should not be just an influenceable video game that uses the medium of video games for to enhance its story in ways no other medium can, it should be a video game that leads the charge on using the medium of video games to its greatest extent, to come out in a time where developers where still not truly using the medium for its unique strengths, and show the world what could be done with video games that inspires other developers to do the same. I think that The Portopia Serial Murder Case deserves such an honor more than Dragon Quest V does.

Thank you for creating this wonderful video. There was no way I would have played this game, but because of you I got to experience something special.

Tales of Symphonia is my Citizen Kane. I love how the story's twists on RPG stories, the combat was fun to engage with instead of avoiding, and the characters had some depth. I will admit, it has hasn't aged well. The animation is janky, combat was improved in further games thus going back can be jarring, but I still love all the same. I think it was what really got me to appreciate and adore media that deconstructs tropes or entire story structures.

You mention that the wedding is in the title of the game, but there's one other plot element in the title that you didn't get, at least it is in the Japanese version. The subtitle of that version is "tenkuu no hanayome," which can be transferred to "a bride from the heavens," (if you're going for total literalness, you could say "Bride of the Heavens.) Of course this is alluding to the wedding, but that word that means heavens has another meaning. In the Japanese version of the game, Zenethia is called "tenkuu no shiro" (castle of the heavens) and the Zenethian equipment is "Tenkuu no whatever." So that Japanese subtitle can also mean "A Bride from Zenethia," alao alluding to the twist that she'sa decent of the Zenethians.

I've been a fan of the Dragon Warrior/Quest series since the US launch in 1989, and this one stands above all the rest as the peak of the series, and perhaps my favorite game of all time. (And Nera. Forever Nera. :) )

This a fantastic video, that shows the greatness of this legacy piece. I haven't thought in this way for a while and i must say i am floored and don't know what to say, truely. Hope you have a good day, keep up the good work and try not to falter.

Have never watched Citizen Kane, nor have I touched DQV, but this was a solid argument given for the amount of impact this game had in Japan. Also that movie ending...oof. To not market it that way would be a horrible surprise at the end. I get that it's a meta, unpredictable ending but damn... If they came out with a Chrono Trigger movie and Lavos' core was just a physical manifestation of Twitter calling me a Boomer for liking the movie so far, ouch. Why kick your target audience in the crotch like that?

A game where even the flavor text can get real

Don't worry, Aerith dying only made me happy that she wouldn't force herself into my party again. BUT Dad dying was literally all of my daddy issues coming home with the milk just to get shot.

In my experience with DQ5, I spent more than a little too much time grinding... So the time between wedding and childbirth was like... 4 days. It was funny. I've played the two versions of the game, and I've only ever chosen Bianca.

Also, what do you think of the movie adaptation of this game? EDIT: I saw there's a section of your opinion of this movie. I guess I'm inclined to agree with you, even if I've never tried to play DQV myself

6:10 I didnt expect a Usada Pekora cameo but i am glad she's on the video. She's the fucking best.

2:05 alright. im going to fucking SHATTER this starter pack once i get off my lazy ass and make my "mario and sonic 2012 3DS is citizen kane" video. just you wait my plans are big

Gosh, that video was amazing! I never played DQ5 (or any DQ), but this sure was great opportunity to learn a lot about it. Thank you very much for it. =D

Oh my goodness, I needed this in my RU-vid feed, perhaps it was waiting to make my 2024 brighter. Thank you so much for talking about this wonderful industry-changing game! One which legacy, just like the more popular ones like A Link to the Past, Shin Megami Tensei, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, FF6, Pokémon Gold and Silver, etc. can never be overstated. It truly DESERVES to be more popular.

That movie bit is YEEESH

If people say Undertale is the Citizen Cane of Video Games; I weep openly for them.

>talking about escapism and fantasy >shows a clip of a bartender asking about your character's girlfriend

I WANT to agree with you, but in the end, I just can't. Mostly because I just find Citizen Kane to be a horrendously overrated borefest and Dragon Quest V deserves way better than that comparison. If you wanted to say it's the "Back To The Future" of video games? That, i'm on board with.

My god, your way of narration and usage of music made me tear up not even half into the video. I played DQ5 some years ago and it was great. Hearing about its story again, comparing the main characters losses with mine that are yet to come or already happened, made me instantly cry. This game is GREAT, thanks for this sublime showcase. ❤

I enjoyed DQV, but I don't know, maybe because I was an adult, it didn't have as big an impression on me as most people it seems. I literally forgot about the father's death scene. The choose-your-bride thing was really cool, but I thought having her turned to stone and absent for a large chunk of the game was a big disappointment and made the choice seem less consequential.

51:34 Pokémon does have its own unique approach based on the original creator’s childhood hobby Any similarities could be seen as coincidence But we will never know ig

People never believe me when I tell them that one of my favorite games is an IOS game.

Yangus boys where you at!?

I still wish we could get the origional release and not the remake.

Thumbnail had me thinking you were going for Rocket Slime. That would have been very ridiculous.

Great Video. I loved DQ V's progress of story and the aspect of having monsters join your team. also may i ask what game was at 40:15

This is a fantastic video.

Found this channel from the Doom Weapon Balance vid, found this next. Now I’m a subscriber. Great points and presentation.

While Citizen Kane moved movie story telling forward, the movies were seen as an art before then. The Birth of a Nation was the first feature-length film, and it was the first film to be feature length, have close-ups, wide shots, multiple story lines, and an orchestral score. As terrible as the message and content Birth of a Nation was, you have to admit it was the first real piece of film that could be called art. There was also Gone With the Wind, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and The Jazz Singer which pushed boundaries before Kane.

Gregg Toland is the cinematographer for Citizen Kane. He’s pretty famous and he had been already doing it for 13 years before Citizen Kane. So, Citizen Kane is like Ocarina of Time. It wasn’t the first one like that, but it is the one people talk about the most.

Watching your videos I have been going back and forth on weather you are a parody of this kind of channel or if you are making serious videos with many jokes. 5:55 really clenches that you are a parody channel.

Katawa Shoujo, while making me start paying attention to game stories, is the game that opened my eyes to the power of video games. I was 13, read about it somewhere, and decided it would be my first VN. After I finished and was emotionally shaken, I did a rate thing for me then and researched it. It blew my mind and left me speechless when I found that people across the world who never even met, let alone knew each others real names for the most part, worked together for 4 years to bring this beautiful game to life, and then just gave it away for free. It just... it still moves me, and reminds me that peeps sometimes just do things because they love them and want others to experience them. In that way, it's a Citizen Kane for me, in that it opened my eyes to the possibilities of games and the connections that they can make.

*D4:* (proceeds to dissect Dragon Quest: YOUR STORY and it's ending.) *Me, who enjoyed both movie and twist enough to watch it multiple times:* (takes a deep breath and groans through gritted teeth,) _"oH fUcK, hErE wE gO..."_

What's the Paddington 2 of video games?

Dq 5 was my first Dq game. It really hit me and I still think about it sometimes.

I've never played a Dragon Quest, but I'd really love to check V out now. This was a really great video!

I still feel Your Story could have been MUCH better paced if it was a trilogy... Childhood > Marriage > Next Generation

Fantastic video man, completely underrated and I hope it gets the proper attention it deserves!

What I believe is the honest to god Citizen Kane of video games is a niche title from 2005 Russia titled "Pathologic", Though I'd recommend playing the 2015 rerelease with the actually comprehensible English translation >unpopular at least (mostly in English speaking countries) >Did eh, okay in terms of sales >does techniques that were not popular or well known for each art form to do I could write about pathologic is the best thing I have ever played in my life, --not because it IS the best game ever, but because nothing else does what it does-- but that would take too long write and I have stuff to do. I just hope it's gets more popular at least Edit, spoiler: It even does the dq movie's twist in an actually spectacular way

And thanks to DQ5, The Dragon Quest Monsters sub-series was born. ❤

38:44 I am guessing K. Rool hadn't yet met Full Metal Hugger in Final Fantasy Adventure to take notes on how to be a "competent" boss. At the very least, the good guys must have inflicted heavy brain damage on him.

5 has to top the list of best DQ games. I don't know when I played this, it was either while I was dating a Bianca or just after. Weird coincidence.

Fantastic video and great work. This game means a lot to me and you described it perfectly. Thank you !

Yo! That was the Old School Essentials (B/X) ruleset you used for D&D mad respect. So much better than the newer editions.

HE’S ALIVE!

What an amazing video! Dragon Quest 5 is one of my favourites, this is so excellently done 🥹 bravo 👏

is there a differene between playing it on the DS and on Super Famicom? (besides the latter not being translated, that is)

Though I disagree, I have to admit you definatly sold me. Awesome video!

I firmly disagree about DQ Your Story not nailing it. I never played any of the series before seeing that film and I thought it was great, it got me into the series and convinced me to play the games. I loved it and have shown it to friends who have also taken to the series. It isn’t perfect but drew our interests into the game or the series. It was nice that it wasn’t a straight 1:1 and the twist was interesting.

My party was, the hero, a restless armour, the sabertooth and the hero's son

Change my view: Bishop Ladja walked so Hojo could run.

Not the first tragic JRPG but certainly a finely crafted masterpiece!

Gods, I despised DQ: Your Story's ending. The Postmodernist whining destroyed what would have been a good movie. Let me have my Cliché, my stereotypes, etc.

Stopped at about 16 mins in: Sold, this sounds awesome! Dragon Warrior was a huge moment in my childhood, honestly made it to adulthood before even finding out there were more games and that Dragon Quest was the same damn thing 😂. Currently playing 2, I've heard 3 is phenomenal!

My gut instinct is SM64 or OoT, but this was a great video. The central idea that a game should somehow INVOLVE the player in a more active and meaningful way than other media is pretty spot on. I think you could also make a strong argument for Metal Gear Solid in terms of combining SO many different forms of media into a single game. I mean really, live action, 3D, 2D, and various other forms of presenting and interacting with the game was really impressive and influential.

Fyi, it's Slon, not Sion.

I love japan and anime

I claim suggest firmly that Dynasty Warriors 8 xl and Hyrule Warriors are the Citizen Kane of Gaming.

Dragon Quest: Your Story is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen done with CG. That being said, they should have done DQ3. DQ5 has a big divider by letting you pick how you marry. That will split a fan base with a movie that is only getting made one way. 3 is big enough and also did very well in Japan and the US as far as fans go.

As much as I love the DS version, the english version it has one issue most would agree with. The heavy use of accents. Not voiced, but written dialouge for a lot of characters has accents. And its used so heavily it's hard to figure out what they're saying. Making you take time to decipher the text adds up.

52:50 - Enix gave up on Dragon Quest in the West after the four Dragon Warrior games didnt sell. By 1995, Enix’s US branch would shut down. A shame because DQ5 would have been awesome.

DQ5 IS A MASTERPIECE HANDS DOWN, BEAT THE GAME IN 2020 AFTER WATCHING THE MOVIE ON NETFLIX AND STILL BLOWN AWAY.

Wait there are people who didnt marry Bianca? Disgusting

39:05 but wait thats Not IT Because in the final fight ladja uses himself and your mothers Energy to summons grand demon nimzo WHO goes from a Green skinned old man to a red discord mod and in the movie instead of nimzo ladja summons nimzo dot Virus WHO was Made by a disgruntled Dev to kill anyone playing the VR Remake by trapping them in an eternal Battle starving them to death in the real world but square enix thought ahead of the evil Dev by making an Anti Virus Taking the Form of a slime in every single one of the vr remake booths (SPOILERS)

I remember finding Deborah was added in the remake and wasn't in the original, just bein like damn....I was disappointed that she never got into Dragon quest Heroes 1 or 2

lmao that introduction to DQV couldn't be better ↘️↗️↘️↗️↘️↗️↘️

You hyped up Dragon Quest V so well. Now I wanna play it myself. This was Pokemon before Pokemon.

Maybe it's just because this wasn't localized yet when I was growing up, but for me, without knowledge of DQ's influence on it, the big game was always Final Fantasy VI. The intricate weaving of the different characters' narratives, the ability to adapt the gameplay of each character to better fit your preferred battle style, the willingness to let the villain actually win and force the player to regroup (literally) in order to triumph and save the ruins of a fallen world, it all enraptured me to the point that I was looking up esper names in a mythology book just to know more about the game! Also, don't even get me started on the music, the opera scene, and the power of leitmotifs for the narrative. From what you've said, I do see how DQ5 influenced FFVI, I just prefer FFVI more, both for the game itself and for my nostalgia. Also, I had the pleasure of trying Live A Live, not a fan of the fighting mechanics but the narrative and gameplay variation is brilliant. The fact that it had alternate endings as well, depending on the player's decision in the finale, was ahead of its time

I love that everyone who makes a video praising Dragon Quest 5 also doesn't like Final Fantasy 4 lmao

I hate that the movie adaptation of the best jrpg ignored Harry's relationship and character arc with the hero. The hero of dqV is the most well developed silence hero in a game, ladja is the best villain in a jrpg, Pankraz is well developed and has a very good backstory which, and the kids while not the most developed characters are cool.

So it is no one who find the plot twist of the movie could be more clever that we think? Do you think that it's can work at subverts public expectations of a well-known work like the original game subvert public expectations at what they expected to RPGs at his time? After all, if it here, it's probably because the director wanted to says something about the game and how players felt at playing it over the years. But it's look like no one in Internet isn't interest to know his point of view.

OMG those mobile vicaps are awful. Can't believe I played through that fugly version.

27:53 and in the mobile and DS Versions theres also debura WHO IS very mean to Others and also in the movie dq your Story instead of the Ring of fire and water instead the Hero luka has to prove himself by defeating björn the behemoose WHO before has killed any Warriors WHO dare Fight him

I mean dragon quest 5 is my personal favourite game of all time and untouched by all other games imo so... yea ill call it the citizen kane of video games

Ya'll think this is the citizen cane of video games? That must be crazy, because this is technically the Citizen Cane of RPG's. If you want to find what you consider the Citizen Cane, you need to be Good at that genre.

If you're going to make this arguement then Another World is more worthy of this title

Played the SNES rom translation 20 years ago and was blown away The DS remake makes it even better.