being dragon quest it’s obviously a joy; that said though it really feels loose, to think about or to play — with a tight thematic focus like dqv this could easily be another masterpiece. outside of the light tragedy of the hero’s true identity the dream world concept doesn’t feel very fully utilized — e.g. terry and milly were my favorite part of the game but i can’t stop thinking that their story could have been much more with involvement of the dream world.
as the close to a trilogy, it works, but compared to 3 in that sense it feels both less foundational and less daring.