So which Dragon Quest for the DS is better? IV or V, or are they both good? I'm drooling over them and Chrono Trigger ... will have DS?

In 25 21 days, Nintendo launches its 3DS handheld system in Japan, to be followed a month later by the European and American versions. While the arrival of 3DS doesn't mean its predecessor is completely dead, we're definitely moving into the DS's latter days. That makes now the perfect occasion to catch on up all the DS games you've missed.

In the days leading up to 3DS's Japanese debut, I'll be looking back at the best the DS had to offer -- my favorite games for one of my favorite system ever, and some others that I may not be totally enamored with but can respect for their general importance. This isn't a definitive list or anything. It's an op-ed column!

Please feel free to voice your dissent in the comments. Previous entries: 1. Bangai-O Spirits | 2.

Brain Age | 3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow | 4. Developed by: ArtePiazza et al.

In the time I've been writing reviews for 1UP -- more than seven years now, he moaned sadly as mortality loomed above him like a grim specter -- I have handed out exactly two scores of A+. Well, one A+, and one 10 out of 10 before we moved to the letter scale. The important thing here is: Dragon Quest V was one of them.

Does it seem strange that of the hundreds of games I've reviewed, I found more to admire in a simple-looking remake of a 15-year-old RPG than in countless of big-budget blockbusters? That a game whose visuals appear to have been scraped directly out of the PlayStation's innards circa 1997 could wow me more than countless high-definition, immersive experiences? Well, maybe it does, at that.

But Dragon Quest V speaks to why I love this medium more than just about any other game I can think of. And it speaks in a humble voice, eschewing the screaming din of so many so-called "AAA" titles. In its quaint, quiet way, Dragon Quest V tells the story of a single man whose life is beset by tragedy yet who presses on to do the right thing.

It's a more affecting tale than you'd think by mere appearances, and it's actually quite clever: it's an RPG that doesn't focus on the tale of the legendary hero who alone can save the world, but rather on the person who's dedicated his life to finding that hero. Not to get all messianic here or anything, but imagine if the Gospels had been told entirely from the perspective of John the Baptist. That's Dragon Quest V for you.

As for how it plays, well -- Dragon Quest is Dragon Quest. The specifics of the action vary from game to game, but you can always count on turn-based battles with a common set of spells and skills and whatnot. Unique to this game is the ability to recruit defeated monsters after battles -- it's random, but occasionally a bested foe will want to tag along and become a party member.

Depending on how your random number generator falls, your party composition will probably vary wildly from playthrough to playthrough. Different monsters have different powers; as I mentioned in my review, one of my favorite strategies was to go into boss fights with a Goodie Bag, which was practically indestructible but would rarely obey orders. If things went south, I could count on it being the last standing survivor and eventually winning a war of attrition against any but the toughest bosses.

These kinds of strategic options keep Dragon Quest V's ostensibly dated battles interesting. Of course, there are human party members as well, but these are less amusing to have in your party. They're great from a story perspective, though, because each and every one has a deeply personal connection to the main character.

Your party is no ragtag rabble of strangers, but rather an intimate family unit (and their host of pet slimes and golems, of course). The specific composition of that family is a key decision point for the player at around the game's mid-point, as a matter of fact. I've written plenty about Dragon Quest V's excellence, both formally and casually.

Rather than try to express its greatness here, I'll simply direct you to those articles -- or better yet, recommend you play it yourself. The DS has played host to countless RPGs and remakes, but Dragon Quest V is the best of both worlds, and an essential part of any DS owner's library.