Final Fantasy veteran Yoshinori Kitase thinks marriage makes Dragon Quest 5 the best JRPG in the series, even if he wishes he proposed to someone else: "Wow… your life really changes as you age?"

In a fireside chat with the father of Dragon Quest, Yuji Horii, Final Fantasy legend Yoshinori Kitase has shared why Dragon Quest 5 is his favorite in the series, thanks to the introduction of marriage. He discusses his choices, while Horii offers additional insight.

In an interview with the two legendary creators, hosted by Famitsu and translated by GamesRadar+, Kitase talks about how the power of the Dragon Quest series lies in how you can sum up the theme of each entry in a single word. The king of this idea is Dragon Quest 5.

"Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride," Kitase answers when questioned about his favorite game in the series. "The story is all about marriage, of course. Where did you come up with that idea? At that time it was all about who we should choose, wasn't it.

"I touched on this before," Kitase continues. "But with every Dragon Quest there is one word that can sum up and sell the game's concept. This idea is at its most powerful with Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. At the time I chose Bianca, but I think if I was to pick now, maybe it would be Nera. Isn't that amazing? I thought 'wow… your life really changes as you age'"

For his part, Horii was surprised by how players reacted to the marriage decision concept. "People still talk about it," he says. "I didn't think it was a talking point. Obviously, I considered how to make people seriously worry about the decision.

"Basically, I thought that people would just choose Bianca," he continues. "But I've heard a lot about how women trend strongly towards Nera. I think they have a feeling like 'I don't want to take the easy route by choosing my childhood friend.'"

Bless him, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says "warmth" and "accessibility" are key to the almost-40-year-old JRPG series' enduring success