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The classic Dragon Quest V dilemma — whether to marry Bianca or Flora — is back on the table. Thread posters pointed out that Flora, often picked just for her Watery Robe and Mystical Armor equipment, doesn’t even appear on the game’s box art and has so little presence that she’s on par with the hidden character Pipin. Others countered that choosing Flora is the more logical choice given the hero’s debt of gratitude to her adoptive father, Ludman — highlighting that this age-old debate ultimately comes down to which character players connect with emotionally.
What people said
You wouldn't pick Flora on a first playthrough — not based on the story flow, not based on attachment.
That's a little too blunt, man.
If you're picking her for combat stats instead of bridal appeal, that's basically the same role Pipin fills.
If your presence is on par with Pipin's, you're disqualified as a wife candidate.
Just look at the gap in heroine appeal.
Setting aside the loud ones, if you're talking about actual player picks, that sounds about right — the gap's probably as big as Rem and Ram (the twin maids from Re:Zero).
Both her tastes and her personality are messed up, lol.
Because Sancho has his own unique niche — he's the whistle guy.
And on a first playthrough, you're not clearing Lenoor Castle in one night anyway.
The hero doesn't seem to remember it, but I wish they'd dug into that more.
That's just a baseless rumor spread by some calculating blue-haired girl who showed up out of nowhere.
She's never once talked about as appealing as a woman — her only selling points are Kaboom and the gifts her dad throws in.
Now I'm curious — I've played 5 multiple times and never even thought about Pipin, I'll try using him next time.
that's why I never liked her.
yeah
Would Sancho really do that?
When Pankraz was away he probably just let loose and had fun too —
back when the hero was a kid, Sancho wasn't even that old yet.
secondhand goods from her childhood-friend boyfriend
a bonus that comes with a shield
doesn't even appear on the box art
Who's picking her?
I just thought, "Horii's got a mean streak."
If that's the case, why even bother having a wife-choosing scene?
That's exactly why she's the "contrarian pick" heroine.
but nobody around me thinks that way, so now I'm wondering if I'm just overthinking it.
Getting that invested emotionally while you play just makes it more fun, so I'd say that's a good thing.
That's how RPGs are meant to be enjoyed anyway.
But on the way to the castle, baby panthers just show up as regular enemies and you attack them without mercy — isn't that kind of messed up?
It's the difference between a stray dog and a pet dog.
When he saw it getting bullied in town he just called it "kitty," so he probably didn't even realize it was the same species as the baby panthers.
Flora: a bonus that comes with the Watery Robe and Mystical Armor.
Honestly Bianca isn't that much of a "childhood friend" to begin with — they only hunted ghosts together for a few days,
and then he spent about ten years as a slave afterward, so he'd forget.
This isn't even a fair fight —
it's not like the Takenoko-vs-Kinoko rivalry (a famous close "which snack is better" debate in Japan).
Background and Key Points of This Debate
The Dragon Quest V “Bianca vs. Flora” debate has been a staple topic ever since the SFC version launched in 1992, and this thread is just the latest round. Flora joins the party early on but barely participates in battle, which is why posters compare her presence to that of Pipin, a hidden character who rarely appears in box art or screen adaptations either. The case for choosing Flora tends to rest not on looks or emotional connection but on practical, plot-driven reasons — equipment like the Watery Robe and Mystical Armor, or the hero’s debt of gratitude to his adoptive father, Ludman — and the thread split along those lines of “emotion” versus “practicality.” Some argued Bianca only spent a few days with the hero in childhood, but there are scenes depicting multiple interactions between them before the Lenoor Castle quest, so the simple notion that “the childhood friend only had one day together” can be misleading.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Dragon Quest V’s Flora Is About as Relevant as Pipin.”
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