Whether you know it as Dragon Quest or Dragon Warrior, Yuji Horii's enduring role-playing series has been delighting fans and inspiring adventurers consistently since 1986. Like its Square-Enix stablemate Final Fantasy, each Dragon Quest is a standalone story, with shared elements and lore connecting it to other entries; in another similarity with Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest's seventh entry was the first in the series to be released for Sony's PlayStation after a string of Super Famicom successes.
Though Dragon Warrior VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past saw a North American release in 2001, Western fans were left hanging in 2013 when Japan's 3DS remake came and went with plenty of critical acclaim but no mention of an overseas release. Now, after three years and an impressive fan campaign for localisation, it's finally heading West, and we couldn't be happier; this is an inspired remake of a wonderful game, and one of the very best RPGs in the 3DS' already superb library.
At the opening fanfare of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, we meet our young unnamed hero in the sleepy fishing village of Pilchard Bay. It's a tiny port on Estard Island, a small isle dotted with only a few hamlets and the eponymous castle town of Estard that's also — as far as its residents are concerned — the only landmass on the planet. That's been the prevailing wisdom for as long as anyone can remember, though our hero — along with his adventurous companions, the royal Prince Kiefer and the rambunctious Maribel — has his doubts, thanks to some mysterious shards that look like nothing else on Estard.
After picking up a few of these pieces and placing them together to form a tablet, the young friends are quickly whisked off the island and find themselves in an entirely new place. Even stranger, once they manage to make it back home, they find the land they've returned from has surfaced as an island off of Estard's coast, but in a state several generations later than when they left it. With that taste of adventure, their destiny is sealed, and our heroes set off across the seas and through time and space to unearth tablet fragments, resurrect long-lost islands, and uncover the world-spanning archipelago around Estard — along with the mysteries behind its disappearance.
Rather than venturing off to save the world, then, in Dragon Quest VII you're heading out to restore it piece by piece, and the result is a wonderfully different form of RPG. In terms of the gameplay, that story setup manifests itself in a loop that — at least in the early stages — looks almost like a cross between a dungeon crawler and a story-based JRPG: you'll find enough fragments to form a new tablet, be taken back in time to that new island, meet the local populace and learn about their culture, their land, and their problems — often taking the form of a powerful monster nearby. After helping them out — by solving a dispute, dispatching a demon, or being there with the right item — you'll travel forward in time to modern Estard, and get to see the present-day version of that island pop up somewhere in the nearby sea. More often than not, the newly risen island will hide a few fragments of its own, kicking off the hunt for the next tablet, and the next new land.
That gameplay loop fits perfectly into the Dragon Quest trappings, which include a beautiful overworld to traverse, towns to visit, and fields, caves, forests and towers to comb looking for monsters, treasures and fragments. Even better, and in a huge update from the PlayStation original, all of these are now fully 3D; they're an absolute joy to explore, whether on foot, sailing in your trusty ship, or soaring overhead on a flying carpet. A beautiful sketch-style touchscreen map helps you find your way and now highlights fragments, a welcome addition which — along with a fragment detector which lets you know when one's nearby — enormously simplifies the fragment-finding process. Of course, many of these locales you'll visit in your quest for tablets are also crawling with monsters, and rather than random encounters they're now visible on-field; as in EarthBound and many modern RPGs, you can choose to engage or avoid them as you like.
Once you do square off against an enemy, the turn-based combat is classic Dragon Quest: snappy, first-person, and fun. Your party has access to normal attacks, Spells (which drain MP), and Abilities (some of which drain MP), and you can adjust your formation — putting characters on the frontline for more damage or in the back for better defense — use items or defend, and choose to either issue orders to party members or control them directly. In a sense, this is the basic battle system that's been helping JRPG heroes on their way for the past 20 years, but it's stuck around for a reason; it's simple and accessible. There are a few quirks that make it uniquely Dragon Quest, too: you'll choose all your party's actions before the turn starts, rather than controlling them one at a time, spells and abilities are particularly powerful, and multiple enemies of the same type will often glom together in groups that act as a single target — so that if you aim for 'Slime x3', your character will randomly attack Slime A, B, or C. Speaking of Slimes, the enormously endearing enemies are another Dragon Quest touch, and from the cat-sorcerer Meowgicians and big-hearted jellyfish Heal Slimes to gangs of armored Deathcargot, the baddies on the other end of the battle screen never fail to raise a smile.
We really enjoyed our time with Dragon Quest VII's basic battle system, but if that description leaves you wanting more, worry not; combat gets appreciably more complex later on thanks to the Vocation system. Once you rebuild a particularly notable building your characters will be able to take up different jobs which affect their stats as well as the spells and abilities they'll learn, as in Final Fantasy V or Bravely Default. From fantasy staples like Mages, Thieves and Priestesses to more imaginative employments like Jesters, Troubadours, and — our personal favourite — Shepherds, there's something for every member of your party, and experimenting with different combinations is great fun, especially thanks to the costume changes.
Vocations in Dragon Quest VII come in Basic and Advanced varieties, and while anybody can choose a Basic career, you'll need to master certain lower levels of employment (by fighting a certain number of battles using them) before unlocking higher opportunities. Leveling up the Martial Artist and Warrior jobs, for instance, will let a character promote themselves to Gladiator, an Advanced class that boasts the attack power of Warriors and the speed of Martial Artists; mastering the Dancer, Troubadour, and Jester tracks, meanwhile, will set you up for stardom as an all-singing, all-dancing Luminary. And while skills picked up in Advanced classes can only be used while on that specific job, spells and abilities learned in Basic vocations will stay in a character's repertoire even after a career change. There are even Monster Vocations you can unlock by acquiring enough Monster Hearts from fallen foes, so lifelong aspirations of professional Slimedom are finally within reach.
One thing that really sets Dragon Quest VII's Vocations apart from similar systems is the fact that you'll only come across them after you're quite a way into the game — around 20 hours or so. That sounds like it would make for a slow start, but we really appreciated the time; it makes sure you're truly used to the basic battle format before introducing any complications, and it also helps space out exciting discoveries, so you're still uncovering game-changing elements even after spending an entire real-world day in and around Estard.
In fact, pacing is actually a strong suit throughout Dragon Quest VII. Much has been made of the game's epic length, and it's certainly true - there are two hours before your first battle, and well over 100 standing between the opening overture and closing credits. But thanks to the vignette-style storytelling and episodic structure that tends to focus on helping a single town at a time, it avoids ever feeling like a Sisyphean slog. Instead, it feels like an epic collection of shorter stories, with connecting threads to uncover as you progress, and a subsequent culminating adventure through the new continents you've resurrected. While saving the world is quite an ask, bringing an individual piece of the planet back to the present is often an hour-or-two affair; not necessarily something that can be squeezed in on your morning commute, but just about perfect for an afternoon at home, or the equivalent of a few chapters of a good book before bed. In our view, that's a perfectly-sized chunk of RPG goodness, and that's why we'd wholeheartedly recommend the adventure even to players whose longest Activity Log entry is in the single-digits.
Along the same lines, this 3DS version of Dragon Quest VII includes a host of features that make it a great fit for portable play. In addition to an almost-anywhere quick-save, there's also a 'Story So Far' log that keeps a prose account of everything that's happened in the game from Day One. That's handy for coming back after a long absence, and there's also more immediate help in the form of 'Recent Developments', a menu option that jogs your memory on the last story beat, and 'Next Tablet Fragment', which highlights any info you might have on where to head for the next fragment. These all proved useful at one point or another, but our favourite hint system was pressing 'B' to pull up a Party Chat with a random member of our team — no matter where you are in the game, your fellow adventurers will have something fun, topical, or useful to say about the situation at hand, and are always ready to help you turn vague advice from NPCs into more concrete direction.
This thoughtfulness is mirrored in the controls too, which are perfectly set up for on-the-go exploration. Along with the standard D-Pad and Circle Pad cursor control and 'A'/'B' for confirm and back, 'L' or any direction on the D-Pad or Circle Pad will advance text, and 'L' lets you confirm in menus. This lets you play most of the game one-handed if you like, and that's a serious bonus in our book, making for far more comfortable couch-top and/or coffee-shop sessions. The shoulder buttons also rotate the camera in towns and the overworld, and 'Y' is used as a handy shortcut to pull up a list of shop inventories in towns, saving you the trip to the counter.
Less helpful is the slight but always-annoying cursor delay in menus, and the preponderance of menus in general; from battle commands and equipment to inventory and information, items you'll need are frequently buried several sub-menus deep, and it's easy to descend into menu hell very quickly. Cursor memory helps a bit in battle, but it still only starts at the sub-menu level; if you used 'Heal' last turn and want to again, the Spell menu will default to 'Defensive' and then 'Heal' once opened, but you'll still have to specify switch to 'Spell' first on that character's turn. It sounds like a small detail, but in a 100+ hour game with lots of battles, those extra seconds each round can really add up, and a 'repeat last turn' function would have made a huge difference. Other slightly annoying - and dated - design features include individual inventories for each character, and a sweet but long-winded save function where accidentally pressing 'B' saves and ends the game, which led to at least a few frustratingly unintended trips to the Home menu.
Rather more timeless, thankfully, is Dragon Quest VII's excellent writing. That's been a series staple for a long time, and this 3DS update knocks it out of the park, with a literary-lite tone that fits the epic worldbuilding quest perfectly. Party members are quirky and likable, and NPCs always have something new to say as events unfold. The narrative strikes a nice balance too, with some sad and surprisingly affecting stories, but lots of lighthearted elements and puns — there's an eggplant enemy named 'Wobergine' and the Shepherd vocation has an attack called 'Lambpede'. It's equal parts wistful and whimsical, and we love it.
The emphasis on eye dialect — spellings, word choices, and unnatural syntax designed to mimic spoken dialects in text — that débuted in Dragon Quest IV's localisation also makes a return here, and in our view, it adds quite a lot of personality to the proceedings, even if the mock-syntax occasionally veers into embarrassing territory. Villages borrow their speech patterns from all over the British Isles as well as a variety of other countries, so you might find yourself in a Northern-talking town peppered with 'nowt's, a Scottish-ish settlement with 'tae's and 'Och!'s, or other areas where residents toss untranslated German, Italian, or Irish Gaelic expressions into their stylized speech. It gives each locale a unique identity, and makes perfect sense from a story perspective; it also encourages reading the dialogue 'out loud' in your head as you play, which helps give real voice to characters in a game with no voice-acting. The only issue is that the variety isn't always mirrored in the rest of the presentation; for so many different towns, cultures, and dialects, there's a noticeably small pool of character models and musical motifs to go with it, so that the quick-talking Gaels of Ballymolloy and the Italic people of l'Area share the same town themes, the same architecture, and the same dozen-or-so NPC models.
On the plus side, that's just about our only complaint with the presentation; Dragon Quest VII is a gorgeous game, and the kind of remake PSone titles dream of. It's bright and appealingly colourful at every turn, with a great blend of chunky elements and rounded edges that bring the world and especially Akira Toriyama's distinctive character designs to life. Menus are simple white-on-black affairs, relying on retro charm — but combined with the occasionally bit-crushed sound effects, we think it works. The new 3D overworld, however, is all new, and it looks great, especially with the stereoscopic effect turned on. It's also detailed in a way that only your imagination could fill in in the 32-bit days: head towards a city from the field, for instance, and you'll see not just a generic 'town' marker, but the actual village — we were blown away when we crested a hill in the overworld and could clearly see Pilchard Bay's church tower and harbour in the distance, and catching a glimpse of newly risen islands on the horizon is incredibly satisfying. Sure, there's a decent amount of pop-up, and the frame rate dips a bit from time to time, but none of that matters in motion; Dragon Quest VII drew us in completely.
On a smaller scale, we fell in love with the animations and the massive level of detail poured into them; everything from each party member having an appreciably different gait to crab-like enemies walking sideways in the overworld points towards a huge amount of polish and care. The battles are perhaps where they shine the most — the hybrid first/third-person camera angle lets you get a great view of the enemy models from your party's perspective, but then zooms out to show your characters (with visible equipment) when they perform a spell or attack an enemy. It's a far cry from the blinking sprites and invisible party of the PlayStation version, and it's put to wonderful use — watching a Crested Viper slither up and seamlessly wrap itself around our Hero while performing a bind attack is a jaw-droppingly cool illustration of what a remake can do.
The variety is astounding, and each individual action has its own unique animation; enemies will react differently if they're knocked out by a regular attack, spell, or critical hit, for instance, and each vocation has its own special set of moves. It's not often that something as rote as attack animation makes us laugh out loud in games, but the 'miss' routine of the Peahooter — an bow-wielding elf held aloft by a trio of owls — where the owls accidentally drop their archer directly into the ground and then shake it off, is one of the most endearing things we've witnessed in recent memory. This detail carries over into the battle backgrounds as well, where subtly animated elements — like clouds slowly floating by or sparks popping off of lava flows — really add to the ambiance.
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about ambiance in Dragon Quest without mentioning Koichi Sugiyama's compositions, and for all its striking settings and characters, the music might just provide Dragon Quest VII's most memorable moments. Sugiyama's signature symphonic style resonates throughout, with bouncy battle and boss themes, overworld fanfares, sombre songs for dungeons, and plenty of playful and plaintive town tunes. It's anchored on several points of classical influence — from a Tchaikovskian overture to a castle theme that wouldn't feel out of place in Handel's Water Music suites — as well as showtunes and film scores, but it comes together as a recognizable style, and provides a wonderful backdrop for the adventure. Sadly, this Western localisation relies on MIDI renditions in place of the excellent orchestral recordings of the Japanese 3DS release — a definite disappointment, but these arrangements are still very high quality, and well worth plugging in headphones for.
Along with beautiful music, Dragon Quest games are known for providing a variety of ways to spend your time off the beaten path, and this installment doesn't disappoint. In true Golden Era RPG fashion, you'll find a casino where you can try your hand at card games and fruit machines, a bestiary to fill in as you travel, and plenty of 'Mini Medals' to collect and exchange for rare equipment. Even better, this 3DS update also adds an excellent StreetPass implementation that lets you trade 'Traveller's Tablets'. These special maps link to randomly generated, short-form dungeons that see you fighting your way through packs of monsters — some of which are exclusive to these areas — and beating a boss for a chance at rare spoils. You can set a Tablet to send out via StreetPass and receive them in kind from people you pass, or — in a very welcome addition for non-urban adventurers — trade them through SpotPass, by tossing a Tablet into the internet ether and receiving three in return.
Finally, you'll occasionally be able to direct defeated monsters with repentant hearts to the Monster Meadows, an elysian Chao Garden of sorts where they can live out their days in peace. You can visit them whenever you like, and send them off on adventures of their own, putting together three-monster parties to head out and search for Traveller's Tablets in different regions of the world.
Conclusion
An island-hopping adventure spanning space and time, Dragon Quest VII is a JRPG masterpiece. If you played the PlayStation version back in the day, this is as perfect a remake as you could ask for, with beautiful 3D graphics, a smartly streamlined opening, and lots of welcome quality-of-life updates. And if this is your first time in Estard, you're in for a wonderful surprise — great writing, a fun class system, lovely animations and a stellar soundtrack make for a fully engrossing adventure throughout. It's a massive game, but don't let that scare you off; with short story-style pacing and a huge variety of settings, speech patterns, and scenarios, it feels less like an epic tome and more like a shelfful of storybooks stuffed into a 3DS cart. This is an absolute pleasure, and a must-play for RPG fans.
Comments 82
I was sure this was a master-piece.
Joy for the JRPG fans all over the world.
I cannot wait for Friday, so excited for this game.
I'm so ready for Friday! Just finishing up DQ 6.
I never got to play this one so really looking forward to it.
The only downside as always is having to play it on the 3DS, I love the 3D effects but nothing beats a nice console controller and a large TV in my book.
I played the hell out of the 3DS but all of it at home so... again dreaming about Nintendo releasing a 3DS player so I could play all of these great games on the big screen
I'm getting this, but still not entirely sure I'm going to end up liking it.
It is a slow paced game and it has on screen enemies, both of which are something of pet peeves of mine.
Bring it on!
I can't wait until Friday either. I am so excited for this game and my son is too.
Great review @Zipmon! The more I hear about this the more I want to play this straight away. SMT IV van wait but I will pick it up. Still need to beat the first game......
This game is going to have to wait. I just picked up Rune Factory 4, so that'll keep me busy for a while. DQ7 is definitely on my Christmas list. I'll probably save it for a B2G1 deal that Target usually does around Christmas.
Rather have Bioshock, but I'll go for this later on down the line.
I was on the fence about this game since I never got into the DQ series, but I am in desperate need of a quality JRPG I haven't played. I think after reading this I'm convinced I will be getting this.
Looks like I will be picking it up later this year then!
Every appropriate game should have a 'Story so far...' log/feature.
Don't love the art style of this, but the game does sound like an rpg done right.
Sounds good.
I may just buy this, after I complete Bravely Default 1+2, Xenoblade X, Xenoblade Chronicles, Ni No Kuni, Chrono Trigger, Monster Hunter 4....
I might play this in about 10 years then.
playing it right now
@Dakt
Whereas IX had no party interaction, VII has one of the best cast of characters of the series history.
Whereas IX had a barebones, almost lazy, class system (in which you unexplainably dropped to Lv. 1 when switching classes on top of that), VII has one of the most deep and rewarding class systems ever conceived.
Whereas IX had a very thin story and little sense of progression, VII has a huge world to recreate and explore and a story that builds slowly but surely to become one of the most ambitious of the whole series.
So, yeah, you can expect it to be a whole lot better than IX.
@HappyMaskedGuy "Sees Xenoblade, XCX, and Monster Hunter 4" make that 20 years. Since XCX, while having a giant length as is, has multiple route sidequests. So to fully complete XCX, you gotta do all of that.
Enjoy your 600 hours XD
Sweet! I loved 4, 5, 6 and 9 on the DS and 8 on the PS2!
Neato! Now let's see if VIII takes the leap to 3DS more or less kindly.
I'll get this eventually. Probably some time next year. I'm much more excited for SMT IV: Apocalypse, and I'm still smack dab in the middle of Trails in the Sky.
And I still have to eventually finish Xenoblade.
I really need to chill out with these long games.
Sounds absolutely brilliant.
When I saw they had remade Dragon Quest VII for 3DS, I didn't dare think I'd actually be able to play it. But here we are, with it about to be released in Europe.
It looks like it's a whole lot more advanced than I-VI (don't get me wrong, they're all enjoyable) and belongs more with VIII and IX - a good thing in my opinion.
Only slight disappointment is MIDI instead of orchestral, but there you go. Just can't wait for this!
Can't effing Wait, have it Downloaded all ready!! One of my most favorite games of all time! DQ always had stayed true to its roots unlike FF! Man I'm so excited! Lol this coming from a 39yo going threw tuff medical stuff this us well needed and will get off MHGen for a while!
DQ9 was my only foray into the series, and while I enjoyed it, it didn't grab me like the best Final Fantasy games did. Will I get this one? We'll see. 100+ hours...
YES! Finally! God, that nearly three and a half year wait has been murderous...but it is finally here...damn. I knew no matter the score, I needed this game. Glad to see this masterpiece has held up and been remade to such high standards. I can't wait until Friday and until I get to sit down and dive head first into this epic adventure, at long last...
@Zemus-DJ I'm 35 here and a long time series fan, DQVII, along with DQV, is one of my favorites! Hope you get well soon and enjoy DQ goodness!
Looks like I'll be getting Dragon Quest VIII when it arrives on the 3DS. No offense to VII, but 2 hours until the first battle? Not sure I like that, and I'm a Dragon Quest fan.
Not to mention, I have yet to play II and III. I think I'll get those on my Android phone and wait for VIII to drop.
As a big Dragon Quest fan, VII is the biggest piece missing from my series puzzle and, after years of waiting for this remake, I can't wait to finally dig into it over the weekend!
I will probably support this eventually, if nothing else, because of the story of how it almost got no localization and to show Square Enix execs we still like turn-based RPGs.
I am picking up my copy Friday afternoon after work. I hope it does really well (along with DQ VIII) so that DQ XI will be localized.
I'd love nothing more than to try this game out, but I don't know how much time i have to dedicate to a 100 hour rpg.
I was intending to ignore this one due to its well known brevity, but this review has changed my mind. Now I just have to find time between work and the kids.
I should probably finish Tokyo Mirage Sessions first though, and Odin Sphere. Oh, and Persona 4, Trails in the Sky SC and Tales of the Abyss 3D. Oh, that reminds me, Tales of Zestiria too.
Hmmm, I'll get around to this one eventually.
Looking forward to this, I know it won't be IX but that's fine, I'm heading into a solo adventure, not a mutliplayer romp.
@BensonUii - Good luck. I've found it at EBgames in Canada for 14.99 Can. So I'm sure you can find it.
This game is going to be amazing. Praise the RPG gods. The Best JRPG series by far. Yeah, Hurray, Yippie. This typifies the 3DS as the best RPG system.
No questions ask, already got mine pre-order, will probably receive it by next week. Can't wait to play it again.
I've never played a Dragon Quest. This may be my first.
Hope they didn't butcher the translation.
@zipmon Dangit, Morgan. Always seeking to add RPGs to my backlog.
Great review, per usual.
@sonicmeerkat DQ localizations are top-notch from the DS remakes onwards, I wouldn't worry about that.
@fchinaski You seem like the right person to answer this question.
As someone who wants to get into the Dragon Quest series, should I get this one or wait for VIII? I've heard VIII is more newcomer friendly so I'm wondering if I should hold off or not. I've got a lot in my backlog as it is right now, but it'll be nice to break it up with an RPG such as Dragon Quest.
@Lewieboy124 In a sense, DQVII is as Dragon Quest as a game can get, so if you want to really have a bona fide DQ experience, the DQ VII remake will probably be a great start. Don't get me wrong, though: VIII is an AMAZING game, but also a bit of a departure of the classic DQ style. I consider DQ VII to be the last of the old-school DQs. The good thing is that, with this remake, you get a modern coat of paint as a bonus!
I'm hyped for this, got it preordered.
@Yorumi Exactly! Glad you remembered that!
I absolutely loved Dragon Quest IX, played it for almost 300 hours combined! And this will probably be just as great, if not better, with the feeling of nostalgia for IX from 6-7 years ago boosting it! Hell yeah, I'm really hyped for a new JRPG again.
It's a pity they dropped the orchestral score for the MIDI one (does anyone have any idea why?), but I guess that won't spoil the fun one bit
I am ready for this game been wating for a long time to play it
man me and my friends absolutely loved IX! we had so much fun playing through that game. the nostalgia of playing IX will totally be a boost while playing this game, ill probably enjoy it more because apparently this is one of the best in the series and this review did a great job on telling us all the pros and cons. im super exited!
I'm just glad it improved things from the original. I was not a fan of that one. I don't have it anymore, but I kinda wish I could try the original again just so I have a fresh memory of it, but I doubt it's worth it. I'll just try to appreciate this new version for what it is...and only go back to the PSOne version if I feel I need a reminder of how bad it could be...
2 questions:
1. Does this game support stereoscopic 3D or not?
2. Why were the orchestral tracks replaced with MIDI ones?
The second question's answer won't affect my decision to buy this or not, but the first's very likely will. As much as I love DQ and despite the admirable translation effort that went into this game, I refuse to the support lazy, entitled attitude behind the development of several Square-Enix games for the greater part of the last decade. The incredible lack of effort put into the release of Chrono Trigger DS as well as the company's self-entitled response to the game's lack of sales is a prime example of this. At least basic improvements which are universal to the majority of a system's games should be required to compel a game's fanbase to re-purchase a title for a new system (eg, new models or graphics for a DS game that was formerly a 16-bit game; stereoscopic 3D for any 3DflippingS game). No company is entitled to make sales for any game, period, so expecting fans to buy your game again just because you released it again is outrageous. DQ9 was an amazingly refreshing game that went against such a pattern, and I hope the new DQ7 has followed suit.
Dragon Quest VII & Dragon Quest Builders is all I need to keep me happy until the Nintendo NX, Dragon Quest XI, and Yooka-Laylee!
@Yorumi @fchinaski Thanks guys. I'll get it ASAP.
I will be getting SMT4 Apocalypse first.... Still need to finish TMS#FE and the original SMT4 and I never managed to finish Xenoblade on Wii...
The 3DS is a fine JRPG machine... Will be my first purchase for it in a while.
Hey wait, hold the phone: Did the reviewer just praise the pacing? While still acknowledging the episodic storytelling, the fact that it takes 20 hours to unlock the vocations (of which there over 20, and still require a ton of grinding before some of them are actually useful), and that it takes 2 hours before you even get to the first battle? And did she actually state that someone out there might actually need to get used to the battle system in a Dragon Quest game?
Morgan: -> DOOR
I'm headed to Metacritics before I regret yet another pre-order...
Sounds awesome. Just in time for my Birthday as well (10 days earlier but who is counting).
It´s a genuine game with so much fun to be had. And the graphics is excellent with such an amazing amount of nicely realized monsters to fight. Sure it is up to a slow start, but it will gradually get more and more complex and just like a really good book, you will come to a point where you wish it will never end! And the stereoscopic effect is fairly nice, especially indoors.
@HappyMaskedGuy I have a backlog like yours and am on the verge of not trying anymore. In my younger days it would have been great but I think RPG's might end up becoming a thing of the (forgotten) past for me
@wazlon I really don't understand so many people complaining about the lack of games to play on Nintendo systems- how much time are people spending paying games?? I manage an hour or two every other day, and I figure that's quite a lot. My backlog is enormous! By the time I get round to playing a game it's filed away as 'retro'.
@FlameRunnerFast Will have to sleep 5 hours every night, ration down to one meal a day and tell the missus to forget about me and move on, then.
I paid for Xenoblade X Special Edition and I'm gonna play it gad darn it.
Why did they change the monsters appearance system? it is usually annoying to train when you have to meet the ennemy on the map. (not that it prevented me to reserve the game)
I'll ask this too: "Why were the orchestral tracks replaced with MIDI ones?
@fchinaski People who "like Dragon Quest" because of the IX are have often illusions about what makes a Dragon Quest (confusing DraQue with Level-5 typical RPGs/games).
@Lynox @mig-EL @Dakt IX is more of a Level-5 hommage to Dragon Quest than a real Draque. If you expect IX style, you should redirect yourself toward other Level-5 creations.
@Yorumi I guess so but that's why you end up with a lot of RPG's that build up, because you know you're not going to get the time for them.
@HappyMaskedGuy Yeah, lots of my games would be considered 'retro' now but with recent games you have to think whether you need to play it while online functions are still available or you might miss out. Tough call.
I am super excited for this game. Friday can't come soon enough! I really enjoyed IV, V and IX and I am sure I am going to love this too!
I'm pretty excited but sadly I made the mistake of recently buying Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 and those are REALLY long games. So I need to finish those up before starting on yet another long RPG. I'll likely make the poor financial choice and buy it anyways. It seems like a lot of these games don't drop in price anyway.
Wow I haven't seen such a glowing review of an rpg in quite some time. I am not playing my 3DS at the moment but I'll tell ya what, this game is starting to tempt me! It sounds just excellent.
@Yorumi
"Just playing the best games gives you a lot so why bother with the mediocre stuff"
Exactly. People always ask "How do you have time to keep up owning all the systems" and I say cause I'm not increasing the number of games played, only choosing the best from a wider pool of candidates. There's a ton of excellent games out there- just go for the classics!
That said, I personally do like experimenting and finding out what I like and don't. And as a book lover builds a good library of books in many genres, I like having "the best rogue-likes on Vita" and "the top rated visual novels", along with all the more popular genres. Any game that's a classic I want to preserve for future play- like Dragon Quest VII here, and SMT IV Apocalypse, and the Paper Marios and the Trails of Cold Steels and the Bioshock Collections and the Recores...
Speaking of, you have an X1? They're tearing ReCore apart in these reviews, but I was playing the game 3 days early (thanks BestBuy) and gosh dang I'm in love with this game! It scratches that Metroid Prime itch in a way no other game has in 10 years. It's SO similar in so many ways- strong female, isolated planet, health upgrades like energy tanks, lock on and strafe based combat, items from crates draw toward you, unlimited ammo and charge shot, even has mother freaking magnetic rails! Which I can't access yet, but will come back to after I gain the ability... Even some of the enemies look like space pirates, one has a shield with a gap and it spins around the enemy so you have to strafe around to shoot in the gap (just like Parasite Queen).
I don't care what anyone says, ReCore is an absolutely amazing new IP and I think these reviewers have gone nuts.
Ok, totally off topic there.
@Yorumi Good answer. I'm not much of a traditional socialiser either (I get anxiety around groups of people in public places)
but then again, I am quite lazy when it comes to playing games. My problem lies in my attention deficit. I find it very difficult to see things through. Though I did just complete MGSV on PS4, which iv been working on for about a year lol.
Maybe there's hope for me yet
just as y nn3dsxl breaks
I never played a Dragon Quest game before, but... after all the praise this game has been getting lately, I guess I'll have to play it then!
After having played my first ever Dragon Quest game via Chapters of the Chosen on the DS last generation, I've been a DQ fan ever since. I've generally never really cared much for the numbered Final Fantasy games (mostly because I dislike the active time battles in later entries) and hate how DQ doesn't receive nearly as much attention in the West. I'm still playing my way through Bravely Second but I'm enamored that I'll have an amazing DQ to play right afterward! (And totally can't wait to download the 3DS theme as well!)
I'll pick it up for sure, but the replacing of an actual, existing orchestral score in favour of MIDI really is inexcusable no matter which way you put it.
Hugely excited for this, can't wait for the weekend!!
Have to ask (as I'm not sure if it's been answered) though, any reasoning for MIDI as opposed to the re-orchestrated JP version music? Seems like an odd thing to cut and is a bit disappointing.
this will be my first DQ game ever, cant wait!!
I'm more a fan of Level-5 games so I'll grab viii instead. Sounds like an excellent game for fans though!
I'm so conflicted. I want to buy the game. But I have so a massive backlog, and this game definitely won't help that with 100+ hours.
I still have to get through the last 2 Ace Attorneys, Fates (All of Them), RF4, Fantasy Life, XC, and XCX, not to mention Sun/Moon in November, lest not forget BotW. I need someone to talk me down
Funny, Dragon Quest 7 costs 39,95 in the eShop ... and 34.95 on Mmoga .. happy donating.
@GraveLordXD
Honestly, and I'm not trying to make it sound bad, or better than it is. This is my honest take.
The game is an 8/10 all day. Runs perfectly fine, aside from the atrocious loading. Thankfully it's only once when you start the game, and later on when you fast travel or choose to exit into a new area. It does suck, but hey, I can deal with it for a game I'm really loving. No bugs or glitches- not saying there's not any but, I haven't encountered any whatsoever. I'm 5 hours in, give or take.
Playing the game through the lens of beating the entire Prime trilogy, I have a deeper appreciation for a great deal of mechanics and features which are considerably inspired by those games. For someone who hasn't played them, maybe I can see why they wouldn't feel the same way, but those mechanics evoke a memory of games of years past- great games of years past.
The platforming is the star of the show hands down. So well done and never gets old.
Now, I will say the combat, and the crafting, while perfectly fine and meticulously crafted, isn't that deep. Granted Metroid combat never was either, but Metroid had bosses where you used abilities like rolling up their leg or using X Ray visor to see, while this game doesn't. It's good stuff, but I do wish it was deeper (I like Monster Hunter and Xenoblade levels of complexity).
Also, lots of exploring and searching. You'll come to gates and need 8 little hovering battery cell robots, and need to search the immediate area. It sounds dull, but it's actually fun. They're never too hard to find- just hidden enough to keep you engaged a little.
The dungeons are so cool. So cool. I won't spoil anything but ya, they're awesome.
I'm willing to bet the end game fetch quest is a doozy, but I don't care. If I'm enjoying it this much along the way, I'll have gotten my worth out of it even if I stop playing it then. But then again, backtracking in Metroid never bothered me so, I may not even be bothered by it, I just go at a normal pace, no rush to finish, and enjoy the ride.
Definitely worth $40. Heck my brother is buying an Xbox One after watching me play ReCore for 2 hours. Thats the kind of impression it made on him. Ironic since I got a GameCube after watching him play Metroid Prime 10 years ago. We've come full circle. Games from this director must just have that certain allure.
Maybe I missed someone answering, but the switch from orchestral to MIDI is usually because of space. MIDI is much smaller. Since the recent 3DS Japanese version did have orchestral, could the English localization have eaten up more space than the Japanese? Any other differences in the English version?
The game sounds awesome. I played through DQIX twice, but DQVII fells like the older games (IV-VI), but with amazing graphics and unique plot.
I'm guessing copyright issues with the orchestra.
@Gauchorino @Thulfram To quote the question, as well as provide a further answer, a recorded live orchestral soundtrack has to be stored as, well, audio; while MIDI is stored as, well, MIDI data (note and automation information, very small) and the synth engine together with instrument samples (can be very small too). MIDI takes up less space, so could be that, could also be some licensing issue as well.
@WoottWinds two years later The guy who made the original orchestral music didn't give permission.. maybe he wants a lot more money, don't know the exact reason, but it's a shame indeed we don't get to enjoy it in every Dragon Quest iteration, even Builders suffers from the dreadful MIDI..
@Olmectron was?
No, actually this is not such a good game. The problem becomes apparent after about 10 hours of gameplay. Instead of sticking to the turn-based nature, lightning reflexes are needed to jump into levels and out of obstacles.
That was not expected and not desired, I couldn't progress after roughly 25 hours in I got tired of the arcade aspects.
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