016 4 First off , the graphics may not be flashy but they sure bring back the great feel of a classic rpg . And people who complain about the storyline are probably the same people who thought Casablanca had a bad story . It is a bible of a story and i would recommend this game to ANYONE who is not looking for a final fantasy 10 but a solid , fun and classic game that really is an epic .
036 4 and you know what's funny ? i haven't finished it ! i have over 60 hours on this game , and i'm STILL ON THE FIRST DISC . i have hardly accomplished anything ! this game is HUGE ! ! ! ! ! ! the graphics are so un-unique , it actually adds to the game . the camera shift is the coolest thing to ever hit an rpg . battle system is same as all dw's , but it's great . never a dull moment with enix . buy and enjoy , and don't plan anything for . . . the rest of your life .
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
REVIEWERS NOTE : Throughout this review the product is referred to as Dragon Quest VII and not Dragon Warrior VII . They're both the same game , but the truth is : the series is called Dragon Quest . So don't get confused . I also refer to the other games in the series as Dragon Quest and not Dragon Warrior .
Dragon Quest is huge in Japan . The games actually have to be release on Sundays or Holidays because of how big they are . The Dragon Quest games are not nearly as big in America . The other Dragon Quest games are actually a real treat - - particularly the SNES games that never made it to the states . Dragon Quest VII does not hit the height of the NES and SNES games in any way shape or form , mainly because this game in particularly , does nothing to actually make the Dragon Quest games mature , and that's really sad . It's great that they got it together for Dragon Quest VIII , but it can't stop the seventh in the series from being the black sheep of them all .
It's really sad to because of all the Dragon Quest games , the seventh installment is one of the only ones to have a satisfying storyline where things actually progress and you don't spend a lot of time running around so lost you don't know what to do . It's not a deep story by any means , but it does have more focus here than other Dragon Quest games . Because of the structure of the story , there's not too much you can explore from the get go , and thus you're limited .
The first thing about Dragon Quest VII that people will note is that the game looks absolutely horrible . For a late generation PSX game going up against the likes of Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX at the time , this game looks like a rejected Super Nintendo game , and it may be because it was originally in development for that particularly system . The towns look really bad , the textures are mostly pixelated , the character sprites look horrendous . Simply put , this is just a terrible looking game . The sound effects are even worse . You'll dread each time you have to pick up a barrel and toss it . You'll dread opening a door . The games framerate isn't even steady . The only thing to the games graphical credit is that some of the enemies don't look so bad , and that it's colorful . Still , even for those who don't base their judgment of a game on graphics will have to take a moment to get used to just how terrible they really are .
The second annoying thing is the menu system . It's the exact same one that was used in Dragon Quest VI , and it's just a pain to navigate . In a world where games like Final Fantasy VII made navigating the menu as easy chewing food , Dragon Quest VII makes it a tedious task . Characters are limited to what they can hold and I don't want to go into the nightmare of equipping and re-equipping characters over and over again . The menu interface is absolutely horrible . It seems like such a dumb thing to complain about , but in an RPG released on the Playstation , inventory management shouldn't be so difficult , nor should I have to spend more time in the menu than actually exploring a dungeon .
Combat is also a big problem . It's not that battling isn't fun . Firstly , you don't get into a battle for quite some time . In fact , you'll spend the first couple of hours of the game roaming around not battling anything . It'll be a miracle if some gamers can even hold out that long . Especially because it's an RPG with little story exposition in the beginning . When you do make it to that point though , you'll be met with mixed feelings . For some odd reason battling is fun , but again , the graphics really make you wonder sometimes . The battle system is essentially the same as it was on the NES and SNES . The problem here is simple : This isn't either of the two systems . I don't mind the combat being menu based , but the fact that you don't see your characters and that they don't physically go up and strike the enemy makes battling feel a little . . . empty and uninspired . Some of the enemies actually look pretty good , but I'm bothered that the battle engine is exactly the same as Dragon Quest I from way back when . Dragon Quest VIII certainly did a far better job in at least making their battles look good . Here , you just feel as if you're not involved enough . It's simple , and it is fun because the combat is surprisingly deep and strategic . Even better the game is a challenge . But all the while you can't help but thinking you're playing an NES game on a system that is capable of so much more .
They say it'll take you about 100 hours to plow through Dragon Quest VII . The game is , in fact , huge . There's tons of sidequests , and just when you think the game is getting stale , they do manage to throw something else at you that gets a little more involved in the gameplay . The job system , for instance , comes along hours after you've begun your quest , but it adds a lot of variety when it's finally added in there . Enough to keep you busy for hours . What a lot of people don't mention about Dragon Quest VII , however , is that a lot of those 100 hours are spent on heavily raising your party to getting better levels and stats . Dragon Quest is known for making gamers work , and Dragon Quest VII actually does that . For example , the game will not let you overpower your characters job classes . There's a point where they do cut you off and you have to advance forward . However , you've still go to worry about their normal levels , and you don't gain a whole lot of experience or gold from these monsters . Thus , of the 100 spent to plow through the game , you'll more than likely spend more than 50 hours just leveling up to take on the next challenge . And Dragon Quest VII is not an easy game .
While the sound effects are bad , the music of the game itself is quite good . Dragon Quest has always had good music and Dragon Quest VII is no exception . The game falls short in almost every category except music . Here's where the game truly shines , and not only that but Dragon Quest fans will recognize some fantastic tunes from other games .
The bottom line is simple . Is Dragon Quest VII a good game ? The answer is surprisingly , yes . You just have to really be able to get passed the fact that you're playing an NES game on a system capable of so much more . Simplicity has kept the series alive at least , but the game seriously looks like a rejected SNES title that they felt they needed to dress up in tattered clothes and shove onto the Playstation . The game isn't bad , it's just that by the time Dragon Quest reached the seventh installment , one has to wonder why the developers didn't actually make it look or play like a Playstation RPG .
If you can look past the NES appeal , Dragon Quest VII is a great game . It's fun to battle in ( despite it's graphics ) . There are tons of mini-games and sidequests to do , and there's so much variety that you'll want to play just for the sheer fact that you KNOW you haven't uncovered anything . Still , the old school nature of this game is going to be hard to swallow , even for old school gamers . The game is slow , the menu system is horrible , the graphics are subpar , the battles feel like you're doing nothing . With these kinds of cons taunting the game , it's hard to recommend it even to die hard Dragon Quest fans . Fun to play , but it's asking a lot gamers to look past its glaring shortcomings .
001 4 First of all , i would like to mention piece of my mind on graphic . Lot of people complain that the graphic looks really outdated . Personally , i didn't think it was outdated at all . You see , certain games have to accommodate particular graphic in order to really convey the atmosphere and theme of the game . Could you imagine Parappa the Rappa with 3D , realistic graphic ? Just go to top of the castle , and roate your screen , dang , it's beautiful ! ! How many games let you rotate your screen and yet so smoothly ? It took long time to make this game and i'm sure that staff at Enix thoughtout everything thoroughly .
Alrite . . I have to , first of all , let you know that this game isn't for everyone . I've played the series from NES day , Dragon Warrior 1 through 4 , and replayed them again on GameBoy . Personally I love Dragon Warrior series more than I love Final Fantasy series . When you play the game for few hours , you will realize that it's not really easy to earn your money and experience point like other RPGs . What this means that you will have to not only fight diligently but also spend your money wisely . It's not like other RPG where you have so much money , you have no problem with equiping everyone with latest weapon and armor once you get to next town . However , in Dragon Warrior 7 , you will have to work your way up to buy one weapon or armor for one character . Now . . you might think that's so stupid , spending , or rather wasting your time on these meaningless thing , when you have world before you to save . . Wrong . You see , when i heard about RPG for very first time , I thought it was so stupid . Come'on , give me a break , no action whatsoever ? ? You just command character to attack or use magic , and that's it ? ? And your health point just got reduced by 8 points ? ? But once you get a taste of RPG , it becomes very addictive , isn't it ? Same thing with earning money / exp . point , and buying that one weapon , that one armor which you will see with your own eyes during battles that actually equiping that very weapon , that very armor really works , inflicting more damage , reducing damage points from enemies . Like I mentioned in Dragon Warrior III review , Dragon Warrior VII doesn't flood the world with countless weapon and armor . There are just several of them , and really good ones , which you will have to search and find with good effort . You will appreciate each weapon and armor , knowing that they are not something to be done without even thinking about it in other RPGs , but it sort of becomes more personal , knowing you are battling to save money to buy that particular weapon / armor .
Music . . you know , personally , I love Dragon Warrior music much more than Final Fantasy music score . It seems like Final Fantasy does pull out excellent ones once in awhile , however , the composer ( what was his name , , Koichi ? ? ) really knows how to compose good music score . His music , if you listen to them from Dragon Warrior 1 , is very simple , yet it really does pierce into you very deeply . It's sort of easier to compose something with lot of sound effect / channel , but it is REALLY difficult to make a masterpiece with let's say only piano sound . The most famous music score for Final Fantasy is probably the very first song of opening movie , starting in C major , A minor , F major , G major then back to C again . Koichi is the master of composing excellent music score from very simple mean and sound . His music is very simple yet , really delivers the various situation . I still think the very first music from Dragon Warrior , the music which comes out when you are on over world field as the BEST music ever . And i'm glad Enix decided to bring some old sound effect , like going up and down stair , sound of reaching next level , etc .
One thing I didnt ' like about Dragon Warrior 7 is that time to time , you don't know where to go , or get stuck because you don't have the stone shard to proceed to next story . What it means is that you will have to search everywhere , explore same place in present and in past as well in order to proceed . But that's really minor thing .
Overall , if you are too fond of Final Fantasy's graphic , and deep storyline , and haven't played previous Dragon Warrior series from NES time , then I'm not sure if you will like it or not . But one thing for sure , when it comes to the DELICATE BALANCE OF GAME PLAY , nothing can even come close , really .
Enjoy your Dragon Warrior , the Best Selling Japanese PlayStation game console Title of All Time ! What about Mighty Final Fantasy ?
DRAGON WARRIOR VII IS THE BEST SELLING JAPANESE PLAYSTATION GAME CONSOLE TITLE OF ALL TIME , PERIOD .
002 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
First off , I must give a disclaimer ; I love the Dragon Warrior games . I love pretty much ALL ( good ) RPG's , and Dragon Warrior has never disappointed . That being said , I think that Dragon Warrior 7 might be the best of the bunch . . .
Yeah , yeah , I know . Final Fantasy continues to have groundbreaking deliveries , with breathtaking graphics and symphonic sound . However , strip away the pretenses , and what you have is so-so role-playing action . However , Dragon Warrior 7 delivers on all of the aspects necessary for a good role playing adventure . . .
First off , the game is long . In fact , over 100 hours , to be exact ! Also , there is very little in the way of cinematics , and so the gamer is actually PLAYING the entire time ( unlike the aforementioned Final Fantasy games ) . Characters have the freedom to train in over 50 classes ( although many of the classes are difficult to obtain ) , obtaining many new skills and spells . The world of DW7 is huge as well , and also includes forays into the past ( in order to unravel mysteries which I will not speak of here ) . There are a few fun pastimes ; for example , you can try to build your own town , or monster park , or you can play a few hands of poker in the casino . The enemies at times are downright difficult , forcing you to use strategy in a few of the battles . There are some twists , and although a former reviewer said the twists were trite , I nonetheless enjoyed the fact that it brought more gameplay . I cannot say enough about this game , but if you like true RPG action , and are sick of games that have you watching movies , I would strongly recommend purchasin this game . I don't think you'll be disappointed !
003 4 First off , I must give a disclaimer ; I love the Dragon Warrior games . I love pretty much ALL ( good ) RPG's , and Dragon Warrior has never disappointed . That being said , I think that Dragon Warrior 7 might be the best of the bunch . . .
Yeah , yeah , I know . Final Fantasy continues to have groundbreaking deliveries , with breathtaking graphics and symphonic sound . However , strip away the pretenses , and what you have is so-so role-playing action . However , Dragon Warrior 7 delivers on all of the aspects necessary for a good role playing adventure . . .
First off , the game is long . In fact , over 100 hours , to be exact ! Also , there is very little in the way of cinematics , and so the gamer is actually PLAYING the entire time ( unlike the aforementioned Final Fantasy games ) . Characters have the freedom to train in over 50 classes ( although many of the classes are difficult to obtain ) , obtaining many new skills and spells . The world of DW7 is huge as well , and also includes forays into the past ( in order to unravel mysteries which I will not speak of here ) . There are a few fun pastimes ; for example , you can try to build your own town , or monster park , or you can play a few hands of poker in the casino . The enemies at times are downright difficult , forcing you to use strategy in a few of the battles . There are some twists , and although a former reviewer said the twists were trite , I nonetheless enjoyed the fact that it brought more gameplay . I cannot say enough about this game , but if you like true RPG action , and are sick of games that have you watching movies , I would strongly recommend purchasin this game . I don't think you'll be disappointed !
004 4 Dragon Warrior VII recalls the glory days of RPG gaming , when developers were not reliant on flashy graphics and FMV , but rather a good story , whimsical dialogue , and a deep and engaging plot .
In the era of 3 - D texture mapped graphics running at 60 frames per second , Dragon Warrior is indeed a gem to behold . The graphics are terrible but charming , the sound is purely 16 - bit but very sumptuous , and the vast world will help you kill off literally hundreds of hours of your life .
The only low point with the game other than the obvious is the somewhat linear nature of the game towards the beginning to the middle section of the plot .
Dragon Warrior VII may not be able to compete with the likes of Final Fantasy X , but for those who love RPGs , Dragon Warrior has the hours and ultimately the heart to keep you glued to your television screen .
005 4 I got this game a week ago and have already put in 24 + hours on it - - seeing as I'm a first-year law student in the middle of exams , you can understand just how addictive this game is . The gameplay is very similar to the old Dragon Warrior games , but incredibly in-depth and expansive . The music borrows quite a bit from the older games in the series as well , which is nice - - I hate to see games diverge too much from what made them great in the first place * cough * FF8 * cough * . If there were one thing I would change about this game , it would be the graphics . The 3 - D town layout is wonderful , but the characters and the enemies are not much better than what you'd see on a SNES or much older PS1 game . This makes the FMVs ( although rare - - I've only come across one so far ) look VERY out of place . The engaging plot and fast-paced gameplay definitely makes up for these shortcomings , though .
One caveat - - don't get this for a younger teen . There are some situations that are hilarious for adults but possibly inappropriate for kids - - one character , for example , is reading a dirty magazine if you try talking to him too soon , and on another occasion the 16 - year-old main characters decide to get drunk at a party . Parents might not want their kids exposed to this sort of thing .
006 4 It's been so long since a Dragon Warrior game has made it to a domestic release that I've almost forgotten the series . For those who may not remember , Dragon Warrior ( Dragon Quest in Japan ) was one of the first role playing games ever to be released on a console system . The series has seen tremendous success in Japan , and Dragon Warrior 7 for the Playstation is one the best selling games ever as a result . Dragon Warrior 7 is as about as traditional as an RPG can get with the medievil theme , random battles , spells , and the like . It may come as a surprise to some that the graphics have changed little over the years when compared to other RPGs , especially Final Fantasy . However , after you play several hours into the game and get passed the mediocre graphics , you will quickly find yourself hooked . There's something nostalgic about the old style graphics and gameplay . . . perhaps Enix realized this and developed the game accordingly . The storyline and gameplay are great , and there's never a shortage of areas to explore . This is one massive game . . . it will take even the best of RPG gamers at least 70 - 80 hours to obtain everything . Perhaps Dragon Warrior 7 will be best appreciated by those who played the older games many years ago , but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed by the uninitiated . Dragon Warrior 7 is yet another reason to remember why in an era where graphics often sell a game , quality gameplay is still the most important of any feature .
007 4 The game is a blast from the past , and it is welcomed with open and very eager arms . The intro screen follows suit of previous Dragon Warrior games - no long movie intros , just the title of the game plain and simple . You are immediately thrown into the classic character creation scheme and get a quick movie that lays some basis for the personalities of the characters . The beginning of the game involves more puzzle solving then jumping right into fights , a welcome change from the previous Dragon Warrior games . But don't dismay , the classic fighting scene is well preserved with some fun adjustments .
The world view is most definately an improvement allowing rotation of the 3D world , although not always FULL rotation depending on where your character currently resides ( i.e . in a cave or in a town ) . The graphical enhancements to the world are a far cry from the 16 or so bright colors originally displayed on Nintendo consoles . There is a zoom-up function available in towns that allows you to raise the bird's eye view to help you figure out how to get wherever you want to go .
The original menu system is still in play with a couple of small , but useful tweaks of its own - mainly cursor location tracking . When you're involved in item management or moving , the cursor will remember where it was last so if you want to move a large number or items from one person to another you don't have to constantly move the cursor back and forth . The other pseudo-tweak of the menu system is the times you DON'T have to access it . Previously , one had to open the general command menu and then select Talk to talk to someone or Search to look around your feet or in a treasure chest - no longer . All the automatic functions such as search or talk are combined into the top button of the four on the controller . If you want to look in a chest or talk to someone , just hit the button and away you go !
The adjustments to the battle mode are also quite notable with improved backgrounds on which the monsters reside , a morphing of the monsters ' attacks , and a definate 3D feel . Whenever an enemy makes an attack , the image of the enemy ( normally at the classic stand-still ) morphs into action ! The smooth , quick morphing of the attacks is quite impressive and each type of attack imposed on your characters has a specific look . This is certainly a step in the right direction from just text saying so-and-so attacks . The only only gripe to be had is when defensive spells are cast , unless you're reading ( and reading quickly ) , there's a good chance you'll totally miss the casting as no visual effects give away the action .
One thing that many may find irritatin is when you rotate the 3D world , the direction your character faces is not adjusted with it . If you face east and rotate the world , your character's direction of sight will change instead of staying looking east .
The only obvious part of the game not enhanced to the same graphical level as the rest of the game is the character sprites ( the images of the characters themselves ) . They still sport the bright , lower-quality color depths seen with previous iterations of the Dragon Warrior saga . While the detail and movement of the character sprites is improved somewhat , they still remind you of the character sprites of Dragon Warrior III .
Overall the newest release of Dragon Warrior in the US is ( and should be ) greeted and celebrated by many avid Dragon Warrior and RPG fans . The story line is well developed ( but I won't give it away ) , the main characters ' personalities are very will portrayed giving them more depth , and if this game follows suit of previous releases - the replay value will be HUGE !
008 4 At first glance when the average gamer starts this game , they wonder about this game's expectations . It boasts a hundred hours of gameplay , so that must mean that the graphics must be really good , right ? Well , most gamers take one look at the graphics , fiddle around with the game for a little bit , and give up completely . I warn you , this game is not for those who are only out for the flasy graphics or the gameplay that's so simple any five-year-old could complete it in their sleep . This game is not simple-minded . No , it's not Final Fantasy : It's Dragon Warrior , and having a game that just screams old school and boasts about it for a ridiculously long time is absolutely fine with me .
As I already said , at first glance , this game is not particularly pretty to stare at . But if anybody spends enough time with the game , you'll tend to ignore this little minor detail . That's right : minor . This is Dragon Warrior , and the focus is on gameplay here , not making everything look pretty . The majority of the game focuses strictly on battle , where your strategic wits are most needed . Instead of today's Attack , heal , repeat strategy , you'll have to dig deeper if you want to come out of the battles alive . In other games in which spells that increase your attack and defense are practically useless , in Dragon Warrior VII , they are all but required .
As well , at first glance , the plot seems as linear as it could be . As the heroes of the game , you have decided to embark on a quest to recover lands lost due to an unknown evil via time travel . This may seem like a pointless game where it all seems like all you have to keep doing is go back in time and rescue the helpless people , then go to the next land , save it , and do it over and over again . However , the more time you spend with the game , the more this seemingly linear plot unfolds . The more lands you restore , the more you learn about this unknown evil . That seems to be the basis of most video games in general , but for some reason , this one seems that much different . Not to mention there is this one cruel and sadistic plot twist that will leave your jaw dropping and frozen in that position for an indefinite length of time . I will not mention what it is , for that would be spoiling things .
One thing that I haven't mentioned that should really be noted is of course the musical score . Koichi Sugiyama is the go-to guy , and has written the scores for the previous Dragon Warrior games . While the music for other games has a blatant techno-new age appearance , Sugiyama has decided to stick with a much more traditional , orchestral-based sound , and to me , that creates a really powerful emotional tool during crucial points of the game at times . It's really a great score , and really adds to the experience .
In conclusion , all I have to say is to give this game an honest chance . Don't dislike it because it isn't Final Fantasy , and it isn't as attractive-looking . Because of this misjudgment , most gamers are missing out on this remarkable , innovative gaming experience . You should play the game to experience what old school is all about , and will possibly be as close to an actual journey to rid evil as anything will ever be . Don't be one of the several gamers who have turned their backs on this game for trivial reasons . This game is that and much more .
You're missing out . Big time .
009 4 This is what rpgs are all about . Finally , a game where money has a point . In other games you have so much money you can afford every single thing , so there might as well not be any money , but in DW7 you have to be thrifty and clever . It's difficulty is pleasent , not hard or easy . The graphics don't suck , they're adorable . Nice rotable screen . Intricate towns and dungeons . Fun job system . Long adventure . A refreshing break from all to similar games like FF 8 and FF 10 . Basically , the story is composed of several little tradegies , well planned out and take place in about 3 hours a peice , which is amazing as you meet characters , their problems , and help them out in that much time . The reason their seems to be character development lacking in the main character Is . . . . . . . . . . . the fact that he is YOU ! Do YOU really need character development to be told how YOU are ? Nope . The only con is it starts of kinda slow . ( First battle is 6 hours into the game ) .
010 4 alright maybe the graphics of this game may be nothing to the amazing cg squaresoft puts out , dq VII is staight out one of the longest and most inovative rpg out there . the story itself has amazing cliches and one of the best build up after battles you can have . With the many job classes and skills that this game offers you will be wanting to master each one and it's incredibly addicting and that is one of the best parts of this game . Of course this game will suck any social life you once had and have you glued to the tv for the next weeks to come after you buy this game .
011 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
I'm a devoted fan of the Dragon Warrior series . This version retains the classic feel to it , which is a good thing for me but probably won't impress many younger people who are used to faster paced action and more impressive 3D graphics .
The game starts out kind of slow on action , since the first battle doesn't take place until after several hours of gameplay . However , the puzzles during this beginning section of the game are excellent - better than any previous DW games .
After this first section of the game , the game changes completely . You go to all these random places , complete some pretty simple quests , then go on to the next random place . There seems to be lacking an overall storyline to link these random quests together . I'm hoping the next phase of the game will improve that ( I'm not very far into it yet ) .
I do like the slight 3D aspects that were added to the game . I like the way they hide things behind walls so you have to rotate the camera using the L and R buttons to find it . I was worried that it would be confusing , but it's very easy to get used to . It feels more like you're actually in the game , not just making the cartoon people walk around .
I must agree with another reviewer that the battles are very repetative , but that's pretty standard for the DW series . I think it might be a little faster paced than previous DW games . There seems to be less random walking in circles to fight enemies in order to gain experience than in previous DW games . If you just follow the storyline , you will advance quickly enough to keep up with most of the enemies they throw at you .
012 4 I'm a devoted fan of the Dragon Warrior series . This version retains the classic feel to it , which is a good thing for me but probably won't impress many younger people who are used to faster paced action and more impressive 3D graphics .
The game starts out kind of slow on action , since the first battle doesn't take place until after several hours of gameplay . However , the puzzles during this beginning section of the game are excellent - better than any previous DW games .
After this first section of the game , the game changes completely . You go to all these random places , complete some pretty simple quests , then go on to the next random place . There seems to be lacking an overall storyline to link these random quests together . I'm hoping the next phase of the game will improve that ( I'm not very far into it yet ) .
I do like the slight 3D aspects that were added to the game . I like the way they hide things behind walls so you have to rotate the camera using the L and R buttons to find it . I was worried that it would be confusing , but it's very easy to get used to . It feels more like you're actually in the game , not just making the cartoon people walk around .
I must agree with another reviewer that the battles are very repetative , but that's pretty standard for the DW series . I think it might be a little faster paced than previous DW games . There seems to be less random walking in circles to fight enemies in order to gain experience than in previous DW games . If you just follow the storyline , you will advance quickly enough to keep up with most of the enemies they throw at you .
013 4 DQ / W and FF series have been good competition to each other until certain point . FF series started taking customer friendly approach while DQ / W kept its originality . I had almost forgotten what real RPG should be : Good storyline , short and simple battle system , joy of increasing levels and inclusion of human drama . DQ / W 7 has all of these elements .
Gameplay is very easy to learn ( unlike FF junction , materia and ability system ) if you are after fancy magic and summon beasts using superb graphics then this is not your kind of game .
360degree turning might make feel ill until you get used to it .
There are a few things I found quite annoying .
1 . although it states that total playing time is more than 100hours , what takes half that time is building your characters ' levels and IT IS necessity in order to get past certain points . Another word a player needs to spend enormous amount of hours on mindless battles . If you don't have much time to play you may find it very very long .
2 . Hardly any events relate to each other . It is almost like begin one event , end one event , unlike other RPGs you don't ever come back to the same place .
3 . There is no sense of freedom , a player is very limited to what he / she can do in the game .
4 . If you miss one item / event the story does not progress and no one tells you what to do .
However , this is a piece of art and yet it is very challenging for most RPG players . I recommed this for advanced RPG players otherwise you will end up hating it .
014 4 Gameplay - ( 10 / 10 ) This is what matters the most , and this is what Dragon Warrior VII does best ! The game is anywhere from 80 hours in length to 200 . . . depending on what you do . One of the things that will be done is the Job system , it's a system so your characters can learn new abilitys by selecting a class and fighting in battles to learn the abilities from that class . One other great thing is that this game is actually challenging unlike most RPG's out there today . . . it's not so hard that you'll want to quit but its not too easy either . This thing is full of sidequests too , you can play at a casino , try collecting all the gold medals , collect the worlds monsters and put them in a monster park plus make your own encyclopedia of all the monsters you encounter , or you can also even create your own town . . . if that's not enough sidequest fun then I don't know what is ! The only downside in this part of the game is the character development , the problem is that there really isn't any . . . I don't think it detracts from the game too much but it would have been nice to get to know the characters better .
Story - ( 10 / 10 ) The story is exellent ! You're a boy who lives in Fishbel , a small village on the only Island in the world . You're supposed to become your dad's fishing partner , but one day you and your good friend Keifer stumble onto an amazing discovery that sends you on a huge adventure discovering new lands .
Graphics - ( 5 / 10 ) The world's surroundings ( villages , castles , ect . ) are in full 3D , but aren't anything spectacular , and it uses sprite characters that would look bad even on the SNES . This is the least important part of the game , I will warn you though . If you HAVE to have a game with great graphics to be able to play it . . . then pass on this one .
Sound - ( 7 / 10 ) The sound is good . . . that's all I can say . It's nothing great like the Final Fantasy's but its also not bad either . They do re-use some of the music throughout the game , but there's nothing wrong with that . The sound effects on the other hand sound like they were ripped right from a SNES game . . . but still it in NO WAY takes away from this great game .
Replayability - You'll play through this one once , and maybe a year or two later you'll play through again . . . it all depends on how much you love the game .
To buy or rent ? - This one is DEFINITLY a must buy for any RPG fan ! If your one of those people who rent games and try to beat them you probably wont get very far . . . however if you still are in doubt whether you would like this game or not then rent it .
015 4 Like many others , I am a VERY big fan of the Dragon Warrior series . This game is my absolute favorite RPG I've played in a long time . The class changing system is great , especially becasue each class changes your statistical abilities , and that you learn 8 abilities from each class . A positive side to the class change is that you can change your lead character to a mage , and he will still be able to use all the weapons and armor he could previously ! Other than that , the long gameplay time was a good factor for me , as I got tired of finishing Fianl Fantasies and other games in 50 hours or less . If you think Final Fantasy is good , I highly recommend you pick this up !
017 4 It was MEANT to be like that , to have a little old school taste . It's just stupid to say the producers were lazy and didn't care for the graphics . And you know what ? I love those graphics , just the way they are ! The screen rotation is awesome , and c'mon , can you not be jaw-dropped on parts like when you're on the top of a mountain ? The only complain I have about the graphics is that some enemies could be better defined , but that is such a little thing . I like games which you actually PLAY , instead of dumb games you just watch . Damn , if I want a movie , I'll rent one !
And boy , do you have THOUSANDS of things to do on this game or what ? ! Seriously , I've been playing it for 6 months and haven't finished it yet . Ok , I'm not the kinda player that spends hours per day on the game ( I wish I could ! ) , but still , it's easily the longest one I've ever played .
Lots of job classes , sidequests , puzzles ( the ancient fane anyone ? ) , casinos , weapons , magic . . . just a great RPG , totally videogame , no business with reality .
018 4 This game is the biggest selling game in Japan . This game also boasts over 100 hours of gameplay ! ! Maybe the Dragon Warrior seriers doesn't have the best graphics , but that's because they focus on something that has been lacking these days in games . Gameplay and story , as soon as you play this game you will see how addicting this game truly is . There is so much you can do to build up your characters . If you never played any of the old school RPG's and want to try one out , give this one a try . You won't be dissapointed one bit . If you love old school RPG's and your idea that Final Fantasy 6 , 5 , or 4 , and Chrono Trigger are the best RPG's of all time then viola , you'll be in gaming heaven .
019 4 This game has got to be the best RPG I've played in a long time . Sure , the Final Fantasy series is great , too , but they don't have the great storytelling ability Enix does . Sure , the graphics or the music aren't the best , but everything else makes up for it .
I've played Dragon Warrior since I was little , so I've come to love everything about it , the leveling up ( gets tedious at times , which is what makes the class system very much welcome ) , and especially the storyline . The story did take some time to actually get into pretty deep , but after you save the first island , you're hooked . I've played 70 + hours so far , and I'm still on the first disk . So , if you love a long , great game , then Dragon Warrior VII is perfect for you . Get it ! ! !
020 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
This game will take you a long time to beat and you will have to invest between 100 - 250 hours to beat it depending if you play the sidequests . Minimum it will take over 100 hours and that is really pushing it , I can not stress it enough . There are many sidequests such as casinos , a monster park where you can keep monsters you defeat , finding tiny medals for great weapons , etc . This game is extremely difficult if you do not have a Prima strategy guide . I am not saying it cannot be beat but would prove very difficult .
As for the game itself , it starts out pretty annoying and boring . You have to explore your home land and open a time gate before you can even fight any monsters . It took me around 4 hours to beat just this part which may make you think the game stays like this and give up . I thought it was pretty cool fighting all the monsters and constantly upgrading weapons and levels . Towards the middle to end it will get very repetive and annoying fighting all the same monters to just get up a level in experience points . There are some tricks to getting them done much quicker especially near the end of the game .
This is an older style RPG with older nintendo style graphics which some people do not like , especially some younger users . They did not bother me much at all . I think you would not have as long of game if they stuffed all the graphic info into one disc . There are tons of places to discover and many different monsters to fight .
The game brought me back to when I was younger when I played the original Nintendo version , just bigger and better . I also cannot stress enough how much a strategy guide will be needed . Some things are not even in the strategy guide which will prove to be the most challenging such as ; where to get all the tiny medals or how to get to the bonus dungeons . Look up Dragons Den on the web to get more detailed help .
My brother is a hard-core gamer who thinks this game was not great but extremely challenging . He would not put it in the same league with the Final Fantasy games . I thought it was challenging , pretty fun , will give you something to do for a very long time , and worth every penny you spend on it for the time involved .
021 4 This game will take you a long time to beat and you will have to invest between 100 - 250 hours to beat it depending if you play the sidequests . Minimum it will take over 100 hours and that is really pushing it , I can not stress it enough . There are many sidequests such as casinos , a monster park where you can keep monsters you defeat , finding tiny medals for great weapons , etc . This game is extremely difficult if you do not have a Prima strategy guide . I am not saying it cannot be beat but would prove very difficult .
As for the game itself , it starts out pretty annoying and boring . You have to explore your home land and open a time gate before you can even fight any monsters . It took me around 4 hours to beat just this part which may make you think the game stays like this and give up . I thought it was pretty cool fighting all the monsters and constantly upgrading weapons and levels . Towards the middle to end it will get very repetive and annoying fighting all the same monters to just get up a level in experience points . There are some tricks to getting them done much quicker especially near the end of the game .
This is an older style RPG with older nintendo style graphics which some people do not like , especially some younger users . They did not bother me much at all . I think you would not have as long of game if they stuffed all the graphic info into one disc . There are tons of places to discover and many different monsters to fight .
The game brought me back to when I was younger when I played the original Nintendo version , just bigger and better . I also cannot stress enough how much a strategy guide will be needed . Some things are not even in the strategy guide which will prove to be the most challenging such as ; where to get all the tiny medals or how to get to the bonus dungeons . Look up Dragons Den on the web to get more detailed help .
My brother is a hard-core gamer who thinks this game was not great but extremely challenging . He would not put it in the same league with the Final Fantasy games . I thought it was challenging , pretty fun , will give you something to do for a very long time , and worth every penny you spend on it for the time involved .
022 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
This is a long , rewarding , and extremely old-school game . It reminds more of Dragon Quest IV than even the more recent games in the series ( V and VI ) . Carried over from VI is the excellent job system .
Nothing happens quickly in DWVII . The pacing I think is what bothers so many about the game . It can seem tedious if looking towards the invariable end . But if taken as a journey the general wandering around and loot gathering is exactly what you remember from every DQ game before and since .
For an entry point into the series DQVIII would be the better game . For the hard-core gamer willing to invest the 100 + hours to explore this game at the proper leisurely pace , the investment may be well worth it .
023 4 This is a long , rewarding , and extremely old-school game . It reminds more of Dragon Quest IV than even the more recent games in the series ( V and VI ) . Carried over from VI is the excellent job system .
Nothing happens quickly in DWVII . The pacing I think is what bothers so many about the game . It can seem tedious if looking towards the invariable end . But if taken as a journey the general wandering around and loot gathering is exactly what you remember from every DQ game before and since .
For an entry point into the series DQVIII would be the better game . For the hard-core gamer willing to invest the 100 + hours to explore this game at the proper leisurely pace , the investment may be well worth it .
024 4 As amazon.com reviews , certainly this game graphic may be inferior . But I love dragon warrior than final fantsy series . I love the unique system of the dragon warrior , even if is said that the game system is out of date , concretly like the battle system , the damage system by expressing words or points or the wonderful monster characters drawed by Akira Toriyama , the great synario as if we exist in middle age Europe written by Horii Yuuji , and sentimental music that we feel the fravor of Broque period sounds composed by Kouichi Sugiyama .
By combination of the ability of theree men , the soft , dragon warrior , got to be supecial game .
Certainly final fantasy series have became the high spec real games that are played by PS2 , on the other hand , dorago warrior graphic is rough and unreal . But for the point that I wrote in upper writing , even if the graphics is inferior , dragon warrior have wonderful other good points .
When I play the new series dragon warrior , I feel a nostalgic emotion , that is , in my child age the memory that played dragon warrior1 / 2 / 3etc revive . They are also mysteriouse chams of dragon warrior .
Thank you for reading poor English .
025 4 I was scared when I first went to buy this game , because I saw the graphics on the back , which were 3 - D with 2 - D sprite characters . But , I popped in the disc , and after playing a couple of hours into the game , I was hooked . Your character lives on the only island in the world , surounded by ocean . You plan on becoming a fisherman , but when you and some friends find some ancient shard's , they discover past land's . But , that's all I'm going to tell you about the story . If you can look past the graphics , you will find a great game . It's got a good story , good characters , the battle system might take some getting used to , but it's actually not to bad . It take's about 2 - 3 hours until you fight your first battle . But , it's in the name of story development .
It's got good gameplay , too . There's a class change system , which is nice , going from a warrior to a mage , and still having the old skill's , how great is that ? There's also a place called Immigrant Village , you meet an old man who want's to start a town , and you can find people on your journey and tell them about it . And each person that move's there affect's the way the city develop's . There's also a monster park , where you can tame monsters and send them there . Plus , the game has hardly any loading ! How great is that ? A lot of game's you have to wait forever just to go into a small room , and that get's annoying . The battle system is a little different , though . It's not my favorite , but I've grown to like it . Now that I understand it , it aint to bad .
The soundtrack is pretty good . Sometimes they play some annoying stuff , but it's actually not that bad . . . . the sound effect's are'nt that great though . It's not to bad , I guess , it sounds kind of like the old NES games .
The graphics . . . uhh , there not to great . but , I cant say there that bad , for some odd reason I atually like them . Like a said at the beggining of the review there 3 - D with 2 - D sprite characters .
The difficulty is probably Medium , but at some times it can be pretty hard . One thing about the game , it take's forever to get gold . You have to go through tons of battles if you want any gold . But , that dont matter much , while your getting the gold your getting your levels up , so , whatever . I like this game a lot , and if you can get over the graphics and the somewhat strange battle system , you will find much to love .
026 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
For the quaint graphics , the thin ( dare I say two-dimensional ? ) characters , the so-so plot , and the time-intensive job system , I still spent most of the journey enjoying myself .
The graphics are a huge leap over previous Dragon Warrior incarnations ( at least the previous United States immigrants ) , and a huge leap behind other contemporaneous RPGs ( but not far enough behind to capture nostalgia value ) . Characters are flat ( literally ) , meander through a three-dimensional world , colorful , but somewhat bland - - certainly nothing close to the meticulously detailed city-scapes , et al , of the Final Fantasy series . Easier on the eyes than your old-school NES games to be sure , but nothing of any independent attraction . Battles are quick , too , but still text based : the enemies , in a strange mix between action and screen , begin moving only when attacking - - at other times they appear like pictures in a book .
The plot is gargantuan - - perhaps tedious - - a systematic search through myriad islands , enlarging the original overworld in the process . Each island has its own little conflict to solve , some of which are fun ; on the way one picks up pieces of the overarching problem , which I won't give away here . To make new islands appear one must collect shards ; discovering one gives one a glimmer of satisfaction that proves addictive .
That ultimate plot , when it emerges , doesn't cohere particularly well , and it's hard to care about the vacuous primary characters , much less the interchangeable secondary characters . Still , I'll be damned if there isn't an intensely enjoyable aspect to the constant cycle of discovery and exploration of the rising islands , of gaining new abilities through the job system , of trying to fulfill one of the sidequests .
The Dragon Warriors have always been marked by an extremely meritocratic gameplay - - if you want something , you have to earn it . Hours must be spent in the field gaining experience before you're set to venture to a new continent , or have the necessary funds for subsequent levels of armor and weaponry .
That is their , and this installation's , charm , which makes it - - for all its shortcomings ( the music is pleasant but simple as well ) and anachronisms - - worth recommending . I do so .
After all , by this late date , the game finally might have some of that nostalgic value .
027 4 For the quaint graphics , the thin ( dare I say two-dimensional ? ) characters , the so-so plot , and the time-intensive job system , I still spent most of the journey enjoying myself .
The graphics are a huge leap over previous Dragon Warrior incarnations ( at least the previous United States immigrants ) , and a huge leap behind other contemporaneous RPGs ( but not far enough behind to capture nostalgia value ) . Characters are flat ( literally ) , meander through a three-dimensional world , colorful , but somewhat bland - - certainly nothing close to the meticulously detailed city-scapes , et al , of the Final Fantasy series . Easier on the eyes than your old-school NES games to be sure , but nothing of any independent attraction . Battles are quick , too , but still text based : the enemies , in a strange mix between action and screen , begin moving only when attacking - - at other times they appear like pictures in a book .
The plot is gargantuan - - perhaps tedious - - a systematic search through myriad islands , enlarging the original overworld in the process . Each island has its own little conflict to solve , some of which are fun ; on the way one picks up pieces of the overarching problem , which I won't give away here . To make new islands appear one must collect shards ; discovering one gives one a glimmer of satisfaction that proves addictive .
That ultimate plot , when it emerges , doesn't cohere particularly well , and it's hard to care about the vacuous primary characters , much less the interchangeable secondary characters . Still , I'll be damned if there isn't an intensely enjoyable aspect to the constant cycle of discovery and exploration of the rising islands , of gaining new abilities through the job system , of trying to fulfill one of the sidequests .
The Dragon Warriors have always been marked by an extremely meritocratic gameplay - - if you want something , you have to earn it . Hours must be spent in the field gaining experience before you're set to venture to a new continent , or have the necessary funds for subsequent levels of armor and weaponry .
That is their , and this installation's , charm , which makes it - - for all its shortcomings ( the music is pleasant but simple as well ) and anachronisms - - worth recommending . I do so .
After all , by this late date , the game finally might have some of that nostalgic value .
028 4 This is without a doubt the best rpg I have ever played . Unlike some fans of the DW series , I can appreciate the final fantasy games . However , this game has a better plot , more side quests , and is harder to beat than any final fantasy game I've played . The graphics are even understandable , given that the game was originally designed for the super nintendo . . . on the SNES , the graphics would have been pretty good . Should they have gone back and redone them ? Not if it meant I'd have had to wait longer for an already superb game . I only hope they release 5 and 6 to the playstation , and then get to work on DWVIII . . .
029 4 If you like involved RPG's , this is a great game for you . It's packed with tons story and side quests . Some reviews complained about the graphics , but they're not all that bad . It's what I'd expect a 3D Dragon Warrior game to look like . Besides , the music more than makes up for the slight lacking in the graphics department . The characters are fun and there's a bit of Japanese humor strewn about ( I'm glad the translators left it in ! ) . There are also some puzzles throughout the game , which helps break up the monotony of the random encounters . Anyone who has played the previous Dragon Warrior games on the Nintendo will probably experience a little nastalgia . Some elements of the game haven't changed much at all ( slimes , clubs , leather armor , cheesy sound effects when using stairs , etc . . . ) . All in all , I highly recommend this game !
030 4 Dragon Warrior 7 is filled with classic old school roleplaying based on the actual gaming experience as opposed to watching movies and cinematic breaks on many other newer games . This game retains the same battle engine and same format as the original 4 NES games only slightly tweaking and improving it . The graphics are slightly improved just enough to stay with the times as well . But Dragon Warrior was never about graphics , it was about the gameplay experience . This game has a great story , lots of play value ( over 100 hours ) and brings back that nostalgia of palying the originals .
031 4 i have played this game in the japanese format known as dragon quest and it is an exellent game .
032 4 Dragon Warrior 7 truly symbolizes everything about this word . From a sweeping storyline spanning numerous continents and fully encompassing not only the present but the past as well to an engrossing and deep job system that requires countless battles of leveling , Dragon Warrior 7 delivers an epic experience .
This game even seems epic compared to old-time graphics , since it's an old-time game , looking like an SNES game on polygonal steroids . Yeah , they're horrible when compared to today's biggest graphical contenders , but gameplay was always the draw of the old-timers , right ? Right , and what gameplay it is .
Dragon Warrior has hardly strayed from its singular roots , 7 itself flaunting the same battle system , complete with similar sound effects , as all of the previous . This includes a first-person perspective , numerous skills with fairly flashy effects , and little monster motion . It this 7 remedied the stale , boasting fully fluid monster animations and quick graphically unique battle effects , both which add to the appeal and speed of battle . Granted , the frequency and sheer volume of battles in a 100 + ( ! ) hour game can get tedious , but the compellingly written story will grasp the tenacious to the end .
Overall , Dragon Warrior 7 is an uninspired graphical flop complete with a riveting story complemented by intelligent writing that adds to the battling , class-leveling experience . If you're looking for a game that is a pure rush of 100 hour days-gone-by nostalgia , Dragon Warrior 7 should occupy the top of your list .
033 4 This is probably the best RPG I have played in years . So , I can say this for certain : If you liked the final fantasy games , chrono trigger , secret of mana , or any other RPG games , you'll love this game . Don't buy it expecting a movie , like final fantasy , or you'll be dissappointed . This games is funny , quick , and very interactive . If you get it , you'll spend days playing it non-stop . I guarrauntee .
034 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
REVIEWERS NOTE : Throughout this review the product is referred to as Dragon Quest VII and not Dragon Warrior VII . They're both the same game , but the truth is : the series is called Dragon Quest . So don't get confused . I also refer to the other games in the series as Dragon Quest and not Dragon Warrior .
Dragon Quest is huge in Japan . The games actually have to be release on Sundays or Holidays because of how big they are . The Dragon Quest games are not nearly as big in America . The other Dragon Quest games are actually a real treat - - particularly the SNES games that never made it to the states . Dragon Quest VII does not hit the height of the NES and SNES games in any way shape or form , mainly because this game in particularly , does nothing to actually make the Dragon Quest games mature , and that's really sad . It's great that they got it together for Dragon Quest VIII , but it can't stop the seventh in the series from being the black sheep of them all .
It's really sad to because of all the Dragon Quest games , the seventh installment is one of the only ones to have a satisfying storyline where things actually progress and you don't spend a lot of time running around so lost you don't know what to do . It's not a deep story by any means , but it does have more focus here than other Dragon Quest games . Because of the structure of the story , there's not too much you can explore from the get go , and thus you're limited .
The first thing about Dragon Quest VII that people will note is that the game looks absolutely horrible . For a late generation PSX game going up against the likes of Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX at the time , this game looks like a rejected Super Nintendo game , and it may be because it was originally in development for that particularly system . The towns look really bad , the textures are mostly pixelated , the character sprites look horrendous . Simply put , this is just a terrible looking game . The sound effects are even worse . You'll dread each time you have to pick up a barrel and toss it . You'll dread opening a door . The games framerate isn't even steady . The only thing to the games graphical credit is that some of the enemies don't look so bad , and that it's colorful . Still , even for those who don't base their judgment of a game on graphics will have to take a moment to get used to just how terrible they really are .
The second annoying thing is the menu system . It's the exact same one that was used in Dragon Quest VI , and it's just a pain to navigate . In a world where games like Final Fantasy VII made navigating the menu as easy chewing food , Dragon Quest VII makes it a tedious task . Characters are limited to what they can hold and I don't want to go into the nightmare of equipping and re-equipping characters over and over again . The menu interface is absolutely horrible . It seems like such a dumb thing to complain about , but in an RPG released on the Playstation , inventory management shouldn't be so difficult , nor should I have to spend more time in the menu than actually exploring a dungeon .
Combat is also a big problem . It's not that battling isn't fun . Firstly , you don't get into a battle for quite some time . In fact , you'll spend the first couple of hours of the game roaming around not battling anything . It'll be a miracle if some gamers can even hold out that long . Especially because it's an RPG with little story exposition in the beginning . When you do make it to that point though , you'll be met with mixed feelings . For some odd reason battling is fun , but again , the graphics really make you wonder sometimes . The battle system is essentially the same as it was on the NES and SNES . The problem here is simple : This isn't either of the two systems . I don't mind the combat being menu based , but the fact that you don't see your characters and that they don't physically go up and strike the enemy makes battling feel a little . . . empty and uninspired . Some of the enemies actually look pretty good , but I'm bothered that the battle engine is exactly the same as Dragon Quest I from way back when . Dragon Quest VIII certainly did a far better job in at least making their battles look good . Here , you just feel as if you're not involved enough . It's simple , and it is fun because the combat is surprisingly deep and strategic . Even better the game is a challenge . But all the while you can't help but thinking you're playing an NES game on a system that is capable of so much more .
They say it'll take you about 100 hours to plow through Dragon Quest VII . The game is , in fact , huge . There's tons of sidequests , and just when you think the game is getting stale , they do manage to throw something else at you that gets a little more involved in the gameplay . The job system , for instance , comes along hours after you've begun your quest , but it adds a lot of variety when it's finally added in there . Enough to keep you busy for hours . What a lot of people don't mention about Dragon Quest VII , however , is that a lot of those 100 hours are spent on heavily raising your party to getting better levels and stats . Dragon Quest is known for making gamers work , and Dragon Quest VII actually does that . For example , the game will not let you overpower your characters job classes . There's a point where they do cut you off and you have to advance forward . However , you've still go to worry about their normal levels , and you don't gain a whole lot of experience or gold from these monsters . Thus , of the 100 spent to plow through the game , you'll more than likely spend more than 50 hours just leveling up to take on the next challenge . And Dragon Quest VII is not an easy game .
While the sound effects are bad , the music of the game itself is quite good . Dragon Quest has always had good music and Dragon Quest VII is no exception . The game falls short in almost every category except music . Here's where the game truly shines , and not only that but Dragon Quest fans will recognize some fantastic tunes from other games .
The bottom line is simple . Is Dragon Quest VII a good game ? The answer is surprisingly , yes . You just have to really be able to get passed the fact that you're playing an NES game on a system capable of so much more . Simplicity has kept the series alive at least , but the game seriously looks like a rejected SNES title that they felt they needed to dress up in tattered clothes and shove onto the Playstation . The game isn't bad , it's just that by the time Dragon Quest reached the seventh installment , one has to wonder why the developers didn't actually make it look or play like a Playstation RPG .
If you can look past the NES appeal , Dragon Quest VII is a great game . It's fun to battle in ( despite it's graphics ) . There are tons of mini-games and sidequests to do , and there's so much variety that you'll want to play just for the sheer fact that you KNOW you haven't uncovered anything . Still , the old school nature of this game is going to be hard to swallow , even for old school gamers . The game is slow , the menu system is horrible , the graphics are subpar , the battles feel like you're doing nothing . With these kinds of cons taunting the game , it's hard to recommend it even to die hard Dragon Quest fans . Fun to play , but it's asking a lot gamers to look past its glaring shortcomings .
035 4 REVIEWERS NOTE : Throughout this review the product is referred to as Dragon Quest VII and not Dragon Warrior VII . They're both the same game , but the truth is : the series is called Dragon Quest . So don't get confused . I also refer to the other games in the series as Dragon Quest and not Dragon Warrior .
Dragon Quest is huge in Japan . The games actually have to be release on Sundays or Holidays because of how big they are . The Dragon Quest games are not nearly as big in America . The other Dragon Quest games are actually a real treat - - particularly the SNES games that never made it to the states . Dragon Quest VII does not hit the height of the NES and SNES games in any way shape or form , mainly because this game in particularly , does nothing to actually make the Dragon Quest games mature , and that's really sad . It's great that they got it together for Dragon Quest VIII , but it can't stop the seventh in the series from being the black sheep of them all .
It's really sad to because of all the Dragon Quest games , the seventh installment is one of the only ones to have a satisfying storyline where things actually progress and you don't spend a lot of time running around so lost you don't know what to do . It's not a deep story by any means , but it does have more focus here than other Dragon Quest games . Because of the structure of the story , there's not too much you can explore from the get go , and thus you're limited .
The first thing about Dragon Quest VII that people will note is that the game looks absolutely horrible . For a late generation PSX game going up against the likes of Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX at the time , this game looks like a rejected Super Nintendo game , and it may be because it was originally in development for that particularly system . The towns look really bad , the textures are mostly pixelated , the character sprites look horrendous . Simply put , this is just a terrible looking game . The sound effects are even worse . You'll dread each time you have to pick up a barrel and toss it . You'll dread opening a door . The games framerate isn't even steady . The only thing to the games graphical credit is that some of the enemies don't look so bad , and that it's colorful . Still , even for those who don't base their judgment of a game on graphics will have to take a moment to get used to just how terrible they really are .
The second annoying thing is the menu system . It's the exact same one that was used in Dragon Quest VI , and it's just a pain to navigate . In a world where games like Final Fantasy VII made navigating the menu as easy chewing food , Dragon Quest VII makes it a tedious task . Characters are limited to what they can hold and I don't want to go into the nightmare of equipping and re-equipping characters over and over again . The menu interface is absolutely horrible . It seems like such a dumb thing to complain about , but in an RPG released on the Playstation , inventory management shouldn't be so difficult , nor should I have to spend more time in the menu than actually exploring a dungeon .
Combat is also a big problem . It's not that battling isn't fun . Firstly , you don't get into a battle for quite some time . In fact , you'll spend the first couple of hours of the game roaming around not battling anything . It'll be a miracle if some gamers can even hold out that long . Especially because it's an RPG with little story exposition in the beginning . When you do make it to that point though , you'll be met with mixed feelings . For some odd reason battling is fun , but again , the graphics really make you wonder sometimes . The battle system is essentially the same as it was on the NES and SNES . The problem here is simple : This isn't either of the two systems . I don't mind the combat being menu based , but the fact that you don't see your characters and that they don't physically go up and strike the enemy makes battling feel a little . . . empty and uninspired . Some of the enemies actually look pretty good , but I'm bothered that the battle engine is exactly the same as Dragon Quest I from way back when . Dragon Quest VIII certainly did a far better job in at least making their battles look good . Here , you just feel as if you're not involved enough . It's simple , and it is fun because the combat is surprisingly deep and strategic . Even better the game is a challenge . But all the while you can't help but thinking you're playing an NES game on a system that is capable of so much more .
They say it'll take you about 100 hours to plow through Dragon Quest VII . The game is , in fact , huge . There's tons of sidequests , and just when you think the game is getting stale , they do manage to throw something else at you that gets a little more involved in the gameplay . The job system , for instance , comes along hours after you've begun your quest , but it adds a lot of variety when it's finally added in there . Enough to keep you busy for hours . What a lot of people don't mention about Dragon Quest VII , however , is that a lot of those 100 hours are spent on heavily raising your party to getting better levels and stats . Dragon Quest is known for making gamers work , and Dragon Quest VII actually does that . For example , the game will not let you overpower your characters job classes . There's a point where they do cut you off and you have to advance forward . However , you've still go to worry about their normal levels , and you don't gain a whole lot of experience or gold from these monsters . Thus , of the 100 spent to plow through the game , you'll more than likely spend more than 50 hours just leveling up to take on the next challenge . And Dragon Quest VII is not an easy game .
While the sound effects are bad , the music of the game itself is quite good . Dragon Quest has always had good music and Dragon Quest VII is no exception . The game falls short in almost every category except music . Here's where the game truly shines , and not only that but Dragon Quest fans will recognize some fantastic tunes from other games .
The bottom line is simple . Is Dragon Quest VII a good game ? The answer is surprisingly , yes . You just have to really be able to get passed the fact that you're playing an NES game on a system capable of so much more . Simplicity has kept the series alive at least , but the game seriously looks like a rejected SNES title that they felt they needed to dress up in tattered clothes and shove onto the Playstation . The game isn't bad , it's just that by the time Dragon Quest reached the seventh installment , one has to wonder why the developers didn't actually make it look or play like a Playstation RPG .
If you can look past the NES appeal , Dragon Quest VII is a great game . It's fun to battle in ( despite it's graphics ) . There are tons of mini-games and sidequests to do , and there's so much variety that you'll want to play just for the sheer fact that you KNOW you haven't uncovered anything . Still , the old school nature of this game is going to be hard to swallow , even for old school gamers . The game is slow , the menu system is horrible , the graphics are subpar , the battles feel like you're doing nothing . With these kinds of cons taunting the game , it's hard to recommend it even to die hard Dragon Quest fans . Fun to play , but it's asking a lot gamers to look past its glaring shortcomings .
038 4 I loved everything about dragon warrior 7 except the fact that the battle is boring after a while . Most of the time you need to gain exp in order to go to the next area . However , this is very long and boring . I like the fact that there is a class system in this game . Unlike other rpg I know , you can change your class from a palidin to a jester to a shepherd . It's kind of funny . Other complaints include poor sounds and the music for each battle is the same ! How can anyone take it ? ? I gave this a 5 even though there is alot to be improve because of its storyline . Its the best . It makes me love rpg all over again . I don't really care about the other things as much as its storyline .
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This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
wow i am so impressed with the time i recieved my game even now while playing it . the game plays beautifully and i love it thanks .
040 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
wow i am so impressed with the time i recieved my game even now while playing it . the game plays beautifully and i love it thanks .
041 4 wow i am so impressed with the time i recieved my game even now while playing it . the game plays beautifully and i love it thanks .
042 4 If you have been playing all the American versions of the Dragon Warrior series then you have found the perfect continuance to it . It is long and has plenty of side quests to keep you happy for months and months . This is not a game that can be won in a days play , but rather is a great start for those looking to get involved in rp games . Picking up a walk through before game play starts wouldn't hurt .
043 4 Well , to start off this review , may I say that I have played Dragon Warrior I , II , and III on my Gameboy Color . Comparatively , the graphics are suberb.Also , unlike Final Fantasy X , with its near invincible bosses ( try Seymour when he comes back to life for the third time ! ) , Dragon Warrior VII can be beaten by average humans without use of the Gameshark . Not to say it isn't a hard game , though , because this game actually has you using your brain a bit ! Personally , I actually like talking to the townspeople and learning about them . What better character developement than that ? ? The battle style can get a little boring , granted , but turn based is my fav for the sole reason that , as your character makes his or her move , you can just about see yourself hacking and slashing right along with them . If you liked FFX , you'll love this game because it has heart .
044 4 DW7 has an interesting storyline and characters . Unfortunately , it is hampered by bad graphics ( including quite frequent graphical problems such as pixellation , clipping and cut-outs ) , a translation rife with typos , spelling errors and bad word choices , and a clumsy battle system that makes the required leveling an often painful chore .
The first disc is generally more entertaining , as the player seeks to restore the world and figure out what happened ( which is never explained , only hinted at ) . Each new island is its own story , some of which are excellent ( and some of which , as with the Lefans , merely irritating ) . Character interactions are generally well-done and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny . The second disc is primarily a series of dungeon-crawls , mostly revisting places you've already been , though there are two new ones .
The dungeons are one of the weakest elements of the game - they are not , generally , interesting either visually or in terms of planning and puzzles , and having to go through them multiple times ( as is common ) , is quite boring . The constant use of palette-swapped monsters is also an irritation .
The graphics are - roughly SNES level . Your Hero looks like a lawn gnome ( though , in part , that seems to be due to Toriyama's design ) . In addition , pixellation , cut-outs and clipping are common , and the camera's rotation , inexplicably , is sharply limited in the dungeons , making it very easy to miss chests and staircases .
The job system has potential , but this is the primary reason you spend hours levelling - you can only rise in job level ( and gain new skills ) after set numbers of battles , regardless of the number of monsters you fight . It would have been much more interesting had they used monsters defeated rather than battles fought , allowing for more flexibility . Also , several of the skills are largely useless - they work so rarely that the effort involved in attaining them is wasted .
All in all , this is a game to pick up when it hits the discount rack , and you have a lot of spare time .
045 4 Despite false rumors , you CAN control individual actions of your characters if you select Manual on your tactics . Hell , that's something that's written in the instruction manual ! ! I honestly don't know how anybody could miss that . Can you honestly trust someone who plays an RPG and MISSES A VERY IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT TACTICS , ESPECIALLY IN AN RPG ? ? ! !
Expect very little FMV .
Music is debatable - the lower brass patches kind of . . . but they're bearable , and the music has a good degree of dynamic contrast . Overall , a very strong and lighthearted but mature symphonic flavor . I just wish there were more tunes sometimes .
Appearance is kind of like a cartoon or comic . But just because the graphics aren't up to par doesn't mean it isn't a colorful game .
You won't ever see a loading - please wait screen or anything of the sort , even if you're playing on a PS1 . I don't know how many games minimalized loading time but I know too many that have . . . loading times .
Class change is like Final Fantasy 5 , only there are more classes , even monster classes . And there are lots and lots and lots of different skills . ( Dragon Warrior 3 came up with changing classes before any Final Fantasy , and this might even be an older idea than either Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy . )
Leveling up - this is debatable . I didn't have to level up so much when I first played this game . [ . . . ] It'll be different each time you play it and it means you'll actually be facing things called judgement calls .
Interactive - Maribel is so hilarious and will dog on you so much ! You can talk to your own characters anywhere , even in battle . Also keep her on Manual and use Retaliate skill sometimes - she will do the impossible .
If you've never heard of Dragon Warrior , and you hate PS Squaresoft titles ( I'm not saying that I hated them though ) but loved their SNES titles then this game is worth a try .
046 4 I have played Dragon Quest / Warrior from part 1 up to 6 . Pretty much all of previous DQ / W series both in English and Japanese . DQ / W series have had great story lines and awesome Soundtracks . I have purchased both Final Fantasy X Soundtrack and Dragon Quest / Warrior VII Soundtrack . They are both great but DQ / W VII Soundtrack has more in-depth music with Symphonic Orchestra . If you are into game ( specially RPG ) Soundtracks , I highly recommand Dragon Quest VII Soundtrack from Amazon.com as well . I've already pre-ordered DW VII for Playstation . One of the main reason I purchased PS2 is Enix bringing DQ / W series back to US with English version . I just can't wait till I get this game . . . will have plenty of un-sleeping nights . ^ _ ^
047 4 If you don't sleep or eat , if you like defeating impossibly unapporachable enemies , saving people out of impossible situations , and changing the fabric of time and space , this is for you ! ! ! I stayed up for eleven hours each night for a month straight and I still have not gotten everything ! ! ! You start off from the small village of Fishbel on the only continent on the whole planet , but the world is not what it seems . You discover a secret ruin where legends and enemies of old are revealed , and a great evil is released upon the world as the great battle between God and the Demon Lord is waged . Ugly graphics , but great game ! ! !
048 4 When I found out that there was a new Dragon Warrior game coming out for the Playstation , I immediately jumped out of my chair ran to the game store ! I have been a Dragon Warrior fan ever since the beginning .
The game , to say the least , is very interesting . It didn't quite captivate me like Dragon Warrior III or IV , but it was fun nonetheless . The tedious leveling up is still somewhat there , the storyline takes some nice twists , there are plenty of weapons , abilites spells to gather plenty of monsters to fight .
If you buy this game , you won't be disappointed at all . It will keep you busy for DAYS !
After a while , it became kind of boring though . So after about 55 hours of gameplay , I quit , and haven't picked it up since , and that was about 3 months ago . . .
049 4 . . . the graphics are not up to par with other Playstation RPGs . In fact , this game would have been more at home on the SNES . But as anyone over 20 will remember , good RPGs are not based solely on FMV-enhanced graphics .
The story is similar to that of Chrono Trigger , involving young warriors who travel through time to improve the future . But it is not as simple as that , there are many pitfalls along the way . Tough monsters , evil bosses , and mind-bending puzzles mean that this game will keep you busy for 60 hours MINIMUM , assuming you ignore detours in your quests . For players who liked Vandal Hearts , this game is similar in it's graphics and gameplay .
The Dragon Warrior series is the only one that even comes close to rivalling Final Fantasy , not only in the volume of games , but the quality of them . Players who are less concerned with fancy graphics and more concerned with story , characters , and challenge , this game is a must . But gamers who are concerned with the opposite might not be able to get beyond the poor graphics . The choice is yours .
051 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
We were happy to finaly get the game that we were looking for a long time . I play over 137 hours on it and still did not beat it yet , that is what i like about this game .
052 4 We were happy to finaly get the game that we were looking for a long time . I play over 137 hours on it and still did not beat it yet , that is what i like about this game .
053 4 Wow ! I haven't even finished it yet and it has already blown me away . It has a minimum gameplay of 100 hours , so if you're like me and like doing everything in a game , you can have endless opportunity of playtime ! ! For those of you that played the NES versions of Dragon Warrior , you'll love DW VII . It puts everything in 3D and leaves most of the same spells , etc . intact . I love every moment of the game and can't wait to finish it . I recommend it to all of you that love a great RPG .
054 4 I have had this game seince the day it came out and it is great . I have 140 hours of plaing time on it and i still haven't beat it . I highly suggust buying this game !
055 4 Despite the poor graphics and sound effects , DWVII is one of the best RPGs to get for the playstation . It has a huge character class system , a monster park to build , a town to build and hundreds of tiny medals to collect . If you want to completely finish the game , it can take up to 180 hours . If you really hate bad graphics , back off this one .
056 4 Dragon Warrior was not the first RPG . There was Dungeons and Dragons , Adventure , and so on . However this introduced the common RPG that we see today . The idea of experience points , levels , random encounters and so on . This series introduced a lot to the genere . To bad this is teh final chapter in it's legacy .
Back before Final fantasy rolled around , a company known as Enix created a game called Dragon Quest . You had one character , and you had to explore dungeons save a princess , and slay the Dragon Lord . The idea was simple yet proved to be a very deep game . it met equal sucess in America . Than came the second chapter in the series where where the psrty expanded to three characters , and the spell system grew and the wrold to explore was literally 4x as large as the first game . Than came a the third chapter which introduced the job system and the world still grew . than came the fourth chapter near the end of The NES life and without a doubt the most succesful statewise . Expanding into 5 chapters with a party of around 6 charcter basic and than an additional 8 cahracters to assist you throughout the game . than the SNES rolled around and they didn't release Dragon warrior 5 - 6 state side , which hurt tham financially .
Now we have # 7 and although it is not the best , it is a powerful testament to their legacy .
Dragon Warrior 7 revolves around a young man and his two friends who discover teh secret to the small ruin on their small island , in fact the only island in the world . Soon they discover that the world is indeed larger and through their quest they bring back cities lost due to the dreaded Demon Lord .
the game play is basic Dragon Warriro . You build levels to get stronger . You buy better armor for higher defense . But a few things have changed . the most obviouse being going 3D . Which case the Camera system is easy to utilize .
the job system also expanded . You have mulitple jobs ( not accessed until later ) and you gain levels in that job through battles . But not weak creatures . YOu fight creatures of your current or slightly less level and ou build up experience there and you grow in there . With each level you learn new skills until you master it and than you step into another job . than you can learn monster jobs and learn skills some specified to monsters only , and others not .
I won't give away any details on the fun factor and challenge this game holds but I guarentee that this game is worth owning if you are and RPG fan . A true gameer can forgive graphics and see the enjoyment that this hodls . You will not be dissapointed .
057 4 this is one of the best games I've ever played the graphics arnt a 100% but I would rate it 88% and its not easy
058 4 Dragon Warrior VII is definately a Dragon Warrior game .
With the not-so-good graphics excellent storyline characters .
There are plenty of Items , Spells abilites to gather along your journey , you can even change your characters ' classes !
For about 3 weeks , I was plastered on the TV during any free time I had , playing this game . I couldn't let it go , but after a while the story just seemed to keep on repeating over over again and the battles were OVERLY tedious boring long annoying without ever gaining much from them .
But 55 hours later , I became stuck at a certain point in the game , I quit playing haven't picked it up since . It just became , well , boring . . .
059 4 I was overjoyed when Dragon Warrior 7 was available for the Playstation . One thing you notice when you first play DW 7 is that you become so immersed with the game . Forget about the graphics ! Awesome graphics do not make a great game alone . You will lose a lot of sleep and social life after you buy this game . From what I've heard , it has over 100 hrs of gameplay . This is true RPG heavenfor me being I can totally be involved with the story line . I've played DW's 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 for the snes , and hoping Enix will release 5 and 6 for gameboy advance . If youlove deep RPG's DW 7 is for you !
060 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
I was kind of disappointed with the game , but only because I have played the game that comes after it , Dragon Quest 8 . I just couldn't compare to that game and well , I haven't played it but once .
061 4 I was kind of disappointed with the game , but only because I have played the game that comes after it , Dragon Quest 8 . I just couldn't compare to that game and well , I haven't played it but once .
062 4 By the title , you think I'm dissing the game , no ? Actually , I think you guys seriously need help . Well duh , it's graphics don't match other games . . . . here , read this .
Storyline - 5 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + out of 5
Right when I got DW7 , I was a major fan . I've played 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 on the NES and 1& 2 , 3 on Gameboy color . Plus I've played english translations of DQ5 and DQ6 ( Roms ) . But when I got this game , I was like , Sweet . I saw the graphics and junk and I loved them . You say they're [ bad ] ? Dragon Warrior / Quest is supposed to be like that ! Sure FF changed from SNES-like to super 3D but . . . who really cares ? I love good graphics and all but DW / Q isn't supposed to have FFX graphics ! Anyone , you start off as a Fishermen's Son and you and your friend Prince Keifer ( Beer drinkin ' , Girl Lovin ' troublemaker ) find an ancient ruin . After the story , it gets sad . One of your friends leave you . . . . I don't wanna ruin the story but he / she was the strongest of my group . In a FF story , you would'nt really care as much but in DW / Q7 , I was all sad . I loved the guy / girl . Anyway , you find out about God and the Demon Lord's ancient battle , . . . god . I can't ruin it . I LOVE this story . Get it NOW .
Graphics : 5 out of 5 .
You think I'm insane . Read the storyline part above . It's advanced DW / Q goodness . Get the other games before this for you actually judge the graphics . Plus you rotate the camera so . . . sweet . = D
Battle System : 4.5 out of 5 .
Same old DW / Q goodness . But I'll admit , it can get annoying . I don't mean annoying annoying , I mean you get into a battle and put on rapid fire and hold triangle and . . . . Good 3D monsters though !
Music : 5 out of 5 .
I loved the music ! ! ! It's great ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Heh , seriously . It's not as bad as you think .
How to like the game :
First you must play the previous games ( 1,2,3,4 ( and 5 and 6 if you can . ) . ) , then you . . . should be Christin / Cathloic / Jewish . This game is for you then . This game believes in god and there even is a . . . . . . . I don't wanna spoil the game ! ! !
Overall : 1000 out of 1
I LOVE THIS GAME . You may think I'm insane but I love RPGs , not just graphics . Hell , if this game had NES graphics and no great characters I'd still buy it . I never knew this game would have such a affect on me .
BUY IT NOW YOU CRAZY FOOL ! ! ! ! ! !
063 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
First let me say that i absolutely loved the first Dragon Warrior and the last , which is part 8 . So why do i dislike part 7 so much ? Oh , where to start ?
First off , the graphics and sound are beyond terrible . Old school is one thing , but there is no need to make this game look and sound like an 8 bit title .
And the playable characters ? What a sham !
Each of your 6 or so playable characters joins your party for no serious reason , tags along for 100 hours , and pretty much says 5 lines of dialogue in those 100 hours . Your characters have the personality of a wooden board .
And this game is unnecessarily huge . It took me about 75 painful hours to complete but couldve easily been reduced to 40 or so .
The reason is that you have to visit almost every single town , cave , maze , and dungeon twice ! Going through every area 2 - 3 times is NOT fun and is repetitive beyond belief .
And yet another fabled aspect of this game is its huge assortment of playable job classes . . . yet they fail to mention that its broken .
There are dozens of classes that are worthless yet a couple that pretty much make the game a cakewalk , thus ' breaking ' the game . Get yourself 3 Godhands , for ultima hit , and 1 teenidol , for hustle dance , and the entire game is yours to conquer .
This game never hit ' greatest hit ' status in America and for good reason . . .
064 4 First let me say that i absolutely loved the first Dragon Warrior and the last , which is part 8 . So why do i dislike part 7 so much ? Oh , where to start ?
First off , the graphics and sound are beyond terrible . Old school is one thing , but there is no need to make this game look and sound like an 8 bit title .
And the playable characters ? What a sham !
Each of your 6 or so playable characters joins your party for no serious reason , tags along for 100 hours , and pretty much says 5 lines of dialogue in those 100 hours . Your characters have the personality of a wooden board .
And this game is unnecessarily huge . It took me about 75 painful hours to complete but couldve easily been reduced to 40 or so .
The reason is that you have to visit almost every single town , cave , maze , and dungeon twice ! Going through every area 2 - 3 times is NOT fun and is repetitive beyond belief .
And yet another fabled aspect of this game is its huge assortment of playable job classes . . . yet they fail to mention that its broken .
There are dozens of classes that are worthless yet a couple that pretty much make the game a cakewalk , thus ' breaking ' the game . Get yourself 3 Godhands , for ultima hit , and 1 teenidol , for hustle dance , and the entire game is yours to conquer .
This game never hit ' greatest hit ' status in America and for good reason . . .
065 4 one of the best games i've ever played
066 4 Bah , I found Dragon Warrior 7 seriously lacking in all aspects and wish I would have rented it Before I bought it . I stuck with it for about five or six hours , and when the game still failed to interest me , I gave up . The fighting is just as boring as the storyline , and the plot seems to fall out of no where into your lap with little explanation as to how the son of a fisherman would be best buds with the Prince . Furthermore , there's just no excuse for those horrible graphics , other then laziness . The cut scenes don't even have a small bit of sound , like walking or a rock slate being slid open . I'm all for games that focus on storyline before graphics , but this one dropped the ball in Both areas . This game seems to be one either you love or you hate , from the mix reviews I've seen , so I'd encourage you to try out a friends copy first unless you know and love the series .
067 4 I just got this game a week ago . Got thru about 1 / 4 of the game , i got really bored of it so i searched thru strategy guides to see if the game will actually get any better . Heres what I come up with :
- Graphics - not good , but its not a requirement to make a good rpg game
- sound - ditto as above
- battles - really really boring , its basically you-hack-me-once and my-party-memebers-each-hack-you-once . All u have to do is buy the highest def armor , then cast spell to lower the bosses def , use herb , then you can win just about any battle
- ability to change classes - very good idea , except its too tedious and boring to be worth while , in order to get to the Hero class , which is the best class you want to attain , you need to fight over 1000 battles ! ! ! thats hours and hours of boring battles
- gameplay - a lot of times the dialogues are boring and irrelavent , sometimes i wished i can go take a dump while the text is scrolling sloooowly across the screen
After learning how much time i would be wasting and how little fun i will have , I decided not to continue playing the game . And hopefully you havent bought this game yet , because you would want to save your $ for something else .
068 4 The day bought i bought dragon warrrior 7 i had final fantasy 10 so i played dragon warrior 7 and i was like yipee doodle day this game is better than final fantasy 10 so i ran over final fantasy 10 with my tractor.this games graphics are awesome , there the best graphics i've seen in my life , the battle system is great i love this game so much i could marry it.my point of advice is buy it and you'll be a dragon warrior yourself.ye hah gidee up horsie .
069 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
The perfect one-word description of this game is torturous . Yes , there are some cool parts every now and then , but they're buried beneath so much inane garbage that instead of making the game less terrible , they simply compel you to keep playing through this epic abomination . It's really not a good sign when I've played over 20 hours into the game and I still couldn't care less what happens to the main characters . They're a rather one-dimensional bunch , and to be honest , it strikes me as a bit strange how those chosen to awaken the world ( or whatever you care to call the insipid , convoluted plot ) could be so damned boring .
Ah yes , the plot . Some kids discover some ruins that take them back in time to where the world contained more landmasses , and one by one , they bring the land masses into the present . It could have been quite fascinating , but the different areas just don't feel at all connected . After you've raised the first few islands , no one in your hometown seems to care anymore . Basically , instead of being one fully involved story , it ends up being a bunch of half-assed little tales that I couldn't bring myself to care about . I've read that eventually the Demon Lord somehow gets involved , but I really have no desire to pick this garbage up again . I suppose the cut scenes are also worth mentioning . Like most of the game , they're quite awful . They make the characters look mildly deformed , at best .
On to the gameplay . . . repetition is the order of the day . The battle system in itself isn't that bad , but it does begin to grow quite tiresome . The class system , which could have been very cool , is executed rather sloppily . For one thing , the classes aren't exactly balanced , especially since a character's class has no bearing on the equipment they can use . Want a wizard wielding a huge sword and wearing immensely heavy armor ? You can do it here . Also , I don't think the classes have any permanent effect on stats , i.e . there is a set number of points in each stat for all the characters and classes that is governed by level . As a result , a character who has been a wizard for most of the game will have an enormous strength increase if he transitions to a soldier . Unfortunately , his intelligence will plummet as well .
If this was all I hated about the game , it would at least be tolerable . Unfortunately , I've yet to metion the most banal aspect of it . . . the way new islands are unlocked . If you thought lame fetch quests were exclusive to platforming games , this game will prove you sorely wrong . Of those 100 + hours you'll spend playing this pompous trash , at least half of that will consist of seeking map shards that you will quickly come to loathe , as you have to collect the right ones in order to unlock new islands .
Now , this wouldn't be a big deal if they were all in meaningful places , such as being obtained after defeating a boss . However , they're not . Oftentimes you'll find them in such idiotic and annoying places , as in a bag in some random house , caught in a broken robot in a town sewer , etc . Sure , the game offers some guidance , but the trek back to the fortune teller ( whose hints can sometimes be rather vague ) grows tiresome quickly . As a result , the game is as much a sleep-inducing scavenger hunt as an RPG .
Assume from this review that I hate RPGs done in the old-school style , as that is not the case . Dragon Warrior II through IV were quite enjoyable games . In fact , they're a lot better than this snoozefest , so play them instead .
070 4 The perfect one-word description of this game is torturous . Yes , there are some cool parts every now and then , but they're buried beneath so much inane garbage that instead of making the game less terrible , they simply compel you to keep playing through this epic abomination . It's really not a good sign when I've played over 20 hours into the game and I still couldn't care less what happens to the main characters . They're a rather one-dimensional bunch , and to be honest , it strikes me as a bit strange how those chosen to awaken the world ( or whatever you care to call the insipid , convoluted plot ) could be so damned boring .
Ah yes , the plot . Some kids discover some ruins that take them back in time to where the world contained more landmasses , and one by one , they bring the land masses into the present . It could have been quite fascinating , but the different areas just don't feel at all connected . After you've raised the first few islands , no one in your hometown seems to care anymore . Basically , instead of being one fully involved story , it ends up being a bunch of half-assed little tales that I couldn't bring myself to care about . I've read that eventually the Demon Lord somehow gets involved , but I really have no desire to pick this garbage up again . I suppose the cut scenes are also worth mentioning . Like most of the game , they're quite awful . They make the characters look mildly deformed , at best .
On to the gameplay . . . repetition is the order of the day . The battle system in itself isn't that bad , but it does begin to grow quite tiresome . The class system , which could have been very cool , is executed rather sloppily . For one thing , the classes aren't exactly balanced , especially since a character's class has no bearing on the equipment they can use . Want a wizard wielding a huge sword and wearing immensely heavy armor ? You can do it here . Also , I don't think the classes have any permanent effect on stats , i.e . there is a set number of points in each stat for all the characters and classes that is governed by level . As a result , a character who has been a wizard for most of the game will have an enormous strength increase if he transitions to a soldier . Unfortunately , his intelligence will plummet as well .
If this was all I hated about the game , it would at least be tolerable . Unfortunately , I've yet to metion the most banal aspect of it . . . the way new islands are unlocked . If you thought lame fetch quests were exclusive to platforming games , this game will prove you sorely wrong . Of those 100 + hours you'll spend playing this pompous trash , at least half of that will consist of seeking map shards that you will quickly come to loathe , as you have to collect the right ones in order to unlock new islands .
Now , this wouldn't be a big deal if they were all in meaningful places , such as being obtained after defeating a boss . However , they're not . Oftentimes you'll find them in such idiotic and annoying places , as in a bag in some random house , caught in a broken robot in a town sewer , etc . Sure , the game offers some guidance , but the trek back to the fortune teller ( whose hints can sometimes be rather vague ) grows tiresome quickly . As a result , the game is as much a sleep-inducing scavenger hunt as an RPG .
Assume from this review that I hate RPGs done in the old-school style , as that is not the case . Dragon Warrior II through IV were quite enjoyable games . In fact , they're a lot better than this snoozefest , so play them instead .
071 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
Wow what an unbelievably dull and boring game . I'm not gonna even go on to tell you how angry I was when I bought this game basing it off the information I received on the back that said its ' the best selling game in japan . ' Thats funny considering ( even for its time . ) there were titan of a game titles like Final Fantasy . I have to admit I couldn't wait 4 or more hours just to get to a battle because the story is just so boring . I winded up looking on youtube to see how the battles looked and it actually looked like something even worse than the battles that can be made on RPG Maker for playstation ( for those of you that played that game you'll know exactly what I'm talking about . ) The towns were too cheesey and looked like there was absolutely no effort put into it at all .
Just a warning . Do not buy this game . It is definately not worth the 50 bucks that people think its meant out to be .
072 4 Wow what an unbelievably dull and boring game . I'm not gonna even go on to tell you how angry I was when I bought this game basing it off the information I received on the back that said its ' the best selling game in japan . ' Thats funny considering ( even for its time . ) there were titan of a game titles like Final Fantasy . I have to admit I couldn't wait 4 or more hours just to get to a battle because the story is just so boring . I winded up looking on youtube to see how the battles looked and it actually looked like something even worse than the battles that can be made on RPG Maker for playstation ( for those of you that played that game you'll know exactly what I'm talking about . ) The towns were too cheesey and looked like there was absolutely no effort put into it at all .
Just a warning . Do not buy this game . It is definately not worth the 50 bucks that people think its meant out to be .
073 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
I won't go into describing the graphics or what combat in Dragon Warrior is like since this is Dragon Warrior 7 I'll assume any one interested in this title has played at least one of them before .
The characters were likable enough . There's not much of a plot pulling you along but I loved solving each towns problems in the past and then seeing them thrive back in the future ( one of the few games that does a half decent job of time travel , Chrono Trigger is still the worst . )
My favorite part of the game is the beastiary-you get to look at defeated monsters and watch their incredibly smooth battle animations ( easily the most impressive part of the game . ) It's hard to get bored of combat even with familiar monsters , knowing that you're unlocking more of their animations .
The worst part of this game is collecting the puzzle pieces to advance the story : to get to the next town you need to collect and match jagged tiles to time travel . After helping a kingdom sometimes the king will give you a piece you need which is fine but other times that one missing piece is hidden in a pot inside of some random house . It really makes having a form of strategy guide crucial to complete your quest .
I was excited to know at some point you could change your class so I played on through all the frustrations to go from fisherman's son to any kind of warrior . After 40 long hours I was irritated to discover that your class changes but your appearance doesn't . That was it for me I had only scratched the surface of dragon warrior 7 and I would have go through the rest of it forever looking like a fisherman's son . I never played it again .
074 4 I won't go into describing the graphics or what combat in Dragon Warrior is like since this is Dragon Warrior 7 I'll assume any one interested in this title has played at least one of them before .
The characters were likable enough . There's not much of a plot pulling you along but I loved solving each towns problems in the past and then seeing them thrive back in the future ( one of the few games that does a half decent job of time travel , Chrono Trigger is still the worst . )
My favorite part of the game is the beastiary-you get to look at defeated monsters and watch their incredibly smooth battle animations ( easily the most impressive part of the game . ) It's hard to get bored of combat even with familiar monsters , knowing that you're unlocking more of their animations .
The worst part of this game is collecting the puzzle pieces to advance the story : to get to the next town you need to collect and match jagged tiles to time travel . After helping a kingdom sometimes the king will give you a piece you need which is fine but other times that one missing piece is hidden in a pot inside of some random house . It really makes having a form of strategy guide crucial to complete your quest .
I was excited to know at some point you could change your class so I played on through all the frustrations to go from fisherman's son to any kind of warrior . After 40 long hours I was irritated to discover that your class changes but your appearance doesn't . That was it for me I had only scratched the surface of dragon warrior 7 and I would have go through the rest of it forever looking like a fisherman's son . I never played it again .
075 4 Yikes . . Myself being no newbie to the RPG scene , I felt confident ( from previews ) that this game would be a long time addition to my collection . Wow . I mean , I really really REALLY tried to get into this game . Infact , I logged more than 50 hours in the Dragonwarrior 7 world . I think the biggest problem was the linear storyline . It was just too much of a chore . The story in a nutshell is the world has been split in about 30 sections , you then must revive each section in the past so you can save it in the present . Hmmmm . . Well alright . I first marveled at this use of time travel , but as time went on , it was a huge pain . It just wasnt enjoyable as I first thought . It made the game incredibly linear . And because of all the storylines ( each land had a different one ) you lose the intimacy with the characters . Besides the storyline , the battle engine I thought was the second thing that needed the most improvement . Yes , I know its like everyother traditional dragonwarrior / dragonquest game . But come on . . battles shouldnt have to be a chore ALL the time . Overall , I knew I was going to have to put up with the less than favorable dragonwarrior menu interface but I was hoping they would make up for it in the storyline . I dunno , I was just expecting more from this company . To the same people that gave us amazing titles Terranigma and Robotrek for the SNES . . GET IT TOGETHER ! !
076 4 If you're tired of fun filled RPG's with interesting stories , and characters that you actually care about , then look no further , This game is for you . With all the time that's spent unfolding the plot in the beginning , you would think they might have made it a tad more interesting . There is a good hour of aimlessly roaming around , talking to people who have nothing relevant to say , and not knowing where the heck you're even going before you even encounter your first battle .
I was enchanted by the original Dragon Warrior for the NES , and I even thought that the next two sequels were OK , but this game does not bring back any nostalgia of the old school gaming experience . If you're thinking of buying this game . . . Just dust off the old 8 bit NES in your closet , and you'll have a much more fulfilling gaming experience .
077 4 I was so excited to play this game . I think i heard about it 3 years ago in a game magazine . I remember reading how These Dragon Warrior games had horrible graphics but amazing stories ( more like amazingly lame stories ) . A great story means everything to me . I don't care about graphics ( i love the lunar games ) . But this game has bad graphics and the worst RPG storyline i have ever seen . And it took me 135 hours to complete .
You would think that some cool stuff happens in such a long time . But it doesn't ! . You never learn anything about the characters . The main character never talks ( i hate that ! whats the point of not making them talk ? Oh it's supposed you . . . the main character is you . . . thats why he doesn't talk . . . yea but i talk . . . . stupid . . im no mute . . . if it were really me then he would be talkin ' up a storm ! ) . I don't mind a challenge ( this game can be very difficult at times ) but give me a reason to play this hard game , give me a great storyline with characters i care about and want to see what happens to them at the end . That would make the challenge you ( enix ) present to me worthwhile .
This game is not worth the hassel . The battle system was enjoyable and never got real boring but i would rather see this battle system in a game that has a great storyline . Enix claims their games are better than makers like SQUARE because they have good storytelling abilities . HA ! HA ! HA ! . I have seen porn movies with better stories than this . AND ! All three FF games square made while Enix was working on DW7 are better than this garbage . If you are dissapointed and think you might buy the game anyway despite my review then go ahead . You could like it if you don't care at all about storyline . But if you love RPG's because of wonderful stories then please don't buy this . I would hate to see you waste your hard earned money .
079 4 This review is from :
Dragon Warrior VII ( Video Game )
Do not waste your time ( 130 hours is what i spent ) or your money ( $50 ) on this game . Buy a good game , like FF Tactics or Xenogears , or do something productive with your money . I cannot believe that this is the best selling game in Japan . I have played every single FF game , and Xenogears as well as every other US released DW game . With all of the hype before this game , I had my hopes up for a decent game with old-school graphics . What I got was a story written by a third grader , a battle system that made me want to kill myself it was so boring , and no point of playing the game . Horrible . Pathetic .
080 4 Do not waste your time ( 130 hours is what i spent ) or your money ( $50 ) on this game . Buy a good game , like FF Tactics or Xenogears , or do something productive with your money . I cannot believe that this is the best selling game in Japan . I have played every single FF game , and Xenogears as well as every other US released DW game . With all of the hype before this game , I had my hopes up for a decent game with old-school graphics . What I got was a story written by a third grader , a battle system that made me want to kill myself it was so boring , and no point of playing the game . Horrible . Pathetic .
081 4 Horrible game is not enough to express how boring this game is .
You can't see the characters when they fight , there is no visual flair to the spells , and the enemy movements are weak and minimal . Oh , and there is no actual plot , its non-linear . Too bad . I guess I'll go back to watching for the Dragonball Z game for GBA .
