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Dragon Quest VII


DANGERMAN
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I'd never played Dragon Quest 7 before, I'd heard some not great things about it. I finished Dragon Quest 6 a year or so back and swore I wouldn't get 7, it's supposed to be better than 6,but the aimlessness of 6 put me off a bit, with 7 supposedly sharing some of that, and also being a longer game, something 8 suffered with but at least 8 is good 

 

Dragon Quest 7 takes an age to get going. I guess it's interesting conceptually to start in peace time, but it was well over an hour before I got in to my first battle. The battles are fairly standard Dragon Quest stuff, only the menus could be better. Maybe a sign of how much you can learn but there's now options for spells, which are then split into offensive, defensive, and other, then skills, which are also split in 3. It might make sense later in the game, but at the minute it feels like way more menus than you need. 

 

There's also slow down in battles, I can't place if the rest of the game runs at 60 then the fights drop to 30, bit it feels slower, and it happens less with some enemies. There's loads of fights too, enemies appear in the game world, but they are spawn a few steps in front of you every few steps, so you're always fighting. 

 

The story is at least slightly different so far. You're on a small island, seemingly the only island in the world, and you manage to open up an old tomb that slowly reveals the truth. It means revisiting areas you've already been to many years later, that could develop in to something good 

 

So far though, if you want a Dragon Quest game on the 3ds, I'd say jump to 8 

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  • 1 month later...

I've played over four hours of Dragon Quest VII (on the 3DS) now and I want to make a few points.

 

The 3D art style is just horrible (I mean 3D in the old school meaning). 3D is not an artistic improvement over 2D by default. Of course 3D games on the 3DS can look good (the upcoming Dragon Quest XI looks much better) but Dragon Quest VII does not look good. The environments are devoid of detail when you compare it with the previous trilogy on the DS, which were in 2D, and looked beautiful. Compare Dragon Quest IV or V on the DS with VII on the 3DS, it's painful. The original Dragon Quest VII on the Playstation was criticised for having Snes-like graphics but it looks much nicer than this remake.

 

Also, the small screen of the 3DS limits your field of view, especially with a 3D game. At any one time you can see very little around you. Which does not gel with with the fact that enemies now wander around the map in this game.

 

Just as 3D is not necessarily an improvement over 2D, having enemies visible is not necessarily an improvement over random encounters. Especially given the limitations of the 3DS, which you have the ridiculous situation of enemies chasing you within this tiny field of view...it seems like senseless design. Maybe the developers feel that random encounters are no longer acceptable but I would strongly disagree. The original Dragon Quest VII was a 2D game with random encounters and you have to say that the two big changes the developers made here are a step backwards.

 

I know Ben you recommended VIII on the 3DS but I think playing a beautiful game like that on a small screen would ruin it. Dragon Quest VIII had beautiful environments. I still remember leaving Farebury and seeing the world map stretch out in front of me in all directions. I can't imagine playing it cramped onto a tiny handheld screen. Also, the 3DS version of DQVIII does not have the orchestral music.

 

All that being said, I know I used the word "horrible" but of course DQVII doesn't look horrible. But it does look ugly by comparison.

 

Those complaints aside, I agree with Ben, this game gets off to what surely must be in the top ten or top five of slow starts. The developers were in no hurry to hook you with this game. But it still has the core qualities of a Dragon Quest game. Particularly the warm dialogue with the townsfolk.

 

In other words, I'm enjoying it. :)

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