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GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - Dragon Quest VII review

by rawmeatcowboy
14 September 2016
GN Version 5.0
This one was on the site early this morn, but I wanted to make sure it had a chance to get in front of some more eyes. Hope you enjoy the read. I certainly enjoyed the game! See you in a few, short hours.

I really don't know all that much about the Dragon Quest franchise. I have played one other entry for review, but that's about as extensive as my knowledge gets. Those that have been reading the site for years now know that I'm not really an RPG player. It's not because I have anything against RPGs. I just think I really suck at them. They always intimidate me with their size and scope, as well as battle systems. There's just something that doesn't click with me, no matter how hard I try to wrap my head around things.

I just wanted to preface my review with that information for you. I want you to know where my review is coming from. I'm not someone that has a vast knowledge of the franchise or RPGs in general. I have played a handful of them and am aware of all the big ones out there. I know how they operate and can fumble my way through them. I'm not the type that can pick apart intricate details of battle stats and how to best approach situations. I can simply tell you what I thought of my experience.

In this instance, I can tell you that I very much enjoyed my time with Dragon Quest VII. As a matter of fact, playing this game has made me feel like I've really been missing out on the franchise, and RPGS as a whole.

When I do sit down to play an RPG, there's one element I hold above all others. I really need a story that is going to push me through the experience. Since I'm not too keen on turn-based battling, it's the story that will give me the motivation I need. Obviously the story aspect of RPGs in general is quite a huge part, since these experiences usually last 60+ hours if not more. Dragon Quest VII, while it may start things off a tad slow, does give you an interesting story to kick off your adventure.

When you first set off into the game, you'll learn about an island that seems to be the only one in the entire world. Anyone you talk to seems to think that there's simply not any other islands out there to be found. It's ocean as far as the eye can see. There may be living creatures like fish and bears, but there's no other islands or human inhabitants on them. As the player, this seems a bit far-fetched. Thankfully the prince of your island also feels the same way, which is why the two of you have been working together to try and see if the world really does hide some more life beyond the horizon.

Without revealing too much of the story, you obviously find some information that allows you to learn a bit about the world beyond your island. Turns out your hunch was right and there are indeed other people out there. The how, where and why with those people is something you'll have to learn as you play. There are numerous twists and turns throughout the story, as well as elements that tease you throughout the experience. You'll get little tidbits of info that'll make you hungry for better explanations, which helps to drive the gameplay forward. You'll find yourself wanting to push a bit further and play a bit longer just to get that next mystery explained.

Having not played Dragon Quest VII, I was quite surprised to see just how well the game lends itself to portable play. It's true that there are multiple sections that might be too long to take on in a single sitting, but the way the game reveals itself makes for some good pick-up-and-play fun. Again, without revealing too much, you'll be taking on self-contained adventures for part of the game. You'll travel to a new land, learn about it's people and the troubles that they're all facing. This approach really helped out someone like me, who is easily overwhelmed with the grandiose scale of RPGs. I felt like I could better tackle what was ahead of me, even if things do open up in a larger way as you push on.

That goes for gameplay mechanics as well. I'm always amazed at just how many hours you can pour into an RPG and still get new mechanics. Dragon Quest VII isn't going to reveal all of its features or gameplay aspects in the first handful of hours. You're going to have to learn the ropes of more traditional RPG action before you get into the depths of what the game has to offer. This includes major aspects of the game that can completely change up the abilities of your parties and approach to battles.

A big part of your success is going to rest in the vocations aspect. You'll eventually be able to take on a vocation, which will afford your characters various abilities. You'll be able to learn new abilities and spells, and it even changes up your apperance as well. There are all sorts of vocations to pick from and they'll provide unique benefits and challenges. It all depends on what kind of player you are, and the vocations available should provide aspects that are very familiar to traditional RPG fans.

Vocations really can make or break the experience for you. Thankfully you can change a vocation if you feel like things aren't working out. Vocations can make your character extremely skilled with a sword, super powerful with magic, sneaky enough to get items and an early hit on enemies, a healer for your whole team and so much more. You can even take things a step further with master vocations, which heap on some major benefits. You'll need to fulfill certain requirements to take on these master vocations, but they're certainly worth it. Having a master vocation can really steer your team to victory in some of the more intense battles that await you.

Now battling itself plays out just like any other RPG. You're given a collection of different menus and all battles are text-based with in-game graphics and animations to keep things interesting. That said, you are going to find yourself going through the same menus over and over again for every single battle. Now this is how a lot of RPGs work and some people really don't mind it. I tend to not enjoy that sort of approach, but it's not anything I would knock a game for. This is the bread-and-butter of most RPGs. I don't hate it so much that it turns me off from the game, but I do find the menu battles to be a bit tedious. Just to be clear, this is not a knock specifically against Dragon Quest VII. This is a personal gripe of mine with RPGs in general, but again, it doesn't sully my impression of the overall game.

One aspect that I dislike even more in RPGs is the random battle component. I always feel like I'm getting distracted from my goals when a random battle happens. When the battle is over I come back to the exploration aspect and forget where I was and what I was doing. When I finally figure out what I was up to, another random battle kicks in. This drives me absolutely nuts, which is why I am so happy Dragon Quest VII lets me pick and choose the battles I want to take on...for the most part.

In what I believe is a change from the original release of Dragon Quest VII, you can now see enemies in-game. You aren't randomly whisked away into a battle. Instead, you have to make contact with an enemy on the field before a battle begins. Now enemies may see you and rush for you to start a battle, but you almost always have a chance to maneuver around them if you want to. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this change. There are times when I don't want to grind through battle after battle and I just want to accomplish a task given to me. I want to deliver an item or make it to a specific location instead of wade through endless battles. When I complete the objective I set for myself, then I'm cool with wandering around to grind for some experience. Giving the player the ability to do this should be welcomed by whiny babies like me and hardcore RPG fans alike.

Speaking of being a whiny baby, Dragon Quest VII made me cry a few times from its challenge! Now this could just be due to my lack of skill in RPGs, but I definitely found some challenge in the game. I'm talking about battles that I had to retry tens and tens of times before I was able to best my foe. Perhaps I tried to take on challenges when I was underpowered, or maybe I just didn't know what the hell I was doing. There were definitely battles that had me on edge. I mean, that's how I ALWAYS feel when I play RPGs, just because I don't know how much the game is going to ask of me while I'm out adventuring! Sometimes you can get yourself into situations where you have to take on a mid-boss and a tiered main boss all in a single run! Again, this probably is something more seasoned RPG players can take on with ease, but for me it was a struggle at times. That said, the important thing to note is that the game never felt unfair. It certainly challenged me and pushed me to the limits of my knowledge, but I never felt like I was dying cheaply. My deaths just made me want to get better and give things one more shot.

For those times when the main story gets a bit too challenging, there are plenty of other things to do. You can always step away from the main objective and tackle other things like the Haven, which is an area for monsters that dream of being human. They just want to live a peaceful life, and helping out these monsters can net you some benefits on your journey. You can even befriend some monsters while in battle and use them to take on some monster-specific missions! Again, these challenges can end up being really beneficial to you in the long run, because they can earn you items and other goodies that could make the difference in a future battle.

There's just an insane amount of content to take on and so much to do. I guess that's the standard for RPGs. People pick up games like this because they know they're really going to get a major timesink from the purchase. If that's your thing, I don't see how you could be disappointed with Dragon Quest VII. We're talking about hundreds and hundreds of hours of content. Side-missions and other completionist content that I will never, ever see in my lifetime. If you're looking for a 3DS title that's going to go above and beyond with bang for your buck, Dragon Quest VII has to be one of the best choices out there.

You even get some really nice content in the bells and whistles department. Dragon Quest VII has received a visual overhaul from the original PS1 release. Characters are now in full 3D and the world map itself has been completely reworked. It seems like the entire visual presentation has gotten a major facelift, and it makes for a very pretty adventure. Visuals don't make or break an experience for me, but there's nothing wrong with pointing out when a game looks nice! There may be some pop-in here and there on the maps that you traverse, but nothing that's going to ruin your time with the game. There's also a tiny bit of slow-down in some battles when the menus come into play, but again, it's not anywhere near a problem. It's just something that I noticed and feel I should point out.

The game has also had a new featured added in with the fragment detector. I don't want to ruin why you need fragments and how they're a big part of the game, but this new fragment detector is invaluable for it. When you're out and about on your adventure, this little icon on the bottom screen will light up and let you know that there's a fragment near. I really found this feature truly helpful, and I can only imagine how much tougher the experience was when it originally came out. I guess some people that played the original might complain that the fragment detector makes things too easy, but since I have never played the original, I really don't have any complaints!

I am nowhere near a person that can tell you all the minute details on why Dragon Quest VII does or doesn't work. For all I know, hardcore RPG fans may find some elements of this experience to be a major turn-off, or on the flip-side, they may sing the praises of aspects that I never even picked up on. I can only tell you how I felt with the experience I had. As I said at the start, playing Dragon Quest VII has made me regret not giving more RPGs a try, and I truly mean that. I don't need to be an RPG connoisseur to recognize that this is a fantastic experience. It's compelling in all the right ways and offers up some fantastic challenge. If you're afraid of RPGs like I am, this might be the right game to change your mind. If you're a big fan of RPGs, I can't imagine why you wouldn't fall in love with this game.

Dragon Quest VII hit the 3DS in Japan back in 2013. It seemed certain that the rest of the world was going to miss out on this remake, but Square-Enix surprised us all. They listened to the fan outcry and decided to give the franchise another chance outside of its homeland. While I may not have been waiting excitedly for Dragon Quest VII to get a localization, I can tell you that it's completely changed my outlook on RPGs in general. Now I'm chomping at the bit to give Dragon Quest VIII a shot. Square-Enix came through and have given the fans what they want. I can tell you that it's an amazing experience in every way possible. Now it's time for 3DS owners to show Square-Enix that they were serious about their cries for localization!

If you own a 3DS and enjoy RPGs, there's absolutely no reason to miss out on Dragon Quest VII. You will not be disappointed.