More Thoughts From Me #35: Dragon Quest VII Impressions

When Dragon Quest 7 and 8 were brought to the 3DS in Japan, I was very excited. I loved Dragon Quest 9 and couldn’t wait to play 7 and 8 on the 3DS. I had played 8 before on the Playstation 1, but I had never played Dragon Quest 7. I was so ready to play two Dragon Quests on the 3DS. But then we heard nothing about the games coming to the US for years. About three or four years later, Nintendo/Square announced they were bringing the games to the U.S. On September 16th, Dragon Quest 7 finally came to the U.S. I have been playing this game a ton. Here are my impressions of the game so far!

Currently, I have over thirty hours on Dragon Quest 7! I will try to not spoil anything plot wise about the game here. What I will say is that I like this game a ton. There is so much to do Dragon Quest 7. And after 30 hours, I have barely scratched the surface of what you can do. Dragon Quest 7 is said to be an 80 some hour game for the story (and a ton more for the extra stuff!) and I believe it. This game is just packed with content!

Dragon Quest 7 starts out pretty easy. Some might think its too easy at first, but as you progress, the game gets harder and harder. Dragon Quest 7 has a lot more puzzles than say, Dragon Quest 9, had. The game’s dungeons are also a lot more twisty and turny then 9. You can easily get lost in these dungeons if you’re not careful. You do get a map on the second screen, but its not always helpful. Dragon Quest 7 doesn’t lead you by the hand. More often than not, you’ll have to find your own way out of the dungeons and really explore the towns to figure out what to do next. Dragon Quest 7’s graphics may look modern (for the 3DS), but its gameplay is definitely old school.

The graphics in Dragon Quest 7 are really impressive. The Dragon Quest monsters look great and so does everything else in the game. Seven is a fully 3D game on the 3DS. That does mean that there is a 3D effect on the game. I don’t always use the 3D, but when I do, I have noticed that Dragon Quest 7 looks great in it. I mostly don’t use the 3D because sometimes it bothers my eyes. But if the 3D doesn’t bother your eyes, then its highly recommended for DQ7! Like I said though, don’t let the wonderful graphics fool you. Dragon Quest 7 is old school.

For the most part, you will see the enemy on the world map and in dungeons, but you can’t always avoid them. They will chase after you and this can lead to a feeling that is very old school (random battles! sort of). You will have to build your characters up and do some grinding. I sometimes forget that. Not all the battles are easy in this game and you can get wiped out if you are not careful. Thankfully, you don’t really die in Dragon Quest 7. When you are wiped out, you are just transported to the last church you saved at. This can be pretty bad if you are deep into a dungeon and die. If that happens, you’ll have to trek all the way back to wherever you were. I just ran into a frustrating example of this fairly recently. Dragon Quest 7 is, without a doubt, a game that is designed with old school rpg fans in mind.

I don’t want to lead you into thinking I don’t like Dragon Quest 7. I love this game a lot. I have been playing this game almost non-stop. I am hopelessly addicted to the game. But I should note that Dragon Quest 7 won’t make you an rpg fan if you are not already. This is a game that is designed with the rpg fan, especially those who like Dragon Quest, in mind. Plus the game does get harder than Dragon Quest 9. There is just so much to do in the game too! The wealth of things to do can get a little overwhelming at times and I still haven’t unlocked everything extra yet. You’ll either love this game and be addicted to it or you’ll just move onto something else. Dragon Quest 7 is a great game for rpg fans! I can’t wait to play more.

Have you played Dragon Quest 7 yet? What do you think of it so far?

Next week: Halt and Catch Fire. Wait. What game is that? Well, its not a game. Its an AMC tv show. But there are parts of the show that are related to gaming. I’ll explain next week!

More Thoughts From Me is an opinion column. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone. I’m going back to playing Dragon Quest VII pretty soon!