| Dragon Warrior VII Review |
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| Overall |
8.0/10 |
| Gameplay |
10.0 |
| Presentation |
7.0 |
| Value |
9.0 |
| Graphics |
6.0 |
| Sound |
7.0 |
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All Media (7)
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By Lonnie on January 29th, 2002
Introduction Well, needless to say I have never been a big fan of the Dragon Warrior series. In fact I hadn’t really heard much of it until about a year ago, I was looking through old Game Fan Mags in fact. Anyhow I made a journey to my local import/game store to trade in some PC games, I’m really not one to love the personal computer. Anyhow I got seventy-five dollars in trade in value with my credit I searched around and saw a copy of Dragon Warrior VII unopened for 19.99. This made me think the game would be utter crap in the beginning, but unable to resist the deal I brought it home with me. I’m sure the game was overshadowed by Final Fantasy X considering I didn’t play it until a few weeks ago. Boy was I surprised this is definitely the game I have been waiting to play. Have you ever gotten the feeling that you have too many RPG’s to play through? I have, and I decided that I will attempt to play several at the same time to catch up. I must say DWVII takes up most of my free time now. Warning, I consider myself to be an avid RPG player. If you do not like Role playing games, or the only game you ever seriously played was Final Fantasy you may want to rent this game first. Anyhow carry on.Presentation There really isn’t anything fancy here. In fact the graphics are sub-par at best, but that’s not what Enix was trying to present. While DWVII is the first DW game to be in three dimensions
It’s still made up mostly of 2d sprites. Like I mentioned if your a true RPG fan you will look past the graphics and fall deeply in love with the story. The game has met a lot of unfair bashing due to its lack of being a graphical superpower. However I do not feel that the game deserves such an unfair treatment. Its a masterpiece at the worse level. Graphics & Sound I’ve already mentioned the graphical side of the game. Think of some early Sega CD or Saturn RPG games and you will get the appearance. While the game has some points that are beautifully done such as the reflections in the rainbow pool. I has a retro feel overall. One of my favorite parts about playing the game is the wonderful music. The soundtrack easily rivals that of any final fantasy game, well of any RPG game that I can think of. Sound effects are a bit dull, they seem somewhat redundant when you hear the beautiful CD quality music and the very disappointing sound effects that sound like they were ripped from a SNES cart. I guess my only complaint about the music is the lack thereof. Enix could have included much more music than they did. While the songs are beautiful they can be a bit repetitive.Gameplay Old School, would be a great phrase to describe Dragon Warrior VII. This will likely be an unforgettable adventure that you will cherish along with some of the classics. No wonder its the best seller in Japan. One of my favorite features is that there are no random battles in the world map. I understand that leveling up is the main point of Random battles, but why do they always happen when you are looking for something? Anyhow you travel around a very large 3D world, remember how the characters followed you in FFVIII well so do the little sprite-men of DWVII. The story is told through cut-scenes as well as just listening to what the everyday common folk have to say. The dungeons are very long and I have found many of them quite difficult. For some people this will just piss them off and they will quit. Me, I’m into a challenge every once in awhile. The battle system for the most part remains unchanged from previous versions (So I’m told anyhow this is the only DW game I have played.). Of course its turn-based as are most traditional RPG’s. When you encounter enemies they appear in front of you. Your given a simple menu with the commands Fight, Flee, Item, and so on. There is really nothing fancy about the battle engine. Just like in older games there is a fight every single step of the way, and no I’m not joking. While I mentioned no battles in the world map, they have made up for it in the 3D areas in the game. Fan’s will likely love the job system. This allows you to upgrade your characters to over 54 different classes. This game is very deep and will keep you involved for some time.Lasting Appeal So you want to know if the story will appeal to you? Well maybe, and maybe not. Your a boy living in a super small fishing town, also the only town on the island other than the castle. Your island is believed to be the only island/continent in the world. Sailors go to sea each year in search for more land, and every time, If they return, the come back empty handed. One day your best friend Keifer is running amuck you meet him in the ancient ruins, together you discover a secrete, this secrete leads to the mystery land, and the disappearance of the other continents. One thing leads to another and you will find yourself wrapped up into one very long and deep story. Sounds fun doesn’t it?Conclusion Dragon Warrior VII was a major surprise. I never really expected to get this into a game that looks like utter crap. Perhaps its a sign of maturity? Or just me falling into love with a game? Either way if your a fan of RPG’s or love long and involving stories without having to read an actual novel, you will likely enjoy this game. If you don’t generally enjoy RPG games but want to give it a chance, do me a favor rent it first. |
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