Dragon Warrior VII

Other products by Enix

Product Features

• playstation
• RPG

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00005OLWB
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 1, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,123 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The top-selling PlayStation game in Japanese history makes its way to the U.S. in Dragon Warrior VII. Its creators include a trio of Japanese role-playing-game legends--game designer Yuji Horii, music composer Koichi Sugiyama, and character designer Akira Toriyama (who also created the popular Dragonball and Dragonball Z cartoons and comics). At its heart, Dragon Warrior VII is an old-school RPG that eschews flashy graphics and sound effects in favor of a good story and dozens of gameplay hours. In some cases it succeeds in capturing the nostalgia of old NES and SNES RPGs, but in others it hangs on too dearly to obsolete conventions. Still, this is one of the most value-packed games on the market, as it easily offers more than 100 hours of gameplay.

Graphically, Dragon Warrior VII will not impress anyone. Even compared to first-generation PlayStation games this one comes off as ugly. The sound is a mix of nostalgic MIDI bits from previous Dragon Warrior games and beautiful new compositions by Sugiyama. The story progresses in a linear fashion, as the main character discovers new lands, each with its own mysteries, characters, and adventures. The job system adds immense depth to character progression, as players can learn skills from more than 50 classes, including warriors, clerics, jesters, rangers, dragoons, teen idols, and more.

As deep as the job system is, progress is hindered by laborious combat and inventory-management systems. It would have been nice if the development team tried to implement modern gameplay mechanics with the rich Dragon Warrior universe. Because of its archaic aspects, the game will scare off those that aren't familiar with older RPGs. However, persevering gamers and longtime fans will enjoy one of the deepest adventures on the market. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• More than 100 hours of gameplay
• Extremely deep job system
• Memorable characters

Cons:

• Horrible graphics
• Poor interface
• Dull combat

Product Description

You plan to become a humble fisherman of peaceful Estard Island, the only land in a world of ocean. But when you discover the artifacts from an ancient land, you tear the fabric of time and unveil the world that once was. Transported to past lands, you must solve their mysteries and break the spell of annihilation. Prepare for your destiny!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, November 25, 2001

By	M. A Jenkins "southerndudeman" (Manhattan, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dragon Warrior VII, YES, INDEED., May 20, 2002

By	Christian H. Kim (California, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Glory Days of the Super Nintendo, January 5, 2002

By	Dylan (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

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.