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[NolbertoS]

Should I play this or the PSX one? Is this the go to definitive version of the game?

I would say the 3DS is tge definitive version. You get true 3-D environment, no random encounters, battle animations, and other goodies. Just double dipped on this game. Rarely double dip but for the DQ series just did. Bought the digital version for the 3DS background and Now to spend all night long playing

 

[Mejilan]

I definitely consider 1-3 a straight-up trilogy.
Even forgetting DQ1's very dated mechanics, I feel like anyone that plays those three out of order is really doing themselves a disservice. There's certainly a really nice payoff getting to DQ3 properly, IMHO.

I know that 4-6 are also considered a trilogy. The Zenithia trilogy, IIRC.
But the links are so tenuous that they might as well not be there.
I'm by no means the board's DQ expert (tip 'o the hat to our Aeana), but IIRC, 4, 5, and 6 don't share the same kind of geographical, historical, and lore ties that 1, 2, and 3 do.

Still, brilliant that so many folks seem to be enjoying this.
I've been bouncing back and forth between this and Pokemon.
So good.

 

[R0ckman]

Quick Save option in Misc menu sub section. I believe I read someone was complaining that there was no save option outside of the church. Remember quicksaves are deleted everytime you load up the game and force you to quit when you use them.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

They did put out a guide that covers the first ~15 hours or so, though.

http://dragonquest7.nintendo.com/quick-start/

Oh that is helpful. Better than nothing anyway!

 

[Aeana]

Quick Save option in Misc menu sub section. I believe I read someone was complaining that there was no save option outside of the church. Remember quicksaves are deleted everytime you load up the game and force you to quit when you use them.

They're not deleted.

 

[ZeroX03]

Picked this up. Not sure I'll like it, but you're welcome for the support if I don't DQ fans.

 

[Eusis]

Really lame what they did to replace that original puzzle dungeon. If it was going to be like that

Spoiler

may as well have cut to the chase and just have some tablets laying around and been allowed in and placing them ASAP.

 

[R0ckman]

They're not deleted.

That sounds weird, it would be superior to the regular save besides forcing you to quit when using it.

 

[Mejilan]

Yeah, not a real fan of how they changed the intro segment, either.
Wasn't a real fan of the original's either, but these changes were completely pointless and didn't make the segment any better.

/shrugs

Not the end of the world.

 

[ohlawd]

the beginning is the most boring shit I've had to go through. good gravy

 

[Raw64life]

the beginning is the most boring shit I've had to go through. good gravy

It's definitely on the tedious side, although playing through the PSX version I knew what to expect. Just know that the game gets much, much better.

 

[Aeana]

The intro does a great job of establishing the worldview and the characters' drive to discover something more, and to go on an adventure. The puzzle part changes are stupid, but everything leading up to that is absolutely necessary for the game to work as well as it does. I mean I guess it could have just been a long series of dialog scenes that last 2 hours like The Best RPG Ever, Persona 4, but that's not Dragon Quest.

 

[mullet2000]

Where were you? I managed to get a copy at the Yonge-Dundas Best Buy and they had stacks of them. Avoided EB Games at Eaton Center because it looked like they weren't having them on display. Bought the game at around 1:00pm.

Went to the core downtown ones. The one by the TD tower and the one just by Eaton's were sold out. The Eaton center one is where I finally got the last copy.

 

[Baloonatic]

I just finished the intro and thought it was fine. Took my time and spoke to everyone and search for items as well.

Talking to everyone and seeing lots of NPCs mention how the island you are on is the only one in the world was intriguing to me as someone who hasn't played the game before and I kind of liked all the stuff with your uncle. Felt sorry for the bunny girl.

I dunno, it never felt boring or too long to me personally.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I don't get it. I've played slower intros. Persona 4's, Suikoden V's, Trails in the Sky...is it the characters people don't like? Or the premise of the adventure?

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

The intro was lengthy but I loved it. So much motivation and backstory set up. Lots of examples of what life is like on the island.
It was purely Dragon Quest and though this is my first time playing VII, I already feel like I'm going to have a bit of nostalgia for the simple fishing village life by the end of the grand adventure.

 

[Chesskid1]

first battle after 3 hours really enjoying it.

i feel like the menu is a little laggy, which annoys me a bit, especially obvious on the attributes screen. just feels like it should be more responsive, idk, i even feel it during battles.

 

[Lindsay]

The intro does a great job of establishing the worldview and the characters' drive to discover something more, and to go on an adventure.

Did I blank this part outta my memory already? I dun remember anything interesting going on character or world-wise. Hero & Kiefers drive for adventure is to prove that adults are full of it, which was established in the very first scene. Nothing that came after changed or expanded on that. Maribelle's drive is to be annoying and ta get punted from the party asap lol.

Not lettin' ya wing to Estard was dumb. Talking to the statues was dumb. An collecting the armor pieces was megadumb (lets walk through the same room with a different color tint and step on two pressure plates 4 times!). Then the game just mocks ya by making ya backtrack 1 more time just for the sake of getting the last plate part ya need.

Exploring/looting towns an chatting with NPCs is all well an good as always but all that other stuff was fluff. An how in first 3 towns + castle was there not a single interesting bookcase yet?!

 

[jack_package_200]

Starting the game.

Is there a canon Protagonist name?

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

Did I blank this part outta my memory already? I dun remember anything interesting going on character or world-wise. Hero & Kiefers drive for adventure is to prove that adults are full of it, which was established in the very first scene. Nothing that came after changed or expanded on that. Maribelle's drive is to be annoying and ta get punted from the party asap lol.

You must have blanked it out.
No joke, like half of the conversations with NPCs are about how the island is all there is and Kiefer constantly mentions all the things he's discovered with or without the Hero that suggest otherwise and why he wants to discover something more.

 

[NolbertoS]

Starting the game.

Is there a canon Protagonist name?

In every DQ game the hero is always nameless. You can call him whatever you want. His party nanes are canon.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Did I blank this part outta my memory already? I dun remember anything interesting going on character or world-wise. Hero & Kiefers drive for adventure is to prove that adults are full of it, which was established in the very first scene. Nothing that came after changed or expanded on that. Maribelle's drive is to be annoying and ta get punted from the party asap lol.

Not lettin' ya wing to Estard was dumb. Talking to the statues was dumb. An collecting the armor pieces was megadumb (lets walk through the same room with a different color tint and step on two pressure plates 4 times!). Then the game just mocks ya by making ya backtrack 1 more time just for the sake of getting the last plate part ya need.

Exploring/looting towns an chatting with NPCs is all well an good as always but all that other stuff was fluff. An how in first 3 towns + castle was there not a single interesting bookcase yet?!

We know how the villages have sustenance (fishing). We know about their culture in that they have fish festivals. We have established the hero's family. We know Maribel is the daughter of the mayor of Pilchard Bay. We see that hero and Kiefer's adventures are the talk of the island and could get them in trouble, they yearn for more to life than one island. We have adventures with Pike and his bar tab. An old man who made good with tomes. We know Kiefer's mother died at a young age and that he's got a sister with a lisp.

We know so much about where they live, how they live, what's expected of them. I find it not hard to get invested in their world and root for their goal of finding a new island.

Calling it fluff shows how little you're paying attention. Either that or you don't give a shit. I think that if they transported to the first island without build up, Chrono Trigger style, and aby reason to care about the characters or their motivations it would be boring. In other jrpgs we have no idea how the people live their lives. They just live there and simply exist. We have no idea how they get their food. If FFVII were handled DQVII style we wouldn't have gaps in knowledge in how the citizens of Midgar's slums live their lives. How do they get their food if they're so poor? Do people get a lot of diseases? What is like like? Because despite the no sun, like looks pretty good in FFVII's slums. Nothing like DQVII's detail is given prominence.

Some people like detail in their RPGs. Others, like you, want to get straight to the point. That's fine, but it's certainly not fluff.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

Starting the game.

Is there a canon Protagonist name?

Yes. Auster.

 

[Lindsay]

You must have blanked it out.
No joke, like half of the conversations with NPCs are about how the island is all there is and Kiefer constantly mentions all the things he's discovered with or without the Hero that suggest otherwise and why he wants to discover something more.

Ya thats why I'm saying though? Of course the island people say theres nothing out there and that the party believes otherwise. That was established right from the start, having it repeated over an over doesn't make it any deeper or more detailed x.x Same for Kiefer being all like "the truth is out there...". Following it up with a very pointless run/warp around the island sequence 2 or 3 more times is where things really went downhill.

 

[NolbertoS]

Yes. Auster.

Just read wikipedia that his name was given in a manga series as Arus and Auster for the 3DS. I'm still used to the hero always being nameless, and Horii purposely did that so you, the user are the protagonist

 

[rockyt]

From my understanding all the game in the main series are connected in one form or another. 1,2,3 are trilogies with 4,5, and 6 are loose trilogies. Correct me if I remember wrongly but 1,2,3 and 4,5,6 both takes place on opposite side of world like light and darkness or above ground with one being below ground. Sorta like legend of Zelda where your got the twilight and dark relm. There are hints and cameos throughout the series that mention this I believe. Also 7 take place in one of those relms if I remember correctly one of the tower they go into they run across a ailing main hero from one of the previous game. Again correct if I remember wrong.

 

[Krammy]

Just got around to starting my copy.

There's a few noticeably awful things about the game, such as the pop-in during the overworld. Objects like trees will jarringly appear instantly, but in towns, objects will fade-in instead. What gives?

I keep getting stuck on objects as well. For example, when I walk beside a drawer, suddenly I can't walk up or down, despite there being plenty of room. It's not a gamebreaker, but it's super aggravating as it's happened maybe 5 times in the first 30 minutes and gives me a hell of a scare. Especially annoying when previous Arte Piazza games haven't had this issue in the past.

I'm also sad the Circle Pad Pro at the time wasn't an option for camera control, because using the camera so much is going to destroy my L/R triggers (although Nintendo's really to blame for making such awful triggers in the first place). I'd have loved to use the analog on my n3DS to control the camera instead.

With all that said, the game is a really nice remake so far! It runs beautifully and I love that the father isn't as much of an asshole this time around (and that the King seems to be more of one by comparison). The graphics look surprisingly nice, when up until now I thought they looked kind of iffy in videos. The translation is pretty great, but the princess with the lisp was so hard to read and made me groan like, "Here we go again with the overbearing accents".

 

[CaLe]

I forgot to download the theme when I downloaded the game. How do I download it again ?

 

[Lynx_7]

At this point I think complaining about DQ VII's opening has become kind of a meme. lol
The only thing I disliked about it is exclusive to this remake, which was removing a fairly good dungeon in favor of stepping on 4 buttons to get the pieces of equipment, which wasn't the greatest idea ever but it takes like 3 minutes to complete. The intro may be slow but I certainly didn't find it boring. To me a legit boring opening is something like Kingdom Hearts 2 and Twilight Princess. DQ VII is a slow burner but does a good job of stablishing its mood and what kind of story it wants to tell.
Anyway, it's ok guys there's stuff beyond the opening hour.

So far I like how puzzle-oriented rooms in dungeons have no enemy encounters. Not sure if that'll change later on though.

 

[Pancake Mix]

Loving it to death so far, yes, including the long opening.

Have been mostly not needing the quick start guide but one thing bothered me. Their level recommendations are a bit too high. I know it's a lot easier to grind with an undefeatable tank guest member, but there's no need to level grind that high in the

Spoiler

Ballymolloy past

section. I finished it at level 6 across my party.

Hopefully it becomes a success. I'd like 11 in a timely manner.

I think XI is pretty likely on PS4, and if it's a success, NX. Don't think it'll be here on 3DS in like...2018 though. Happy it sold out on Amazon and I hope it has in fact done well across the board as a 3DS JRPG success story.

 

[spazchicken]

Just got around to starting my copy.

There's a few noticeably awful things about the game, such as the pop-in during the overworld. Objects like trees will jarringly appear instantly, but in towns, objects will fade-in instead. What gives?

I keep getting stuck on objects as well. For example, when I walk beside a drawer, suddenly I can't walk up or down, despite there being plenty of room. It's not a gamebreaker, but it's super aggravating as it's happened maybe 5 times in the first 30 minutes and gives me a hell of a scare. Especially annoying when previous Arte Piazza games haven't had this issue in the past.

I'm also sad the Circle Pad Pro at the time wasn't an option for camera control, because using the camera so much is going to destroy my L/R triggers (although Nintendo's really to blame for making such awful triggers in the first place). I'd have loved to use the analog on my n3DS to control the camera instead.

With all that said, the game is a really nice remake so far! It runs beautifully and I love that the father isn't as much of an asshole this time around (and that the King seems to be more of one by comparison). The graphics look surprisingly nice, when up until now I thought they looked kind of iffy in videos. The translation is pretty great, but the princess with the lisp was so hard to read and made me groan like, "Here we go again with the overbearing accents".

I watched a review that said the tree pop in could be because the on screen enemies killing the 3DS for resources. That's what he thinks anyway.

Is this an 8-4 joint? Becasue they translated some of, if not all the previous DS DQ games and included all the "thus thou" speech and heavy accents as well.

 

[Pancake Mix]

The intro does a great job of establishing the worldview and the characters' drive to discover something more, and to go on an adventure. The puzzle part changes are stupid, but everything leading up to that is absolutely necessary for the game to work as well as it does. I mean I guess it could have just been a long series of dialog scenes that last 2 hours like The Best RPG Ever, Persona 4, but that's not Dragon Quest.

I gather the puzzle dungeon that was removed was the process of acquiring the four

Spoiler

sacred treasures

? Seemed a bit weird to stand on a couple blocks in each grave to acquire them.

 

[Lord of Ostia]

The opening is not THAT long, it's quite a bit shorter than the opening of Persona 4 for sure. I mean, I guess it can take you longer if you dilly-dally, but I find that to be more engaging because you actually have some control over the experience. Also I think it serves to introduce and endear you to the world and the characters. No idea why everyone is griping about it, you'd think none of you have played a JRPG before.

 

[Lynx_7]

I gather the puzzle dungeon that was removed was the process of acquiring the four

Spoiler

sacred treasures

? Seemed a bit weird to stand on a couple blocks in each grave to acquire them.

Yes. That whole segment in general was done more organically in the original. Instead of some pixie creature guiding you all the way through, the ruins were completely abandoned and you had to solve a lot of puzzles to get the four pieces of armour, not to mention having to figure out the statues riddles by yourself instead of the game doing it for you. Then you got to place the tablet fragments on the pillars by yourself. It was a much more adventurous, lonely, mysterious experience.

 

[Pancake Mix]

The opening is not THAT long, it's quite a bit shorter than the opening of Persona 4 for sure. I mean, I guess it can take you longer if you dilly-dally, but I find that to be more engaging because you actually have some control over the experience. Also I think it serves to introduce and endear you to the world and the characters. No idea why everyone is griping about it, you'd think none of you have played a JRPG before.

Exactly, I quite enjoyed it. Didn't mind the wait for battle at all, the world was excellently set up. Marabelle is absolutely amazing, also.

Yes. That whole segment in general was done more organically in the original. Instead of some pixie creature guiding you all the way through, the ruins were completely abandoned and you had to solve a lot of puzzles to get the four pieces of armour, not to mention having to figure out the statues riddles by yourself instead of the game doing it for you. Then you got to place the tablet fragments on the pillars by yourself. It was a much more adventurous, lonely, mysterious experience.

Bit of a shame that is gone. The rest of the changes seem to be almost universally good though, so I'll let it slide.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Loving it to death so far, yes, including the long opening.

Have been mostly not needing the quick start guide but one thing bothered me. Their level recommendations are a bit too high. I know it's a lot easier to grind with an undefeatable tank guest member, but there's no need to level grind that high in the

Spoiler

Ballymolloy past

section. I finished it at level 6 across my party.



I think XI is pretty likely on PS4, and if it's a success, NX. Don't think it'll be here on 3DS in like...2018 though. Happy it sold out on Amazon and I hope it has in fact done well across the board as a 3DS JRPG success story.

I beat the boss at level 6.

 

[Lindsay]

Yes. That whole segment in general was done more organically in the original. Instead of some pixie creature guiding you all the way through, the ruins were completely abandoned and you had to solve a lot of puzzles to get the four pieces of armour, not to mention having to figure out the statues riddles by yourself instead of the game doing it for you. Then you got to place the tablet fragments on the pillars by yourself. It was a much more adventurous, lonely, mysterious experience.

I wish I had played that game, or at least that opening!

I also wish DQ would steal the age old concept of a Key Item section in the inventory so that fragments & other useless story related things would stop lining my pockets an needing to be sorted out manually.

 

[Pancake Mix]

I beat the boss at level 6.

'Fistbump' Level 6 is perfect for that boss.

I wish I had played that game, or at least that opening!

I also wish DQ would steal the age old concept of a Key Item section in the inventory so that fragments & other useless story related things would stop lining my pockets an needing to be sorted out manually.

The game will offer to auto-sort for you. It's an option in the Misc. menu. Furthermore, if your characters run out of space, the shopkeeper will offer to auto-sort your items and move that stuff to your bag. Pretty much a non-issue.

 

[MissDeviling]

Yes. That whole segment in general was done more organically in the original. Instead of some pixie creature guiding you all the way through, the ruins were completely abandoned and you had to solve a lot of puzzles to get the four pieces of armour, not to mention having to figure out the statues riddles by yourself instead of the game doing it for you. Then you got to place the tablet fragments on the pillars by yourself. It was a much more adventurous, lonely, mysterious experience.

I thought it was weird that the statues spoke in riddles but I didn't actually have to solve any of them, lol.

 

[brinstar]

Yes. That whole segment in general was done more organically in the original. Instead of some pixie creature guiding you all the way through, the ruins were completely abandoned and you had to solve a lot of puzzles to get the four pieces of armour, not to mention having to figure out the statues riddles by yourself instead of the game doing it for you. Then you got to place the tablet fragments on the pillars by yourself. It was a much more adventurous, lonely, mysterious experience.

man that sounds way better.

 

[Lynx_7]

Also you guys need to lay off Persona 4's opening. If you want an unnecessarily longwinded intro as a punching bag then use Kingdom Hearts 2 instead. I'll allow it.


Anyway, I'm really liking the main cast so far, specially Kiefer. I wonder why Dragon Quest Heroes used none of VII's characters in its roster at all, seems like a weird omission. Is VII not popular in Japan? (I know it sold a fuckton, I'm talking about being well liked and all)

 

[Lindsay]

The game will offer to auto-sort for you. It's an option in the menu. Furthermore, if your characters run out of space, the shopkeeper will offer to auto-sort your items and move that stuff to your bag. Pretty much a non-issue.

Played enough DQs ta know about that stuff but they don't make it a non-issue. Auto-sort strips all non-equipped items from your pockets. Maybe I just wanna remove the ones that have no battle/dungeon use? So that option kinda stinks cause if I liked my herb/antidote/whatever loadout I gotta jump into the menus an manually kickout stuff like fragments anyhow. Shouldn't need ta be sorting Key Items, they should just go automatically to their own lil space outta the way of your pockets/bag as they do in sooooo many other rpgs pre & post-dating the original DQ7 and its remake.

I thought it was weird that the statues spoke in riddles but I didn't actually have to solve any of them, lol.

Yup! Was thinking I'd have to at least figure out which order to give 'em but nope -.-

 

[Niraj]

I forgot to download the theme when I downloaded the game. How do I download it again ?

In the eshop check account activity and then view your receipt for your purchase. Code should be listed there, write it down or take a picture or something. Go to the theme shop, and there's a little button you can press in the top right that will give you an option to input a code.

 

[CrazyHal]

Is it me or this remake is way easier than the original? I remember the original psx game been pretty damn brutal at times.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Also you guys need to lay off Persona 4's opening. If you want an unnecessarily longwinded intro as a punching bag then use Kingdom Hearts 2 instead. I'll allow it.


Anyway, I'm really liking the main cast so far, specially Kiefer. I wonder why Dragon Quest Heroes used none of VII's characters in its roster at all, seems like a weird omission. Is VII not popular in Japan? (I know it sold a fuckton, I'm talking about being well liked and all)

7 has my favorite cast in the series. Yes, I like em more than 8's and 4's.. The remake puts the characters on par with VIII's. They were always good but the remake just takes it to the next level. And yeah, Kiefer rocks.

Is it me or this remake is way easier than the original? I remember the original psx game been pretty damn brutal at times.

It will get brutal.

 

[Daouzin]

Really lame what they did to replace that original puzzle dungeon. If it was going to be like that

Spoiler

may as well have cut to the chase and just have some tablets laying around and been allowed in and placing them ASAP.

That's exactly how I feel. Like if they are going to remove the puzzle portion, just remove that segment entirely.

Picked this up. Not sure I'll like it, but you're welcome for the support if I don't DQ fans.

Well, thank you! I hope you enjoy it because I love this game, but regardless we appreciate it! We need more DQ so hopefully the sales of this title prove there's a big enough market to justify localizing more DQ stuff.

 

[Schadenfreude]

This game is so quaint and beautiful. I never played the original but I'm feeling like a kid again.

 

[Lynx_7]

7 has my favorite cast in the series. Yes, I like em more than 8's and 4's.. The remake puts the characters on par with VIII's. They were always good but the remake just takes it to the next level. And yeah, Kiefer rocks

I admit, I wasn't expecting much because I don't see people talking about them very much, they aren't prominent in spin-offs and the general "chibi" art style of the game doesn't make them stand out as much as some of the more stylish looking casts, but they have great chemistry together. I thought Kiefer was gonna be some smug asshole based on his smug artwork, but he's a pretty cool dude with an adventurous spirit. Maribelle is the kind of character that could've been really annoying if done wrong but in here I find her bratty behaviour endearing since it's done in a pretty lighthearted manner, and she's a good kid at heart.

Little Underling Goku isn't as cool as Awesome King Goku (the GOAT), Legendary Hero Goku, Zenithian Hero Goku or even Trenchcoat Goku, but he's pretty neat too and has a sort of common kid charm to him. I've been roleplaying as a bit of a troll, saying No at the least appropriate moments for comedic effect (except at serious situations, like the

Spoiler

Maeve scene

).

 

[mieumieu]

We know how the villages have sustenance (fishing). We know about their culture in that they have fish festivals. We have established the hero's family. We know Maribel is the daughter of the mayor of Pilchard Bay. We see that hero and Kiefer's adventures are the talk of the island and could get them in trouble, they yearn for more to life than one island. We have adventures with Pike and his bar tab. An old man who made good with tomes. We know Kiefer's mother died at a young age and that he's got a sister with a lisp.

We know so much about where they live, how they live, what's expected of them. I find it not hard to get invested in their world and root for their goal of finding a new island.

Calling it fluff shows how little you're paying attention. Either that or you don't give a shit. I think that if they transported to the first island without build up, Chrono Trigger style, and aby reason to care about the characters or their motivations it would be boring. In other jrpgs we have no idea how the people live their lives. They just live there and simply exist. We have no idea how they get their food. If FFVII were handled DQVII style we wouldn't have gaps in knowledge in how the citizens of Midgar's slums live their lives. How do they get their food if they're so poor? Do people get a lot of diseases? What is like like? Because despite the no sun, like looks pretty good in FFVII's slums. Nothing like DQVII's detail is given prominence.

Some people like detail in their RPGs. Others, like you, want to get straight to the point. That's fine, but it's certainly not fluff.

Great post. DQVII really sets up the world and characters well. I especially love Maribel's dialogue

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

I admit, I wasn't expecting much because I don't see people talking about them very much, they aren't prominent in spin-offs and the general "chibi" art style of the game doesn't make them stand out as much as some of the more stylish looking casts, but they have great chemistry together. I thought Kiefer was gonna be some smug asshole based on his smug artwork, but he's a pretty cool dude with an adventurous spirit. Maribelle is the kind of character that could've been really annoying if done wrong but in here I find her bratty behaviour endearing since it's done in a pretty lighthearted manner, and she's a good kid at heart.

Little Underling Goku isn't as cool as Awesome King Goku (the GOAT), Legendary Hero Goku, Zenithian Hero Goku or even Trenchcoat Goku, but he's pretty neat too and has a sort of common kid charm to him. I've been roleplaying as a bit of a troll, saying No at the least appropriate moments for comedic effect (except at serious situations, like the

Spoiler

Maeve scene

).

Maribel is my favorite Dragon Quest character. A sorta tom boy who is sorta girlish, but extremely bratty and spoiled, with a hint of sass and an adventurers spirit topped with a heart of gold.

That's my Maribel.