• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Dragon Quest 7: Fragments of the Forgotten Past |OT| Roman numerals are hard

Doing the DLC tablets to clear out some room. Would like to note the recommended levels are complete bull. Feline Forest and Fantastic Feast are both level 20+ recommends, you could do Feline Forest pre-vocation with a bit of luck, Fantastic Feast features groups of 2 Sorcerer's Sauciere who can wipe a 29/29/27 party with Tier 2 jobs before you get to act (one of those things is significantly harder than the boss too).
 
I like the game but I don't think my interest can hold for close to 100 hours...

I'm in present Wetlock, about 42 hours playtime..
Giving where you are right now it probably won't take you nearly as long. The thing with DQVII is that it's very heavy on text and you even get new details re-re-re-re-visiting locations (past and present) and that adds to playtime, add constantly party chatting, and you have even more. If you play it like an average jrpg it should take 60-70 hrs.

Cumulus Vex is one shotting half my party.
That's a thing that's happening.
Party classes?
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Time is subjective. Where you at.

This version took me 96 hours

I'm at
the Almighty's present palace.
50 hours in. I'd probably reach 65-70 hours.
 

Raw64life

Member
Cumulus Vex is one shotting half my party.
That's a thing that's happening.

.

Just hit my first wall with cumulus vex. He's annihilating me. Maribel is my only character that had oomph and multiheal and
with her gone for the moment
it's making this fight impossible for me at level 23-25. I've gone 40+ hours without having to do any grinding but it looks like I might not have a choice now.

I only had it for Maribel
and she's currently not in the party
.

I did finally manage to beat him. Had Mervyn do foreberance every turn so he would absorb the entirety of his ridiculous attack and then kept zinging him back to life.
 

Rizzi

Member
Giving where you are right now it probably won't take you nearly as long. The thing with DQVII is that it's very heavy on text and you even get new details re-re-re-re-visiting locations (past and present) and that adds to playtime, add constantly party chatting, and you have even more. If you play it like an average jrpg it should take 60-70 hrs.


Party classes?

Paladin, Gladiator, Paladin, Luminary.
 

rybrad

Member
DQVIII seems to be everybody's fav DQ game since it had true 3-D, cel shading and no classes just fixed characters that learn their own abilities and spells. I think you'll love VIII more than VII. Like somebody pages ago stated, DQVII was made for "purists" of the game that loved class changes, while VIII was made to transition DQ into 3-D and have an alchemy pot that you can make your own weapons.
Oh, that is great to know about no classes. I liked it in VII but it will be nice not to have to worry about timing dungeons right so you don't max a class out mid dungeon. Went ahead and pre-ordered VIII based on everyone's feedback.
 
VIII added the two things I hate most in the series. Alchemy pot and tension

Alchemy Pot was one of the reasons I liked DQ VIII so much. It was fun discovering and testing new recipes, and it created a reason to keep crappy forgettable items you normally would just discard or sell in other DQ games.

I'm one of those people that always checks every drawer, every cupboard, every vase for items in RPGs,but DQ7 seems to love hiding useless weak equipment like Leather Hats in those. Even late into the game when they've become worthless. But in DQ 8 you could just keep those as ingredients to create better equipment later. They still had worth.

I have mixed feelings on the Tension system though. It looked cheesy. But I found it useful in many boss battles.
 
Paladin, Gladiator, Paladin, Luminary.
Your class setup looks good to me. Gladiator with the advanced skills can really dish out a lot of damage, and if your Paladins have multi-heal then surviving his best attack should be easy. But it depends on the skills you have available.

VIII added the two things I hate most in the series. Alchemy pot and tension
Tension is like a stack-able focus or muster strength so I don't mind it much, though it does slow things down even more, thankfully the 3DS version speeds things up a good deal. Alchemy pot was fixed with DQIX and the remake, I like the concept a lot and how old stuff can be used to create relevant stuff -- it means you have to pause before you sell off old gear. I'm really, really, really, hoping they don't mess this up in the localisation. DQVIIr English was really botched up to a surprising extent.
 

Jimm

Member
I'm trying SO hard to finish this game before Pokemon drops, because I know once that comes out I won't go back. I can't believe how long this game is haha, it just keeps going when I think it's winding down!

Currently I've just
Awakened the Fire and Wind spirits, about to do the Earth then onto Water, how long estimated do I have left? haha
 
I'm trying SO hard to finish this game before Pokemon drops, because I know once that comes out I won't go back. I can't believe how long this game is haha, it just keeps going when I think it's winding down!

Currently I've just
Awakened the Fire and Wind spirits, about to do the Earth then onto Water, how long estimated do I have left? haha

5 hours
 

ameleco

Member
Hey guys! So I haven't been as active playing this as I wish I was, but I have a question. Which tablets are expendable? And does deleting them delete the character associated with that tablet as well? Also, can you re obtain tablets from the in-game NPCs if you delete the tablets associated with hem?
 
Hey guys! So I haven't been as active playing this as I wish I was, but I have a question. Which tablets are expendable? And does deleting them delete the character associated with that tablet as well? Also, can you re obtain tablets from the in-game NPCs if you delete the tablets associated with hem?

The in game ones are all expendable as you can create them yourself, though you probably want to get the 5 heart drops First for monsters that drop their hearts . Most DLC ones are expendable once you've completed them once and tamed everything , a couple are useful to keep until you get to the creation point for quick class levelling (Sticky Business or Snag a Speedy Sword), Exp (Barbarous Barbershop up to ~30 and Treasure Hunt after that), some have untameable bosses (Poisonous Party, Test of Slime) and Poisonous Party has Ultimate Key chests. You may want to farm the Delusionist boss of Gruesome Garrison for extra hearts too (you're guaranteed 1 for first completion, but it may be better to wait until you can create your own full Delusionist tablet instead). You can steal/drop Icicle Dirks (powerful weapon for Ruff from freezing fogs in Cloud Control but the chance is so low I'm not sure it's worth it honestly since it's acquirable in the normal game too).
 

ameleco

Member
The in game ones are all expendable as you can create them yourself, though you probably want to get the 5 heart drops First for monsters that drop their hearts . Most DLC ones are expendable once you've completed them once and tamed everything , a couple are useful to keep until you get to the creation point for quick class levelling (Sticky Business or Snag a Speedy Sword), Exp (Barbarous Barbershop up to ~30 and Treasure Hunt after that), some have untameable bosses (Poisonous Party, Test of Slime) and Poisonous Party has Ultimate Key chests. You may want to farm the Delusionist boss of Gruesome Garrison for extra hearts too (you're guaranteed 1 for first completion, but it may be better to wait until you can create your own full Delusionist tablet instead). You can steal/drop Icicle Dirks (powerful weapon for Ruff from freezing fogs in Cloud Control but the chance is so low I'm not sure it's worth it honestly since it's acquirable in the normal game too).

Wow quick and great response! Thank you!
 
To add to that, if you're interested, a few do feature monsters that are easy to kill and drop stat seeds.

Like the Mad Moles carrying strength seeds in Feline Forest.

Yeah, and the Black Books in Kooky keep drop Super magic seeds. But as long as you tame then, I don't think it matters much. You're not really going to need/want to farm stat seeds before you can create your own tablets I think (seems like more of an endgame/postgame completionist thing to me) so I didn't mention it.
 

ameleco

Member
Yeah, and the Black Books in Kooky keep drop Super magic seeds. But as long as you tame then, I don't think it matters much. You're not really going to need/want to farm stat seeds before you can create your own tablets I think (seems like more of an endgame/postgame completionist thing to me) so I didn't mention it.

Considering my snail-like pace through this game, I seriously doubt I'll ever get there :(
 

NSESN

Member
Post Hubblestock spoilers:
Stuck after beating the fire spirit, i don't know how to make the other portals work
BTW
Is Alltrades Abbey back before the ending of the game?
 
Finally beat this last night with a playtime of 65:32. I didn't think I rushed through it, but I guess I did if I ended up with that playtime. Most of the stuff I read on the internet said you'd be in for a 70 - 80 hour game at least.

Even though a few areas got a bit tedious with backtracking I really enjoyed the game. The later dungeons were really good and I found myself having to plan my battles in the last dungeon instead of just spamming attacks and magic. The final boss fight was hilarious.

I'm not entirely sure if I'll go back to do post game content however. I beat this just in time for pokemon (just as planned!) and I've got a bunch of other stuff I want to play. I'm not really interested in unlocking all the classes or doing optional content. I had a great time with the game but I doubt I'll sink additional hours into it. Plus with DQ8 just around the corner I'll need a break.

Hope everyone enjoyed the game and everyone else still plugging away, keep at it!
 

Daouzin

Member
Dang, the Buccanham casino rewards are expensive.

Just completed this story in the past and went to the dwarves in the present. Now I'm finally stuck. The only place I have to check now is the shrine of the almighty.

Does that do something now that I've cleared all the pedestals? I can't seem to thaw out Shark Eye's ship. The torban contest still isn't going on.

I feel like I'm confused because my memory of my original playthrough is making me think one thing happens before another.
 

Rizzi

Member
Just completed this story in the past and went to the dwarves in the present. Now I'm finally stuck. The only place I have to check now is the shrine of the almighty.

Does that do something now that I've cleared all the pedestals? I can't seem to thaw out Shark Eye's ship. The torban contest still isn't going on.

I feel like I'm confused because my memory of my original playthrough is making me think one thing happens before another.

Go get your flying rock thing!
And go off to fight a big bad boss in the dig site after that.
 

Owensboro

Member
Oh man DQ 7. Finally picked this game up to dig back into what may actually be my most hated Dragon Quest game of them all. The original took me over 5 years to beat what with me constantly getting lost and quitting, only to try and come back a month or two later and figure out where the hell I was. I'm just beat the 4th island
L'Arca
and am actually trying to figure out where the first time I quit this game was. Can't wait to stumble on it.

I'm think I'm much more in the mood for a DQ game this time as I'm loving the vignettes much more than I remember, but holy crap this game burns slow. After about the 5th time of "run across the map to get this one thing then run back to where you were" I started to get a little mad and had to take a break. Also, thank god for the fragment hint system. That's what originally caused me to drop this game: wandering around the different islands for 3 hours trying to find the one piece I missed.

Still totally bummed the Burnmount "volcano exploding" FMV wasn't there. I'm guessing the crystal dance won't be in either? I mean, they're shamefully afwul, but I have fond memories of getting to them thinking "Oh man, here's Dragon Warrior's 'Final Fantasy 7 moment' of having awesome FMVs!", watching said FMV, and laughing uncontrollably. Can't wait to keep playing.
 

ElFly

Member
Oh man DQ 7. Finally picked this game up to dig back into what may actually be my most hated Dragon Quest game of them all. The original took me over 5 years to beat what with me constantly getting lost and quitting, only to try and come back a month or two later and figure out where the hell I was. I'm just beat the 4th island
L'Arca
and am actually trying to figure out where the first time I quit this game was. Can't wait to stumble on it.

I'm think I'm much more in the mood for a DQ game this time as I'm loving the vignettes much more than I remember, but holy crap this game burns slow. After about the 5th time of "run across the map to get this one thing then run back to where you were" I started to get a little mad and had to take a break. Also, thank god for the fragment hint system. That's what originally caused me to drop this game: wandering around the different islands for 3 hours trying to find the one piece I missed.

Still totally bummed the Burnmount "volcano exploding" FMV wasn't there. I'm guessing the crystal dance won't be in either? I mean, they're shamefully afwul, but I have fond memories of getting to them thinking "Oh man, here's Dragon Warrior's 'Final Fantasy 7 moment' of having awesome FMVs!", watching said FMV, and laughing uncontrollably. Can't wait to keep playing.

dance is in
 
Still totally bummed the Burnmount "volcano exploding" FMV wasn't there. I'm guessing the crystal dance won't be in either? I mean, they're shamefully afwul, but I have fond memories of getting to them thinking "Oh man, here's Dragon Warrior's 'Final Fantasy 7 moment' of having awesome FMVs!", watching said FMV, and laughing uncontrollably. Can't wait to keep playing.

The 3DS game has most if not all of those same scenes from the FMVs, they're just not prerendered. They're all realtime and use the regular in-game models.

The 3DS dance cutscene is real-time too. It doesn't use the PS1 FMV.

I just went to YouTube to watch the original FMVs, and yeah, they have... not aged well. lol. The 3DS game looks much better in those scenes. It's not as realistic looking but it actually looks like a part of the game.
 
The 3DS game has most if not all of those same scenes from the FMVs, they're just not prerendered. They're all realtime and use the regular in-game models.

The 3DS dance cutscene is real-time too. It doesn't use the PS1 FMV.

I just went to YouTube to watch the original FMVs, and yeah, they have... not aged well. lol. The 3DS game looks much better in those scenes. It's not as realistic looking but it actually looks like a part f the game.


The intro, with the best song in the game, isn't there
 
The intro, with the best song in the game, isn't there

Is it this song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Hbr9_AHLU

I was listening to the 3DS OST the other day and noticed that unused track. Thought it was really nice, so it's really odd that it was apparently never used? (I haven't beat the game yet, so if it's used in the ending, I wouldn't know) The fact that it's in the game's data means they intended to use it at one point though
 
Is it this song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Hbr9_AHLU

I was listening to the 3DS OST the other day and noticed that unused track. Thought it was really nice, so it's really odd that it was apparently never used? (I haven't beat the game yet, so if it's used in the ending, I wouldn't know) The fact that it's in the game's data means they intended to use it at one point though

Yup. That's it. In the psx version, it was used for an opening credits sequence.
 

ameleco

Member
Yo so when do the tablets that were set to expire on the 18th go down? Because its the 17th and they aren't there :|||||||||||

Though I guess it doesn't matter *too* much if they recycle the DLC
 
Because once you put the floating temple back in the sky that's where the Demon Lord is.

If I'm remembering correctly, the King of Estard will tell you to go check out the Dig Site after you put the floating temple back. He'll explain why if you talk to him
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Maybe it's just me but is the game much shorter than the PSone version? Like... 40 hours shorter?
 

NSESN

Member
I should beat this tomorrow, probably after starting pokemon Sun.
It was a fun journey, the game is slow, and the battle syatem isn't great, but it is the first time I feel that all thee NPC's are worth talking in a game. Each village had a different story and almost all were great.

EDIT:
Beat the game, final boss spoilers:
Demon King wasn't thathard because my hero was pretty strong, but in the fourth form i feared i would lose because both Ruff and Aishe had no MP and my Hero MP was almost over
Credits:
Really liked the message Kiefer left
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Finally completed the game, took me around 60 hours.

Too bad we couldn't visit every town, then again I didn't want to talk to all NPCs all over again.
I'm excited for DQVIII and finally do a playthrough of DQIII.

If I'd rank the DQ games I've played:

V >>> IV > VI > VII > I > II > IX
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I said over and over again that this version is a lot shorter and that people would average 65 hours, probably!

Since this is 90% of the same game as the original DQVII and has the same story content, what made the PSOne version longer by... 40 hours?

I'm starting DQIII iOS now, any idea how long the game is?
 
Top Bottom