Support NeoGAF

[zoukka]

bunch of videos on youtube of it already, using 3ds capture device

http://www.youtube.com/user/Kouli30/videos?view=0

looks great.

Shieeeeeet! Looks and sounds very good.

Instantly brings memories from VIII due to 3D graphics and orchestrated music. I need this game.

 

[Ledsen]

Fcuk.. I have no knowledge of the japanese language but I am so damn tempted to download this from japanese eshop.

I really shouldnt..

Why do you have a japanese 3DS if you don't know japanese?

 

[Frodo]

So... Where is that on-line petition so I can fool myself and dream for a while I'll actually play this game in english (shortly after the western release of Bravely Default)?

 

[Protocol7]

I'd love to play it once more, long live DQ series!

I hope it'll be translated in EN.

 

[panda21]

Fcuk.. I have no knowledge of the japanese language but I am so damn tempted to download this from japanese eshop.

I really shouldnt..

yeah me too. kind of interesting in fantasy life as well.

but i can only just read 'save' in katakana so its maybe not a good idea...

 

[matt360]

Is it possible to make an account on the Japanese eShop with a US 3DS?

 

[Jucksalbe]

Is it possible to make an account on the Japanese eShop with a US 3DS?

No.

 

[Soulhouf]

Thanks Aeana for the impressions!

So far the only 2 negatives: reduction of the opening dungeon and omission of the intro music.
Enemies not being random is bad to me but at least they are managed Earthbound style which is good.
Regarding battles I remain skeptic. It's good they got rid of the stupid battles of 8 and 9 but I always preferred a full 1st person view with minimal characters animation.

I have a question though. How is the game's difficulty compared to the original?

 

[antun]

I´m enjoying the game a lot so far. As people already have pointed out there are framedrops and some trees have nasty popup.

But otherwise it is very well made and I really like the changes so far. I don´t have as much time as when I first played the game for the psx so the more stream lined experience fits my life and the time I have a lot more.

Battles are very fast paced and I can´t wait to learn some of the more powerful spells and attacks to see the characters use them.

The music is very well done except for a very stupid way of looping in Fishbell. It´s enough with the intro once...

Also in the underground theme (mostly harp) you can hear some background noise (almost like footsteps or something?) which was annoying but I guess that´s one of the backsides with a live performing orchestra.

Also the new character art in the menu and the hand drawn maps are details I really like! They contribute to the overall feeling and I cannot wait to see Gabo´s and the others.

It´s also nice to see the put lots of energy into redrawing all of the items and equipment.

I am just about to complete the first island and if I remember correctly Matilda will have a big part in the tower. Hehe. Yeah, I think I do remember.

 

[speedpop]

There's no intro video? What the hell. I love that tune, when the flutes kick in followed by the strings

 

[Synth_floyd]

So far the only 2 negatives: reduction of the opening dungeon and omission of the intro music.

I remember the opening dungeon. It's pretty damn big. Not that they should make it smaller but for the opening dungeon of a game it's quite large. At least there are no monsters though.

 

[Parakeetman]

Broke down and bought the game.

Sleep is for the weak!

 

[urfe]

I almost broke down and bought it when I saw it not sold out at the store today.

Staying strong. Backlog is getting beaten!

 

[Jinko]

<< Wants it in English like last week

 

[Aeana]

To be honest, I may have been mistaken about the Earthbound encounter system. I have had a small amount of success with reshuffling spawns, but it usually doesn't work. I'm actually getting kind of annoyed with the visible enemies in dungeons, because the pathways remain as narrow as they were in the original, so there's no way to get past any of them. I'd rather just have random battles back, really.

 

[Hobbun]

So no word yet on a NA release?

 

[Aeana]

I've just gone through the Dialac part. A few interesting things here.

Story stuff:

Spoiler

In the original, after you rest at the inn and you go out to examine the statues, most of the statues are glowing, and they each have a story associated with them. In this version, there's only about four glowing statues. These all give the same story sequences they gave in the original, which means that in this version, you miss out on the additional story given by the other statues. I don't really get this change, because I think the other statues did a great job of expounding on the plight of the town and the people who lived there. In this one, they removed everything non-essential so you don't really end up feeling like the other townspeople are even important at all.

Now, after doing that part is where you unlock the immigrant town in the original version. It's the same here, except it has changed a fair bit. Instead of an old man, the leader of the town is now a young woman named Tia. She sends you off to find a specific townsperson-who-wants-to-be-a-monster and he joins the town and you get a shard along with him. From here, there's a basement area at the back of the town and a pedestal for placing these shards, and an NPC who gives you a stamp card which fills up as you complete each monster shard dungeon. When you place a shard, you get transported to a dungeon with some treasure and a boss. The boss gives a unique reward once, and then you can redo the dungeon any time you want for lesser rewards. As for the stamp card, each enemy gives a stamp, and you can trade 6 stamps for a lottery ticket. I don't have 6 stamps yet, so I haven't tried this.

To the right of the pedestal is a teleporter to the monster park. This surprised me. In the original, the monster park doesn't unlock until way, way way way too late in the game, so it's nice to have it available this early. This is also the place where you set up StreetPass data and stuff. I have no way of doing anything with this, sadly, so I hope that I can unlock the (supposed) internet version in the immigrant town soon.

 

[Aeana]

Okay, I got enough people to unlock the internet tavern. This is pretty interesting.

To supplement the StreetPass stuff, they've implemented a system similar to Bravely Default. Essentially, every 24 hours, you can upload your save data and choose a shard to send out and you'll be able to get up to 3 shards from other folks who have done the same via the internet in return. Sadly, when I did it, I got two duplicates of a shard I already had, but I assume once the game has been out for longer, your chances of getting something better will raise dramatically.

In addition to the above option, you can also download event shards that were uploaded by Square Enix staff. There are two up right now, and both lead to dungeons that are way, way too difficult for me right now. There's also a present code option which I guess allows you to get some other promotional shards via gift codes of some sort.

 

[Protocol7]

Okay, I got enough people to unlock the internet tavern. This is pretty interesting.

To supplement the StreetPass stuff, they've implemented a system similar to Bravely Default. Essentially, every 24 hours, you can upload your save data and choose a shard to send out and you'll be able to get up to 3 shards from other folks who have done the same via the internet in return. Sadly, when I did it, I got two duplicates of a shard I already had, but I assume once the game has been out for longer, your chances of getting something better will raise dramatically.

In addition to the above option, you can also download event shards that were uploaded by Square Enix staff. There are two up right now, and both lead to dungeons that are way, way too difficult for me right now. There's also a present code option which I guess allows you to get some other promotional shards via gift codes of some sort.

OMG I want to play it so bad now... ; ;

 

[Gambit]

Thanks for the impressions.

Sadly your impressions are sounding a lot like the complaints you had about DQ VI DS. It seems their desire to streamline the game went too far and is detrimental to the experience.

Shame.

Still looking forward to it, though. Whenever that might be

 

[Magicpaint]

Okay, I got enough people to unlock the internet tavern. This is pretty interesting.

To supplement the StreetPass stuff, they've implemented a system similar to Bravely Default. Essentially, every 24 hours, you can upload your save data and choose a shard to send out and you'll be able to get up to 3 shards from other folks who have done the same via the internet in return. Sadly, when I did it, I got two duplicates of a shard I already had, but I assume once the game has been out for longer, your chances of getting something better will raise dramatically.

In addition to the above option, you can also download event shards that were uploaded by Square Enix staff. There are two up right now, and both lead to dungeons that are way, way too difficult for me right now. There's also a present code option which I guess allows you to get some other promotional shards via gift codes of some sort.

I really like this solution! So glad they considered those who do not care for StreetPass - I guess this is part of the reason the monster park is now available earlier since you also collect streetpass shards from the new cave (?)

I'm also glad the immigrant town system is more like the original and has not been DQIV DS'd.

Spoiler

I do hope the Dialac region scenario is not setting a trend for future scenarios though :\ They better not mess with the Falrod Region

 

[Aeana]

Thanks for the impressions.

Sadly your impressions are sounding a lot like the complaints you had about DQ VI DS. It seems their desire to streamline the game went too far and is detrimental to the experience.

Shame.

Still looking forward to it, though. Whenever that might be

Nah, so far the remake is very faithful to the original and I don't really have any pacing complaints. There are some changes I haven't liked, but so far I'm mostly positive on it. There's a lot of game left, so we'll see how I feel later on.

 

[Error]

I finished the Woodpalna/Rexwood part. As I was going through the eastern tower dungeon, it hit me that I'm actually playing a remake of DQ7. I know that's weird, but I never actually thought it would ever be done, because it's such a massive game.

So far, everything is intact except for the trial dungeon, and hopefully it remains that way. The orchestrated music is great, the game looks pretty nice too - as good as DQ5 PS2 in most aspects, and better as far as character models and lighting go. Battles are still really fast, and the over-the-shoulder perspective in battle is a good change. Dungeons seem pretty much the same in terms of layout for the most part (which I consider to be a good thing), although the graphics are obviously improved quite a bit, and the puzzles in the colorstone mine were slightly different. There also seems to be even more party chat, as I expected. Maribel in particular has a fair bit more to say than she did in the original version.

One of the neatest additions, in my opinion, is the "past adventures" option in the menu, which gives a great description of each even that's happened so far. There's also a "recent adventures" option that says what happened most recently, which serves as a good reminder if you happened to put the game down for a while or something. Of course, also in that menu is the "next shard" option which will tell you if there's any shards in areas you can currently access. Along with that is a shard list, which lets you view every shard you've collected, with a little note saying where you got it. All very useful stuff.

So far, I'm very satisfied. This is the kind of treatment DQ6 deserved, but I'm glad that DQ7 got it at least.

Sounds good I hope they make it so that you have access earlier to the Dharma Temple compared to the original, eager for some impressions regarding the job system.

 

[Aeana]

Man, since the monster park is available so early now and you get the monster bait then, you're able to get monster hearts much earlier in the game too. I just got a &#12399;&#12394;&#12459;&#12527;&#12475;&#12511;/FloraJay heart from a monster shard dungeon and I haven't even gone to Orph yet.

 

[ghibli99]

Man, since the monster park is available so early now and you get the monster bait then, you're able to get monster hearts much earlier in the game too. I just got a &#12399;&#12394;&#12459;&#12527;&#12475;&#12511;/FloraJay heart from a monster shard dungeon and I haven't even gone to Orph yet.

That's pretty cool... looking at the monster job chart was totally discouraging after I had played through the main quest on PS1, so I never did it except for mastering a blue slime. This time perhaps!

 

[viewtifulsub]

Man, those Japanese Dragon Quest commercials are awesome.

Automatic hype.

 

[Error]

I don't think I ever bothered myself with the monster park when I played it.

 

[speedpop]

I've just gone through the Dialac part. A few interesting things here.

Story stuff:

Spoiler

In the original, after you rest at the inn and you go out to examine the statues, most of the statues are glowing, and they each have a story associated with them. In this version, there's only about four glowing statues. These all give the same story sequences they gave in the original, which means that in this version, you miss out on the additional story given by the other statues. I don't really get this change, because I think the other statues did a great job of expounding on the plight of the town and the people who lived there. In this one, they removed everything non-essential so you don't really end up feeling like the other townspeople are even important at all.

Spoiler

I am a little disappointed about this since that part in the game was one of the more memorable moments for me.

 

[GameCenterXDS]

Okay, I got enough people to unlock the internet tavern. This is pretty interesting.

To supplement the StreetPass stuff, they've implemented a system similar to Bravely Default. Essentially, every 24 hours, you can upload your save data and choose a shard to send out and you'll be able to get up to 3 shards from other folks who have done the same via the internet in return. Sadly, when I did it, I got two duplicates of a shard I already had, but I assume once the game has been out for longer, your chances of getting something better will raise dramatically.

In addition to the above option, you can also download event shards that were uploaded by Square Enix staff. There are two up right now, and both lead to dungeons that are way, way too difficult for me right now. There's also a present code option which I guess allows you to get some other promotional shards via gift codes of some sort.

Event shards with new dungeons uploaded by Square? That sounds like free DLC and that's awesome. Are these going to keep coming out for awhile?

 

[Aeana]

I just finished Orph. That scenario was completely untouched, thankfully, but there was one oddity.

Earlier in the thread, I lamented about Maribel not learning retaliate in this version, because it would make a certain boss later on more difficult. Well, it turns out that they took care of that.

Spoiler

Retalite is good against Death Amigo/DeathPal because in that version, you couldn't use magic. However, in this version, you're able to use magic in the fight, so it wasn't necessary (and the fight was SUPER easy).

Event shards with new dungeons uploaded by Square? That sounds like free DLC and that's awesome. Are these going to keep coming out for awhile?

Eh, well, it's not like they put any effort into the dungeons. Each monster shard dungeon only has that one enemy in it, and the boss is a big version of that enemy that's a lot stronger. The dungeon areas themselves are just various screens from other dungeons in the game connected together.

 

[Man God]

That makes it sound like this game was secretly developed by TOSE, Aeana.

 

[Vamphuntr]

Framerate on the world map is not particularly smooth. It jumps between 20-30 FPS, although it's usually 30. There's also treasure chests on the world map, which is interesting. In the game settings, there are two world camera options, but the only difference seems to be whether it's not total garbage when you're up against a wall or not. When you select type B, if you get close to a wall or a rock or something, the camera moves up to a more top-down position. If you choose type A and you get into the same situation, the camera goes through the wall creating an incredibly disorienting situation. I don't know why anybody would want to use that, ugh.

Does it seems to run better or worse than DQIX? That game had some fairly big slowdowns when there was a lot of enemies avatar on the world map.

 

[Aeana]

Does it seems to run better or worse than DQIX? That game had some fairly big slowdowns when there was a lot of enemies avatar on the world map.

Oh, it's a lot better than that.

 

[antun]

Actually the world map had such potential to be awesome with the 3d and the different places showing in the background.

But the pop up trees destroys what could have been excellent. Your eyes are looking at the horizon but they get interupted by the flashing trees.

I just got the boat and traveling with it is a choppy experience. I don´t understand why though since the camera is located above it and less impressive graphics have to be displayed at the same time...

It definitely feels like a rush job in some occasions while in others it is super nice. in the battles for example, the graphics really shine.

 

[Megalosaro]

Shame they butchered the Fayne for the 3DS version. That place was awesome in the original. Particularly the room with the statues. They also cut out some early foreshadowing about the real history of the hero.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Got to the first field of monsters. I'm really surprised by how fast battles are. Everything moves at a crazy nice speed that makes the experience quite pleasant.

 

[Aeana]

I hope we can get some more discussion going now that more people are playing it. I felt kinda bad being the only one posting who's playing it. (._. )

I want to hear all of your impressions, Ryouga!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Got to the first field of monsters. I'm really surprised by how fast battles are. Everything moves at a crazy nice speed that makes the experience quite pleasant.

I agree. I just finished the first dungeon with enemies in it last night, and the battles feel good. I have the battle speed set to the highest it can go and it definitely moves at a brisk pace.

In fact, I like smooth the interface is. One of my biggest annoyances in RPGs is slow or unresponsive menus, or menus that require loading time.

 

[Gloam]

I hope we can get some more discussion going now that more people are playing it. I felt kinda bad being the only one posting who's playing it. (._. )

I want to hear all of your impressions, Ryouga!

Game still hasn't arrived here... Will let you all know. Impressions are appreciated though.

 

[encephalon]

My scratched copy should be avenged by Monday

Spoiler

And to think the person I bought it from seemed to be university faculty.

 

[urfe]

I hope to pick it up sometime next week.

As it's my favourite series, (and one of my favorite games in the series) I'll be super critical of every small detail I dislike!

edit: I'm still unsure if I'll buy the cart of the download version. I bought two games from the eShop, but I'm recently even more paranoid that Nintendo will never change their account system. If they ever do though, I'd much rather have the download version of DQVII. Decisions, decisions.

 

[RevenantKioku]

1. LizardGate.

2. What the fuck, buttons.

3. What? Menus.

4. 2:40 to the first battle. I'm slow as ever! I really do love the little details of the NPCs and the like in this new version though.

5. Got to level 5 and 500g before entering the town. Best weapons equipped. Excited to keep playing.

 

[Aeana]

I like how Maribel's world map running animation is the same as Trode's from DQ8.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

1. LizardGate.

2. What the fuck, buttons.

3. What? Menus.

4. 2:40 to the first battle. I'm slow as ever! I really do love the little details of the NPCs and the like in this new version though.

5. Got to level 5 and 500g before entering the town. Best weapons equipped. Excited to keep playing.

Lolololol. You did the exact same thing I did before going to town. I ran around and leveled to 5. We're almost the same person at this point.

I freaking love the start up for the main battle theme. SO GOOD.

 

[RevenantKioku]

I should have gotten to 1000g but I'll survive.

 

[DasMarcos]

I'm surprised that I"m saying this but I would love Dragon Quest VII to head to the states. I just want more quality titles on the 3DS! Also, with the length of this title it would keep me busy for ages and into Nintendo's next handheld.

Seriously though, bring quality titles to the states Nintendo of America. That's all I have to say about this situation.

 

[Sagitario]

Is there any bit of hope or even the slightest hint or rumor of this getting released outside of Japan? (._. )

 

[@MUWANdo]

I cannot get over the reduced viewing area. Is there really no way to zoom it out and make it look closer to the original game?

 

[TurnipFritters]

Is the any bit of hope or even the slightest hint or rumor of this getting released outside of Japan? (._. )

It's coming out in October. If I say it enough times, it'll come true.

 

[Aeana]

I cannot get over the reduced viewing area. Is there really no way to zoom it out and make it look closer to the original game?

No, but it's honestly fine in practice. At least for me.