Dragon Quest VII for the impatient type?

[the_wart]

I was thinking about filling out my 3DS library with Target's B2G1 sale, and I'm torn between SMT: Apocalypse and DQVII for my third. On the one hand, I only beat SMTIV late last year and didn't love it, and I don't want to burn out on the franchise with a Switch sequel in the pipeline. However, not long ago I tried to get into DQIX and bounced off it hard. The vignette formula got repetitive very fast, and the characters and world-building were so superficial that I just couldn't bring myself to feel invested in any of it. And though I don't mind the basic combat system, watching those sloooooow animations play out over and over again was alternately soporific and hypertension-inducing. Mind, I've no general aversion to games that are slow-paced in the macro sense, as I absolutely adore Trails in the Sky. However, I have no patience for slow moment-to-moment gameplay, which is why I played TiTS with speedhack cranked way up the whole time. I also played and enjoyed DQ IV and V on the DS, but that was many years ago now and who knows how I'd feel about them now.

So... should I bother with DQVII, or should I just accept that the series isn't for me and move on with my life?

P.S. The other solution is to wait for Best Buy's equivalent and hope that Etrian Odyssey V is included.

 

[Decarbia]

Dragon Quest 7 is a griiiiind. Even the somewhat abridged 3DS version. Probably not for you.

 

[Dreamboum]

Dragon Quest VII is barely a Dragon Quest. It was made at a time where there was an overabundance of JRPGs, what they made instead to go against the currents is essentially an adventure game. Lots of exploring, lots of puzzles, lots of world-building, it was made to soak up on its world and just enjoy spending dozens of hours running around, talking to people, your party, and see a larger drama unfolds through the dozens and dozens of short stories that the game has to tell

So no, you shouldn't bother with DQ7, simply because you're tackling one of the most ambitious, anti-conformist DQ ever made. You need something else that is more classic, snappier, such as the timeless Dragon Quest 5, or the charming Dragon Quest VI. DQ7 is another beast, and even if you don't like it, it says very few about what the series is about.

 

[bluemax]

Yeah even with all the improvements added to DQ7 on 3DS, you're still looking at a long game with a lot of combat.

OMG! Dreamboum posts here now! Amazing!

 

[ElFly]

DQVII is very similar to VI, and somewhat to IX and III. It has the better vignettes and you will see stories develop through various points in time

the gameplay -turn based battles- is fast tho, but you will need a ton of battles to raise your jobs, and the job system itself doesn't open until several dungeons in, unlike IX. also you will spend 60% of the game with an incomplete party (3 characters instead of 4).

here's a typical battle, not too spoilery

https://youtu.be/YKRQIic0Ht4?t=5170

It's hard to say if you are gonna like it. it's a v divisive game

 

[the_wart]

Dragon Quest VII is barely a Dragon Quest. It was made at a time where there was an overabundance of JRPGs, what they made instead is essentially an adventure game. Lots of exploring, lots of puzzles, lots of world-building, it was made to soak up on its world and just enjoy spending dozens of hours running around, talking to people, your party, and see a larger drama unfolds through the dozens and dozens of short stories that the game has to tell

So no, you shouldn't bother with DQ7, simply because you're tackling one of the most ambitious, anti-conformist DQ ever made. You need something else that is more classic, snappier, such as the timeless Dragon Quest 5, or the charming Dragon Quest VI. DQ7 is another beast, and even if you don't like it, it says very few about what the series is about.

Click to shrink...

See, everything you just said sounds very appealing. What I disliked about IX was the lack of any real larger drama and the slow pace of individual combat encounters themselves.

Yeah even with all the improvements added to DQ7 on 3DS, you're still looking at a long game with a lot of combat.

Click to shrink...

Hm. That sounds less appealing though. Flexible enounter rates are a QoL godsend.

 

[Aeana]

Dragon Quest VII is barely a Dragon Quest. It was made at a time where there was an overabundance of JRPGs, what they made instead to go against the currents is essentially an adventure game. Lots of exploring, lots of puzzles, lots of world-building, it was made to soak up on its world and just enjoy spending dozens of hours running around, talking to people, your party, and see a larger drama unfolds through the dozens and dozens of short stories that the game has to tell

So no, you shouldn't bother with DQ7, simply because you're tackling one of the most ambitious, anti-conformist DQ ever made. You need something else that is more classic, snappier, such as the timeless Dragon Quest 5, or the charming Dragon Quest VI. DQ7 is another beast, and even if you don't like it, it says very few about what the series is about.

Click to shrink...

Barely a Dragon Quest? Frankly, I'd say it's the game that epitomizes the strengths of the series.

It just does it for a really long time.

 

[bluemax]

See, everything you just said sounds very appealing. What I disliked about IX was the lack of any real larger drama and the slow pace of individual combat encounters themselves.



Hm. That sounds less appealing though. Flexible enounter rates are a QoL godsend.

Click to shrink...

Well, it has visible encounters and on the overworld they're fairly easy to dodge, in dungeons it varies. If you fight at a relatively regular pace you don't ever have to grind, which frankly makes it a lot more balanced than something like Bravely Default 2.

 

[Boney]

The bizarre input lag is probably the most annoying aspect of it.

 

[BentMyWookiee]

Since you're looking for a game on the 3DS, I would suggest considering DQ8 instead if you don't already have it. You specifically mention not liking the vignette formula of DQ9, which suggests that you may not like DQ7 either since it is a lot of vignettes (though they are better in 7 in my opinion). DQ8 is a great DQ game and great RPG imo. The 3DS version is an excellent port of the game with some nice quality of life improvements.

 

[Dreamboum]

Yeah even with all the improvements added to DQ7 on 3DS, you're still looking at a long game with a lot of combat.

OMG! Dreamboum posts here now! Amazing!

Click to shrink...

hey, glad to see you here :)

Barely a Dragon Quest? Frankly, I'd say it's the game that epitomizes the strengths of the series.

Click to shrink...

You're also right, it really is, and it might be my favorite Dragon Quest. But I wouldn't recommend it easily, it doesn't represent what people might expect of the franchise in the first place.

See, everything you just said sounds very appealing. What I disliked about IX was the lack of any real larger drama and the slow pace of individual combat encounters themselves.

Click to shrink...

It is appealing :) but that's a very long game that doesn't make combat interesting and in depth for such a long time that you might tear your hair out. It's snappy though, and the grind is negligible. Only big issue with this 3DS version is that you cannot avoid encounters in cramped dungeons, and there's a lot of them. Still can avoid most of them though

 

[the_wart]

DQVII is very similar to VI, and somewhat to IX and III. It has the better vignettes and you will see stories develop through various points in time

the gameplay -turn based battles- is fast tho, but you will need a ton of battles to raise your jobs, and the job system itself doesn't open until several dungeons in, unlike IX. also you will spend 60% of the game with an incomplete party (3 characters instead of 4).

here's a typical battle, not too spoilery

https://youtu.be/YKRQIic0Ht4?t=5170

It's hard to say if you are gonna like it. it's a v divisive game

Click to shrink...

Do you need to raise your jobs to get through the main content of the game, or is it just for completionists and hardcore fans?

Since you're looking for a game on the 3DS, I would suggest considering DQ8 instead if you don't already have it. You specifically mention not liking the vignette formula of DQ9, which suggests that you may not like DQ7 either since it is a lot of vignettes (though they are better in 7 in my opinion). DQ8 is a great DQ game and great RPG imo. The 3DS version is an excellent port of the game with some nice quality of life improvements.

Click to shrink...

That was actually my first DQ back on the PS2! That overworld design was really something incredible for the time.

 

[Taruranto]

The game is super long and has tons of backtracking, so probably not. This said, you enjoyed Tits, so who knows.

 

[ElFly]

Do you need to raise your jobs to get through the main content of the game, or is it just for completionists and hardcore fans?

Click to shrink...

the main game is enough to get your characters to one of the max classes, and is prolly recommended to do so

getting everything for everyone is for completionists

 

[Deleted member 11413]

Do you need to raise your jobs to get through the main content of the game, or is it just for completionists and hardcore fans?



That was actually my first DQ back on the PS2! That overworld design was really something incredible for the time.

Click to shrink...

You will naturally raise jobs if you just do the battles you run into, you don't really need to grind or anything. It is a very, very long game though. Took me about 75 hours. I personally loved it on 3DS, was my first DQ, but ymmv. Honestly it's a long, slow game so if that sounds like it would bother you, I would say go for DQ8 on 3DS instead

 

[jaksek]

It's a long trip full of good content that for some may feel like an anime filler, as it's more about visiting new towns and fixing problems than moving the main plot forward. Some will like it, some won't. I got bored after 20+ hours.

The bizarre input lag is probably the most annoying aspect of it.

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What's interesting is the fact, that raising the CPU clock speed on CFW fixes the problem.

 

[YourMaster]

Barely a Dragon Quest? Frankly, I'd say it's the game that epitomizes the strengths of the series.
It just does it for a really long time.

Click to shrink...

I think it epitomizes it weaknesses instead. And I don't mind the long story bits without combat at all, but the walk-back-and-forward bits where way over the top. Where you already know what to do and which character to talk to, but you just can't get to it because you are forced to get told to do so first. If you even know what triggers progress in the first place. That, and being so unfocused in the main story department and having a very flawed job-system.

 

[Man God]

DQ has flexible encounters via items and spells.

 

[Vamphuntr]

VII is very slow. I would put it as much slower than Trails in the Sky. Gameplay wise it often makes you go across the same dungeon both in the past and the present which make the pacing slow to a crawl. It's possible to crank up the battle speed and use weapons like boomerang and whip to hit every enemies at the same time to speed things up. The game is more or less a bunch of vignettes as you see how solving problems in the past affect cities and areas in the present. It takes 12-15 hours to reach the job system too. If you like IV and V you might want to try VIII 3DS but it's quite a long game too.

 

[Aeana]

I think it epitomizes it weaknesses instead. And I don't mind the long story bits without combat at all, but the walk-back-and-forward bits where way over the top. Where you already know what to do and which character to talk to, but you just can't get to it because you are forced to get told to do so first. If you even know what triggers progress in the first place. That, and being so unfocused in the main story department and having a very flawed job-system.

Click to shrink...

If you're looking for a strong main story in a Dragon Quest game, you're going to be disappointed more often than not. That's not the focus.

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

If you're looking for a strong main story in a Dragon Quest game, you're going to be disappointed more often than not. That's not the focus.

Click to shrink...

Oh wow smh. Like Dragon Quest VIII exists.

 

[Gloam]

Dragon Quest 7 is like that big book of short stories you keep next to your bed and chip away at bit by bit. Daunting at first but by the end you'll be thinking 'I read all of these great stories, yay me.'

A lot of folks burn themselves out on the game. As others have mentioned it's very long, but, I would say that going in for the long haul is well worth it with this one.

After all OP, patience is a virtue.

 

[Aeana]

Oh wow smh. Like Dragon Quest VIII exists.

Click to shrink...

I didn't say there aren't DQ games with a strong central story... DQ5 is the best example.

 

[YourMaster]

If you're looking for a strong main story in a Dragon Quest game, you're going to be disappointed more often than not. That's not the focus.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I know, and I love the DQ games but I think the main story tends to be a bit of a weakness. That's exactly what I meant, the things that people dislike about DQ are most prominent in DQ7.

 

[No Depth]

The vignettes in DQ7 are better focused and play a slightly larger and more engaging role in the overarching drama that slowly unfolds compared to DQ9...

...but DQ7 is still weighed down by rather mundane combat that overstays its welcome, which may dramatically impact your motivation to see it through moreso. Or at least that was my take. Despite the customization freedom afforded by the job system, there are just so many chaff skills and fodder encounters that barely engage your loadouts that ultimately drained me.