NOTES OF THE AUTHOR: Thanks for watching! Something I wanted to highlight about it is that I often record my own playthroughs to use in the videos (Which is why the Zenithia Trilogy project is taking so long). For this video, I tried to record directly from my 3DS using Artic Base but the performance was terrible, especially during battles. So for this video only, I used footage from another playthrough on UA-cam while also using the footage I recorded that didn't suck here and there. Apologies if this causes inconveniences, but the channel featured the most is @veteran0121, a huge thanks for recording a functional playthrough with Citra. They're also credited at the very end of the video! Please remember we're a non-profit channel, we're not making any money with anything used here, this is made just for fun.
I played the origna version as my first DQ or Dragon Warrior then. To thi day it is my most favorite DQ game and top 3 of all time. I prefer he PS version over the DS but still a great game. There are a lot of best parts of DQ7, IMO, but a great aspect is how each land is its own little story that helps build the big picture. This means even if you dont have 100 hours to just sit down and play, you could do it as each land for a game play session, enjoy the lands story and maybe take some notes for when you play next. Kind of like playing a lot of little adventures. That really helps for those with time constraints.
It was so amazing seeing this man go through this journey of beating this game. From the times he would just say "I WANT THIS GAME TO END" 30 hours in and when he finally beat the dark lord. Celebrating that he's done only to see the message "WAIT THERES MORE!?!?!" only to be posted. This video is the embodiment of a man going through hell and back. Truely a video most ingenious K can't wait to see what you make next. 👏
Still my favorite. Dragon "Warrior" 7 was the first DQ I ever played and it was just so long and involved. I was come home from school and (assuming I didn't have homework or work) I would just start playing and be sitting there until my folks made me go to bed. Later I bought the remake on 3ds and I love it too. It's great.
man i just discovered this channel and i am SO EXCITED!!!! I have become a HUGE dragon quest fan over the pandemic and it's a franchise that's very near and dear to me, i treasure all the quality JRPG and dragon quest youtubers (sackchief, GC Vasquez) because they're so rare and hard to come by, i am so glad to have discovered another new one :D
Thaanks glad you're so excited about it! We're more of a variety channel with a semi-constant schedule of Dragon Quest videos so I hope you share the experience overall ! :)
When I think of video games that feel like an anime, this is the game that does this, with every island feeling like its own little episode, as the "monster of the week" is defeated, then you move onto the next part. It has that old school charm and appeal to me which made it endlessly fascinating to know where we were going to be thrown next and what new characters we will meet (sometimes with shockingly tragic results). I too love Toriyama's style for DQVII, particularly the remake, the original's art was nice, but the PS1 and the overall style they chose for the original game, it didn't fully mesh, outside of the monster designs. So, to see these environments and designs lovingly crafted into decently realized 3D Models makes the 3DS version to me, a treasure. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, while I somewhat disagree with your original discussion of "the bad", with that exploration of new lands and characters being a constant source of enjoyment, I do agree with the rest of your statement regarding the game.
Man, I love Meribel too, I don't know a lot of people I can talk to about this and man that's great to see someone else feel this way. Same with Ruff/Gabo - awesome!
DQ7 is a game best played episodically, and it sounds like that's what you did. There's natural stopping points every couple of hours and because it's made up of episodes culminating in a finale it's fine if you don't play for a while. It feels like a slog playing part after part but taking breaks at the break points it's a really chill game with lots to do.
I wonder what you'll think of 9, of you think 7 is long and keeps going. I've been playing 9 on and off for a year. 80 hours, finished main story, doing side quests (around 40 as of now) and post game. I still have alot to do, and it feels like an infinite game, in a good way. I still have story related quests to do, that feel like little puzzles, either require a setup to do or knowledge of the world, and man, the world has alot of lore and meaning to support it all, and after a while it starts to feel like real places that you know. I'm honestly still having a good time.
Oh it all depends on how it's handled in the end. A game can be long but it also has to be fun I think. VII felt incredibly repetitive and monotonous, mostly in the present time quests, which was the thing that made the game feel longer than it really was. I'm excited to get to IX someday!
DQ6 had peak character art for me. It was when Akira was in his prime right around Chrono Trigger. There was a lot more contrasting color shading going on in his designs.
I think what works the best about the designs is that they both work in traditional and digital form. It's sad we never got to see chrono trigger designs in his modern art style.
I remember back in the day I came across a used copy of 7 on the PS1 shortly before 8 was released. At the time it was my favorite title. Then 8 came out and it became my most favorite RPG ever until 11 came out. The 3DS gave some good upgrades and fixed some of the pacing issues so it was easier to get though
Amazing video as always Undoubtedly one of my favorite DQ, I must admit, I still think that the PSX version is superior in some aspects, especially with the dungeons. The music and the melancholic atmosphere of this game is very unique, I feel that despite the length it is one of those games that one can take, play 2 hours, complete one of the problems of the past and leave for tomorrow, that's why it never seemed heavy; short, melancholic stories but most of them very entertaining, if you ever play it again I recommend the PSX version, or maybe in the future they will make a new remake, you never know
This was My first DQ Game, and it still is in My top 5, i agree, i absolutely adore the characters in this Game, from their design to their personalities, they're a charming bunch
It's such a fantastic cast! I could never stop pressing B in the game just to see all the interactions. Mervyn and Maribel particularly were my favorites in that area
Im sure i picked the obvious Hero path for Ruff and healer one for the girl, on the first run (been a long while) Ill go back to it and pick the fun things this time. Shepher>thief>monster masher Then sailor>pirate. Playing a buccaneer who summons monsters lol
I'm sad I didn't get Maribel to Druid 😭 didn't know you can recruit her again at the end. Worked for so long on that grind. I suppose that's the fun of games with job systems, there's always a "maybe next time"
I don't think this game is the best Dragon Quest either, but it is my personal favorite and in my top 3 games of all time. I just love how the story is structured; it's almost like a collection of fairytales. It's a slog if you binge it, but if you only play an hour or two now and then, you can experience a fun little story in almost every play session. I enjoy the variety in narratives and locations too. You can go from a story about a kingdom being attacked by robots to a romantic drama in a small flowery town. I also love how some of the stories connect to each other, and being able to see locations in different eras is super cool. It's very similar to Chrono Trigger in that regard. Grinding for the good classes sucks, though. I think I added an extra 15-20 hours to my playtime just grinding lol
The pacing of the game is what dragged DQVII for me personally. 20 hours to unlock the job system (your timing aligns with mine) is the biggest example of this. A core gameplay mechanic being so far into the game was definitely a choice... My personal experience was that i was just exhausted with the game 60 hours in. I love Dragon Quest's charm and all, but this one wore out its welcome (and my save file ended up being ~85 hours, so the last 25 was me laser focusing on the story) I wouldn't have beat it if i didn't enjoy anything about the game, but I would never touch this game again. (Still liked it more than 5 though which might be among my spicier takes on jrpgs)
I adore V haha, it's one of my favorite RPGs. But that's the beauty of having different impressions about the series, wonder if this would change for me in a couple of years
I love 7, I get the frustrations some people have with it tho. Personally the length of it was one of the reasons I love it so much. Lotta people want a 20-40 hour game and this is not one of those. Its long and rewarding and full of charm that Dragon Quest is known for.
I get you, it's what I said at the very end of the video, I left myself feeling frustrated by it because I approached it from the wrong angle. I know I'll eventually visit the game again someday! I miss Ruff already
I played this game during the pandemic for the first time, I had a severe case of DQ fever at the time so I spent months of my lockdown time going through my DQ backlog of games, which meant playing XI, I, II, III, VII and VIII 3DS in succession. VII was a very fascinating and peculiar one, it had a very distinct atmosphere and interesting (often dark) themes, but really suffered from Horii's obsession about making "neverending games" which unfortunately often translates in "neverending slogs". DQ VII is not even the worst offender, IX is far worse if you are crazy enough to embark into a completionist journey. Anyway, one day when I will have plenty of time to waste, I will play the playstation version of VII which is said to be far worse.
I'm quite late to the party sorry. Do you plan on covering the DQ Spin offs down the line ? Just played the Builders games and loved them, also loved Heroes back then.
I think so? Not sure yet! Currently playing builders 2 but I've played few spin offs already and loved them. Been waiting all year for Heroes 2 also to go on sale haha. But yeah, who knows? Hopefully if there's enough interest!
Cool vid, this was recommended at a great time, im starting to really get into JRPGs. Which dragonquest do you think is the best, have you got a vid on it? I'm completely new to the series and I'm interested in playing, but the repetitiveness and how formulaic this one seems to be sounds like it'll be tedious for me more than anything. Are they all like this?
I don't think its longer than the original one? It does have extra content tho, but all I've been told in the comments is that the 3DS one improves on that department? It looks very pretty for sure.
Not often, but going blind into the game, it comes as an unexpected shock. I couldn't get Maribel into Druid which was a grind I've spent several hours in because at the very end of the game, she leaves the party again 🥲
Not including Keifer since he leaves permanently BEFORE you unlock the job class changes else its only Maribel/Melvin that leave the party temopory so Hero Maribel Gabo Melvin and Aria are the 5 permanent party members Hero/Gabo/Aria never leave the party ever. Theirs just 1 point on disc 2 where you need to do 1 part Solo Melvin before the game switchs back to Hero Maribel Aria and Gabo's party the 3DS version doesn't have as disc change but on the PS1 version that occurs once you beat the Demon Lord the first time Maribel will rejoin the party after that happens but leave about half way through disc 1.
and its sitll LONG as hell the 3DS remake STILL TOOK me OVER 200 hours to have all 5 permanent party members with all 54 jobs 22 human + 32 monster classes mastered all 5 at lv 99 and ALL 54 DLC tablet dungeons that you can't ACCESS any more all beaten at least once. But because once the 3DS E shop shut down SO DID the 54 Tablet dungeons the game needs a PS4/Switch port with all 54 dungeons intact but gotten OFFLINE.
Btw the CURRENT DQ3 remake has a Can't DIE difficulty but I'm not sure HOW that would work starting with DQ5 onwards since even Dragon Quest 7 has at least 3 can't WIN BOSSES ALL of which only end after the entire party gets killed. So if DQ7 gets the 3DS PORT with OFFLINE DLC dungeons PS4/PS5/Switch and the can't DIE Difficulty I'm not sure how the can't win bosses could still kill you.
I preferred when the game was a series of town level stories. At the end the dungeon became to long, the plot and character points too thin and the villein just another dark lord of ultimate evil who's evil because he's evil.
NOTES OF THE AUTHOR: Thanks for watching! Something I wanted to highlight about it is that I often record my own playthroughs to use in the videos (Which is why the Zenithia Trilogy project is taking so long). For this video, I tried to record directly from my 3DS using Artic Base but the performance was terrible, especially during battles. So for this video only, I used footage from another playthrough on UA-cam while also using the footage I recorded that didn't suck here and there. Apologies if this causes inconveniences, but the channel featured the most is @veteran0121, a huge thanks for recording a functional playthrough with Citra. They're also credited at the very end of the video! Please remember we're a non-profit channel, we're not making any money with anything used here, this is made just for fun.
This is easily my favorite dragon quest, I played the original on PSX.
I played the origna version as my first DQ or Dragon Warrior then. To thi day it is my most favorite DQ game and top 3 of all time. I prefer he PS version over the DS but still a great game.
There are a lot of best parts of DQ7, IMO, but a great aspect is how each land is its own little story that helps build the big picture. This means even if you dont have 100 hours to just sit down and play, you could do it as each land for a game play session, enjoy the lands story and maybe take some notes for when you play next. Kind of like playing a lot of little adventures. That really helps for those with time constraints.
You mean the 3DS version, because as far I know it never release on the DS.
It was so amazing seeing this man go through this journey of beating this game. From the times he would just say "I WANT THIS GAME TO END" 30 hours in and when he finally beat the dark lord. Celebrating that he's done only to see the message "WAIT THERES MORE!?!?!" only to be posted. This video is the embodiment of a man going through hell and back. Truely a video most ingenious K can't wait to see what you make next. 👏
It was one hell of a journey 😭 ironically gonna miss this whole endeavor
Still my favorite. Dragon "Warrior" 7 was the first DQ I ever played and it was just so long and involved. I was come home from school and (assuming I didn't have homework or work) I would just start playing and be sitting there until my folks made me go to bed. Later I bought the remake on 3ds and I love it too. It's great.
That's awesome!
Awesome ! Made me happy to see the footage of this game and the music etc as I beat this a few years ago. Thanks for sharing !
Thanks for commenting! :D
Crazy thing is, I did this on the PSX version, and it's even longer lol!
man i just discovered this channel and i am SO EXCITED!!!! I have become a HUGE dragon quest fan over the pandemic and it's a franchise that's very near and dear to me, i treasure all the quality JRPG and dragon quest youtubers (sackchief, GC Vasquez) because they're so rare and hard to come by, i am so glad to have discovered another new one :D
Thaanks glad you're so excited about it! We're more of a variety channel with a semi-constant schedule of Dragon Quest videos so I hope you share the experience overall ! :)
I agree, VII is the best game in the franchise and one of the best RPGs of all time.
When I think of video games that feel like an anime, this is the game that does this, with every island feeling like its own little episode, as the "monster of the week" is defeated, then you move onto the next part. It has that old school charm and appeal to me which made it endlessly fascinating to know where we were going to be thrown next and what new characters we will meet (sometimes with shockingly tragic results). I too love Toriyama's style for DQVII, particularly the remake, the original's art was nice, but the PS1 and the overall style they chose for the original game, it didn't fully mesh, outside of the monster designs. So, to see these environments and designs lovingly crafted into decently realized 3D Models makes the 3DS version to me, a treasure. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, while I somewhat disagree with your original discussion of "the bad", with that exploration of new lands and characters being a constant source of enjoyment, I do agree with the rest of your statement regarding the game.
Man, I love Meribel too, I don't know a lot of people I can talk to about this and man that's great to see someone else feel this way. Same with Ruff/Gabo - awesome!
Maribel is a treasure and must be protected
I loved all the characters which is rare for me normally I have one that I'm like if you died right now I could be very OK with that.
I think you will really love 11. its sort of tribute in a way to all the previous games
Allow me to recommend you the video I made on XI then! :D
@@slimeestation lmao just saw that it existed
DQ7 is a game best played episodically, and it sounds like that's what you did. There's natural stopping points every couple of hours and because it's made up of episodes culminating in a finale it's fine if you don't play for a while. It feels like a slog playing part after part but taking breaks at the break points it's a really chill game with lots to do.
It's what I should've done 😭 the more comments I read, the more I regret taking a high effort approach with this game
Longest adventure of my childhood here.
I wonder what you'll think of 9, of you think 7 is long and keeps going.
I've been playing 9 on and off for a year. 80 hours, finished main story, doing side quests (around 40 as of now) and post game. I still have alot to do, and it feels like an infinite game, in a good way.
I still have story related quests to do, that feel like little puzzles, either require a setup to do or knowledge of the world, and man, the world has alot of lore and meaning to support it all, and after a while it starts to feel like real places that you know. I'm honestly still having a good time.
Oh it all depends on how it's handled in the end. A game can be long but it also has to be fun I think. VII felt incredibly repetitive and monotonous, mostly in the present time quests, which was the thing that made the game feel longer than it really was. I'm excited to get to IX someday!
DQ6 had peak character art for me. It was when Akira was in his prime right around Chrono Trigger. There was a lot more contrasting color shading going on in his designs.
I think what works the best about the designs is that they both work in traditional and digital form. It's sad we never got to see chrono trigger designs in his modern art style.
I remember back in the day I came across a used copy of 7 on the PS1 shortly before 8 was released. At the time it was my favorite title. Then 8 came out and it became my most favorite RPG ever until 11 came out. The 3DS gave some good upgrades and fixed some of the pacing issues so it was easier to get though
I also never understood they changed Gabo’s name to Ruff in the remake. But it was a dog pun and it made sense
i gave up after around 60 hours, i couldnt take it anymore, but if anyone else enjoys it more power to them
Amazing video as always
Undoubtedly one of my favorite DQ, I must admit, I still think that the PSX version is superior in some aspects, especially with the dungeons. The music and the melancholic atmosphere of this game is very unique, I feel that despite the length it is one of those games that one can take, play 2 hours, complete one of the problems of the past and leave for tomorrow, that's why it never seemed heavy; short, melancholic stories but most of them very entertaining, if you ever play it again I recommend the PSX version, or maybe in the future they will make a new remake, you never know
I should've taken a better approach with this one haha maybe someday tho!
I love VII. Is it the best game in the franchise? No, but the characters and the journey are why I enjoy it so much.
The characters are amazing!
This was My first DQ Game, and it still is in My top 5, i agree, i absolutely adore the characters in this Game, from their design to their personalities, they're a charming bunch
It's such a fantastic cast! I could never stop pressing B in the game just to see all the interactions. Mervyn and Maribel particularly were my favorites in that area
Im sure i picked the obvious Hero path for Ruff and healer one for the girl, on the first run (been a long while)
Ill go back to it and pick the fun things this time.
Shepher>thief>monster masher
Then sailor>pirate. Playing a buccaneer who summons monsters lol
I'm sad I didn't get Maribel to Druid 😭 didn't know you can recruit her again at the end. Worked for so long on that grind. I suppose that's the fun of games with job systems, there's always a "maybe next time"
I don't think this game is the best Dragon Quest either, but it is my personal favorite and in my top 3 games of all time.
I just love how the story is structured; it's almost like a collection of fairytales. It's a slog if you binge it, but if you only play an hour or two now and then, you can experience a fun little story in almost every play session. I enjoy the variety in narratives and locations too. You can go from a story about a kingdom being attacked by robots to a romantic drama in a small flowery town.
I also love how some of the stories connect to each other, and being able to see locations in different eras is super cool. It's very similar to Chrono Trigger in that regard.
Grinding for the good classes sucks, though. I think I added an extra 15-20 hours to my playtime just grinding lol
Yeaa it has so much good stuff, I just wished it was executed differently. Also I see you there, ZZ fan, good one!
Still doing my backlog of DQ games. Currently playing DQ3 HD2D so ill come back to this video when I beat VII
Good luck! Video will be here for you!
The pacing of the game is what dragged DQVII for me personally. 20 hours to unlock the job system (your timing aligns with mine) is the biggest example of this. A core gameplay mechanic being so far into the game was definitely a choice...
My personal experience was that i was just exhausted with the game 60 hours in. I love Dragon Quest's charm and all, but this one wore out its welcome (and my save file ended up being ~85 hours, so the last 25 was me laser focusing on the story)
I wouldn't have beat it if i didn't enjoy anything about the game, but I would never touch this game again. (Still liked it more than 5 though which might be among my spicier takes on jrpgs)
I adore V haha, it's one of my favorite RPGs. But that's the beauty of having different impressions about the series, wonder if this would change for me in a couple of years
I love 7, I get the frustrations some people have with it tho. Personally the length of it was one of the reasons I love it so much. Lotta people want a 20-40 hour game and this is not one of those. Its long and rewarding and full of charm that Dragon Quest is known for.
I get you, it's what I said at the very end of the video, I left myself feeling frustrated by it because I approached it from the wrong angle. I know I'll eventually visit the game again someday! I miss Ruff already
I played this game during the pandemic for the first time, I had a severe case of DQ fever at the time so I spent months of my lockdown time going through my DQ backlog of games, which meant playing XI, I, II, III, VII and VIII 3DS in succession.
VII was a very fascinating and peculiar one, it had a very distinct atmosphere and interesting (often dark) themes, but really suffered from Horii's obsession about making "neverending games" which unfortunately often translates in "neverending slogs". DQ VII is not even the worst offender, IX is far worse if you are crazy enough to embark into a completionist journey.
Anyway, one day when I will have plenty of time to waste, I will play the playstation version of VII which is said to be far worse.
Haha I've been often said to stay away from the PS version unless I want it to experience with history interest only.
I'm quite late to the party sorry.
Do you plan on covering the DQ Spin offs down the line ? Just played the Builders games and loved them, also loved Heroes back then.
I think so? Not sure yet! Currently playing builders 2 but I've played few spin offs already and loved them. Been waiting all year for Heroes 2 also to go on sale haha. But yeah, who knows? Hopefully if there's enough interest!
Cool Mega Man Zero theme you got on your 3ds c:
Good eye!
I love dragon quest just as much as the next man but…
Flamin Hot take here
This game series art style does ALOT of heavy lifting for it.
I've got to know... Am i the only one who thought the guy who guards the ruin where you put the tablet who be a twist villain?
I THOUGHT THE SAME THING! Then I knew from somewhere it was just a mascot addition and I felt disappointed, although I really like the design
Cool vid, this was recommended at a great time, im starting to really get into JRPGs. Which dragonquest do you think is the best, have you got a vid on it? I'm completely new to the series and I'm interested in playing, but the repetitiveness and how formulaic this one seems to be sounds like it'll be tedious for me more than anything. Are they all like this?
I made a video like that from the perspective of the newbie I am so hopefully that helps!
They made the 3DS version even longer for some reason
I don't think its longer than the original one? It does have extra content tho, but all I've been told in the comments is that the 3DS one improves on that department? It looks very pretty for sure.
Do characters leave the party often? That seems like it'd be very annoying for a game with a job class system
Not often, but going blind into the game, it comes as an unexpected shock. I couldn't get Maribel into Druid which was a grind I've spent several hours in because at the very end of the game, she leaves the party again 🥲
Not including Keifer since he leaves permanently BEFORE you unlock the job class changes else its only Maribel/Melvin that leave the party temopory so Hero Maribel Gabo Melvin and Aria are the 5 permanent party members Hero/Gabo/Aria never leave the party ever.
Theirs just 1 point on disc 2 where you need to do 1 part Solo Melvin before the game switchs back to Hero Maribel Aria and Gabo's party the 3DS version doesn't have as disc change but on the PS1 version that occurs once you beat the Demon Lord the first time Maribel will rejoin the party after that happens but leave about half way through disc 1.
and its sitll LONG as hell the 3DS remake STILL TOOK me OVER 200 hours to have all 5 permanent party members with all 54 jobs 22 human + 32 monster classes mastered all 5 at lv 99 and ALL 54 DLC tablet dungeons that you can't ACCESS any more all beaten at least once.
But because once the 3DS E shop shut down SO DID the 54 Tablet dungeons the game needs a PS4/Switch port with all 54 dungeons intact but gotten OFFLINE.
I didn't even know about the DLCs until I was almost done with the game haha :') Takes so long to master some classes, jesus christ.
Btw the CURRENT DQ3 remake has a Can't DIE difficulty but I'm not sure HOW that would work starting with DQ5 onwards since even Dragon Quest 7 has at least 3 can't WIN BOSSES ALL of which only end after the entire party gets killed.
So if DQ7 gets the 3DS PORT with OFFLINE DLC dungeons PS4/PS5/Switch and the can't DIE Difficulty I'm not sure how the can't win bosses could still kill you.
I preferred when the game was a series of town level stories. At the end the dungeon became to long, the plot and character points too thin and the villein just another dark lord of ultimate evil who's evil because he's evil.
I would agree but he's evil AND fabulous, which adds a lot to the silly points haha
The One Piece of Dragon Quest.
Hey, great video!
I hope you will made video about DQVIII...