by Sknygy and Menashe

The Details

– Comes out February 7th, 2013 in Japan

– Will cost ¥6,090

– Same story as the first game

– Adds StreetPass functionality

– “easier to play”

– ArtePiazza is handling the development

– Scenario and Game Design: Yuji Horii

– Character Design: Akira Toriyama

– Music: Goichi Sugiyama

– Planning and Development: ArtePiazza

– Marketing: Square Enix

The Original Game

It was back in 1996 when Enix was still on board with Nintendo and the N64. They announced that the next game in the acclaimed Dragon Warrior series was in development for the N64DD. It was to be a massive game and it would need all the extra storage space it could get. However, Enix watched as Squaresoft jumped ship and moved over to the Playstation’s camp. They released Final Fantasy VII, which became a smashing success worldwide and that got some Enix businessmen thinking. By 1997, Enix announced that they had shifted over development to the Playstation. The very next day saw a significant rise in both Sony and Enix’s stock prices. It took until year 2000 for Dragon Warrior VII to be released, but when it arrived, it became the highest-selling Playstation game in Japan and it has kept that title.

However, big sales does not mean it was a great game. And in truth, it completely flopped in North America. So, was it a good game or not? Most critics agree that it was a great game, but with a few caveats.

First of all, were the graphics. Essentially, they weren\’t that great. If you compare screenshots of DQVII to the remakes of the earlier Dragon Quest games we\’ve been playing on the DS for the past few years, you won\’t be able to tell the difference. And if you compare it to Dragon Quest IX on the DS, the latter is clearly much improved. When it originally was released, the graphics were judged by the standards of the mega-popular FFVII, which blew the ship out of the water in this battle. So, the question is: will this remake of Dragon Warrior VII regress to the graphics of the earlier DS games, or advance from the standards layed out in Dragon Quest IX? My guess is that Enix is calling it a remake for a reason. They\’re taking an existing game, that has already proven its greatness, and making it look nicer. In glasses-free 3D. This new engine may even be the framework for future Dragon Quest games on the system. It could prove quite lucrative. Let’s hope the graphics even look on par to Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2 which looked quite fabulous.

[UPDATE: The first Japanese magazine scan is up and includes a screenshot which shows the game will in fact receive a complete 3D overhaul to the graphics! And might I add, it looks really good.]

There was another issue with the original game which made it more difficult for North American gamers to appreciate at the time. Essentially, this was an 100-hour RPG. Some said that it took 30 hours into the game for it to start reaching greatness. So, if you\’re going to play through Dragon Quest VII, you\’d better bring a lot of dedication and patience. However, if you\’re salivating at the thought of a meaty JRPG on the 3DS, this is your chance to dig in. Gamers in this day and age are more accustomed to playing massive quests like Skyrim and Xenoblade Chronicles, so a long RPG doesn\’t sound as daunting as it did back in the twentieth century.

All in all, I think this is great news for the 3DS. Japanese sales will soar, of course, and if Bravely Default succeeds in Japan, maybe we\’ll even see the Square side of Square Enix bring over the next main Final Fantasy game in the series to the 3DS. Only time will tell what future RPG adventures await us on the 3DS.

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