Artwork and character designs were once again provided by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, the artist responsible for all previous Dragon Quest games. The game was produced by Yuji Horii, who has presided over the Dragon Quest series since its inception.

The Story Behind Dragon Warrior VII

Dragon Quest VII would go on to be released on August 26, 2000, and sold 4.06 million games in Japan, becoming one of the highest selling games of all time in Japan at the time of its release. Justin Lucas, product manager of Enix America, commented on the hiatus, saying that the developer merely "worked their tails off on Dragon Warrior 7 and Dragon Warrior 4. By the next day, both stock in Sony and Enix rose significantly in Japan.

Enix of America was tasked with translating over 70,000 pages of text via 20 translators and 5 copy editors. Dragon Quest VII was designed by series creator Yuji Horii and directed by Manabu Yamana. Being the first game in the series to include 3D graphics, the team was also initially reluctant to include CG movies and cinematics due to letters written to Enix by fans fearing that doing so would change the overall feeling of the series.

How Dragon Warrior VII Plays

Once all of the missing shards are located and placed for a particular pedestal, the party is transported to the trapped location in the past. These saved lands appear on the main map, although the originals (from the past) can be revisited through the ruins. Paid downloadable content allows players to face the main antagonists from the Erdrick Trilogy of games (Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest II, and Dragon Quest III).

There are four ways and means of locomotion: walking (striding), sailing a boat, flying a magic carpet, or using an object known as the skystone. In terms of gameplay, not much has changed from previous installments; battles are still fought in a turn-based mode from a first person perspective. Poker, slot machines, and Lucky Panel can all be played in Dragon Quest VII.

Why Players Still Load It Up

IGN noted that all "100+ hours" of the game are enjoyable despite the dated visuals and clunky presentation. GameZone.com praised the game's concept and nostalgia factor and cited it as "what role-playing games were meant to be." They also noted the game's high difficulty, which, instead of making the game frustrating, they say, "make it that much more of an accomplishment when you complete a quest." IGN described the game's class system as "one of the best class systems seen outside a strategy RPG." Other critics were not as pleased with Dragon Warrior VII. GameShark.com described the first two hours of the game as "some of the most boring hours you will ever play in a video game." XenGamers.com also pointed out that in order to play the game, the player needs "the patience of a rock".

It was the best-selling PlayStation game of 2000 in the region, having sold more than copies by November. Because of the game's delay in being developed, its release was after the PlayStation 2's release, which created some negative feedback, particularly about the game's graphics. Enix of America still expressed their satisfaction with the sales figures.

Dragon Warrior VII — Frequently Asked Questions