Dragon Warrior VII -PS1- 9.5

July 14, 2024

DW7 is a gargantuan jrpg that demands patience and commitment from the player. After logging 125 hours to reach the end credits, I can confidently say that this marvelous journey was well worth the time investment.

Right from the beginning, the story pulled me in. The tale starts on a lone island in a world covered by ocean, but legend suggests that there used to be more continents across the globe. You and two friends soon discover ancient ruins that send you back in time to different villages and cities that used to exist. It is up to you to solve the turmoil of each area and restore their land to present time. This world and its history are huge, with that grand sense of discovery and exploration that the series is known for.

DW7 follows a similar meandering nature as DQ6, but the sidequests are far more compelling this time around. Every one of the different villages had well developed characters with intriguing plights, and the adventures my party got involved in were always engaging. Furthermore, each sidequest served a greater sense of purpose to the overall narrative by enriching the history of this fascinating world. I constantly wanted to learn more about why the different lands had disappeared long ago and only ocean was left. The many npc’s always had something interesting to say that further developed the backstory, as you were slowly given clues about what happened in this world’s past.

The camaraderie between the hero and his friends was very endearing. Each member of the main party was well written with delightful personality, which is further developed with the party chat feature. By the end of the game, I did not want to say goodbye to any of the lead characters.

The gameplay itself is outstanding. The class system from DW3&DQ6 returns here, and it’s better than ever. I spent hours of grinding for more abilities, and the time just flew by. My characters felt very powerful by the end, and I love the way the game encourages you to keep learning from new classes.

The soundtrack does not have very many tunes for a game of this size, but the ones that are here are beautiful and I never tired of them. I especially loved the melancholic overworld theme “Melodies of a Lost World” that played when I was exploring in the past.  I also got warm feelings of nostalgia every time I revisited the hero’s hometown Fishbell and the tune “Heavenly Village” played.

Beating DW7 was a mammoth undertaking, but I found the 125-hour epic to be a deeply rewarding experience. Discovering the history behind why the world had been covered in ocean enthralled me from start to finish, with fascinating revelations throughout the adventure. There are long stretches where the narrative slows down to be sure, but it was all worth it in the end. DW7 is one of the must-play classics of the PS1 era, and I am rating it a 9.5 out of ten.