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[NeoIkaruGAF]

You have way too much free time, OP.
Even so, you could use that time better.

 

[fart town usa]

You have way too much free time, OP.
Even so, you could use that time better.

lol. True to a point, I am super blessed with the life I have. Normally this time of year I'd be spending more time hiking outside with my two dogs but there's some naturally occurring fungus in our favorite trails and it's super deadly for dogs. So lame.

 

[BryceNobody]

I'm an hour in boys. Wish me luck.

Deeply respect the hustle, Fart Town. I haven’t played VII myself but recently purchased VIII on 3DS before the eShop closed down… wondering if I should grab VII now before it’s too late.

 

[fart town usa]

Deeply respect the hustle, Fart Town. I haven’t played VII myself but recently purchased VIII on 3DS before the eShop closed down… wondering if I should grab VII now before it’s too late.

Probably should if you can afford it. The remake looks great and has a bunch of QOL improvements. Or mod the 3DS and just get it down the road. Physical copies of DQ games usually get crazy expensive.

 

[Krathoon]

Really, the 3DS version of this seems like the superior version.

 

[fart town usa]

Really, the 3DS version of this seems like the superior version.

Without question, I'm sure it is. If I still had a 3DS I'd go that route. Playing the original PSX version via the PSPgo is making this entire playthrough possible. if I was locked to a TV, I probably wouldn't be playing through it.

 

[Krathoon]

I think I put the case to my 3DS version in storage for some dumb reason.
I don't think think I ever got the 3DS version of DQ8.

 

[Krathoon]

Of course, DQ8 3DS carts are absurdly priced now. I will have to see how much digital is.

 

[fart town usa]

Of course, DQ8 3DS carts are absurdly priced now. I will have to see how much digital is.

Yea, I had DQ 4-6 & 9 for the DS. Sold them like a complete dumbass and they're crazy expensive now. Thankfully I have a soft-modded DSi but yea, physical DQ games usually get outrageously expensive. DQ8 for the PS2 might be pretty cheap, there's always that route if you have a PS2. It's probably superior too to the 3DS version though I don't know that for sure.

 

[GenericUser]

how is it going fart town usa ,still playing it? I'm thinking about playing this too, once fall hits.

 

[Kokoloko85]

PFTP means "Preparing for the Party".....lol.

As some of you have seen, I've been playing Wild ARMs but I noticed the other night that there's a patched eBoot that allows DW7 to run correctly on PSPs.

I owned a physical copy about a decade ago and put in a few hours, it's archaic as shit but I love the Dragon Quest series and always wanted to play through this game due to how long it is. People say a first-time playthrough will take 120 hours minimum . I don't have a 3DS and I'm not getting one. The PSX version is what I plan on starting once Wild Arms is over. Being able to play on the TV and mobile via the PSPgo makes the task less daunting.

I hear that the translation isn't too great and it makes some of the stone tablets difficult to find. I'll probably use a guide for that.

Any tips or advice though, especially when it comes to class progression...? I'm really looking forward to jumping back in by September hopefully.

Just a video for fun. HCG is great.

http://[URL]https://archive.org/details/dragonwarriorviiprimasofficialstrategyguide2001/mode/2up

[/URL]

With you Avatar and Linking HCG video to DQ7, I thought you were actually him for a minute lol

 

[BreakOut]

A possible factor with it not coming to PS3/PSP/Vita is that the game may not have run correctly on the respective system's PSX emulator.

That's how it was at least with soft-modding a PSP and trying to run DQ7, someone recently patched the eBoot though and it plays fine now. Someone straight up doing's god work. Patching Dragon Warrior 7 for the PSP in 2022...I love it, lol.

I always wondered why I didn’t come to Mobile, am I totally wrong but I was under the impression Nintendo paid for localization and so they got specific rights? This could’ve been something I heard a long ass time ago and maybe my brain is just mixing it up for fact though.

 

[fart town usa]

how is it going fart town usa ,still playing it? I'm thinking about playing this too, once fall hits.

Yes Sir, going strong and I plan on updating the thread again at some point. I want to compile the various FAQs I'm using and also give some pointers to help keep things smooth for people who want to tackle it.

I'm about 43 hours in, the Prima guide says I'm on Section 11 out of 25.

I have my issues with it, and trust me, there are some serious issues but overall it's a fun game. I would never play the game without a guide or class progression list though. You literally have to grind through hundreds of battles in order to max out classes and there are a ton of classes to choose from. Picking a class that won't benefit you in the long run is just a waste of your time. The top-tier classes you need for end game take 1k+ battles to achieve. Class structure works like this, there's like 8 basic classes, you need to max out 2 in order to unlock an intermediate class, and then I think you need to max out 2 intermediate classes to unlock the expert class. It's a slog and takes hours. Of the 43 hours I've played, I've probably done 5 hours of pure grinding and I've seen comments that people generally have to do 20 hours of pure grinding over the course of the game.

I'll definitely beat the game though, I'm plowing through it much faster than I ever thought I would. If you plan on playing the PSX release, I highly recommend putting it on a PSP if you have one, it makes grinding through classes so much easier, I just do it in bed so it's like whatever.

PM me down the road if you go the PSX/PSP route, the game normally doesn't emulate correctly on the PSP if you make an eBoot but someone patched it earlier this year. I'll get you the link. Website is trustworthy.

 

[fart town usa]

I'm at 60 hours now, 15 of those may or may not be pure grinding.

It's such a bizarre game, I really do enjoy it but at the same time, this game just baffles me with some of it's design choices. However, for everything that seems flawed, it's also designed incredibly well. It's just weird like that, I'll try to explain via the following scatterbrained thoughts.

The game is insanely stingy with experience points and money. A single piece of armor can cost upwards of $9,000 and if you don't have anything to sell, it'll take hours of pure grinding to get the amount of money you need. It also takes hours to simply go up a level. Granted, people will say to farm metal slimes but screw that, they flee most of the time. That flee aspect coincides with the Class system. Battles don't count towards classes if the enemies are too weak or they flee. You'll level up faster in class progression than you will with actual levels. These 3 elements work in conjunction in a way that does feel balanced, it just takes forever to get to where you need to be in terms of gear/abilities.

I think the worst aspect of the game is how the story is delivered. The story itself and the townspeople you come across are endearing, the translation is spot-on 99% of the time. The issue is that there's such a lack of detail in the world that it's hard to keep track of the characters. As you unlock more islands, you'll come across references to prior islands but the game could be referencing some event from 50 hours earlier in the game. I can't remember all that stuff. The translation is great though, it's engaging and has enough lines of dialogue that really catch you off guard. The game seems to toe the line at times, I've read that the translation wasn't censored in the slightest. With those issues in mind though, I do love the basic graphics and the OST and overall sound design. The production values are incredibly endearing and charming. Addicting too. Playing with headphones on, the attack sound effects are great. The boomerang has a surround sound element to it, you hear it fly across the screen going from left to right, it's really cool and adds to the immersion. The sound levels are just fantastic too. I'm somewhat OCD with that, always tweaking with sound options if available. There are no options within DW7 but they're honestly 100% perfect to me. Everything is just pleasant on the ears. People who like the DQ series know what I'm talking about. It's truly one of those series that some people are just drawn to and adore. Everyone else is like, "wtf is this trash?" lol.

I mentioned it before but the map itself is completely useless. I did realize that there are certain skills that assist with it, Hero can cast 'outside' and 'return', totally clutch. Gabo can also cast a spell that will tell you where you are, but you have to be inside an actual building for it to work. Casting it in an open field doesn't do anything. Maribel can cast something that will tell you like, 12 steps north, 24 steps west (town location). The aforementioned isn't an issue for me cause I'm using guides and a fan-made map w/ town names. However, if you were to play this game blind.....good luck. I can't even imagine because simply put, exploring in this game isn't fun in the slightest. There's really nothing to find on each island, usually just a town or 2 and some kind of dungeon. It's so long that unless you want to play for 200+ hours, it's best to just play as efficiently as possible. A character index and more detailed map would completely resolve this issue, it's a shame it doesn't exist in the game (or at least I'm not aware of one). If I could reference villagers and their town to get a refresher on past events, the game would honestly be flawless for the most part. The length wouldn't be as much of an issue because you could have a nice reminder of what you've already done in the world.

The gameplay systems within DW7 are solid but man, they are 100% designed to make the game insanely long and it can be directly linked to the Money/EXP/Class requirements. It's bizarre to play a single player old school JRPG, have 60 hours into it and know that you're probably halfway done.

I can't think of another game from this era that is so long and the length can't really be bypassed. There's a reason that a speed run of this game takes 17 hours. A quick YouTube search shows me that FF7 on PSX has a 100% speed run that took 15 hours. Any % took just under 7 hours.

The journey continues boys, should hopefully have the game finished by the end of the month.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

That’s the problem with DQ. The grind was kinda necessary to pad out the games on the NES (and even then every game was so damn stingy with money and exp), but then they kept the insane grinding in even when the games became long enough in and of themselves. In DQ7 the total grind probably amounts to the time it’d take to complete 2 or 3 whole games in the PS1 generation. This was absolutely unnecessary, doubly so since there were so many more games coming out that in the cartridge era and I guess a publisher wouldn’t want people to spend too much time on a single one. Guess Enix took it as a point of pride to have the longest single-player game on the curb, no matter what.

 

[fart town usa]

That’s the problem with DQ. The grind was kinda necessary to pad out the games on the NES (and even then every game was so damn stingy with money and exp), but then they kept the insane grinding in even when the games became long enough in and of themselves. In DQ7 the total grind probably amounts to the time it’d take to complete 2 or 3 whole games in the PS1 generation. This was absolutely unnecessary, doubly so since there were so many more games coming out that in the cartridge era and I guess a publisher wouldn’t want people to spend too much time on a single one. Guess Enix took it as a point of pride to have the longest single-player game on the curb, no matter what.

Absolutely spot on. You summed it up much better than I did. lol

100% true about the grind amounting to a full title. I played Wild Arms prior to this, think it was 29 hours. I was anticipating 20 hours of grinding in DW7 but I can tell it's gonna be closer to 30-40.

 

[cartman414]

Deeply respect the hustle, Fart Town. I haven’t played VII myself but recently purchased VIII on 3DS before the eShop closed down… wondering if I should grab VII now before it’s too late.

Did the eShop just close?!?!

 

[BryceNobody]

Did the eShop just close?!?!

Sort of. It soft-closed late August. You can still make purchases if you have funds in your account, but there’s no way to add funds anymore. It’s essentially shut down but still accessible.

Also: following up a little on my earlier post, I did get DQVII on 3DS. Haven’t dove in yet (still making my way through DQVIII) but Fart Town’s updates are getting me excited about the prospect. Seems like a fun, challenging JRPG grind.

 

[Naked Lunch]

That’s the problem with DQ. The grind was kinda necessary to pad out the games on the NES (and even then every game was so damn stingy with money and exp), but then they kept the insane grinding in even when the games became long enough in and of themselves. In DQ7 the total grind probably amounts to the time it’d take to complete 2 or 3 whole games in the PS1 generation. This was absolutely unnecessary, doubly so since there were so many more games coming out that in the cartridge era and I guess a publisher wouldn’t want people to spend too much time on a single one. Guess Enix took it as a point of pride to have the longest single-player game on the curb, no matter what.

Absolutely spot on. You summed it up much better than I did. lol

100% true about the grind amounting to a full title. I played Wild Arms prior to this, think it was 29 hours. I was anticipating 20 hours of grinding in DW7 but I can tell it's gonna be closer to 30-40.

I truly believe these games were never meant to be played in marathon sessions. Every core entry release date was an event in Japan - practically a holiday - and that anticipation and wait needed a massive game to go along with it. I think alot of it was an artificial way to create a grand and lengthy adventure - and you were supposed to play it out in short spurts over the course of months if not a year or more.

I finished Dragon Quest 1 earlier this year (for the first time since the NES days) and couldnt believe all the insane grinding required at the end for no reason other than to get high enough stats to damage the final dragon boss. But I remember having very fond memories of DQIV leveling up each character segment at a slow pace over the span of months.
Case in point - probably best to play DQ in shorter sessions over a longer period of time.

 

[GenericUser]

I only remember DQ11, which I finished. Reaching lvl 99 was not that difficult at all, if you knew where to grind. But even if you reached lvl 99, defeating the optional final final boss was still a challenge.

I truly believe these games were never meant to be played in marathon sessions.

I disagree, I honestly think that was the whole point. You got to keep in mind when these games were made. In the 80/90s. There was no "second screen" to distract you, no new netflix show to watch, there was nothing. Nothing was distracting you from grinding and so grinding almost became some form me meditation. At least I did it for hours and hours when I was younger. Even nowadays when I (very very occasionally) play a jrpg. I deliberately put away my phone and focus on the "boringness" of grinding. For me, that is one of the core appeals of a classic jrpg. I wouldn't wont it any other way.

 

[Naked Lunch]

I disagree, I honestly think that was the whole point. You got to keep in mind when these games were made. In the 80/90s. There was no "second screen" to distract you, no new netflix show to watch, there was nothing. Nothing was distracting you from grinding and so grinding almost became some form me meditation. At least I did it for hours and hours when I was younger. Even nowadays when I (very very occasionally) play a jrpg. I deliberately put away my phone and focus on the "boringness" of grinding. For me, that is one of the core appeals of a classic jrpg. I wouldn't wont it any other way.

I hear you. There was always different ways of playing it. Some people are into grinding the levels - almost as relaxation - I personally never could sit there and grind for hours at a time.

Ive played these the exact opposite as you. As I kid, I played 30min to an hour after homework and before evening shows - maybe a couple times a week. A slow build and it lasted months or even over a year. I only got 1 or 2 games a year back then and this certainly made them last longer especially for games as big as DQ.

 

[BryceNobody]

I have to say, this is one of my favorite running threads on GAF at the moment. It got me going on a little DQ kick recently that I didn’t know I needed.

As mentioned, I’m playing VIII currently for the first time and enjoying the hell out of it- pretty evident why this one’s a popular pick among fans. I’m debating which version of VII to play once I’ve wrapped VIII up but can’t decide yet. The 3DS seems like the slightly safer option, but the masochist in me wants follow in Fart Town’s footsteps and take the more grueling PSX path just for the notch on my belt.

Spending +100 hours in a JRPG released in 2000?? Definite bragging rights.

 

[cartman414]

The thing is that the grind (at least beyond the original trilogy) is overexaggerated. You can get by with a moderate party level and even without having to splurge on equipment as long as you use strategy in the boss fights.

 

[amigastar]

Really, the 3DS version of this seems like the superior version.

It really is, i've enjoyed the 3DS version of the game so much. Made me really appreciate the Dragon Quest games/series.

 

[fart town usa]

Very cool, love these replies.

One of the things with marathon sessions, or lack thereof, I probably would take my time with DW7 if there was a way to keep tabs on characters/villages and what you've done so far. To the best of my knowledge, that doesn't exist in the PSX version of the game.

For instance, something like DQ11, I've been chipping away at that game every few months for like 2 years and I can remember the bulk of it. It also does a good job of giving you a brief rundown whenever you load up the game. Thankfully I'm really feeling DW7 so I don't mind just plowing through it at a speed that I rarely give to JRPGs. I love that though, I am just totally absorbed with classic style JRPGs right now. One of my absolute favorite genre of games.

I too love the grind, as someone else mentioned, it's also total relaxation to me and I usually have a podcast or a Let's Play going on my laptop for background noise.

 

[fart town usa]

Edited the first post and added a link to a PDF of the PSX instruction manual.

Here's an interview I found the other night with Jeremy Blaustein, the guy who did the translation. Kinda sad to see that he's kind of down on himself about it. I honestly have zero issues with the translation, I went into it thinking it would be lousy but it's not at all.

Page 5 | True Tales from Localization Hell

Jeremy Blaustein directing voice acting for 2003's Silent Hill 3. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of video game localization...

www.usgamer.net

Anyone with a cursory knowledge of video game localization likely knows the name "Jeremy Blaustein." In terms of quality, he was a true pioneer in the mid-'90s, back when an intelligible, literal translation stood as the best you could hope for. Blaustein's work on 1998's Metal Gear Solid—largely considered a turning point in the world of video game localization—successfully moved Hideo Kojima's Hollywood ambitions into the English language, and set a new standard for both voice acting and writing in the medium. Following this project, Blaustein left his mark on the Silent Hill series as both a localization editor and creative contributor with parts 2, 3, and 4, and worked on other notable projects like Valkyrie Profile and Dark Cloud 2.


In 2001, Blaustein would face his greatest challenge as a localizer: Dragon Warrior VII, which would be the series' grand return to America after nearly a decade of absence. This English-language version, however, wouldn't be free of the problems that plagued its Japanese counterpart, which languished in production for nearly five years before its 2000 release. With an unprecedented amount of raw Japanese text in front of him, Blaustein found himself facing creative and technical challenges he never encountered before—and without our modern tools and processes to aid him.

 

[BryceNobody]

Any updates for us, fart town usa ? Curious as to how much you’ve got left.

 

[fart town usa]

Any updates for us, fart town usa ? Curious as to how much you’ve got left.

Life's been busy so haven't been able to play it as much as I'd like. Prima strategy guide says I'm at Section 17/25. I have all but two or three portals unlocked. Probably sitting around 70 hours.

I'm definitely gonna finish it though, just lots of weekend travel lately and started playing guitar again with a buddy so that's been taking up time that would normally be dedicated to gaming.

 

[kevm3]

Honestly, I didn't like DQ7 at all. WAY too long and ultra generic feeling. 8 was where I started liking the series and 11 was excellent.