Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past is a long game. I mean, a really long game. Thankfully, the title is worth the commitment. As one would expect from a remake of a Super Famicom RPG, Dragon Quest VII rocks it old school-style. We are talking level grinding, a huge world map, and lots and lots of turn-based battles.
I say “huge world map” but in the start of the game, the world is limited to a single island in a vast sea. As you continue on your sojourn back and forth through time, additional islands appear. The towns and dungeons housed on these islands are varied in theme and not a single one felt bland, visually at least. The game did however seem recycle the same several music tracks for towns and castles. For goodness’ sakes, there was a Middle Eastern-themed town that had the same music as the French village. It was disappointing when there was such a great opportunity for regional music variations.
Battles in the game are not random, thankfully. Monsters are visible on the map and making contact with one will trigger a battle. I will say there have been many instances of monsters popping up where my character is standing, which was a bit of a surprise.
Thanks to the Vocation system, in which you gain access to abilities and additional jobs through the completion of battles, I found myself actually seeking out monsters to fight in hopes of increasing my mastery of a vocation. I loved that each vocation changed how your character looked, too. It was a small touch but added to the fun. Finding a mix of vocations for your party that fits your immediate needs may take some tweaking but it is a rewarding experience.
The vehicle for your party’s previously-mentioned time travel are tablet pieces scattered across the world (hence the “Fragments of the Forgotten Past” subtitle) that when reassembled in the Shrine of Mysteries add a link to an undiscovered island’s past. Finding them isn’t hard for the most part, thanks to the a special Fragment Finder gifted to the main character that lights up the upper-left corner of the bottom Nintendo 3Ds screen when one is nearby. The closer your character is, the more rapidly it blinks.
One thing I was disappointed in was how long it took to unlock the much-advertised Monster Meadows feature of the game. You have access to the main hub area relatively early but it doesn’t begin to function until much, much later. I am talking about 40-plus hours into the game. It was frustrating that a feature so hyped on the game’s promo site remained unavailable for such a long stretch of time.
You do get the chance to experience one of the benefits of Monster Meadows, the Travelers’ Tablets, through the Download Bar at the Haven (available relatively early on) and by finding reformed monsters in towns you have visited. The Tablets received from the reformed monsters are on par difficulty-wise with the level of monster you currently face in the story. Nintendo’s DLC Tablets at the Download Bar, however, are substantially more difficult. I wouldn’t even bother with them until after you have access to the Vocation system.
In terms of Dragon Quest VII‘s level of difficulty, I would rank it on par with the majority of RPGs coming out these days. There are some trying battles that will require taking some time to level-up before challenging but on the whole, I didn’t find it too taxing. The only stressor was needing to find save points. For a portable game with long dungeon segments, there really should be a “save-anywhere” feature. You can, in theory, suspend your data temporarily with a “quick save” but the game limits the areas where you can perform that action.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past for the Nintendo 3DS gets a 4 put of 5. If you have the time to invest in the title, you will find a rich story with plenty to offer. Just don’t expect all the features to be available right away.