For the hardcore RPG gamer, a fun RPG that should not be missed. For those looking to jump to hardcore, look no further.
Graphics:
Ok, except for a few cutscenes, the graphics are simply SNES quality. The graphics look very similar to the Chrono Trigger re-release and the characters are still bit sprites. There are a few CGI cutscenes, but the main graphics are almost laughanle at first. Then, I began to realise a couple things, 1) unlike RPGs with over the top decor, I could see everything very clearly in this game. I had no trouble telling what a boat was and what a town was and where stairs were. While I love a game like Chrono Cross, I always have more of a problem seeing something in an overly complicated enviornment, rather than one with just enough detail. and 2) the graphics make the game more like reading a book. If you just use your minds eye and the basic sprite action, you might actually see more than what the screen shows you.
So, the graphics certainly aren't pixel pushers, but for this game, it works quite well and in the end, I have few complaints about the graphics
Sound:
The sound has classical Dragon Warrior/Quest sounds. If you've played a prior installment, sound effects are nothing new. The music is plesant and fairly memorable, but it still sounds like a basic midi. Compared to DQ8 with its orchestra, DW7 has simple, but effective music, just like its graphics.
Gameplay:
In these battles, you cannot see your characters. Instead, you can see what they hit and see what is going to attack you and how. While a great overall system is in place for combat, there is one slight problem, you can choose which enemy group to attack, but not necessarily which enemy (a problem fixed in 8). The game will still do intelligent things like attacking enemies that aren't confused, asleep, or paralysed when some enemies are in that state and others aren't, but this still certainly annoys me overall. Except for this problem, I must see this as once again, a situation where less things to distract you improve the gameply and combat.
Something that this game also has is a VERY extensive job system. Unlike other RPGs, if you change job classes, you still keep skills from the job classes you've already mastered. You could master 2 classes, which may let you master a third that you couldn't otherwise. Sometimes, mastering 2 unrelated classes back -to-back also has advantages. The Cleric and Shepherd classes won't make a third class that relies on both skills, but mastering these 2 in either order will allow your character to learn the Increase spell. In addition to human job classes, you can also learn monster spells by mastering monster job classes. All in all, theres a lot more to do than just level up.
At first, the main menu system takes a little getting used to, but once you've got it, it also works well with the game.
Story:
Stories are very important in RPGs, at least to me. While not as important as the gameplay, the story is supposed to be what drives you. This has one of the msot interesting story approaches I have ever seen in an RPG. Each new land you go to is treated as an episodic adventure. However, there is also a huge underlying story too, which eventually reveals itself more and more the further you get into the game. When you visit a land in this game, you enter a map made by strange shards which make a stone map. You enter these lands at a point in time where you can save them from being destroyed. Once you are done saving the land, it is available in the 'future' (or current techinically) time where you are from. While the characters aren't too played up or developed in great detail, they still participate in the story and can be intersting nontheless. In this game, I feel more as though I connect with the character through battle, which can make me somewhat upset in some ways if someone dies in combat.
Overall, I would reccomend this game to those who want a hardcore RPG experience and don't mind the graphics. For those that think that an RPG has to push graphical power and redefine everything, then this game isn't for you. Otherwise, its and RPG gem of the PS1 era.