7th Dragon III Code: VFD

Genre: Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

7th Dragon is a franchise of JRPGs that mostly haven’t been released outside of Japan. The sole exception as of this writing is 2016’s 7th Dragon III Code: VFD on Nintendo 3DS, which despite the name is actually the fourth game in the franchise (it’s the third game in a “next generation”-style spin-off series that followed the first game). However, those worried about not being able to follow the plot needn’t worry too much here – the important stuff is largely covered in the game’s first few hours. And also, this game’s plot is pretty terrible and not worth paying too much attention to.

The short version is, back in 2020, the world was almost destroyed by dragons (which ultimately didn’t happen, unless we read “dragons” as code for “extremely inept leadership in the face of a global pandemic”), but this apocalypse was defeated by a group of heroes referred to as Unit 13. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this was probably the plot of the Japan-only first game in the series. Anyway, this game takes place 80 years later, when a VR-style game about fighting dragons has grown in popularity, and one particularly skilled player discovers that they have been selected to… yeah, okay, this is basically the plot of The Last Starfighter, but with JRPG sci-fi/fantasy battles instead of spaceships (and some time travel thrown in for good measure). Like I said, not a great plot.

While the story may not be very inspired, the game does at least feature some memorable characters, most notably Nagamimi, a creature that looks like a stuffed bunny and has a dismissive and almost gleefully cynical attitude that’s refreshing for JRPGs.

The other elements of the presentation help to make up for the lacking story. Backgrounds and characters make use of 3D visuals (though not stereoscopic 3D), with the character designs being chibi-esque in appearance. The environments are relatively low-poly, but are still imaginative and colorful. And these are backed by brief voiced outbursts from characters (and in fact, you even get to choose your heroes’ voice actors) and a pretty catchy synthesized soundtrack, with some excellent songs like Atlantica – Jade Afterglow and Kazan – The Future, Buried in Flowers.

As for the gameplay, 7th Dragon III Code offers players an excellent character-creation system with some wildly different classes, each with their own unique mechanics. Depending on your team makeup, you could have some very different strategies to bring into battle. You’ll need to make use of them too, as the game can be on the tough side. This means you may find yourself doing some grinding to whip your team into shape, but in general it means that even standard battles will require players to approach them intelligently, and balancing out your team will be important to that end.

Overall, while not everything in 7th Dragon III Code: VFD works, much of it works very well. Character creation and management, combat, and presentation are all excellent, and really the game’s main stumble is a lacking story and a difficulty that leans a bit too heavily on a need to grind. However, if you’re a JRPG fan with a Nintendo 3DS, you should definitely make sure to snatch up this game while you can.

tl;dr – 7th Dragon III Code: VFD is a JRPG with a plot that combines sci-fi/fantasy RPG tropes with The Last Starfighter, with players enlisted to fight off an apocalyptic invasion of dragons. The plot may not be particularly inspired, but the character creation and combat is engaging and fun, and the presentation is overall solid. If you’re a JRPG fan with a Nintendo 3DS, you should definitely get this game.

Grade: B

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