is a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

for

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

developed by

imageepoch was a video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was filed for bankruptcy in 2015, due to its declining sales and increasing debt. History The company was founded in June 2005 by Ryoei Mikage. Their first release was the tactica ...

and published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

in Japan on March 5, 2009. The game has not been published in other territories. However, an English fan translation was completed in 2014.

Story

''7th Dragon'' takes place in the

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

world of Eden. 80% of Eden is ruled by various fantasy reptiles, all led by 7 dragons, and their hostility to humans threatens society. The player takes the role of a huntsman who is tasked with eliminating the 7 dragons and saving humanity.

Gameplay

When players start their journey, they can create their own characters from the following classes: Mage, Princess, Rogue, Knight, Samurai, Fighter, or Healer. Outside of battle, the characters will be viewed traveling the overworld from an overhead perspective, while the battles are viewed from a side perspective showing each character as they attack their foes.

Development

The game was produced by Rieko Kodama and the design team consists of composer Yuzo Koshiro, character designer Mota, as well as monster designer Akifumi Yamamoto. At the helm of the project is the director of the first entries in the ''

Trauma Center A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. The term "trauma center" may be used incorr ...

'' and ''

Etrian Odyssey ''Etrian Odyssey'' is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game series. It is primarily developed and published by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. By 2016, the series had sold a combined total of 1.5 million copies worldwide. Each installme ...

'' series, Kazuya Niinou.

Reception

The Japanese magazine ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' scored ''7th Dragon'' 9/8/8/8 for a total of 33 out of 40 points. The game was the second best-selling game the week of its release at 80,000 copies. An additional 22,000 units were sold the following week.

Sequels

A spin-off sequel titled ''7th Dragon 2020'' was released in Japan on November 23, 2011 for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

. From this title onward the character designs for the series were created by Japanese manga artist Shirow Miwa. It features polygon graphics and takes place in the near-future in a post-apocalyptic

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in the year 2020, where the dragons have invaded the city. This game features new classes revamped for modern times, with the exception of Samurai. The vocaloid

Hatsune Miku , officially code-named CV01, is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media. Its official mascot is depicted as a sixteen-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. Miku's personification has been marketed as a virt ...

appeared as an official collaboration aspect of the game, appearing in the opening theme song sequence as well as the voice provider for optional DIVA Mode remixed songs. A sequel to ''7th Dragon 2020'', titled ''7th Dragon 2020-II'' was released on April 18, 2013 in Japan also for the PlayStation Portable.

appeared again in the game as a non playable character; and the game also features a new Idol class and the return of DIVA Mode option, which makes all background music in the game sung by

. A third and final sequel, ''7th Dragon III Code: VFD'', takes place in the year 2100, 80 years after the previous two games, and follows the story of the Nodens Corporation's attempt to complete the Dragon Chronicle in time to save humanity from the awakening of the titular seventh Divine Dragon, an event that would spell doom for the human race completely. A demo was made available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, with the full game released on October 15, 2015. The game was released in North America on July 12, 2016. Following the game's launch, Sega announced that it will receive three waves of downloadable content within weeks after launch. The game was announced for release in Europe at the end of the year. On November 27, 2019, a

Drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

was released of ''Code: VFD'', starring the same cast as the video game.

References

External links

* {{Franchises owned by Sega Sammy Holdings 2009 video games Creative works using vocaloids High fantasy role-playing video games Image Epoch games Japan-exclusive video games Nintendo DS games Nintendo DS-only games Sega video game franchises Sega video games Single-player video games Video games about dragons Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Yuzo Koshiro PlayStation Portable games