Enix of America continues its quest to keep the popularity of Dragon Warrior high outside of Japan by finally announcing the release date of the highly anticipated PlayStation RPG Dragon Warrior VII. According to a statement made today, the newest installment in the best-selling DW series will hit North American shores on November 1.

“Based upon the tremendous sales success of Dragon Warrior III for the Game Boy Color and the anticipation surrounding the launch of Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 [September 25], there is no doubt that the Dragon Warrior phenomenon has crossed the Pacific and hit our shores,” said Paul Handelman, president of Enix America. Released in Japan as Dragon Quest VII in August of last year, the title has sold over four million units making it the best-selling PSX game as well as the third best-selling video game of all time in Japan. Handelman stated that a strategic release immediately before the holiday season and hot on the heels of the three other DW games released this year should grant Dragon Warrior VII its best chance to emulate its amazing Japanese sales.

DW VII follows the quest of the main hero and his or her companions, mischievous Prince Kiefer and feisty Maribel, on their adventures through time. Using the PlayStation hardware to its fullest capabilities, Enix has set the newest DW game in a real-time 3-D world with the most fluid combat animation to date. Besides the graphical upgrades, Enix promises that Dragon Warrior VII will remain true to previous titles in the system by delievering an epic storyline with many hours of gameplay. Extras such as the ability of players to develop a new town, create a monster park, and collect the Tiny Medals (used to purchase rare items) have been added to give players an break from questing.

With the re-emergence of popularity in the Dragon Warrior series, Dragon Warrior VII will undoubtedly meet Enix's lofty goals when it is finally released here on November 1.