Enix America has been around for over a year now. As this is their second E3, they had time to prepare this time around. In a prime location, and with large, colorful displays, Enix was ready to show the world what they really wanted to see. As the tunes from the original Dragon Warrior ran through my head, I walked into their booth.

With the choices of Dragon Warrior Monsters 2, Dragon Warrior VII, or Dragon Warrior III GBC, the one to play first become a difficult decision. Then I remembered that Monsters 2 was still under heavy testing, and had some rather important issues to address before it was truly playable. With only two choices left, I figured I should give the latest installment of the series my attention first.

Dragon Warrior VII is not the game that will blow you away with realistic movies and scenes. it's more geared to the time when the graphics were simpler, forcing the story to stay strong in order to keep the RPGamer's attention engrossed in the game. However, Dragon Warrior VII has its own innovation to stir up the console world -- the first disc title with no load times.

While having heard it before, it shouldn't surprise anyone by this point. However, to actually walk from room to room, in and out of buildings, down, dungeons, and more without pausing is something one has to actually experience to appreciate. No PlayStation, or PlayStation 2 title has been able to boast a lack of delay like I saw here. Hopefully a sign of good things to come.

Featured in a full 3D world, Dragon Warrior VII uses a combination of detailed sprites, with full 360 degree camera control. There is also a zoom out feature, for locating that building you just can't find in that town. You can continue to walk while turning the camera. To reset the position, simply press Start. Not all of the indoor views had full rotation, but enough to see around a wall when needed. Rooms, buildings, people, and everything else has a wonderful amount of detail, without going for realism. If I had to find an analogy, it would be like each view was a painting. Except for the edges of the towns, which for some places, simply end, like you would see in a tactical RPG. It should be mentioned that the intro was FMV, but that, as far as I know, is the only movie in the game.

Gameplay was very smooth. With the first Dragon Warrior to use analog effectively, I expected a rougher experience. The doors and stairways seemed to catch more than they were supposed to, however. More than once I would try to walk by a stairway, and it would snag me into the stairway instead. That was the only problem I ran into. Walking in and out of rooms, and even buildings, it keeps the same angle, so you can keep walking in the same direction. Very handy.

Dragon Warrior VII looks like it could be the answer to the old-school and new gamer rivalry. The game that both sides could enjoy. With sprites, but a full three-dimensional world, Dragon Warrior VII tries to combine both worlds. Except for the text localization and format, the game was nearly flawless. Only time will tell if the North American audience will take hold of Dragon Warrior once again.