In Japan, this game (known as Dragon Quest VII), is the top-selling Playstation game of all time.
On the back of the instruction booklet, there is a preview for the game Dragon Warrior IV, which was being remade for Playstation and was to be released in 2002. Problems arose while making the game, and Enix decided to cancel completing it. The game was, however, completed and released in Japan. Later on in 2008, a Nintendo DS remake of Dragon Warrior IV was renamed Dragon Quest IV and was released in North America and Europe.
In the United States, this game was released but Dragon Warrior V and Dragon Warrior VI were not released. This created confusion for some people who wondered why the series ended on Dragon Warrior IV and started up again on Dragon Warrior VII. This confusion would later be cleared up as Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VI were both released on Nintendo DS in 2009 and 2011.
Dragon Warrior VII became the bestselling Playstation 1 in 2000. 13 years later in 2013, Dragon Warrior VII would get a 3DS remake called Dragon Quest VII. Square-Enix Company announced that the 3DS remake would be for a Japanese release only. This led the Dragon Quest fans to write letters to Square-Enix Company demanding an English translation release for North America and Europe. 3 years later, the English translation of Dragon Quest VII 3DS remake finally got released in 2016 in North America and Europe.
The Dragon Quest series is considered odd by many gamers because of the continuity. Every game in the series is part of a trilogy, so Dragon Warrior 1, 2, and 3 are all connected and so on. However, the confusion arrives in the way the stories are told. Dragon Quest 3 is the first game in the first trilogy (a prequel to Dragon Quest 1), followed by Dragon Quest 1, then Dragon Quest 2. Gamers never get the entire story until the trilogy is completed. Dragon Warrior VII reportedly continues this odd trilogy system, with the upcoming Dragon Warrior VIII set to be a direct sequel. Dragon Warrior IX (if it is ever released) will likely be a prequel to Dragon Warrior VII.