If someone is interested, this game works just fine on Windows 7 right out of the box. No extra tinkering is required.
Just one thing: first startup may take a while. If screen remains black wait for about a minute/minute with a half.

Current build no longer works on Windows 7 seamlessly. VxKex is required to run the game on that OS.
Tested with VxKex-NEXT v1.1.3.1545. Works flawlessly.