Ready to really feel outdated? It’s been about 13 years because the launch of the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, which itself was launched about 13 years after the unique on the PSX. That implies that it’s time for one more remake of the storied basic, which has been dubbed Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined this time round. This iteration goes a bit farther than its 3DS predecessor in making varied nips and tucks that replace the sport for a brand new era, and I’m happy to report that this seems like probably the most satisfying model of Dragon Quest VII but.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
The narrative locations you within the position of a quiet boy dwelling a peaceable life who believes there’s extra to the world past his small island dwelling. He’s joined on this perception by the adventurous Prince Kiefer and the Mayor’s daughter, Maribel, and it isn’t lengthy till this band of children uncover a mysterious shrine by which historical stone tablets permit them to journey to numerous locations up to now.
The plot then takes an virtually anthological strategy, the place you and your get together bounce again in time to numerous islands and play out small and largely self-contained subplots on each, corresponding to saving a city that’s been overrun by robots or uncovering the thriller of a village by which everybody has been became animals. After resolving the battle for that island, it magically reappears within the ocean within the current and you’ll go to to see how your actions led to a modified future.
It’s not a really character-pushed plot like you could discover in a grander journey like Xenoblade, however what the story lacks in deep characterisation, it greater than makes up for in its cosiness. Despite some often darkish themes, that is the form of gentle, ethereal, and chipper expertise that retains you invested because of how persistently it maintains its constructive environment. As you’re employed by these cute and uplifting tales of friendship and braveness, you are feeling extra linked to the locations you’re uncovering, which results in a way more emotional expertise afterward when the story begins to return collectively into one coherent strand.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
One of the principle promoting factors for this reimagining is the ‘streamlining’ of content material, and whereas I’m certain this can be divisive amongst some followers, I’d say the modifications made right here had been largely for the higher. The unique recreation was infamously bloated, most notably with it taking round two hours from the beginning of the sport earlier than you even enter your first fight state of affairs, and this reimagining has lower out a whole lot of the extraneous dialogue and backtracking that added a lot padding. Fortunately, these cuts had been made tastefully and led to an general tighter recreation—what’s misplaced in uncooked element and content material is made up for by an journey that strikes the place the unique tended to pull.
World exploration additionally tends to proceed at an exciting tempo, principally as a result of elimination of random battles that’s carried over from the 3DS remake. Rather than getting jumped each few steps, enemies now roam the map freely and may be deftly prevented if you happen to’d moderately simply cross by an space. If their stage is way sufficient beneath yours, they’ll even run away from you and swiping along with your sword will internet you the rewards you’d get from a battle with out the trouble of leaping to the fight display.
Couple this with good high quality of life options like quick journey and the Nose for Treasure ability, and it’s by no means been simpler for completionists to rinse every space of each hidden chest and Mini Medal.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
When you occur to return throughout a foe who’s nearer to your stage, battles follows the identical lavatory-customary flip-based mostly fight the franchise has at all times been identified for, with you utilising an energetic get together of as much as 4 members to bash in some Slimes. Though the easy strategy might really feel a bit quaint in comparison with extra mechanically superior fight techniques, just like the Boost/Break system in Octopath Traveler or the Press Turn system in Shin Megami Tensei, that doesn’t imply that it isn’t nonetheless partaking.
Each character progressively amasses a swath of numerous expertise and spells to bolster their position within the battle, and if you happen to don’t wish to get caught up with navigating all of the menus, there are a number of competent auto-battle macros you’ll be able to set that do a terrific job dealing with nearly any trash mob battles.
Similar to the Pep Powers of Dragon Quest XI, get together members can now often get ‘Worked Up’ after they’ve dealt and obtained sufficient harm. These highly effective brief-time period buffs are linked to the character’s vocation (extra on that in a bit) and may do issues like block all harm for a flip or considerably enhance harm output. They aren’t essentially an ‘instant win’ button, however triggering one can definitely flip the tide of a battle that is slowly getting away from you. I additionally appreciated how they’re randomly triggered within the majority of instances, which retains them from being a straightforward crutch to lean on and ensures they act extra as a pleasant X issue that may instantly combine up a battle.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
Vocations are the category system utilized in DQVII they usually observe the development for the standard jobs system—each is levelled individually from the character it’s geared up to, and that character unlocks newer expertise and talents as they transfer up in vocation ranks. As you progress by the world and discover, you slowly unlock extra vocations, the extra highly effective of which require a personality to grasp some prerequisite vocations earlier than granting them entry to the highly effective stat buffs and talents they arrive with.
For this remake, vocations have additionally gotten a pleasant freshening as much as make them extra compelling. Not solely are there new vocations added, however now you can unlock the flexibility to ‘Moonlight’, which implies you’ll be able to add a second vocation to a personality to additional alter their stats and accessible skills. It doesn’t fairly match the heights of the cross-classing insanity discovered within the Bravely Default or Octopath Traveler video games, but it surely is one other step in that route and makes get together constructing a way more fascinating endeavour as you discover totally different builds and ability mixes.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
In an enormous step up from the pixel artwork graphics of the unique and the considerably chunky fashions of the 3DS remake, the visuals have been up to date to mirror a extra photorealistic toy-like environment. Square really made small handmade dolls of the assorted get together members and scanned them in for additional element, and each body seems as if you happen to’re viewing a fastidiously crafted diorama.
This seems particularly nice on Switch 2, the place an unbroken 60fps and at the very least 1080p decision current every thing with sharp element and easy movement. I’d go as far as to say that that is the perfect-wanting Dragon Quest recreation Square Enix has ever produced, surpassing its earlier efforts within the unique launch of Dragon Quest XI through its seamless mix of photorealism with Akira Toriyama’s cartoonish artwork type.
The soundtrack additionally obtained a makeover right here, with all of the music being re-recorded and handled with new orchestral preparations that seize the essence of the unique whereas introducing some new parts. These preparations all completely mirror the whimsical and adventurous spirit that the Dragon Quest franchise is thought for, retaining the environment playful whereas often taking issues right into a extra severe realm.
Conclusion
Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined proves to be a robust revisit of a basic, trimming the fats and together with welcome additions to make for a magical expertise that no fan of basic JRPGs will wish to miss. Though I’m hesitant to name this the ‘definitive’ model of the sport, given the content material cuts, I would definitely say it’s probably the most enjoyable model but. Combine the extra partaking tempo of the narrative with some good gameplay updates like moonlighting and people beautiful visuals, and it’s robust to argue that the earlier variations are extra satisfying.
At any fee, I’d extremely counsel you decide this up if you happen to’re searching for one other excessive-high quality, outdated-college JRPG on your assortment; Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined will not be all that revolutionary, but it surely completely nails its gameplay and aesthetics.
