Dragon Quest VII Reimagined | REVIEW | PC/STEAM

''WELCOME BACK, OLD FRIEND''

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Developed: Square-Enix

Published: Square-Enix

Genre: RPG

Release Date: Feb 5th, 2026

Platforms: PS5/Xbox Family/NSW/NSW2/STEAM

*Review copy provided to me by Square-Enix

Square-Enix is back with yet another remake, remaster and reimagining of a beloved Dragon Quest entry with Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined. With the overall success of previously remade Dragon Quests such as 1 to 3, Square-Enix has decided now its time to attempt to shine one more time due to the success they're having. However, was this direction for the remake the proper way to go or was it a little TOO much? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

''THE CREW REUNITED''

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GAMEPLAY:

Oh boy, here we ago. Another day, another week, another month and another year brings us a brand new remake of a classic Dragon Quest game and this time it's good ol number 7 getting the treatment. Which honestly, 7 seems to be the lucky number for Square-Enix lately given the amount of hype around the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series now heading into the final entry of its trilogy and that omen might bode well too for this latest entry... at least on paper it should... but with gamers and their mindsets being basically sandpaper nowadays, being rough and coarse just for the sake of hating for engagement farming, nothing really would surprise me if were being honest. But I won't try to be a revisionist and try to act like this title was always a favorite entry for people throughout the years because from my perspective in relation to this game from 2001 to 2026 is that Dragon Quest 7 has been ''hit or miss'' for large amount of people, either because the game is ''too long'' or feels stretched out and slow and then people who absolutely love the game will praise it to the ends of the earth that they LOVE that it's so long because they stay immersed and focused while playing it. Well, honestly to those that hate the original game due to it being ''TOO LONG'' and crying about that then all I have to say is.. ITS AN R.P.G., you realize that right? Why are you jumping into an R.P.G. when you know it's going to be a huge time sink? like ''What are YOU thinking''. But devils advocate to those same people, I do see the case for the game starting off a tad bit too slow, even for a die hard R.P.G. fan like myself, sometimes a slow burner at the beginning of a game of this size can ruin the incentive to want to keep playing, so on that front, yeah sure, I'll agree with that crowd one that one, I just won't take any slander towards Quest 64 though however. I don't care how crap it is, it will live in my heart forever, so don't judge me. But what if I told you this game has made its grand entrance once before, but last time with its 3.D.S. counterpart? would you believe me? no? well why not? just google search it you jerk, I'm not lying. Named Fragments Of The Forgotten Past, it aimed to remake Dragon Quest 7 back then as well and to be fair, I actually liked that version quite a bit. Now were back once more in 2026 though and this new version is a more narrowed down version of the game with attempts at cutting out some ''fluff'' in order to appease the ''its too long'' crowd, for better or worse.. mostly better do to it living up to the Dragon Quest feel and keeping intact the things you love about the franchise itself and this specific entry into the series, all while trying to balance out what's needed and what isn't - which is a difficult task to take on, just ask the Final Fantasy 7 Remake team, all they had to do is add Whispers, A.K.A. force ghosts and it immediately triggered me to the ends of the earth and I feel Dragon Quest 7 purists too, will feel slightly miffed this go around too with some of the ways the content is handled, but we'll get to that soon.

Starting off your journey as a simple adventurer in the town of Estard, you're working hard on fixing a boat so that you may go with Prince Kiefer to go exploring, but upon doing so, you uncover strange and mysterious ruins that tell you ''go and collect tablets bro or you aren't coming in, so get lost''. Well, that makes sense I suppose, nothing is ever that easy in R.P.G's, its always go here find this item, go there and collect this keystone, go here and do squats against half naked men in the gym to win a dress and a wig so you can dress up as a woman to infiltrate a brothel to save your childhood friend from a sex crazed crime boss. What? don't look at me like that all confused, I didn't write Final Fantasy 7, go give them the weird looks not me. The mysteries beyond the ruins keeps the players engaged in the narrative that keeps unfolding, and soon after, you're transported to a brand new world, alongside the mayor's daughter named Maribel. Oh boy, more time traveling you're probably thinking to yourself and probably also wondering why it's such an overused trope and why do people love this type of storyline so much... well blame Back To The Future and Rick and Morty for keeping it alive, unlike baby Naruto that not be, who's somewhere out there still floating around in space helpless and afraid... Ahhh Geez, now I'm getting emotional, we should get back to Dragon Quest. From this point on is where the game begins to ramp up and really focuses on pushing you forward with the narrative itself and its combat with the plot of course having you go and find collectibles like tablets and other varieties as you move to other worlds that might not be doing so hot and in the process of doing so meet a band of characters like King Donald or locations like Ballymolloy named after the great hero Molloy who fell in battle against monsters ages ago. It definitely sets the right tone and atmosphere because as the story progresses you'll start learning of a somewhat butterfly effect, if I'm properly explaining it because certain events take place that are pretty tragic for our heroes and things that cant be changed or re-done in order to make everything better again, leading each segment of gameplay to an unknown or uncharted territory of confusion and tension if you've never played this title before. But here's also where I personally and others may run into an issue too. Each new world you explore and go to, the balance is somewhat off and kind of makes you question the pacing a little bit, because some worlds you play and traverse through go on and on and on and on like poor journalist dudes playthrough of the tutorial of Cuphead that he couldn't get passed... yeah it can go on that much. But then weirdly other times, just as you're setting up and gearing up for something more major, it.. just ends and you're off to the next world and it leaves you confused as hell with how quickly some just fly by - even so, dragged on for too long or ending way too short, each varied locale is brimming with secrets, battles against fiends, new characters and allies and things that tend to subvert your expectations, even if you're a die hard fan since its humble beginning back in 2001.

Combat this go around also sees an adjustment with ways to auto battle foes, speed up battle, which if its your first time playing, I'd recommend not doing that or else you lose the joy of experiencing the game in its fullest. The key here in combat is to watch your opponents attack patterns and properly managing all their weakness so you know when to strike and how to strike and what with in order to gain an advantage because some enemies will hit you for once huge blow for a crap ton of damage, while others will do a multi-attack that hits you multiple times in a row which can put you at a disadvantage. This is when you have to strategize completely because if you just take hits without buffing yourself or thinking ahead, your whole party is just gonna wipe and die, just like the dudes who I flung into the air on Saints Row that fly 50ft in the air. Yes, you will slain that embarrassingly. Luckily you have ways to defend yourself using buffs that allow you to defend against specific hits, letting you take blunt force by minimizing incoming damage or use characters like Maribel to basically go all mage mode and can either buff your party or even debuff the enemies using elemental powers, with our boy Kiefer in the back harnessing energy and doing an anime power up and either boosting critical hit rate or if you're lucky, double boosting the next attack you make, which yields two times more damage than your previous attack did, which can be crucial if you need one giant offensive move before a character goes down - basically your last ditch effort to Leeroy Jenkins it. I can't begin to explain how good the combat continues to get the more you push through the narrative due to the new skills you acquire, trying to master every Vocation, learning how to do proper dodging and critical hits, but.. with one eency weency tiny catch.... Vocation, skills and Moonlighting, which lets you equipped dual vocations doesn't unlock until after the first two story arcs and even then the skills in general slowly start rolling in the further you get, making the process of deepening the combat a tad bit cumbersome. I mean sure you can try focusing on leveling normal vocations early to try to cheat the system and get ahead of the curve, but really it doesnt matter at all since you cant truly take advantage of it till new gear comes into play at a later time that allows you to change Vocations whenever you want, so really, why waste the time?. My advice however is early on, please focus on using the money earned on upgrading items like Helmets and Shields because you can find health items all over the place, you probably won't ever run out, but, the games difficulty early on can be a tad bit brutal, which makes early on progression essential for gear pertaining to defense, and then finally my second tip for newcomers, which you'll thank me for later, is SAVING YOUR SEEDS. These seeds are permanent stat boosts and front loading them early on in the game is USELESS as dual Vocations doesn't become prominent till MID game, so to take full advantage of the games mechanics, I implore newcomers to save your seeds, work on Vocations for mid game, then once mid to late game hits, your stat-boosting seeds and full take advantage of our dual Vocations with combinations like Magic and Priest combo for healing and ranged diversity, or even Warrior and Thief for a mix of agility speed and attack power. Trust me, you'll thank me later. I mean you better thank me at least, don't leave me out in the cold like Kingdom Heart fans waiting like 30 years combined for TWO games, that would just be rude, right Square-Enix?.

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''YALL ARE FIRED!''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined lived up to expectations I had for it, albeit with some annoyances here and there like some worlds going on way too long and others being way too short, certain sections having cut content from the original that takes you on a different path or straight to a cutscene rather than playing through the original event itself that unfolds, slight waiting time to truly take advantage of your Vocations - those can definitely be downers, that's for sure. But with a beautiful take on the original aesthetic of the art style, now modernized thanks to hand scanned cast dolls with diorama towns, plot and story that still holds up in the modern day, lovable characters who will constantly make you relate to them or laugh, great time travel world to world adventure, with deeper combat than ever before, it all makes Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined overall feel like a fairy tale novel come to life, and it's a title I'd highly recommend for newcomers or veterans of the series. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW.

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