Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Review
A Classic Undertaking
Dragon Quest is one of the names that is almost synonymous with adventure in the RPG universe; a storied franchise that with each title provides its own journey across the world. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined , a full rebuild of PlayStation and later 3DS title Dragon Quest VII , offers a classic adventure with young protagonists, snappy turn-based combat, and a whimsical score, making it approachable to anyone. The diorama-style backgrounds that blend with the almost bisque doll characters belay the underscore of how harrowing aspects of the journey can be. While the main story is streamlined and by-the-books, its series of micro stories interspersed throughout make it endear the whole way through.
The Dragon Quest franchise has common elements running throughout. Its eclectic and diverse monster portfolio, mute protagonist, designs from Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame, catchy music, and last, but not least, traditional turn-based combat. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined 's new graphical style breathes fresh life to these original creations, particularly in the monster designs. There's a layer of unassuming cuteness that somehow fits with the evil intentions of these monsters, and every once in a while, there will be one that screams Toriyama in the best way possible. The dialogue and voice acting have to work around the mute protagonist and, depending on the situation, can work well or cause leaps in logic. The soundtrack returns in a timeless manner with all the fanfare and care one would expect. The combat system feels quick, responsive, and there are a few different ways for characters to feel powerful. Everything comes together into a memorable adventure that captures the essence of what is expected of a classic Dragon Quest title while still feeling like a new experience.
The hero begins their journey on the island of Estard, its populace consisting of a fishing village and a secondary town built around a governing castle. It's a quiet, lonely life, as everything around the island is open sea. This basic routine is stifling for the hero, their best friend Prince Keifer, and the mayor's daughter Maribel, who believe there has to be something else out there that can enrich their lives. They find a mysterious shrine with a voice that bids them to collect fragmented stone tablets to assemble on various pedestals. When one is completed, it sends them to a new island in a contentious period in the past, where its people are under attack by monsters. The journey to solving these issues and defeating the evil forces is always exciting. Some stories are genuinely heartbreaking, while others have a wondrous sense of hopefulness, and the key to both types is that they are full of heart.
[caption id="attachment_183913" align="aligncenter" width="640"] An example of an intensely menacing yet adorable conversation with a boss.[/caption]
The Estard trio undergo some growing pains during their adventure, trying to find a sense of belonging and purpose beyond their sleepy little village, but the game finds it a bit tricky to convey through the protagonist's limited yes/no head tilt responses and his friends' headstrong teenage attitudes that switch between endearing and irritating. Luckily, the charm of each story found on a new island is exhilarating, as temporary party members, whole villages, and even the enemies undergo a metamorphosis that enrich the party while they try and help a region deal with the local evils. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is a large world, but does not connect every nuance; it is an adventure at heart, which means the occasional minor leap in logic and suspension of belief. None are immersion-breaking, but it does still happen often enough to be noted, and they eventually feed into a larger overarching story of the search for lasting peace and belonging that sufficiently ties everything together.
Plot progression is tied to finding the aforementioned fragmented tablets. In Dragon Quest VII Reimagined , these are easy to track, as the minimap has a separate icon for them, they sparkle with an exclamation mark declaring “here it is,” and there are quest markers that keep players in the area until everything for progression is collected. Everything is straightforward, keeping players focused on the adventure, though it cuts into the player's explorative agency, which is now relegated to finding items and mini medals by searching everywhere. Despite requiring less exploration to progress, this is still a lengthy adventure likely running around 65 hours for most players, with a ton to find in the world.
Enemies are seen on screen, allowing players to freely attack or attempt to avoid them. When the player is stronger than the monsters, they'll try to avoid the party, but if not, the monsters will give chase. The hero can slash at the enemy, which can either instantly defeat weaker foes for a smaller portion of experience or just damage stronger ones for a minor edge. There are options to adjust the battle speed or auto-battle functions, but honestly, the default setting typically takes less than a minute for a regular encounter to end, and do not start to feel long until the beefier enemies of the last few dungeons.
[caption id="attachment_183914" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Even regular monsters are downright charming in their own right.[/caption]
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined keeps its traditional turn-based combat interesting in large part due to its vocations. Vocations are different classes that the party can shift into to learn new abilities to keep things fresh. Party members have a unique default class, but otherwise, the list is the same for everyone. Some characters may naturally fit better with certain vocations, but level-up gains and adjustments to base attributes allow characters adaptability to work for their selected vocations. For example, a mage will earn more magical might upon level-up than a warrior. There is a longer-than-expected portion of the game spent in the default class, but when the vocations are available, there are ten beginner classes that lead into intermediate ones, and only a few advanced. Depending on the choices made, there might be some backtracking through other vocations to gain access to the stronger advanced ones, but the moonlighting feature makes that easier. Moonlighting allows party members to add a second vocation, which, if it is a mastered class, makes learning the primary vocation one easier, while also giving access to all of the mastered vocation's abilities.
Moonlighting while unlocking and growing vocations averts potential issues stemming from lower effectiveness of the earlier abilities within each vocation, which would otherwise make it take considerable time to defeat even routine encounters later in the game. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is not overly difficult, but dealing less damage per turn just prolongs fights longer than necessary, especially since there are enough recovery items and shrines that it is difficult to run out of MP. What that does mean is that the middle portion of the game works best, as learning abilities is a constant thrill. Once players have learned everything they feel they need to, combat becomes routine as enemy health totals grow and battles get a bit longer.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined significantly streamlines the original game, including the four optional islands to explore, which are depicted by gray fragments. The ability to travel to them tends to pop up during times of mild difficulty spikes, making them worthwhile to visit if just for the levelling benefits, and the stories are just as interesting as the main islands. A more dangerous time consumer comes in the form of Lucky Panel. This is a free loot-based memory game, where players flip shuffled cards to match the pairs and gain a prize, with each level of difficulty and reward adding in more treasures and more shuffling. When it becomes available, some really good rewards that are much better than what is available in the store are there, and it is an easy way to gain money, so it is a fun distraction that is worthwhile.
[caption id="attachment_183915" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Come on Kiefer, tis but a scratch.[/caption]
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined has a fun diorama playset feel, with the characters acting as detailed figurines within it. The picturesque details in the backgrounds add a brightness that makes even the darkest locations a joy to go through. Character and enemy designs combine the intricate hand-painted details of a bisque doll with the styling of a kids' cartoon, creating a wonderful style that makes even the most menacing boss feel approachable and adorable, and it's a treat to see every one of them. This detail doesn't extend to villages, as there are only a few NPC designs, so one area's mayor may have the same look as another one's chancellor, which can be distracting. The soundtrack is big, loud, triumphant, and ear-catching, creating a big band feel that gains a lot of mileage, and even though a number of tracks get reused, they never feel repetitive. Voice acting adds another layer to the story, but the dialogue feels more like a footnote, with characters sharing expositions or wrapping up the lessons they learned in a manner that feels more like narration than characters living through it.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is about new beginnings and, speaking as a relative beginner to the franchise, it is a great adventure. The artwork and character designs are just a treat, and it's always worth getting to the next island just to see what big bad resides there. The combat system is snappy, making it a fun way to fight to the next heartfelt story beat that runs the whole gamut of emotions. Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined is an eye-catching and enjoyable appeal to wide audiences, and serves as a great example for the franchise.
Disclosure: This article is based on a build of the game provided by the publisher.
The copyright of the images used on this page is jointly owned by SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. and other co-owners. The unauthorized reproduction and distribution of the images is prohibited. Ⓒ ARMOR PROJECT/BIRD STUDIO/SQUARE ENIX Ⓒ SUGIYAMA KOBO Ⓟ SUGIYAMA KOBO
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