Review Beyond_Creation_22 3/5 · Apr 17, 2026
Call Me John the Fisherman
Dragon Quest is a series I have always wanted to like more than I think I actually do. I have a friend who loves it and swears by the series and when a remake of one his favorite titles was announced I knew I'd have to give it a try. Truthfully what really sold me on trying this one was …
Dragon Quest is a series I have always wanted to like more than I think I actually do. I have a friend who loves it and swears by the series and when a remake of one his favorite titles was announced I knew I'd have to give it a try. Truthfully what really sold me on trying this one was an incredible demo with a very strong opening for a game. After playing it and feeling enamored with it straight away I knew I was going to play it. What followed was a journey of ups and downs through a title that I could still feel its age. Now it definitely wasn't all bad and I think the ending of the game really had it coming together for me but I just want to talk about my thoughts and feelings with this.
For starters this game is a remake of, from my understanding at least, a divisive Dragon Quest title. It started out on the PSX and had developed a reputation for being one of the longest games at the time. Another famous reputation it has was not seeing any combat for several hours of the game. I know there is a 3ds Remake of the game as well but I do want to say that this game does do a pretty good job of streamlining the experience where combat can be achieved in 40 minutes versus several hours. They also cut a fair amount of content from the game to create a more smooth experience. Going through this game with no context I will say that I didn't feel like the game cut corners but only in a couple of instances did that become apparent where it really felt like there was supposed to be a dungeon or something else here. Overall though I couldn't tell which I think is a positive.
Another really strong thing this remake has going for it is that I think this is the absolute best Akira Toriyama's art style has ever looked in videogames to this point. I liked seeing a lot of the creature designs and there was a sense of dimension or weight to them that I just found myself drawn to. Not to say that any of the earlier titles or Dragon Quest 11 weren't good, it's just that there was something here that drew my eye. I think it was because of some of the textures that the models have. You can see the knit on the protagonist's cap. It's just lovely touches like that, that help bring the creatures and character designs to life.
Another couple changes I think this game pulls off well is the moonlighting system for classes and difficulty customizing that can be done. It is nice to get the chance to level up two classes at the same time here with feeds back into some positive streamlining. It cuts some of the grinding you do in half and with the shortened pace, allows you access to more powerful classes faster which is a good thing in my opinion. This goes hand in hand with customizing your difficulty and experience which again I think is a good thing. In regards to difficulty I didn't have a problem at all and thought about raising the difficulty up towards the end due to something I'll talk about later but I think it's nice when a game lets you tailor the experience to the way you want. It shouldn't be criticized for being more accessible when you can change it to make it more difficult or closer to the original.
So I want to get into Dragon Quest as a series because it's one of the most revered and long standing titles for JRPGS but here is the thing. Dragon Quest is very traditional. It is very adventure focused and that is very much the case here. I alluded to it in my intro but the game starts off so well with your party being on the only known island in existence. From there they discover the ability to time travel and save islands from their doomed past and bring them to the future. It is genuinely an intriguing and incredible way to start off the game. It left me wondering what was going to happen next and how it all got together. Here is where I will get into the negatives. The formula here of going to islands in the past and gathering tablets in the present just felt dry to me. There are large chunks of this game that aren't carried by plot or characters and while the islands on average have good stories overall, it just left me wanting so much more.
For I stance the characters don't really remark on anything that happens outside of a couple of times but when they do and when you see their personal feelings show, this is when Dragon Quest 7 feels like a million bucks. The rest of the time the characters just stand around as the story is being told at them by the dialogue that I find to be really mediocre. It's a shame because moments of Maribel and Keifer and Mrvyn will always be treasured by me but they are so few and far between that it sometimes felt hard to care. It also felt like a shame that Ruff and Aishe kind of feel under utilized. Aishe especially feels like such a missed opportunity because of who she is, which I won't spoil. It's a shame and such a let down to me.
Maribel does have my favorite character moment in the whole game. It's something that I felt so curious about with how she acts for so much of the game and even though I figured out the reason before the game told me, it was still emotional and touching and something that I desperately wished this game would have done more with for all of the characters.
I brought up the islands which are also a bit of a sticking point for me because the stories are mostly good but they aren't very surprising or thought provoking. I would be lying to say I was never surprised or intrigued but of the 15 islands in the game, it probably happened twice. I think it's why the narrative felt hard to be so invested in. It just felt uneven because some islands have a fun story and big plot ramifications but then other islands just have a story you can see through a mile away and while the characters just sit there being talked at, it just felt hard to connect, spirit of adventure be damned.
I'm thankful for the last act because it's all plot which I found interesting and fun even if I wasn't surprised. It's what I wanted and it's why I felt like all of the uneven storytelling paid off in the end. I felt nervous that I was going to come on this site and trash the game, which I didn't want to do. There isn't anything to really be upset about here. Again the last act just brought it all home for me with the context of the Almighty and the Demon King. Speaking of the Demon King and the last act, I loved all of the new dungeons that take place. I liked awakening the spirits. I really enjoyed the final dungeon and the final boss fight. Again the designs from Toriyama are used so well here.
I haven't touched on combat because it's a very standard turn based affair. I don't like being so dismissive about it but it's very traditional. If you like traditional you will like what Dragon Quest 7 is going for and I already spoke about how you can customize your game to play your way. I especially thought about it given the game gives you a very strong NPC who does a lot of damage for you.
So here I am at the end of a game that was cut down in length but still felt like it was so long for me. It's unfortunate because I don't want to be so split on something that I felt like I had a good time with. I think the peaks of the story are very good but for me there are valleys that I could not overcome. I want to see what my friend sees in this series and share in the love with him about it but this title was just good for me. It was something that felt like it had a good payoff for me. I don't think I'm done with Dragon Quest at all and I already know I really like 11 but I'm hoping to just find more from this series. If anything this series has helped me pinpoint what I want from JRPG'S. I'm hopeful I will be able to find another one that really matters to me in the future but for Dragon Quest 7 is just a solid game.
