Dragon Quest VII Reimagined represents Square Enix’s second major modernization of the original Dragon Quest VII, which first reached U.S. audiences on PlayStation in 2001. The franchise previously received a faithful visual overhaul on Nintendo 3DS in 2016 — Fragments of the Forgotten Past — but Reimagined takes a different tack: Square Enix positions this version as a more streamlined, accessible way to experience the game’s 100+-hour narrative, tightening the main scenario so players can progress through the core story in substantially less time.
Beyond pacing adjustments, the team has introduced combat refinements to accelerate play, but this feature will focus on how Square Enix has reshaped the narrative itself. Contrary to what one might expect, the project did not begin by deciding what to excise.
Streamlining
Reimagined lead scenario writer Sayaka Takagi explains the team’s methodology: they didn’t catalogue material to remove; instead, they mapped the elements they believed essential to retain. The original game mixes a sweeping central plot with numerous smaller arcs, and Takagi and her colleagues prioritized the story beats that best convey Dragon Quest VII’s twin pillars — trials faced by the protagonists (Hero, Prince Kiefer, Aishe, Maribel, Ruff, Sir Mervyn) and the humanity that emerges from those trials — while trimming anything that failed to serve those themes.
To identify those moments, the team solicited impressions from developers across Square Enix: which scenes lingered in memory, which arcs felt pivotal even if players didn’t fully grasp them the first time around, and which encounters most vividly embodied the game’s themes. Those recollections guided decisions about what to preserve for Reimagined.
That process also revealed sequences that clashed with the team’s vision for a more player-directed experience. Unlike the original’s strictly linear island-hopping, Reimagined allows players to choose the order in which they tackle islands and arcs. Because a number of story moments were written to assume a fixed sequence, they no longer made sense within this more flexible structure; consequently, those moments were deprioritized or removed. The new structure even enables a fresh, never-before-seen ending created to accommodate the branching choices now available in the scenario. Read more about that conclusion here.
Rebuilding
Despite the broad overhaul, Square Enix emphasizes that the heart of Dragon Quest VII’s narrative remains intact. Takagi notes the scenario was not reconstructed from nothing; rather, the team treated the original plot as a framework. They distilled a condensed overview of the story and used that as a base to rearrange sequences, rewrite dialog, and refine plot points. Every change — such as reordering an episode — required careful ripple analysis to ensure consistency across dialogue and subsequent scenes.
“We didn’t simply place the original script on a table and pick what to keep or discard,” Takagi says. Instead, the team built a new puzzle from the plot’s core, reshaping pieces so the final picture would better serve modern pacing and player agency while honoring the source material.
Square Enix remains reluctant to divulge every concrete adjustment, but Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa confirmed one notable aim: to get players into combat faster. Ichikawa says the interval before the first battle has been significantly shortened compared to the original, addressing a common critique that the original took too long to begin its action.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is scheduled to launch on February 5, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
For additional coverage and context, see Game Informer’s digital issue and related features: the Reimagined digital issue and the cover reveal. Subscribe to access the full long-form features, including the cover story and a retrospective with series creator Yuji Horii.
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Which story elements from the original Dragon Quest VII would you most like to see preserved in Reimagined? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
