How the New Voice Acting Affected Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined cover with Aishe — Dragon Quest VII Reimagined — Game Informer digital issue cover

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined marks the series’ first in-game voice-acted edition. For the first time, characters such as Sir Mervyn, Aishe, Maribel, Prince Kiefer, and Ruff will be given spoken lines. Neither the original PlayStation release nor the 2016 3DS remake included voice work, so I asked Reimagined’s lead scenario writer how adding voiced performances influenced their approach to reworking the narrative.

Takagi explains that the presence of voice acting required substantial adjustments. Dialogue could no longer be treated only as written text; it needed to sound authentic and feel contemporary when performed aloud. This meant rethinking phrasing, rhythm, and the kinds of expressions characters use so lines read naturally when voiced.

Dragon Quest VII gameplay — Gameplay from Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

One clear example popped up while I was playing: atop The Tallest Tower I awaken Sir Mervyn from a special stone to help defeat the Chimaera. When he joins the party his English performance reads like a classic knight — measured and chivalric — which fits his look and role in the story. However, the development team intentionally differentiated performances across languages: in Japanese, his delivery takes on a feudal, samurai-like cadence, reflecting a different cultural resonance.

Another illustration is Bulgio, a wealthy patron who presents the Hero with the stone containing Sir Mervyn. In the English localization Bulgio peppers his speech with Italian flourishes to emphasize a cosmopolitan flair. The Japanese text, however, focuses less on foreign borrowings and more on conveying Bulgio’s pompous personality through tone and word choice — a decision that highlights character over nationality.

Takagi notes that because the game’s world is made up of many distinct islands, regional speech patterns and local color are essential. Dialogue was crafted so each island’s residents sound unique, reflecting their locales and traditions.

— Sayaka Takagi, lead scenario writer (paraphrased)

Players will hear the new performances when Dragon Quest VII Reimagined launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC on February 5, 2026.

For more from Game Informer on this release, see the digital issue and the cover story that explore the reimagined game in detail:

Further reading

Related articles