Dragon Quest and Nier games might have more in common than you'd think, as one Square Enix producer discusses that both series rely a lot on outsourced developers.

Speaking at BitSummit Punch last month (spotted and translated by Genki_JPN on Twitter), Yosuke Saito – who's credited as a producer on Nier, Nier: Automata, the Replicant remaster, and Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age, amongst many others – notes that the two RPG series are created in similar ways, with neither being made entirely with in-house developers.

In Nier: Automata's case, of course, while Square Enix was the publisher, PlatinumGames was the developer, alongside direction from series creator Yoko Taro, and music created by Keiichi Okabe – a Namco veteran who's now the CEO of Monaca, a music production studio.

Similarly, Saito says, most Dragon Quest games up to now have also featured outsourced development. For example, between a third and a half of Dragon Quest 11 was developed in-house at Square Enix, with the rest being outsourced, he reveals. Looking at its credits (thanks, MobyGames), you can see plenty of other companies mentioned, such as Orca and ILCA (the latter of which since developed Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl).

Genki notes that Enix was described as a team of producers, with some script writers, who never had an in-house dev team. The company, alongside Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, would seek out outsourcing teams for every game.

Presumably, we can still expect this to apply to Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams, too. Back when the next RPG was still going to be called The Flames of Fate, it was confirmed that Orca and HEXADRIVE would be co-developing it alongside Square Enix (thanks, Gematsu), but the latest news on the game revealed "a reshuffle of the team and a restart of development," so it's not clear if this could have changed. Even so, given the series' history, I'd be very surprised if Square Enix didn't outsource any devs for it.

Dragon Quest fans are being mean to the new and very tired looking protagonist: "So ugly they had to confirm that he was designed by Akira Toriyama."

Alongside the re-reveal of Dragon Quest 12 as a whole new game now called Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams instead of Flames of Fate, there's a new protagonist in town, and he looks like he's kind of just over the whole thing. Naturally, that means everyone in Dragon Quest land is absolutely roasting the poor guy, with some questioning whether he was even designed by the late Akira Toriyama at all, although that seems like baseless speculation.

I'll be real with y'all up front: As a longtime fan of the series, I don't see the big issue here. Dragon Quest heroes have always been derpy little weirdos with goofy hair. Dragon Quest 11 isn't even 10 years old, and somehow we've all forgotten its hero was rocking a dirty blond, middle-parted bob and purple tunic. We all loved him no less, but it's not as if Dragon Quest is known for its impossibly hot heroes like, say, Final Fantasy. Dragon Quest 12's new hero is just doing his best, but unfortunately not everyone sees it that way.

Here's a small sampling of the bullying I'm seeing online:

Such a Gen Z slop haircut. Toriyama would never let this happen. from r/dragonquest

New DQ Protagonist be like from r/dragonquest

the dragon quest 12 protagonist is so ugly they had to confirm that he was designed by akira toriyama

— @maysuser.name (@maysuser.name.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T19:28:41.940Z

he looks like his name is Throckmorton

— @veesheep.bsky.social (@veesheep.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T19:28:41.817Z

Bro thinks he's on the team 😭 from r/dragonquest

Can we swap?.. from r/dragonquest

You get the idea. I will definitely concede that the man's expression very closely resembles the face I saw in the mirror at a 6am layover in Miami after a flight from Brazil recently, but that's nothing a good long nap can't fix. And, sure, his haircut isn't doing him any favors, but again, these are fixable problems. I mean, Dragon Quest heroes don't usually change in appearance a whole lot throughout the course of a campaign, but I'm sure we'll be able to spruce up his appearance with some sick armor upgrades and outfit changes. What I'm saying is, give the poor lad a break. He has clearly been through some stuff.

Dragon Quest's Pokemon-esque spin-off series gets another game in The Withered World, and Square Enix hopes it'll release "before" the rebooted Dragon Quest 12

It's official – three years after Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, Square Enix is gracing us with a brand-new entry in its Pokemon-like spin-off RPG series.

Dubbed The Withered World, the new title was unveiled during today's short update from the Dragon Quest team on YouTube – the very same update that saw Dragon Quest 12 Beyond Dreams, previously titled The Flames of Fate, revealed.

It's the first entry in the Dragon Quest Monsters line we've seen since The Dark Prince arrived in 2023, and it's likely to feature the same 'mon wrangling action as before.

Although Square Enix doesn't highlight any actual gameplay, the teaser shows a variety of monsters running, flying, and scampering toward the viewer – and it all, of course, is in the iconic cartoon-y style we know and love Dragon Quest for.

When is Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World set to launch, though? Well, we aren't entirely sure yet, but Square Enix does mention during its little showcase that the developers "hope to release" the spin-off sometime "before" Dragon Quest 12.

As for when 12 itself is coming, only time will tell... fingers crossed, there aren't any new delays in the future, and we see both games soon.

Regardless, folks are already sharing their excitement for The Withered World. As per the comments underneath its short teaser trailer, "Thank God they announced this after that DQ12 announcement. If all we got was news of restarted development, I would've been super disappointed... more Monsters games is always cool."

Other fans hope that it improves upon its predecessor, The Dark Prince – especially in the PvP department. "Dark Prince was a little undercooked; hoping for a big glow up," as one person writes.

Aren't we all, anon? We'll just have to wait and see how Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World plays, I suppose, but I have a feeling it'll be good.

Searching for more to look forward to? Here are the best new games coming this year and beyond to wishlist right now.

Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate is now Dragon Quest 12: Beyond Dreams after the game's development was restarted.

In the Dragon Quest 40th anniversary video, hosted by series creator Yuji Horii and series producer Yosuke Saito, we finally got another look at Dragon Quest 12, five years after it was first announced at the series' 35th anniversary celebration.

Saito explains, "Due to a reshuffle of the team and a restart of development, it's going to be a bit longer till it's in your hands." He adds that "work on the original version, Dragon Quest 12 – The Flames of Fate, hit a lot of hurdles along the way," before saying, "As we kept talking with Mr. Horii and pinned down what a mainline Dragon Quest game should look like, we decided to move things around and start over from scratch."

This was followed by a brief trailer showing a bit of the game in action, with a hero running around a wide open area filled to the brim with iconic monsters like Slimes, Hammerhoods, and Healslimes, alongside some cutscenes showing what are presumably the party members who will be joining them on this quest.

"It's the story of a young hero who is beset by strange visions in their sleep," Horii explains, adding that what lies beyond those dreams is "surely not a world of darkness, but a bright and exciting future." Crucially, Horii adds, "the game has gone in a different direction to the one we originally announced." Dragon Quest 12 was originally set to take the series into darker territory with a bit of a tonal shift, so presumably this refresh puts it more in line with the Dragon Quest people know and love.

Finally, Horii added that Dragon Quest 12, "like every game before it, will come with Akira Toriyama's characters and Koichi Sugiyama's music." Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away in 2024, with series composer Sugiyama passing in 2021, four months after Dragon Quest 12 was announced.

Ahead of Dragon Quest 12 why not check our list of the 10 Best Dragon Quest games of all time, ranked

Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii has explained that Dragon Quest's weakest weapon exists thanks to a limitation with the Famicom.

Speaking to Japanese outlet MagMix (and a big thanks to Automaton for the translation), Horii talks about the series' iconic Cypress Sick. This weapon is… well, a stick, but its lack of power has made it an icon of the series since it first showed up in Dragon Quest 2, and it has gone on to appear in a number of mainline and spinoff entries since, most recently in Dragon Quest 11. The humble stick is such a big deal that it also appeared in Nier Automata as a reference to the classic JRPG weapon.

However, cypress wood is actually a pretty solid bit of kit in real life – used in the construction of shrines and temples – which has led to some confusion over the name of the comically weak weapon.

Horii explained that, because of the limitations in cartridge space for the Famicom (which is what the NES is called in Japan), the game could not use kanji characters (which convey meaning and sound) and instead everything was written in hiragana (which conveys sound). So, while wooden swords are generally known as "kashi," their equivalent in hiragana would be "kashi no bo," which he says made it sound too much like "okashi" – the Japanese word for snack.

In the end, "hinoki" was chosen, which means "Japanese cypress," as it was a distinct sound that wouldn't have any potential to create confusion. So all these years later, a mere stick has become an iconic part of the father of JRPGs, and its contradictory name is all due to some hardware limitations.

Ahead of Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate, why not check our list of the 10 Best Dragon Quest games of all time, ranked

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The Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary draws near. With four decades to its name, this Square Enix-owned franchise has no shortage of merchandise for fans to collect, including everything from plushies, action figures, and even homeware - and you can bet there's plenty of Slimes to be found across the lot.

You can grab Slime mugs, Slime plushies, and even a Slime model kit so you can create your own. To celebrate the game's big birthday, Square Enix has even created a special 40th anniversary Slime plush. The big, blue guy is wearing a crown and a 40th rosette to celebrate the momentous anniversary that kicks off on May 27 2026, and is expected to release in July later this year.

If the spawn rate for Slime merch is a bit overbearing, don't fret. There are plenty of other toys available, including a Nendoroid figure of Dai from the Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai anime series, and the Dragon Quest Illustrations artbook featuring a round-up of Akira Toriyama's best art that was released for the last major anniversary. To suit all manner of collections, I've gathered some of the best Dragon Quest merch below. If you don't see something you like, there's bound to be plenty more where they came from once the anniversary celebrations get going.

Check out the best Nintendo gifts and the best Lego sets for more collectibles inspired by the best and longest game franchises.

The best Dragon Quest games should be on every JRPG fan's radar. After all, not only are we still getting great remakes over 20 years after its original worldwide release, but some of the outings in this iconic fantasy franchise still make up the best RPGs to play today as well. However, deciding where to start your journey as a hero of light can be tricky, and that's why I've done a Dragon Quest deep dive and ranked the top 10 games to help you choose your next adventure.

Now, before you judge my thoughts on some of the best JRPGs around, I do need to clarify some rules in this list. For this ranking, I've stuck primarily to the main entries in the franchise. However, since Dragon Quest 10 isn't accessible worldwide, you won't find it on our list. In its place, I've instead chosen to highlight the spin-off game that I'd recommend checking out along with the mainline titles. I've also made sure to include a vibe section for each entry (read more on those in our FAQ section) to give you an overview of the experience you can expect from each.

Finally, I know that Dragon Quest means a lot to different people and no matter their number in this ranking, I do genuinely love all these games. If your favorite didn't make the cut, feel free to share them in the comments section below. But, for now, read on for a curated list of the greatest games in the franchise so far.

The best Dragon Quest games of all time, starting with…

10. Dragon Quest Builders 2

In terms of the best spin-off game in the Dragon Quest franchise, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is top dog. We gave it a perfect five-star rating in our Dragon Quest Builders 2 review and called it "a beautiful mashup of iconic games with a quirky sense of humor." The game essentially answers the question: What if Dragon Quest and Minecraft had a baby? Well, it turns out that we'd get a great RPG and construction game that's very easy to put tons of hours into.

Taking place after the events of Dragon Quest 2, the game follows a Hero who is captured by the Children of Hargon. After escaping, you'll need to travel to different towns, fighting monsters, building, and leveling up your powers. The great thing about this game is that it feels like a full JRPG, with crafting and exploration thrown into the mix. Nothing feels cheap or compromised, and characters and story are also very enduring. If you loved the Switch 2 game Pokemon Pokopia (which Omega Force also had a hand in developing), this will be a great entry into Dragon Quest for you.

9. Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies

Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies is a proper DS banger, and one I'm personally dying to see a remake of. However, if you have the old Nintendo handheld, then it's still very much worth your time. In this story, you create a custom character who is a Celestrian (aka a cool-looking angelic being) who ends up stuck as a mortal after certain events. You'll need to adventure around the world, collecting the scattered Fyggs from the World Tree Yggdrasil in order to get back home.

Now, multiplayer was a big gameplay factor in this game, which is why it's not ranked higher, but it can still be played solo if you are the only one with a DS still on hand. The game also does show its age and can be grindy at times, especially since changing classes reverts your base level back to one. As our Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies review points out, "if you're a traditionalist just like the developers seem to be, you'll really appreciate this fresher spin on the tried-and-true method."

8. Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D

Thanks to this remake, you can now essentially get two games in one, and honestly, after playing the Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D remake, this really is the best way to experience the start of the iconic franchise today. Just to get the visuals out of the way, the new HD-2D visuals are a marvel and left me kicking my feet with glee when I first saw it. However, modern art style aside, what makes this remake really stand out is all the expanded content that beefs up the plot and gives characters some more spotlight as well.

I also love how the story is simple: you are a hero who has been tasked to defeat the dragon lord. It's your typical good versus evil set-up, but sometimes that's all you need, especially if you're after a straightforward experience that doesn't bug you down with a ton of plot twists. Random encounters mean that you are in the hands of the RNG gods, who sometimes throw you some annoying battles that aren't super fine-tuned with your level, but otherwise, this is a great pick-up for RPG fans.

7. Dragon Quest 6: Realms of Revelation

OK, so disclaimer, while I do love the DS remake of Dragon Quest 6, it is considered the weakest of the Zenithian Trilogy. This criticism is largely because the story just isn't as strong as Dragon Quest 4 or 5. However, you shouldn't write it off because it still has some of the best party dialogue in the series and is also very charming in its own right.

The game has you playing as a hero set to save the world, standard stuff. However, there are two worlds you'll need to navigate to do so. The plot is a bit nonsensical at times but what Dragon Quest 6 does very well is how it treats vocations. It's a ton of fun spending time learning multiple classes and specing characters to deal some juicy damage. It's easy to see how this game influenced the likes of Dragon Quest 7, as it's very simple to create a malleable party and play around with builds.

6. Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined

Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined is a remake of the 2000 RPG, and unlike most of the more linear storytelling that the series is known for, this game gives us more of an omnibus of short stories as we follow a globe-spanning adventure that ties together tales from multiple towns in the land of Estard. There are also time-travelling antics put into play here, and it's uber satisfying to see how your actions in the past affect the present time in the story.

Not only does Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined look great, but in this new remake, the pacing of the story has been improved, and I did find myself being pushed through the plot in a more engaging way than I ever had before. I also love the combat changes in this remake, as you strike down enemies in the overworld, and the Moonlighting system, which lets characters have two vocations at the same time. This is a great entry point for newcomers, and one of the best Switch 2 RPG games you can pick up as well.

5. Dragon Quest 4: Chapters Of The Chosen

While the original NES version of this game didn't have the best launch, Dragon Quest 4: Chapters Of The Chosen Remake for the DS is a masterpiece and one that I happily would recommend to any complete Dragon Quest newbies. The story is broken up into five chapters, where you'll follow your own hero as well as a distinct cast of other protagonists with their own stories. In the final chapter, all the characters come together and set out to save the world (classic Dragon Quest stuff).

There are no classes in this entry, so if you are a complete Dragon Quest beginner and are unfamiliar with specing characters and party synergy, then this is a great starting point. Characters can also easily be switched in and out of your party with the wagon, which takes off pressure for forward planning encounters, and grinding isn't a massive issue with this title as long as you are willing to explore here and there. If you have a DS, it's worth picking up.

4. Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride's narrative really does feel the most like a coming-of-age story as it follows your hero from the moment of their birth and a few decades after. Of course, this is a Dragon Quest game, so you'll also need to save the world; however, its charm is in the intimacy of character dynamics and how dang attached you'll soon be to all the friendships you rekindle during your adventure.

In this game, you can also get married and have kids (who can grow up and become playable characters as well). There's something super wholesome about playing with a family you created, and it makes Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride a great cozy option, too. And, if you are a Pokemon fiend, Dragon Quest 5 was the first title to allow you to tame monsters who can then join your party. There are some annoying quirks, but it's a really distinct JRPG all in all.

3. Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King

Dragon Quest 8 has one of my favorite stories in the whole series, and was a firm 3DS staple of mine back in the day as well. In this one, you play as a hero who has to help out a couple of cursed royals track down the jester Dhoulmagus (the guy who cursed them and their kingdom in the first place). On your journey, you'll discover locations all affected by Dhoulmagus, as well as meet some characters to join your party.

The game is charming, the dialogue is genuinely funny, and the turn-based gameplay is also surprisingly cozy. I will say, if you have a 3DS pick up that version of the game since it is different from the PS2 one, complete with a new ending. The 3DS version also lets you see monsters as you are walking around, instead of just pulling you into battle randomly. The speed of battles and the alchemy pot have also gotten a needed boost, and all of these features make a great game even more enjoyable.

2. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D

Dragon Quest 3 initially released back in 1988 on the NES, however, it got a sparkly remake a few years ago, and all veterans of the series should check it out. You play as the child of the legendary warrior Ortega, who is tasked to get rid of an evil villain who's hellbent on destroying the world.

Besides giving the game some stunning HD 2D visuals, the remake also adds the Monster Wrangler class. Basically, it's the best version of Dragon Quest 3 currently out there. But, something to keep in mind, I agree with our Games Editor's opinion about this title not being super welcoming to newbies of the franchise. The gameplay is still very much old JRPG coded in the fact that it's slower-paced, and battles will pop up constantly. Things can get time-consuming and perhaps a bit frustrating to newer JRPG fans who expect less invasive encounters in general. However, if you are a retro lover and want something nostalgic, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D will be right up your street.

1. Dragon Quest 11 S – Definitive Edition

Our near-perfect Dragon Quest 11 S – Definitive Edition review calls the game "today's quintessential JRPG", so yeah, in terms of the best entry in the series out right now, this is it, folks. In this stand-alone story, you follow the journey of a young hero of light who is basically framed to be a Dark Spawn and has to save the world from an ancient evil, too…no pressure. The story is straightforward, but what really makes it stand out is how expertly paced it is, as well as how well-written all the characters are.

Its simplicity is what makes it one of the best turn-based RPGs ever made, as all the systems in Dragon Quest 11 S are focused and perform incredibly well. World-building here is also a treat, as you'll often discover side-narratives as you progress the main quest. These bring life to areas and also offer enough diversity in the game that time will fly by without you even realising it while playing. This is a masterpiece for both Dragon Quest veterans and newbies alike.

Best Dragon Quest games FAQs

A Dragon Quest lead says that he doesn't think the series necessarily always has to take the form of a turn-based RPG.

Speaking to Game Informer, Masato Yagi, director on Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined and Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition explains: "People may feel differently about this, but personally, I don't believe that a Dragon Quest title must always feature turn-based combat."

Instead, he says, "What matters is the underlying theme of the game and selecting the most accessible system that best brings that theme to life, so turn-based combat isn't necessarily a requirement."

As for the state turn-based RPGs are in now as a genre, Yagi says "I would say that the biggest innovation of the last decade has been the increase in turn-based games within the indie scene." He adds, "Creators from various countries and generations have revisited the turn-based genre they grew up with, exploring new approaches to presentation, systems, pacing, and storytelling. I believe this has led to the emergence of unique and diverse titles."

Of course, to see where giving up on turn-based combat gets you, you just need to look across the halls at Square Enix at Final Fantasy. While the latest games have received critical acclaim from both fans and critics, and even while games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake try and split the difference between real-time and turn-based combat, there is a loud section of the fanbase who are clamoring for the series to return to its turn-based roots – especially in the wake of games like Persona 5 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 introducing more players to the genre in recent years.

Although I'm unconvinced Dragon Quest 12 is a game that actually exists yet, this does make me wonder what that game is going to look like – especially with the darker tone. I'd argue Dragon Quest moving away from turn-based combat would be far more shocking than when Final Fantasy did it.

As Dragon Quest 12 continues to slumber, series creator Yuji Horii reveals a 40th anniversary stream with news about the "next game."

Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate has been suspiciously missing since its announcement nearly five years ago, but series creator and JRPG icon Yuji Horii just revealed that an upcoming livestream celebrating Dragon Quest's 40th anniversary will include news for whatever the "next game" in the series is.

A Dragon Quest livestream is apparently set to debut on May 27 - in only a few weeks time - in celebration of four decades since the first slime-squishing fantasy game, Horii announced in the newest episode of the KosoKoso podcast, with quotes translated by Gematsu.

"We'll be doing a livestream on May 27," the long-time series steward said. "I think we'll be able to make an announcement about the next game." Horii then noted Square Enix will apparently "have various other things" to show off in the stream "besides the next game."

Square Enix itself hasn't formally announced anything for the series' mega-milestone, but the publisher did hold a similar 35th anniversary stream back in 2021. As Gematsu notes, that's where the company lifted the lid on Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D, various spin-off projects, an update for MMO Dragon Quest 10, and, of course, Dragon Quest 12.

Dragon Quest 12 is the only project from that stream which still hasn't seen the light of day amid behind-the-scenes corporate shake-ups, despite Horii promising he's "working really hard" on the sequel. What better time to re-debut than now, eh?

Square Enix has been dusting off several older games in the series, as well, from HD-2D remakes of the first three games to a more cartoony take on Dragon Quest 7. Producer Masaaki Hayasaka told us that more remakes are definitely possible if the response to the HD-2D games was good. Alas, they were, so I wouldn't be too shocked to see another classic Dragon Quest get the same treatment, either. We'll see what happens at the end of the month.

Dragon Quest creator believes AI can make JRPG characters "feel even more human" and "listen to people's concerns with empathy," hopes to add it to "other series too"

Square Enix is working with Google on a chatbot themed around the Dragon Quest series that'll deploy as a feature in the tenth mainline installment, and the JRPG franchise's creator is optimistic about the possibilities of AI altogether.

Yuji Horii, father and longtime developer of the Dragon Quest games, spoke about the technology during this year's Google Cloud Next conference. As reported by Toyo Keizai, and translated by Automaton, he said AI is "not just a convenient tool, but a friend to each individual player."

The tool in question in this case is called Oshaberi Slimey, or Chatty Slimey, and will apparently be a supportive presence to you in the MMORPG Dragon Quest 10. The notion is it'll be like a built-in guide players can use to bounce whatever's on their mind while playing.

"With regular AI, people can feel embarrassed about treating it like a friend, but if it’s a game character, the barrier is lower, and people may find it easier to talk to about various topics," Horii explains.

"I think it’s wonderful that [Slimey] can also listen to people’s concerns with empathy and even talk about things unrelated to the game itself," he continues. "I’d like to explore ways for AI characters to accompany players as supporting companions while they play, which could then expand into other series too."

Being honest, this would be something I turn off as soon as I'm able, not only because of my dislike of chatbots, but because it sounds like it might be intrusive and a little creepy? Although it'll apparently wait for your prompt, will it be monitoring how I play and making suggestions? Gemini Live integration will allow for voice chat too. And last I checked, language pattern recognition wasn't capable of empathy. It almost seems like a more intricate Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and we all know the general feelings on them.

"AI characters could become an entry point that teaches beginners how to play, and even after leaving the game, players might come to consider them as friends," Horii concludes. There's no release date yet, but the bot is in beta at the moment.

Former Dragon Quest director says JRPG icon Yuji Horii taught him the series is "not about the storyline, the experience is what matters"

A former Dragon Quest director says series creator and genre icon Yuji Horii always emphasized that the JRPG series is more about the experience and should be less concerned with the actual story.

Jin Fujisawa had a nearly two decade tenure at publisher Square Enix where he served as the series' scenario writer and directed both Dragon Quest 9 and Dragon Quest 10. And during that time, he of course worked closely with the man who first created the legendary series, Yuji Horii.

In an interview with The Change, with quotes translated by Automaton, Fujisawa recalls one of the lessons that Horii "drilled" into him over the years: "Dragon Quest isn't about the scenario." It might be an odd lesson to teach someone whose whole job is creating stories in a franchise that's often incredibly focused on its cast of characters, but Horii came at it from a player-first approach.

Fujisawa goes on to remember how "Horii-san would say, 'It's not about the storyline, the experience is what matters. You start by thinking about what kind of experience you want the player to go through.'" The former series lead then points to Dragon Quest 5's focus on giving players a choice of who to marry. "It's precisely because the core of that event is the powerful experience of earnestly choosing a marriage partner that a unique story emerges for each player," he says

Speaking of the series creator further, he adds that Horii "is someone who wants to create things no one's ever seen before, things that subvert expectations and make people go, 'Wait, what? That’s possible?' When you're young, it's easy to get caught up in wanting to make people cry, but moving people through surprise is far more difficult. And when people are emotionally stirred by surprise, that's when they truly feel happiness."

As for what's next, Dragon Quest 12 has been missing in action for years at this point. Horii did say the upcoming game would hopefully be a fitting tribute for two developers who had sadly died. We also know Square Enix shook up the behind-the-scenes leadership of Dragon Quest, back in 2024, which may have pushed back some plans.

Dragon Quest creator wants to "oversee everything" in the legendary JRPG series until he dies: "I think the next goal for me is to witness the 50th Anniversary [2036]"

By the sword of Erdrick! Dragon Quest is 40 years old this year. To celebrate the JRPG's anniversary, Square Enix is releasing six new figures in its Metallic Monsters Gallery line, with pre-orders open at Square Enix's Japanese store ahead of the July 17 release date. There's just one problem, though. That webstore doesn't ship to the US.

If you're trying to get your hands on these new gold Dragon Quest figures, you'll be waiting to see how third party stores handle pricing, shipping, and tariffs. If you're new to the collection, though, there's a whole army of Metallic Monsters waiting a little closer to home.

This range of (you guessed it) metallic coated Dragon Quest models has been receiving regular updates for a couple of years now. There's a dedicated band of collectors out there grabbing each of these replicas, and some are more rare than others. However, Square Enix's official Amazon storefront has a whole bunch of starter figures to get you on your path to complete the Dragonlord's horde.

New 40th Anniversary Dragon Quest Metallic Monsters Gallery figures

The latest line of Dragon Quest Metallic Monsters Gallery figures comes in shiny gold, re-coloring everything from slimes to the Dragonlord himself in a brassy finish with just a few dabs of color.

The 40th Anniversary collection includes Slime, King Slime, Liquid Metal, Dragon, Dragonlord and True Dragonlord, with extra drops spanning magical items like Erdrick's armor and weapons. Prices start at 2,530 yen (approx $16) and run all the way up to 9,900 yen ($63).

Dragon Quest Metallic Monster Gallery starter kit

New to these figures? Square Enix also has an official storefront at Amazon, which is where you'll find a whole bunch of previous releases. It's worth keeping an eye on this page should the 40th Anniversary collection make its way over the ocean.

Check out the best Legend of Zelda merch and best Pokemon merch for more accessories.

Square Enix has announced a Google collaboration to bring an original companion character named Oshaberi Slimey to its Japan-exclusive MMO Dragon Quest 10. Slimy is powered by the Gemini AI model, and some fans of the Dragon Quest games are already plotting to kill him.

Anime News Network shares from Japanese news sources, including 4gamer, that, at a recent press briefing, Square Enix and Google Cloud shared their intentions to pursue "living games." The companies define the concept as games where generative AI is crucial to all parts of production – including in player-facing features like the chatbot Oshaberi Slimey.

The slime represents Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii's old dream to include an AI-powered friend in one of his games, because he thinks things like, "It would be fun to investigate a murder case while interacting with AI."

Meanwhile, Dragon Quest fans think things like, "We don't need AI slop!," as one Twitter reaction with nearly 500 likes says, or "hopefully i can kill slimey in game."

"Can't localize it but can put AI bullshit in it," says another popular Twitter comment about Dragon Quest 10.

In summary, "Japan can keep DQ10 after all I guess," as one would-be fan says. "No thanks."

English-language Japanese news update account Genki explains in an original translation that Oshaberi Slimey will react to players on-screen information by doing things like providing hints, commenting on boss fight wins, or recognizing outfit changes using AI-generated speech. But all of those abilities only make Slimey more despicable to those disappointed by Square Enix's seemingly limitless commitment to AI.

"The corporate love for AI needs to die," a Dragon Quest fan concludes. "Consumers don't want this rubbish polluting what we love."

"Square Enix, hire us, I'm not joking," says team of Final Fantasy modders who gave Final Fantasy 7 new voice acting and audio, because "we must fix" the JRPG's busted new PC version.

Localization is a tricky process. You've got humor, tone, and social dynamics to contend with amid the surface translation. JRPG legend Yuji Horii, creator of and continuous lead developer on the Dragon Quest series, believes something is often lost when games transition from Japanese to English.

He spoke about it to Famitsu, as translated by Automaton. "When it comes to English, the flavor tends to get lost in many ways," he states. "Things inevitably end up sounding simplistic." Making games since the early '80s, and having designed, directed or contributed to almost every entry in the Dragon Quest franchise, he's made his peace with how the writing fluctuates across regions.

"I’ve come to accept that English is a simple language, so there’s no helping it," he adds. Though this comes across a touch skeptical, cynical even, I can understand why his feelings aren't wholly positive. The Dragon Quest games have a mixed history when it comes to their releases for English-speaking territories.

The games were re-titled to Dragon Warrior when put out by Nintendo in the US, and underwent a number of changes between coming out in Japan and elsewhere. Various teams across Nintendo, Enix and Square Enix have taken different approaches to translating the JRPGs, the British-English MO of Dragon Quest 8 becoming a standard-bearer for the modern era.

There isn't a huge amount of consistency, and fan-translations of the older entries tend to be preferred by fans because they more readily capture the intended feel of what Horii and his fellow devs were going for. The quality has increased, as the last installment, Dragon Quest 11, is celebrated for how good the localization is.

Meanwhile, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake provided a redux of those classics with renewed attention from translators. But Horii can probably remember when his games didn't get such treatment. Maybe someone should show him how fans have translated the first few releases.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined convinces Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi to do the unthinkable and drop FF14, at least for now: "Somehow I eventually cracked"

Hironobu Sakaguchi, the legendary JRPG director behind all of your favorite games in the genre like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Vagrant Story, says he has dived into the latest Dragon Quest entry, explaining that his username 'Auuo' started as his in-game name in the first game of the series.

Posting to Twitter, Sakaguchi shares a screenshot of his Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined character, claiming that he "cracked" less than two weeks after the remake's release. As translated by GamesRadar+, he writes, "Somehow I eventually cracked lol. Coincidentally, the in-game name that I always use, 'Auuo,' was made for Dragon Quest 1."

'JRPG veteran plays new JRPG' might not seem like a headline, but you need to understand the deep, dark corners of Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy 14 obsession. He has previously revealed that he plays the MMO so much he is scolded by colleagues, and they've even had to resort to DMing him in-game when he misses a meeting.

He posts about his adventures almost daily, which isn't surprising given that he calls it "the game that I've played the most in my life" suggesting he often spends 12-hour days in the fantasy world. The fact that Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined has the power to drag Sakaguchi away from his beloved suggests that it's something quite spectacular.

I don't think his Final Fantasy 14 hiatus will last for long, but we hope he enjoys some time off his endless grind.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined "isn't meant to supplement or improve upon" previous versions of the classic JRPG, but simply to "represent" the game "for today"

There's been a lot of buzz both negative and positive about Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined's diorama-style art and doll character designs since they were revealed, especially since the recent Dragon Quest 1-3 HD remakes opted for a more traditional pixel art aesthetic. Whether you're a fan of the doll vibes or not, one thing's for certain: the art style stays very faithful to the original designs drawn up by the late Japanese mangaka and Dragon Quest series artist Akira Toriyama.

We recently caught up with Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa via email, and we couldn't help but ask him what it was like adapting Toriyama's iconic character designs in such a distinctive style.

"The original Dragon Quest 7 was defined by Akira Toriyama's designs, featuring charming, stylized characters," said Ichikawa. "We considered how to convey that cuteness while still capturing the game's unique atmosphere."

For my money, they nailed this aspect of the game. My overall feelings on Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined (too easy) aside, I absolutely love the way the remake manages to modernize Toriyama's designs without compromising whatever it is that makes them so uniquely Toriyama.

In terms of what drove Square Enix to go with the doll-like look to begin with, Ichikawa said Square Enix had seen a similar visual style in successful movies and games and simply wanted to try it out.

"At the same time, we discovered that movies and games featuring doll motifs were well-received globally, which inspired us to combine this concept with Dragon Quest 7's character designs," he said. "We felt this approach would create a visually appealing style, leading to our decision to move forward with the hand-crafted aesthetic."

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined "isn't meant to supplement or improve upon" previous versions of the classic JRPG, but simply to "represent" the game "for today"

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is, as the name implies, a reimagining of the PS1 original, and one that takes some big liberties with the source material. It seems Square Enix doesn't view the remake as a replacement for its aged predecessor, but rather more of a companion piece aimed at a new generation of players.

"Past iterations of DQVII represent the DQVII of that time," Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa tells me in an email interview. "This new installment isn't meant to supplement or improve upon them, but simply to represent DQVII for today. I'd be happy if those who can compare this experience with past ones enjoy doing so, and for newcomers, I believe this game will define what becomes their very own DQVII experience."

Honestly, I'm a bit relieved that this is the developer's stance. We've heard stories of some developers looking at remakes as total replacements for older games – hello, Capcom and Resident Evil – and I feel like that's a fundamental misunderstanding of the value of a remake. You shouldn't be trying to render the old game obsolete, but rather complement it with a new interpretation.

The new interpretation provided by Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined didn't entirely work for me, as I think its overly friendly guideposts and generous healing options offer a lesser experience than the rough-hewn charm of the original PS1 game. But equally, I've found it fun playing the two games side-by-side and seeing how each version interprets the same events and locations.

In Ichikawa's view, each installment in Dragon Quest's 40-year history, "possesses its own timeless charm that’s independent of the era." As we continue to see more and more remakes of classic entries in the venerable JRPG franchise, Ichikawa says "I consider those compelling elements from the original games to be especially crucial in remake projects."

Without Dragon Quest itself or its influence, we'd never have the best JRPGs of all time.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is enjoying series-high player numbers and great reviews on Steam, but there's one game keeping it from being the franchise's biggest launch on the platform: Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D, which is still ahead by a wide margin.

Specifically, we're talking about Steam's tracking of peak concurrent players. Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined has managed an all-time peak player count of 27,390 as of yesterday - likely to be its highest peak as it happened the weekend after launch - while Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D's peak from its November 2024 launch is 45,357, quite the jump from 7 Reimagined.

As noted by the folks on ResetEra, both of these numbers are significantly higher than other games in the Dragon Quest series, with those entries ranking as follows:

• Dragon Quest I & I HD-2D Remake : 15,608
• Dragon Quest XI OG : 11,793
• Dragon Quest X Offline : 3,538
• Dragon Quest Monsters : 2,987

Not that anyone asked, but I do think Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D deserves its number one spot as a fantastic remake and entry to the series, although OG Dragon Quest 11 deserves way more respect. I would argue it's an equally worthwhile entry point to the series with the franchise's best storytelling to date, but I'm admittedly biased as it was the first Dragon Quest game I played.

As for Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, I'm glad people are enjoying it and it's by no means a bad game, but I'm largely in agreement with GR's Dustin Bailey that the myriad changes Square Enix made to the original game result in a much more approachable, but ultimately less satisfying, JRPG. It's very much worth playing, but for my money it lacks a lot of the identity that makes Dragon Quest such a uniquely rewarding, although often punishing series.

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says Final Fantasy protagonists "speak a lot," forming a "key difference" between the two iconic JRPG series: "You're not necessarily becoming the protagonist."

Ask any writer who's used both British English and American English, and we can list a multitude of differences between them. They're the same language, but with lots of contrast in execution. Long-time video game translator Richard Honeywood opened a can of slimes by opting for the British end of the spectrum when translating Dragon Quest 8, to stand-out from the distinctly more American Final Fantasy localizations, and the developers weren't happy about the change.

"I knew we needed to be careful because sometimes we're going to have references across games, and we need to keep the names consistent," he explains to Time Extension. "I needed to solve those types of issues. Because it was a comical, lighthearted fantasy, I really wanted to use British humor, which didn't fly with the American office; they couldn't understand it, and they really hated it."

To him, Final Fantasy was "basically cyberpunk" in English-speaking territories, and that leaned quite naturally into the US approach. Dragon Quest had "more traditional fantasy" elements, and there was a "faux-Shakespeare feel," despite the American localization, that he could lean into. The cynicism was real.

Yutaka Sano, then-localization manager at Square Enix, believed it'd alienate players in the US, and compromised by saying they could only use two out of punctuation, spelling, and phrasing, with the third being kept American. "Which is like the dumbest rule ever; it's either British or it's not," Honeywood remembers.

He mentions Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime as an example, where the punctuation and phrasing were British, but the spelling was more ambiguous, avoiding words with regional alterations. This all led to a greater presence of experts in British English among Honeywood's staff, but a mandate required one voice on the American English side.

Matt Alt, who'd worked on Dragon Quest 7, became the squad's US representative. "He was our barometer, such as in the case of Cash and Carrie, who are in a town called Baccarat," Honeywood recalls.

"These were two characters who we characterized as very in-your-face Americans, basically British people taking the mickey out of Americans. Matt thought it was hilarious, and he actually helped us turn those Americanisms up to 11."

Dragon Quest visionary Yuji Horii is getting his own RPG-style manga detailing his journey to creating the iconic JRPG series

A funny thing happened to me in the weeks I've spent playing Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined: I fell in love with its 25-year-old PS1 predecessor instead. Playing both versions side-by-side, it's clear that the remake does a brilliant job of sanding off the original's rough edges, speeding up the grind and making sure you're always pointed at your next objective. But it's the very orneryness of the old game that I've come to find so delightful about this piece of the Dragon Quest canon.

I'm an avid collector of retro games, so when the opportunity to play an advance copy of Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined came my way, I figured this would be a perfect excuse to spend entirely too much money on eBay for a copy of the PS1 original. I'd be able to make some direct comparisons between the two versions, and would have a fresh copy of a classic JRPG to display on my shelf. But as I put more and more hours into both versions, I've found myself sticking with Reimagined largely because I have an assignment to write about it. The original is the one I keep wanting to return to.

On its original release at the turn of the century, Dragon Quest 7 – or Dragon Warrior 7, as it was known in the US – was already something of a throwback. Back then, it looked downright primitive against the visually spectacular Final Fantasy games on PS1, never mind the downright astonishing looks that Final Fantasy 10 would soon provide on PS2. Similarly, its combat is perfectly old-school, fully turn-based stuff, as true to the random battle spirit of the grandaddy of JRPGs as any Dragon Quest sequel.

Today, its combination of 2D sprites and 3D backgrounds is positively charming, looking almost like a prototypical version of the HD-2D art style that Square Enix returns to so regularly in the modern era (in fact, our Managing Editor Rollin Bishop found the Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD Remake a great jumping on point at the end of last year). The battles are a warm blanket, one I find pairs best with a sip of coffee on a Sunday morning as I slowly build up my party's power to endure the length of the next dungeon.

Adventure time

What gives Dragon Quest 7 its unique flavor is its structure. The largely episodic story sees you visiting an array of troubled realms in the ancient past, solving their problems, and returning to see how things have changed in the present. Along the way, you collect fragments of stone tablets that combine to open up the portal to the next location. Each section is pretty self-contained, usually featuring a single village, dungeon, and major boss, offering a mini-adventure you can complete in a handful of hours.

There's an emphasis on light puzzle-solving, as well. In one instance, you find yourself in a town full of people who've been turned to stone, and reliving the memories of the petrified villagers gives you a clue on where to find a secret entrance to a cavern you need to enter to progress the story. There's a lot of dialogue, and a fair bit of running back and forth between NPCs, looking for the chain of events that'll push the plot forward. As a long-time lover of dialogue-heavy point-and-click adventure games, it's a big part of why I've come to enjoy Dragon Quest 7 so much, but it's also a big part of why the game has such a reputation for tedium among those who prefer their RPGs crunchier.

What, then, does Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined bring to the table? No more random battles, for one thing. That's a change that was first introduced in the now-decade-old 3DS remake (a version I've also played a bit of, but one I won't spill much ink on here so as to avoid getting bogged down in the minutiae of three-way comparisons), but the new version goes a step further by introducing a Persona-style early attack option. Make a trivially easy strike on an enemy on the field, and you'll do a little extra damage to them heading into battle. Weaker enemies will be killed outright by an advanced strike, awarding you a little less gold and experience as you bypass combat entirely. That's a nice change to speed up exploration, and getting to instantly take out monsters you previously had to battle does a nice job of making you feel powerful as you level up.

Then there are the objective markers – big, colorful exclamation points hovering over wherever you're meant to go next. This is where my frustration with Reimagined starts to emerge. None of the puzzles in the original are particularly taxing, but following the breadcrumb trail of NPC dialog to your ultimate objective offers a gentle sense of satisfaction. In the remake, the steps are the same – talk to a handful of characters in a particular order to push things forward – but the added convenience of the quest markers ironically ends up just making the process feel more tedious. It's as if the game is constantly saying, "This part's not important. Do you want to just skip ahead?"

Dungeons and dragging on

In any classic-style JRPG, the core challenge isn't found in any one particular battle. The thrill is in completing each encounter while exploring a dungeon with a dwindling pool of resources. Do I use my offensive spells now to end these basic fights fast or conserve my MP for the boss? Will my strategy survive if there's another floor before the end? Do I need to pull out now and heal up before rather than risk a total party wipe and a game over screen?

In the original Dragon Quest 7, leveling up doesn't restore your resources. In Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, you level up more frequently and every level fully replenishes that character's HP and MP. In the original, you can only save when you speak to priests located in castles and villages. In Reimagined, there are new save points located at the entrance to every dungeon and before every boss. In the original, you can only fully restore your party's MP by paying for an inn. In Reimagined, you can get all your HP and MP back for free at each of the newly introduced save points.

You can see how this would change the vibe of dungeon-diving in Reimagined. Dungeons are no longer hard-won battles of attrition. Instead, they’re hallways full of monster piñatas popping out XP and treasure as you rush to the boss. The generous, healing save points have resulted in more challenging boss encounters with more strategic depth, but that comes with the unfortunate side effect of making every other aspect of the dungeons – you know, the whole 'dungeon' part – feel superfluous.

At this point, it might be starting to sound like I hate Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, but that's not the case. It has a delightful visual style, its goofy voice acting is undeniably charming, and the heart of the gameplay systems that have driven Dragon Quest for decades still beats strong. Yet I can't help but feel that its focus on convenience, expediency, and avoidance of frustration have cut away at what makes this particular entry in the series memorable.

Dragon Quest 7, in its original form, is notoriously slow-paced, even by the standards of PS1 JRPGs. But there's a reason this is often seen as the genre's golden era. These were big, epic adventures that lasted for dozens (and dozens, and dozens) of hours, ones that paid back that time investment with intricate worlds and characters you can grow to love.

There's a long-running joke about long JRPGs, with how many of them take 30 or more hours to "get to the good part." And with the mountains of excellent games to play in the modern era, I won't begrudge anyone for wanting to cut down fluff. But sometimes, the best part comes when you've put in the hours truly exploring and growing to understand a game's inner workings, even if at times it seems like it's trying to push you away.

That's the experience I've gotten from the original Dragon Quest 7 – a mountain of a game where I've got to constantly prepare myself for the challenge of the climb. To stretch that metaphor out, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is a paved hiking path with rest benches and water stations positioned every few feet.

There's still a charm to a breezy JRPG where you can sit back, mostly turn your brain off, and wind your way through a lighthearted story. But playing the original Dragon Quest 7 and Reimagined side-by-side, the new version feels less like a remake – one that preserves the spirit of its predecessor – than a set of CliffsNotes for a much deeper and more engaging game. On paper, every single change made to Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is an objective improvement, but those changes sum up to a lesser game than that aging PS1 title.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined was played on PS5, with a code provided by the publisher.

Looking for more adventure? Our best JRPGs ranking has more for you!

JRPG visionary and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii is receiving one of the highest honors that can befall a video game developer: he's getting his own manga chronicling his life and career.

Per Automaton, Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii: New Educational Manga Biography (Automaton's translation) releases on February 24. Being published by Shogakukan, the manga will reportedly explore Horii's life from his early days living on Awaji Island in Japan all the way to his current position as CEO of Armor Project, which co-owns the Dragon Quest IP with Square Enix.

My favorite part of all of this is that the Yuji Horii manga will have RPG elements reflecting the veteran designer's philosophy that "life is an RPG." As such, it'll show Horii "encountering companions who become his greatest strengths," "making choices at life’s crossroads," and "facing various hardships."

My least favorite part of this is that it doesn't seem like the manga will be getting an English translation, at least not at release. That said, if you can read Japanese, you'll soon be able to embark on a visual adventure of Horii's life with the 160-page manga, whose creation was supervised by Horii himself.

While these days his name is synonymous with Dragon Quest, Horii also supervised and wrote the story for Chrono Trigger, itself one of the best JRPGs of all time. At 72, he's still leading the Dragon Quest series as supervisor and director, including for the upcoming - although conspicuously quiet - Dragon Quest 12, announced in 2021. The last we heard from Horii on that was in May 2025 when he said the team was still "putting lots of work" into it and that it'll "be great."

Final Fantasy producer and Dragon Quest creator are both on board with Square Enix's multiplatform push: "You can achieve the best quality no matter the platform you choose"

Square Enix has been slowly putting an end to its exclusivity deals for a while now, and both Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii are fans of the publisher's multiplatform push.

In a chat between the two genre giants, published on Famitsu and translated by GamesRadar+, both say all they care about as creatives is that more people get the chance to experience their work, and developing for multiple platforms isn't as tricky as it used to be back when there were more dramatic technical differences between consoles.

"For me as a creator, I would like as many people as possible to play, so being able to go multiplatform is greatly appreciated," Horii says. "It was difficult in the era of 'I can't play this game on this console'. Also global release dates have become the norm, although it's difficult to make things this way. There's lots of issues, like doing the English (and other language) translations, and voice acting at the same time."

Kitase goes on to suggest multiplatform development "used to come with high barriers" that aren't so insurmountable anymore. "The feeling was that in order to get the best graphics or polish, you'd have to push the hardware to its limit," he explains. "These days hardware specs are improving, so you can achieve the best quality no matter the platform you choose or design for."

He also calls the rise of handheld gaming "a huge boon" in terms of "reaching a wider audience" who can't always play in their living rooms. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's new Switch 2 port is definitely a good example of a lavish game that can launch on multiple devices without severe compromise, for example.

"Now that we can do anything, it's [a question of] time and money," Horii notes. "If you try to do everything you'll never get it finished. We made Dragon Quest for the Famicom with just 10 people. It took about three months. Now that we have several hundred members of staff, it takes time." Kitase agrees, but ultimately thinks "the motivation to allow as many people as possible to play is higher than the development hurdles."

Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined comes PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch (all consoles, look at that) on February 5.

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says Final Fantasy protagonists "speak a lot," forming a "key difference" between the two iconic JRPG series: "You're not necessarily becoming the protagonist"

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is finally here, and I have some sage wisdom for newcomers that I was reminded of thanks to recent comments from producer Takeshi Ichikawa.

In a recent Reddit AMA, Ichikawa was asked what his favorite job is from the newly overhauled vocation system, which lets any party member "moonlight" as two vocations at once, and he fell back on a tried-and-true essential: the cleric, or priest as it's more commonly localized these days.

"I'm not particularly skilled at RPGs, so I often put a Cleric in my party," he said. "With their job traits, they can heal the whole team, so they really help support the party in tough moments."

I think what's happening here is that Ichikawa is very humbly offering new players some extremely useful advice: magic healers are always good to have on hand in any RPG, really, but in Dragon Quest it's your fastest track to learning Zing, a crucial revival spell that'll save you from having to waste rare Yggdrasil leaves or spend time finding a church to revive party members. And that's not even mentioning their healing spells, which indeed, can heal entire parties at once and can really come in handy in the early-to-mid game grind.

As for director Masato Yagi, his preferred vocation is martial artist. "Their defense isn't very high, but landing a single decisive blow to turn the tables. Maybe that kind of fighting style just appeals to me," said Yagi.

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says Final Fantasy protagonists "speak a lot," forming a "key difference" between the two iconic JRPG series: "You're not necessarily becoming the protagonist."

Dragon Quest 7 may be 26 years old this year, but Square Enix is asking that you avoid posting spoilers for the upcoming JRPG remake.

Square Enix isn't a fan of spoilers, especially when it comes to Dragon Quest it seems. Last year's remakes of 38-year-old NES JRPGs Dragon Quest 1 and 2 had a no spoilers request, and turns out the company doesn't want players to be too chatty about the remake of 2000's Dragon Quest 7, either.

The publisher has shared video, streaming, and image guidelines for Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined on its website (spotted by Automaton). The post includes typical guidelines such as asking players to add notices to footage that mention all of the copyright material for the game, crediting Armor Project, Bird Studio, and Square Enix. However, it has also requested some more specific details be omitted.

Square Enix's guidelines state that players are not permitted to post cutscene compilations or reproducing screenshots into books, but when it comes to the game itself, the publisher asks, "No spoilers please. In order not to spoil other players' enjoyment, you must mark all content that includes details of major plot developments with a clear spoiler warning." It adds: "Please refrain from live streaming or posting videos/images of gameplay after the boss battle in the Malign Shrine: Throne Room until February 5 2026."

And if you chose to ignore this, or any of the other restrictions, Square Enix says it may end up banning you from using Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, warning: "If you do not adhere to these Guidelines, Square Enix may, in addition to objecting to your use of the Materials, temporarily or permanently suspend you from using the Game."

Of course, as funny as it is to say 'no spoilers of a 26-year-old game,' Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is set to change the game up somewhat significantly. Square Enix has already shown off new content starring Kiefer, and confirmed that the game has been cut down, with some stories that were irrelevant to the main storyline being cut entirely.

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says Final Fantasy protagonists "speak a lot," forming a "key difference" between the two iconic JRPG series: "You're not necessarily becoming the protagonist."

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii has explained what he saw as the main difference between his series and Final Fantasy when it debuted.

While Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest share a home now under Square Enix, the duo used to be the two biggest rivals on the JRPG block, although from what I gather, it was never quite as fierce as the platformer wars of the era. And while Dragon Quest was never quite as popular outside of Japan as Final Fantasy was (the UK never even got an entry until Dragon Quest 8), both were such powerhouses of the genre that most of the JRPGs that have come since owe at least something to them.

Speaking to Gameinformer, Horii explains, "Way back then, when Final Fantasy originally came out, I was definitely paying attention to it because it was something we needed to look out for." Dragon Quest and its sequel were both out by the time Final Fantasy debuted in late 1987, so the series had had a bit more time to carve out its identity. Horii adds, "There's one key difference that I really saw back then: the protagonists in the Final Fantasy titles, they speak a lot."

He explains that the goal for Dragon Quest was that "the experience it offers for the player, is that the player becomes the protagonist themselves." whereas "In Final Fantasy, you kind of observe the protagonist, but you're not necessarily becoming the protagonist in the games."

And while it's easy to pit the two RPG giants against each other, Horii adds that, "I thought that was a really interesting and stark difference between Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but I didn't necessarily see them as a rival back then."

Bless him, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii says "warmth" and "accessibility" are key to the almost-40-year-old JRPG series' enduring success

Yuji Horii, creator of the Dragon Quest series, believes that the games' long-running success is thanks to its "warmth" and "accessibility." Further, the producer of the Dragon Quest 7 remake, Takeshi Ichikawa, believes that entries need "Horii-esque elements" in order to succeed.

Dragon Quest turns 40 next year, making it one of the longest-running video game series in the world. Originally launching in Japan in 1986, it later became a global success after proving itself on its home turf. You know Dragon Quest has reached unimaginable levels of popularity when Square Enix changes the series' release days to Saturdays so that children won't stay home from school to play.

Speaking to Game Informer, Horii claims that his series' secret sauce was how it opened gaming up to more people. "The key concept that I really try to prioritize, or keep important to me, for Dragon Quest is that, you know, older computer games didn't really have a sense of warmth," Horii says. "But [warmth] was something that I really wanted to bring for the Dragon Quest titles. That, and accessibility for the players… I think [warmth and accessibility] are pretty important in terms of what makes Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest."

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined will launch in February 2026, but more than 25 years after the original's release, a whole new group of developers is at the helm. Luckily, Ichikawa agrees with Horii's assessment and believes the key to its success lies in the "Horii-esque elements."

"I think all the RPG elements the series has to offer are the biggest strength of the Dragon Quest series, and I like to call it part of the Horii-esque elements," he says. "All the humor, the jokes in the narrative, the dialogue, and the expressions and the portrayals; It's just so adorable at times, and when you look at the story, it's an epic story but also somehow feels relevant to you at the time."

At 100+ hours, Dragon Quest 7 is an enormous JRPG, so in the Reimagined remake "a few of the stories which weren't 100% relevant to the main storyline have just been cut entirely."

In an attempt to make Dragon Quest 7 less bloated, remake producer Takeshi Ichikawa says the team has cut out some of the game's storylines entirely for Reimagined.

Dragon Quest 7 is a strange game in the canon of the series. It does have its fans, but it's very likely that it's the game in the series that most players have abandoned before finishing, because it's simply so long. HowLongToBeat reckons it'll take someone 78 hours to simply mainline the 3DS version, which is already longer than the "Main + Extra" for the second-longest to mainline: Dragon Quest 8. The original PS1 version is even longer, with an estimated 108-hour main story, and those figures don't scratch the surface for anyone who wants to complete everything the JRPG has to offer.

This is partly due to the game being a collection of storylines that take the party all over the world. Square Enix has already confirmed that the game will be getting new scenarios on top of that in the upcoming remake Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, with the recent State of Play showing off new content starring Kiefer.

However it's also been confirmed that the game will be streamlined somewhat, with it being confirmed that "the amount of time it takes to get to the first battle in the game is much shorter." Speaking to GamesRadar+ in a new interview, producer Takeshi Ichikawa explains: "Some of the [stories] have now been made optional, so you can play them in any order you want." And while this cuts down on the critical path, making the average playthrough somewhat shorter.

But even with the choice to make some optional, that wasn't enough for the team, as Ichikawa explains "a few of the stories which weren't 100% relevant to the main storyline have just been cut entirely."

Obviously, the "Reimagined" subtitle gives away that this was never really intended to be a faithful remake to the original 2000 PS1 game, something which 2016's 3DS remake did provide. Ichikawa explains that back in 2000, "people were looking for one single game that they could spend a huge amount of time in… Now, people are looking for something a bit more compact."

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined makes the original JRPG's choices actually matter with a brand new possible ending "that's never been seen before in previous iterations"

Just as players are still gorging on delightful HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest 1, 2, and 3, Square is reheating yet another Yuji Hori-helmed classic. Meet Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined. Swapping NES era pixel art for PS1 polygons, Reimagined is part lavish remake, part Director's Cut, trimming the fat from this beloved anthology RPG in an attempt to make this classic story more digestible for modern players.

"Back in the year 2000 when the game was first made, there really wasn't as much entertainment around," explains producer Takeshi Ichikawa, "people were looking for one single game that they could spend a huge amount of time in… Now, people are looking for something a bit more compact."

Short story collection

Originally released in 2000, Dragon Quest 7 dropped the series' classic linear narrative to deliver an intriguing omnibus of short stories. Taking your party on a globe-spanning adventure, DQ7 tied together the story of multiple towns across the land of Estard with a collection of deceptively dark tales. "A lot of these short stories are about unfairness…" says Ichikawa, "The darkness of society is reflected in those stories in a way that I think is really quite unique amongst the dragon quest games."

If you're also a Brit, it's pretty likely that you won't have played Dragon Quest 7 at all. With the PS1 release skipping Europe entirely, DQ7 didn't arrive on the continent until 2016's Dragon Quest 7: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, on 3DS. Yet, even on 3DS, Ichikawa believes that very few players saw the story through to its conclusion.

"At 100 hours, even the 3DS game was still a very large game," says Ichikawa. So, for Reimagined, Square is doing a reverse Snyder and cutting all but the most impactful storylines. "Some of the [stories] have now been made optional, so you can play them in any order you want," explains Ichikawa, "and a few of the stories which weren't 100% relevant to the main storyline have just been cut entirely."

While long-time fans may have mixed feelings on some of the nixed stories, for our hour preview session, it's the handsome visuals that make the strongest impression. Almost ten years after the 3DS remake, Square Enix has opted to imbue their lengthy RPG classic with a hefty layer of spit and polish. Swapping the publisher's signature 2D-HD aesthetic for a quasi 3D remake, as adventurers roam the beaches and plains of the island of Estard, they do so from a top down perspective. Part The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on Switch, part PS1-era Final Fantasy, there's a chibi-esque charm oozing throughout Reimagined.

"Even though [every Dragon Quest] uses Mr. Toriyama's unique style, the proportions of the characters for [Dragon Quest] 7 are that much shorter," says Ichikawa. "So, when we started looking for the right art style to fit that slightly more adorable, cute aesthetic we settled on the idea of using these doll-like characters."

As I dive into battle, I immediately see what he means. As the diorama-like town exploration fades, during combat, players command their puppet-styled party of adventurers from a tight-knit over the shoulder perspective. It's an effectively claustrophobic, up close and personal approach to battling, feeling closer to Kratos' recent God Of War entries and Resident Evil 4 than a traditional turn-based RPG.

As your troupe grimace upon receiving damage, their foes are equally wonderfully-animated, with DQ7's beautifully expressive monsters stealing the show. From the little wobbles of the adorably angry hammerhoods to the menacing mouth twitches of the nightmarish mouse/wasp hybrids called, well, mouseflaps – whenever your puppet-esque party dives into battle the eerie world of Dragon Quest comes vividly to life.

"I think the main thing that we really tried to push in the monster design and the visual presentation is that sense of texture," explains Ichikawa, of the battles' toy-like charm. In fact, there's more than a hint of Pixar to these Toy Story-style character models. "The main characters in the game were all made using real dolls, models with real textures on them that were scanned in."

While the characters look cuter than ever, it's during each tense encounter that Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined's darker undercurrent bubbles to the surface. Ichikawa tells me that the team wanted to offer a newly hallucinogenic and unsettling interpretation on Toriyama's creature designs, truly bringing out the twisted facts of each nightmarish creation.

There's a new-found level of dynamism to turn-based battles, too, with Ichikawa explaining that the team were partly inspired by one 2025 GOTY candidate. "I had a lot of fun with [Clair Obscur]," smiles Ichikawa, "it really keeps what makes turn-based games great, but also does it in such a stylish, visually appealing way."

Finding your vocation

Unlike the more purist approach to combat in the recent NES era Dragon Quest remakes, Reimagined adds a few more features in order to keep combat feeling exciting. The biggest change is the new "Moonlighting" system. Characters can now make use of two separate job classes simultaneously, allowing players to get creative by mixing and matching vocations to make exciting combinations of spells and passive abilities.

"I [played Clair Obscur] while we were in the middle of development," Ichikawa continues, "and I felt that the direction that they've gone with Clair Obscur, in terms of the tempo, the pacing of the battles, was very similar to the way that I'd approached trying to improve Dragon Quest 7."

As each battle unfolds, your party builds up energy and they become 'worked up.' When this state is reached, players can select the 'Let Loose' command, activating a unique vocational perk. These perks function as handy mid-battle buffs, ranging from powerful, temporary stat boosts for the entire party to emergency heals when things start looking tough.

In another nod to Mr Toriyama's beloved past, there's also the pleasingly anime-style new "Burst Mechanic." At GamesRadar+, we're big fans of a bit of the ol' razzle dazzle, and burst attacks add plenty of that via screen-filling spectacle. These stunning super attacks allow the new art style to really shine, making merking nearby monsters immensely satisfying as your characters power up in a cathartic collision of carnage and colour.

Still, it's not all something old and something culled with Reimagined. Alongside the cut content, Ichikawa tells me that there will be a smattering of new story content awaiting returning fans, too. All new episodes have been added in a bid to expand certain characters' backstories. While he won't be drawn on which characters will be getting new arcs, the Dragon Quest team hopes that these bonus episodes will help make the key story moments feel even more impactful.

As anyone who's completed its 100 plus hour opus will attest, DQ7 is an immensely text heavy affair, making it a game that cries out for voice acting. In Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, this is only partly implemented, with key story cutscenes brought to life with a myriad of grin-inducing regional UK accents. From a Yorkshire witch in the Northern region of Emberdale groaning about going up 'tut volcano, to the radio 4-worthy southern drawl of the more well to do inhabitants of Wetlock, these cutscenes are a delight, but it's a shame that the NPCs you encounter in the game world only natter away to you in silence.

In an age of infinite distractions, Square Enix is hoping that by trimming down the fat, modern players will finally be compelled to see DQ7's beloved tale through to its dramatic conclusion. If each standalone story arc receives the polish to make it shine – and the new character backstories impress – Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined may well serve as a canny director's cut to a much beloved RPG classic.

Can't wait for adventure? Check out our best JRPGs list for more!

Among the plaudits and game of the year nods Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is sure to receive, here's one blessing developer Sandfall Entertainment should be proud of. Takeshi Ichikawa, executive producer on Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, thoroughly enjoyed the heavily JRPG-inspired game, believing it captures much of what makes the form intriguing.

Ichikawa revealed as much to us during an interview about putting together Reimagined. "I had a lot of fun with [Clair Obscur], it really keeps what makes turn-based games great, but also does it in such a stylish, visually appealing way," he tells GamesRadar+.

As Ichikawa made his way through the expansive French game, he noticed similar lines of thinking, particularly in regards to combat. Clair Obscur may have a turn-based fight system, but it manages to be snappy as well as strategic, putting a modern spin on old school ideas, and this redux of Dragon Quest 7 aims to do similar.

"I [played Clair Obscur] while we were in the middle of development, and I felt that the direction that they've gone with Clair Obscur, in terms of the tempo, the pacing of the battles, was very similar to the way that I'd approached trying to improve Dragon Quest 7," he says.

Living up to the moniker, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is a top-to-bottom rebuild of the original game. Missions have been cut and streamlined, mechanics tinkered with, and the visuals re-done for contemporary standards. This entry is lesser-known within the series, since the original PlayStation game never made it to Europe, and a re-release on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013 found more of a cult audience.

The success of Clair Obscur: Expedition has made it clear there are a lot of JRPG fans out there. After two missed opportunities to truly leave a mark, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is here to teach players a little more about a long-running franchise, and how it's never too late to learn a thing or two from your contemporaries.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined aims to fix one of the only things I don't like about the original JRPG: "The amount of time it takes to get to the first battle in the game is much shorter"

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii plans to continue overseeing the JRPG series until his death.

Horii, now 71, has been closely involved with every mainline Dragon Quest game since the 1986 original, and at this point, he rightfully considers the franchise his baby, telling Game Informer:

"You know, in recent years, there's been increasingly more areas where I rely on other members to work on parts of the Dragon Quest titles. But I would still like to keep myself involved to oversee everything. I do consider Dragon Quest to be my child. I just really love it, and in that sense, I do think I will work on it until I die.

"I think the next goal for me is to witness the 50th Anniversary [2036]."

Horii will be 82 in 2036, so it's entirely possible he'll still be kicking when Dragon Quest celebrates its 50th birthday, which is just a lovely thought. As for staying involved with Dragon Quest, he's definitely well within the typical age for retirement, not just in game development, but in the Japanese and global workforce generally. Still, 2017's Dragon Quest 11 – one of the best JRPGs I've ever played – proved Horii's still very much got that special sauce.

Horii and his company Armor Project, which co-owns the series with Square Enix, are hard at work on Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate, despite meaningful updates being sparse since the game was announced in 2021. Horii has said as recently as this past May that the team is "putting lots of work" into the sequel and that it'll "be great." Hey, it's something.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined aims to fix one of the only things I don't like about the original JRPG: "The amount of time it takes to get to the first battle in the game is much shorter"

Well, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is suddenly even higher on my list of most anticipated games for next year, despite being a remake, as Square Enix has revealed that its notoriously slow start will be remedied somewhat.

I can't think of much that I don't like about the original Dragon Quest 7, but I definitely think there's a correlation between my reluctance to replay it as much as some of my other favorite games, and the absurd length of time it takes to get to the first combat sequence.

Thank the heavens, in an interview with Game Informer, Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa said the gap between the beginning of the game and the first battle has been substantially shortened.

"The amount of time it takes to get to the first battle in the game is much shorter this time around," Ichikawa said, apparently joking alongside GI about the original's slow start.

Since it's been a few years since my last playthrough, I can't remember if it's solely the lack of combat that makes the beginning of Dragon Quest 7 so slow, or if it's a combination of factors, but regardless, Reimagined will be a whole lot more approachable without such a long, action-less intro. And if the HD-2D remakes are any indication, that won't be the only major improvement to the beloved original.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is out February 5 on PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, Switch 2, and Switch.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined takes the original JRPG's bloated story and cuts "subplots that have little or no direct relevance" to the main quest, but also adds "entirely new scenarios"

The new Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake differs from its original '80s editions and joins forces with the automatic battle system that has now been part of the JRPG series for decades. In this case, Square Enix devs have improved on the already smooth auto-battle system and practically turned what's in the Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake into water – though they warn players not to be too impressed with their innovation.

You don't want to get complacent. Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D requires the heroic descendant of Erdrick to face tons of creepy monsters in turn-based combat, and while some of this process falls under the category of typical JRPG grind, the strongest Dragon Quest foes are hoping you'll be distracted so that they can rip you open – according to an interview devs did with Famitsu, translated by Automaton.

"When you want to focus on leveling up, use the auto-battle system," Dragon Quest franchise creator Yuji Horii instructs players, explaining that the feature wasn't added until Dragon Quest 4 in 1990, because he wanted people to feel active in combat.

So, while Square Enix has decided to retrofit Dragon Quest 1 & 2 with a powerful auto-battle system for its Remake, Horii says, "For bosses and tough enemies, it might be better to take control. That might become the standard playstyle of many players."

"Even in minor battles," adds producer Masaaki Hayasaka, "we definitely aim for players to think that they'll be in trouble if they get careless."

As a Dragon Quest noob, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake honestly feels like the perfect introduction.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined adds a new, never-before-seen ending as a possible outcome in addition to the original game's single conclusion, says the remake's producer, Takeshi Ichikawa.

Talking to Game Informer, Ichikawa revealed that even longtime fans of Dragon Quest 7 who've played through the game multiple times will be able to experience a whole new ending, depending on the choices they make throughout the campaign.

"[Reimagined] follows the narrative of the original story, but depending on some of the [...] player choices, players will get to see a new conclusion that's never been seen before in previous iterations," Ichikawa said. "So, even players who have played previous versions of Dragon Quest VII, they'll still get to have this fresh narrative experience with Reimagined."

Although Ichikawa didn't specify which choices specifically will impact the trajectory of the story, it's safe to assume that at least some dialogue choices will have consequences, which is pretty huge for me as a fan of the series who's always wanted to see a little more story agency. It also seems like a big moment for the series generally, which has traditionally offered very linear stories and largely superficial dialogue options.

In terms of endings specifically, Dragon Quest plays around a lot with "true endings" as well as bad and good endings, but Ichikawa suggested your ending will differ based on several different choices, which - unless I'm forgetting something from a spinoff or mobile game or something - would be a series first.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is out February 5 on PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, Switch 2, and Switch.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined takes the original JRPG's bloated story and cuts "subplots that have little or no direct relevance" to the main quest, but also adds "entirely new scenarios"

Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii is being honored with an award from the Japanese government, officially becoming the first game designer to be given it.

As reported by The Japan Times, Horii has been selected to receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. The Order of the Rising Sun was first established all the way back in 1875, and is awarded to individuals for their service to the country in different ways, including the promotion of culture.

In a comment (via FNN, translated by Genki on Twitter), Horii is incredibly humble about the award, crediting both his fellow staff and fans. "It's thanks to all the staff that helped create the games with me, and to all the users who have always supported us," he says.

Despite his modesty, though, this is definitely a big deal. Again, he's the first game designer to have received the award at all, although others involved in the games industry have also been given the honor in the past – specifically, the late Namco founder Masaya Nakamura, and late composer and conductor Koichi Sugiyama, who is coincidentally best known for his work on the Dragon Quest series.

It definitely makes sense that notable individuals behind the Dragon Quest series get some recognition like this. After all, the series led the charge of JRPGs as we know them today – the genre would no doubt be very different had Dragon Quest never existed. And, of course, the series is still going strong – Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake launched just last week, and we've also got Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined to look forward to next February, which should hopefully tide us over until Dragon Quest 12 eventually releases.

Square Enix says no spoilers for the remakes of 38-year-old NES JRPGs Dragon Quest 1 and 2, please – there's a "big surprise" in store.

Square Enix is asking players of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake not to share photos or videos of what happens at the end of the nearly 40-year-old RPGs, or it will have to take them down.

While it's taking forever for Dragon Quest 12 to emerge from its cave, Square Enix is going all in with remakes for the series, starting with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake in 2024. This is followed by Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake releasing this week and Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined arriving in February 2026. But despite Dragon Quest 1 and 2 releasing in 1986 and 1987, Square Enix is treating spoilers as seriously as it would for any other game.

In a post on the Dragon Quest website (via VGC), Square shared its guidelines for streaming and posting images and videos of the game. In the post (via machine translation), one of the guidelines says, "If you are streaming a scene that is closely related to the game's scenario, please voluntarily mark it as 'Contains spoilers' so as not to spoil the enjoyment for those who are about to play the game."

More notably, Square also requests that players "Please refrain from live streaming or posting videos or images of gameplay after the second credits roll of 'Dragon Quest 2' until November 29, 2025," which marks a month after the game releases.

While it may seem somewhat silly to have a spoiler warning for a game from the 80s, Square Enix has been hinting at "numerous" new scenarios" that connect the games to Dragon Quest 3 (which is a prequel to the original duo), and that there's a "new twist" that'll be a "really big surprise" for veteran fans. So presumably the point Square Enix specifically highlights is where this new content resides. Square will presumably remove offending videos, but the company has gone a bit further, noting that "If a user violates these guidelines, we may temporarily or permanently suspend that user from using the game."

That being said, these are common restrictions from certain publishers. But despite the warning, I have precisely no doubt that by this time tomorrow, after the game has launched, we will have YouTube videos with thumbnails showing the new content and saying what it is in the title.

Square Enix is remaking Dragon Quest 7 next as "nowadays, players are much more accustomed to games with darker stories," and the JRPG is "often said to have more dark and sorrowful episodes"

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined was announced at the latest Nintendo Direct, and while the series creator has hinted that the Zenithian Trilogy (that being the fourth, fifth, and sixth entries) hasn't been forgotten about, it's undeniable that Dragon Quest's remakes have been happening in a very strange order. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake was followed up by remakes of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 (which is weird, but makes some sense given its a prequel) and now Dragon Quest 7 is next in line.

Speaking to Game*Spark (translated by Automaton Media), Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa explained why the 2000 RPG skipped the remake queue, saying that "we felt that the game’s unique atmosphere and tone would resonate especially well with players today."

Ichikawa elaborated, "When it first came out, 7 was often said to have more dark and sorrowful episodes compared to other entries in the series. But nowadays, players are much more accustomed to games with darker stories." And that thanks to that the producer thinks that through this new version, modern players will be able to feel 7’s story and the emotions of the characters even more deeply.”

Granted, Dragon Quest 7 is also well known for being pretty over-the-top and bloated, which has been addressed in the new remake by cutting "subplots that have little or no direct relevance" to the main quest. So, while it's a very strange order to release the games in, Dragon Quest 7 could probably use a big reimagining.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake adds "numerous" new scenarios "that connect to the overall Erdrick Trilogy" as well as "encounters with people not featured in the original title."

Square Enix has revealed a little more about what's new in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, which I have to say is becoming a bit of a chore to type out multiple times. I'll forgive Square, because it really does seem like there's a lot of new stuff to experience for longtime Dragon Quest fans like myself.

In a Twitter thread, Square runs through a few of the additions. "Numerous scenarios that connect to the overall Erdrick Trilogy have been added!" reads one tweet with a few screenshots presumably showing some of these new plotlines. Square also mentions having to ask for help from Rubiss, a creator Goddess first introduced in Dragon Quest 2.

"Encounters with people not featured in the original title and new events have been added, further deepening the story of Dragon Quest 1," adds Square in another tweet. "Solve various mysteries while listening to the tales of those you encounter on your adventure."

Attached are apparent images of some of the new characters, and y'all, I'm a pretty big Dragon Quest sicko, but Warlock of Doorlocks? I'm not sure about that one.

Finally, Square also teases some new dungeons and "formidable" enemies and encourages players to "explore every corner of the fields and dungeons in search of unseen worlds."

This all sounds like neat stuff, and I can't wait to learn more about the new characters and story stuff, but what I'm really waiting to find out is what the "really big surprise" Square teased last month.

Guess we'll find out when the remake bundle launches on October 30 for Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I'm desperate to know what "really big surprise" the devs are hiding

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined was only announced earlier this month, but it's already coming out really soon. Like February 7, 2026 soon. Like, only a couple months after the other Dragon Quest remakes drop. But despite the quick turnaround between DQ remakes, the game's director has insisted it isn't being rushed.

As reported on by Automaton, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined's announcement spurred lots of excitement but also lots of premature online backlash from fans worried that this was a rushed job quickly made to fill the gap left by Dragon Quest 12's prolonged absence.

Twitterers pointed at screenshots that seemingly show how Reimagined is reducing the number of islands you can travel to and maybe even removing monster vocations (which let you transform into iconic DQ beasties mid-battle), with one even calling it a "lazy project" made to plug the DQ12-shaped hole in Square Enix's release calendar.

All the gloomy speculation prompted director Masato Yagi to chime in on social media, and insist "we're not rushing production at the last minute." In fact, according to him, "Everyone's pouring their hearts and souls into this. I just want to make sure that much is understood. Also, I'm not trying to say 'we're working hard so don't complain.' Please don't misunderstand."

Square Enix previously made clear that it was cutting the bloat out of Dragon Quest 7 while also adding "entirely new scenarios," which might explain some of the missing content in its reveal. Plus, if Squeenix was actually rushing out remakes to make up for DQ12's absence, surely they'd spread the games out more, right?

Dragon Quest creator hints he hasn't forgotten about the Zenithian Trilogy: "There are various projects in motion, it's just that 7 happened to get completed first"

The Dragon Quest series creator has hinted that Square Enix hasn't forgotten about fourth, fifth, and sixth entries as a remake of Dragon Quest 7 was announced after remaking the original trilogy.

Dragon Quest is making a name for itself as the series with the weirdest remake timeline in recent years. Things started off with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake last year, which makes some sense as its a prequel and the most popular one. Completing the Erdrick trilogy, we have Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake later this year, and in a natural next step, Square Enix announced the next remake will be Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined at the latest Nintendo Direct.

Naturally, some were wondering what happened to the Zenithian trilogy (the name for Dragon Quest 4, 5, and 6), as it felt weird that there would be such a big jump in the new line of remakes.

During his talk show KosoKoso Hoso Kyoku (translated by Automaton) Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii is asked by co-host Kazuhiko Torishima (the former editor of Shonen Jump) why Dragon Quest 7 is next up to the plate when there's an entire trilogy in the middle. While not outright confirming remakes of the Zenithian trilogy, Horii says: "There are various projects in motion, it's just that 7 happened to get completed first."

And while Torishima does try and push Horii for confirmation, he remains coy about potential projects. If I had to speculate, given that 4 was a NES game like the original trilogy and 5 and 6 were both SNES games, the trilogy would probably be more likely to get the HD-2D treatment as opposed to the Reimagining that Dragon Quest 7 – which originally released on the PS1 – got, much like how the earlier games got remakes on the DS while Dragon Quest 7 got a 3DS remake.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined takes the original JRPG's bloated story and cuts "subplots that have little or no direct relevance" to the main quest, but also adds "entirely new scenarios."

Ahead of Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined's release on February 5, series creator Yuji Horii has debunked a popular fan theory about the true identity of the game's final boss, Orgodemir.

Per Automaton, one of the most enduring Dragon Quest 7 fan theories, particularly in Japan, is that an earlier version of the main story was originally supposed to reveal the Hero's right hand man, Kiefer, as the actual identity of Orgodemir, but it was scrapped before the game made it to print.

In a Japanese-language breakdown from YouTuber Tetsuo, translated by Automaton, the theory posits that pre-release promotional materials showing Kiefer in scenes that occurred after his departure from the Hero's party suggest he originally had a bigger role to play in the conclusion to the story.

Furthermore, fans theorize Ra's mirror, a key story item that turns creatures that transformed into party members back to monsters, was originally intended to serve the much more pivotal function of revealing Kiefer to actually be Orgodemir in disguise. And in fairness, Ra's Mirror is much more integral to the main story of other mainline Dragon Quest games, so its relative lack of significance in Dragon Quest 7 is a little odd.

Well, that's all officially bunk, at least according to Horii, probably the foremost authority on Dragon Quest worldwide. "That's completely wrong. I didn't consider that even slightly," Horii said during an appearance on the KosoKoso YouTube channel (timestamped here).

After spending way too much time in the rabbit hole that is this now-debunked fan theory, I have to admit, I'm surprised Horii shut it down so definitively. It's a little like disagreeing with Shigeru Miyamoto on the Zelda timeline – it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but who am I to challenge the words of the series' creator?

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined takes the original JRPG's bloated story and cuts "subplots that have little or no direct relevance" to the main quest, but also adds "entirely new scenarios"

The original Dragon Quest 7 is a bonafide classic JRPG, but even its most ardent fans - myself included - will admit its fragmented story has some pretty serious pacing issues. Apparently, Square Enix agrees, as the recently revealed Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined cuts some unnecessary subplots and adds new scenes intended to make the plot feel more streamlined, according to the developers.

In a newly published Square Enix interview with Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa, this issue of pacing is addressed.

"The 'reimagined' elements of the narrative allude to improvements in the game's overall framework, which offers a much deeper and more compelling experience," said Ichikawa. "In our effort to streamline the overall story progression and provide a more engaging narrative, we decided to cut subplots that have little or no direct relevance to the main scenario."

Much of Dragon Quest 7's main quest is essentially made up of interconnected mini quests sending the player to various islands to solve their inhabitants' respective problems. It all comes together in a beautifully melancholic way, but I definitely remember some subplots that felt particularly unnecessary. It sounds like Square Enix is taking out the ones it deems irrelevant to the main plot and replacing them, although not necessarily at a 1:1 scale, with more meaningful ones.

"While some content has been removed, entirely new scenarios have also been introduced," added Ichikawa. "Our goal was to build upon the strengths of the original game while striving to deliver a deeper, more immersive story experience for modern players."

All of this helps to drive home Square Enix's point about Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined being a full-fledged ground-up overhaul of the 25-year-old original, similar to the HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest 1-3 but with an art style I'm personally more drawn to as someone who didn't grow up with the NES games.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined launches on Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 5, 2026.

Here are the best JRPGs you can play in the meantime.

Dragon Quest 7 is the next entry in the storied JRPG series to receive a remake. Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, a "handcrafted" retelling of the PS1 classic, was announced at today's Nintendo Direct September live show. It's coming to Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 5, 2026.

Details on the Dragon Quest 7 remake are still a bit thin – its dedicated website is, annoyingly, down at the time of writing – but we do know it's taken a cue from the art style of Dragon Quest 11, whereas recent retro Dragon Quest remakes adopted the HD-2D style seen in the likes of Octopath Traveler.

The Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake duo pack is out soon on October 30. We played them and spoke to the developers earlier this month.

In a blog post, Square Enix explains that Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined "features a new hand-crafted visual aesthetic that brings the world and its characters to life like never before" alongside "revamped battle mechanics and quality-of-life features make the game feel fresh and modern."

"The story has also been significantly streamlined," the company says, while "still maintaining the narrative depth the game is known for." One key combat detail emerges elsewhere: you'll see enemies in the field, and you can either bump into them to start a battle or attack weaker enemies to instantly kill them, Metaphor: ReFantazio-style.

Standard combat remains classically turn-based, but new combinations of classes – Vocations, rather – are possible thanks to a new "Moonlighting" feature that lets party members equip up to two Vocations. Each Vocation has a special perk, and Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined introduces some new Vocations and perks like Monster Master and its "Positive Reinforcement" perk, "which summons powerful monsters to attack your foes."

"As well as automatically defeating weaker foes, you can also set tactics for your protagonist and allies, so they battle to a particular strategy without the need for direct command," Square Enix says. Additionally, combat has a fast-forward function.

A message from producer Takeshi Ichikawa reads: "DRAGON QUEST 7 Reimagined not only 'reimagines' the visual and emotional portrayal of its characters, but also makes the game's story significantly more approachable and accessible.

"So, whether you enjoyed DRAGON QUEST 7 on its original release, struggled to collect all the tablets, or are just experiencing the DRAGON QUEST series for the first time, we believe this game will provide a satisfying experience."

Way back in 2000 (or 2001 outside Japan), Dragon Quest 7 told the story of a hero exploring the Estard islands. It reviewed pretty well at launch, with many players and critics praising the scope of the game. In combat and classes, it was pretty archetypal Dragon Quest, but exploration played out in a wider-reaching system tied to collectible stone shards, large separate areas, and various means of traversing the world.

Dragon Quest 7 was originally published back when we only had Enix around, so this reimagining brings us full circle under Square Enix.

After modernizing the first three Dragon Quest games, remake producer says if the HD-2D games are "really well regarded," then "that would definitely create a movement within the company to want to do more remakes."

The producer of the Dragon Quest HD-2D remake trilogy, consisting of last year's 3 remake and the upcoming 1-2 remake, says the trilogy's reception could influence further remakes in the HD-2D style.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake went through a weird development, announced in 2021 and virtually silent for a few years. But in 2024 Square Enix announced that remakes of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 were being developed alongside it, which explained why it took so long.

We're now a few months away from the double pack releasing, and it's looking quite promising if our Gamescom preview is to be believed (and it is). But that leaves the question, what's next?

Speaking to GamesRadar+'s Catherine Lewis at Gamescom 2025, the producer of the Dragon Quest HD-2D remake trilogy, Masaaki Hayasaka was asked about the possibility of upcoming remakes in this style.

"The ultimate decision whether to do that or not isn't with me, it rests with all the upper management of the company, so that's their call to make" Hayasaka said.

However, that doesn't mean there's no hope for them: "I think definitely, if the three remakes that we've done this time sell well, if they're really well regarded and do well, then that would definitely create a movement within the company to want to do more remakes. So I definitely think it is possible."

Square Enix has been quite keen on remakes recently with the likes of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the DS and 3DS remakes of earlier Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games, and even the fantastic HD-2D Live A Live remake (which may be my favorite Square Enix RPG ever, you should really play that already). Plus we've got Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles coming out soon, so it's safe to say I can't see Square abandoning them just yet.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles director open to revisiting the series' Game Boy Advance sequels if the remaster does well, but thinks the strategy RPG player base is currently a "bit small."

Artdink and Square Enix's Team Asano are revitalizing two more beloved JRPGs in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, and producer Masaaki Hayasaka thinks it's crucial to get "the balance" of changes right when it comes to modernizing older games.

Speaking with him at at Gamescom 2025, I ask Hayasaka what he believes is the most important thing when it comes to maintaining the original feeling of classic games while also bringing them up to date. "I really think the most important thing there is getting the balance right, obviously, between what you change and what you don't change, and getting that decision right," he responds, via interpreter. "Because you can look at it in different ways."

Hayasaka notes that "if you go, 'OK, we need to change everything, make everything new or different,' then there's people who are going to say, 'But that's not the same game anymore, we don't want that.' And on the other hand, if you're too protective about it, too conservative, you keep basically everything the same, people go, 'Well, we've got the original one, we don't need the new game.'"

As such, he reiterates, "getting that balance right is something you really have to think about very hard, work out exactly what to change and whatnot. Everyone's got a different answer."

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake isn't without its changes. In fact, Hayasaka has also teased a "new twist" that'll come as a "really big surprise" for veteran fans, so even those who played the original games all those years ago have more to look forward to.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I'm desperate to know what "really big surprise" the devs are hiding.

Square Enix is set to complete its modernization of Dragon Quest's beginnings with Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, but if you've already played the original JRPGs, producer Masaaki Hayasaka wants you to know that "there's a lot more content around this time," including a "really big surprise" twist.

In a group interview attended by GamesRadar+ at Gamescom 2025, Hayasaka says (via interpreter): "You can rest assured there's a lot more content around this time. We really added a lot more to the story. The scenario has been fleshed out. I mean, if you look at it in terms of the word count, the amount of text in the game, the first two games – the original versions – were tens of thousands of words on their own. We're up into the millions now for the remake."

The release of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake follows the launch of last year's Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, which may seem slightly unusual, but it's because the third game in the series is chronologically the first. Altogether, the trio of games forms the Erdrick Trilogy, and series creator Yuji Horii previously teased (thanks, Automaton) that playing all three remakes in chronological order will provide a "new discovery" even for veteran fans.

At Gamescom, Hayasaka also teases a "really big surprise" that has been created for the remakes. "We want to surprise and delight all Dragon Quest fans out there. Of course, together myself and original creator Mr. [Yuji] Horii really discussed this in depth, because we want to create that surprise, that new twist," he continues, reiterating that playing through all three games in order is key when it comes to discovering whatever this new content is.

Exactly what that surprise is is another matter – Hayasaka isn't giving any hints. Based on context alone, I can only assume it's a plot beat that'll emerge by the end of Dragon Quest 2, given that that marks the finale of the trilogy, but we'll just have to wait and see when the duo of remakes launches on October 30.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our roundup of the best JRPGs, as well as new games on the horizon.

There's been a real resurgence of love for turn-based RPGs this year, largely thanks to the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – something that I've been incredibly happy to see as a certified lover of the genre. I'm even happier that it's a trend that seems set to continue for the rest of 2025, with Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake maintaining that classic JRPG feeling perfectly while still blending in modern improvements.

During a preview session at Gamescom 2025, I was able to spend around 40 minutes in the new remake double pack – hunting down the recurring foe Robbin' 'Ood in the original Dragon Quest (who makes his return from Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake – which, chronologically, comes first), and exploring the world and the start of a dungeon in Dragon Quest 2.

The good ol' days

Coming from Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, Dragon Quest 1 immediately feels rather different, despite its identical pixel art style. That's because, replicating the original 1986 JRPG, you only control a single hero rather than a party of allies. It doesn't take long during my boss fight with Robbin' 'Ood to start feeling overwhelmed – as well as hitting like a truck himself, he's also supported by some smaller enemies, leaving my poor solo protagonist outnumbered.

A massive part of getting through this is knowing when to heal. I end up using all of my magic points (MP) by the end of the fight casting healing spells, not to mention chomping all my medicinal herbs, and even then, it gets dicey. It's certainly not unfair, though, and I love the challenge – even if, admittedly, I underestimated quite how much I was going to need to lock in when I embarked on the demo.

All of this highlights the pure satisfaction of successfully putting together a battle strategy, which you can only really get with turn-based RPGs like this. Speaking in a group interview following the demo, producer Masaaki Hayasaka tells me (via interpreter) that "there was never any thought" to move away from this classic format in favor of a real-time action rendition of the game.

"We really didn't think about doing any kind of action conversion of the game at all," he says. "From the start, we very much wanted people to experience the history of Dragon Quest, because Dragon Quest is the series that started JRPGs, it's where they all came from. So we really didn't want to change that at all. We had to keep it as that… the orthodox, the origins of command-based, menu-based games."

Even though the tension of almost losing the boss battle is thrilling, going into the second half of my hands-on session and switching over to Dragon Quest 2, I'm a little more on guard. As it happens, I don't have to be – this 20 minutes consists of more exploration, wandering around with my party (rather relieved to have allies by my side once more). Given that I'm running into a lot more random encounters doing this, I'm particularly pleased that the option to speed battles up – added into Dragon Quest 3's remake – returns here. When you're dealing with relatively unthreatening enemies, it's nice to just quickly zip past in order to continue the adventure.

Hayasaka is fully aware of the importance of the balancing act when it comes to maintaining what fans loved about the original JRPGs while still including modern changes, too. "You can look at it in different ways," he says, giving the example of players potentially responding to a remake with too many changes like "'that's not the same game anymore, we don't want that,'" while acknowledging that "if you're too protective about it, too conservative, you keep basically everything the same, people go, 'Well, we've got the original one, we don't need the new game.'"

He reiterates: "Getting that balance right is something you really have to think about very hard, work out exactly what to change and whatnot. Everyone's got a different answer."

Expanding on the past

In such a short preview session, one thing I wasn't able to get a massive flavor for was the stories of the two classic RPGs, which developers Artdink and Square Enix's Team Asano have made some additions to in the remake package. Hayasaka says that we "can be rest assured there's a lot more content around this time" in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake.

"We really added a lot more to the story. The scenario has been fleshed out," he continues. "I mean, if you look at it in terms of the word count, the amount of text in the game, the first two games – the original versions – were tens of thousands of words on their own. We're up into the millions now for the remake."

Expanding more on these new story elements, Hayasaka teases a "really big surprise" that's been created for the remakes, something which was previously mentioned by series creator Yuji Horii (thanks, Automaton). "We want to surprise and delight all Dragon Quest fans out there. Of course, together myself and original creator Mr. Horii really discussed this in depth, because we want to create that surprise, that new twist," Hayasaka continues. He's not giving any hints as to what this surprise is, other than the fact that fans will find it if they play through the remake trilogy in chronological order (that's DQ 3, then DQ 1, and finally DQ 2). Intriguing.

The release of Dragon Quest 1 and 2's remake duo pack will round out the series' classic Erdrick Trilogy, completing the modernized versions of the franchise's origins – something I'm grateful for as someone who never got around to the original versions. But what comes next? Asked if there are any plans to revisit any other Dragon Quest games going forward, Hayasaka explains that "the ultimate decision whether to do that or not isn't with me, it rests with all the upper management of the company, so that's their call to make." He's not ruling it out, though.

"I think definitely, if the three remakes that we've done this time sell well, if they're really well regarded and do well, then that would definitely create a movement within the company to want to do more remakes," he continues. "So I definitely think it is possible."

If you want to see more of GamesRadar+'s Autumn Preview, be sure to take a look at our dedicated Gamescom 2025 coverage hub.

The former producer of the Dragon Quest series has spoken about why he left Square Enix, claiming it was down to the company making "copycat" games with the franchise.

Dragon Quest is the reason we're playing JRPGs today. Pre-dating Final Fantasy, the series established so many of the tropes found in the genre, and still to this day the series is (very slowly) putting out entries that people fall in love with, to the point where even the Switch version of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake remake was the second best selling game in Japan in 2024 (combined with the PS5 edition it beats out Super Mario Party Jamboree and becomes number 1).

Former Dragon Quest series producer Ryutaro Ichimura, who was involved in Dragon Quest 8, 9, and a number of spinoffs, spoke to ReHacQ (translated by Automaton) about why he left Square Enix in 2023, and it was partly to do with how the company treated Dragon Quest.

"In DQ 2, you had a three-person party, in DQ 3, you could change jobs, in DQ 4, party members could fight using AI. Each entry pushed the series forward, both through the evolution of game mechanics and by leveraging the latest hardware of the time." Ichimura explained, adding that he wanted the series to continue to be a "leader."

However, as the cost of game development rose with the introduction of the 3D era, sales had to be higher to make the development worth it. Ichimura claims that this led to Square Enix trying to pivot the franchise into projects based on games that were already successful. We saw some of this with Dragon Quest Builders, the Dragon Quest-take on Minecraft, and the Pokemon Go-inspired Dragon Quest Walk.

Ichimura said, "To put it bluntly, it was copying others." He also claimed that Square proposed takes on PUBG and Line: Disney Tsum Tsum. He mentioned this caused frustration with him as he wanted the series to continue its genre leader status, plus proposals of his own were shot down, including a "Dragon Quest Maker" game in the vein of Super Mario Maker, but where you'd build your own Dragon Quest instead.

So to avoid working on "safe" projects for the rest of his career, Ichimura left Square Enix and formed PinCool, under NetEase Games. The studio is currently developing an asymmetrical multiplayer prison break game called Pritto Prisoner, with the game's website showing off its mechanics, including your "poopie and peepee" powers.

Dragon Quest 12 creator is still "putting lots of work" into the JRPG despite there being hardly any news for the last 4 years, promises it will "be great."

Square Enix has confirmed that there won't be an option to upgrade Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake on Nintendo Switch to a Switch 2 edition.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake was recently confirmed to be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 alongside the announcement of its October release date alongside the PC, Xbox, PS5, and Switch, which Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake released on last year. While the remake of Dragon Quest 3 was only 7.7GB, Square Enix confirmed that the 1 & 2 remake will be on a game-key card, but there's even worse news for Switch 2 players who want a physical copy.

In a FAQ on the Dragon Quest website Square Enix confirms that the Switch 2 and Switch versions of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake won't be cross-compatible. If you wanted to buy a physical Switch copy of the game to play on your Switch 2, you can play it, but "it will perform as it would on a Nintendo Switch," so if you wanted to play it with the Switch 2 performance improvements you're out of luck.

Square says that there won't be an upgrade path available for Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake from Switch to Switch 2, meaning you'll need to buy the Switch 2 version if you want to play that version. Not only that, but there won't be cross-save between both versions either. This, mixed with the fact there's no actual physical release of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 on Switch 2, instead being a game-key card, makes it a complete bummer for Switch 2 owners.

Our GamesRadar+ preview of the remake said "these lovingly made refreshes are shaping up to be a wonderfully accessible way to experience a crucial piece of gaming history," so it sounds like a worthy remake, it's just a shame there's no good way to get a Switch 2 version physically.

Chrono Trigger and Xenogears writer "actually hated" video games before discovering Dragon Quest: "That concept really stunned me."

Despite writing one of the best JRPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger writer Masato Kato admits he used to "hate video games" before Dragon Quest came into his life.

Dragon Quest's popularity in Japan cannot be overstated – it's so popular, there's an urban legend the series released games on Saturday because a Japanese law mandated it after many fans skipped school or work to play it (turns out, it was actually just the developers who chose to create the "law").

Even the recent Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake did better "than initially assumed," with its Switch and PS5 versions taking the top two best-sold entry spots in Japanese gaming charts during its release week, with 641,195 and 180,575 copies sold respectively (for context, third place sold 32,762 copies).

As it turns out, Dragon Quest is also responsible for one of the biggest names in RPGs getting into games. Xenogears and Final Fantasy 11 writer Masato Kato spoke with Denfaminicogamer (translated by Automaton) and recounted his earlier years and influences. After not mentioning any games in his influences, he responded when pressed that, "Not only did I not play games at all, but I actually hated them."

"There were quite a few people who played games at my university, but… I basically just hated doing what everyone else was doing," he said, adding that, "if I’m going to spend two hours playing a game, I can't help but think about how many books I could read in that same amount of time. I was aware that games had their own value, but for me, reading was the top priority."

That all changed when Kato saw his sister playing Dragon Quest: "RPGs were completely different. In an RPG, the player becomes the protagonist and can live through the story themselves," he says.

He also acknowledges that games like Dragon Quest do have pre-set stories, but "the player can move around freely, choose to fight, run away, stay at an inn, and experience the story of saving the world. That concept really stunned me."

From there, Kato joined Tecmo before making his way to Squaresoft. where he would go on to write Chrono Trigger, alongside two of Dragon Quest's three creators, Yuji Horii and Akira Toriyama – as well as work on the likes of Final Fantasy 7, Xenogears and Chrono Cross.

Dragon Quest 12 creator is still "putting lots of work" into the JRPG despite there being hardly any news for the last 4 years, promises it will "be great."

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake went through somewhat of a long development after being originally announced in 2021 and releasing in 2024. But when Square Enix announced that remakes of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 were being developed alongside it for PC, Xbox, PS5, and Switch, that wait made a bit more sense.

And now, just under a year out from that announcement – to celebrate Dragon Quest Day – Square has confirmed that not only are the games coming to Nintendo Switch 2, but they're coming out on October 30, 2025.

Considering that Dragon Quest 3 did better "than initially assumed" with the Switch version doing significantly better than the others (if the first week sales in Japan are anything to go by), it's no surprise Square wants to get in on the Switch 2 hype.

Unfortunately, that song we've had to sing for almost every third-party Switch 2 game – the physical edition is a game key card, meaning you'll need to download the full game, even if you have the cartridge in your Switch 2.

Alongside the new announcement, a number of press previews for the upcoming remakes have dropped. In our GamesRadar+ preview, Tom Regan said, "Whether you're slaying your first slimes in Alefgard or the thought of playing Dragon Warrior on a CRT makes you embarrassingly misty-eyed, it's hard not to be charmed by this loving ode to gaming past."

He later added, "While Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake are largely a continuation of what Square did with the third game, these lovingly made refreshes are shaping up to be a wonderfully accessible way to experience a crucial piece of gaming history."

So, we can add Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake to the list of upcoming Switch 2 games, even if it's one of those lame key cards.