In case you hadn't heard, Square Enix recently released a demo for the highly anticipated (if somewhat controversial) Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, AKA the Other basic remake of the 2000s classic seventh chapter of the beloved series.
The demo is available on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, Xbox Series X|S and Steam. In other words, everything. And it has turned around. Despite a certain amount of skepticism from various quarters over the decision to cut content found in the original version, the strengths have drastically outweighed the negatives in the eyes of many players.
Blown away
While it's been far from the only thread on the matter, Redditor Radinax's post on Reddit is one of the most ringing endorsements for the DQVII Reimagined demo. “I didn't expect to love it as much as I did, I can't say what did it, it's just the combination of everything that fits very well into the intended direction.” It's kind of Dragon Quest in a nutshell, if you ask me, so it's encouraging to see similar sentiments.
“I didn't expect to put this on my priority list, it took me about four hours and it left me wanting more.” -Radinax
“Never played a DQ game in my life but I was pretty impressed,” replied Business-Schedule648. Other posters praised how much work has clearly gone into this remake, but I'm a little confused by how many said they would buy it if so many other games weren't coming that they were interested in. Look, I get it! But we have to show our Dragon Quest support here in the West! Uh, I digress.
tonylouis1337 created a separate thread, labeling the demo “awesome” and excavating its themes:
“The plot of the young kid from a peaceful fishing island with his friends the prince and the mayor's daughter is amazing, the theme of sailing the seas and discovering new lands is amazing, the mystery of how all this happens underneath. I'm also really happy with how much of the game you got to play in 8 hours of demo!”
I've written before about how, while I understand why content would be cut from a game that many perceive as bloated and too slow, I'm still not happy with the decision. So it's nice to see someone who was in the same camp say this: “At first I was put off by the crazy amount of cut content, especially in the opening. […] But as I played, I realized that the pace is much more engaging this way.”
StatusCorgi3266 is just sad that they have to wait until February 5th for the full release. Sad dog! And Ninjaneer83 simply wishes there wasn't a level cap in the demo, as they were hoping to grind the game to total dust before launch. “Starting the whole game after island 1 at level 40 is just a fever dream now.” Well, kind of sad, but I think it's telling that you have that desire in the first place.
Dragon Quest has had a lot to celebrate as it heads into its 40th anniversary. The recent Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake was excellent, and we just learned that Dragon Quest XI has sold over nine million copies worldwide. (It's apparently a DQVII press release, but check the text towards the end.) Heck yeah.
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