Dragon Quest VII: A Ground-Up Renaissance, Not Just a Pretty Face

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined: More Than Just Another HD-2D Facelift

Okay, folks, let's talk Dragon Quest. We all know and love (or at least respect) the granddaddy of JRPGs, and lately, Square Enix has been giving its older titles some much-needed love. The HD-2D remakes of the Erdrick Trilogy (DQ I, II, and III) were beautiful throwbacks, but it sounds like the upcoming *Dragon Quest VII Reimagined* is going for something... different. I had a chance to peek at a demo, and let me tell you, the visual style is certainly... *a choice*.

Dragon Quest VII: A Ground-Up Renaissance, Not Jus...

Forget the pixel-perfect charm of those HD-2D titles. This isn't your grandpa's DQ. Running around the dreary, perpetually damp village of Wetlock, the game's new art style hit me like a well-aimed Boomerang. Instead of sprites, we're talking what I can only describe as a handcrafted, almost stop-motion aesthetic. Think very detailed puppets, complete with real-world material textures used for clothing and gear. It's weird, yes, but strangely captivating.

Honestly, Prince Kiefer's comically oversized chin

Honestly, Prince Kiefer's comically oversized chin rendered in this new style? It’s a sight to behold. But here's the thing: I think I’m starting to get it.

Speaking with the game's producer, Takeshi Ichikawa, shed some light on this bold visual direction. According to him, the team wanted to highlight the unique proportions of the *Dragon Quest VII* characters. "They're drawn shorter than the other mainline Dragon Quest characters," Ichikawa-san explained. "So we kind of wanted to leverage that. We explored a lot of ideas of visual styles that leverage the adorableness and the cuteness of those short characters.”

And it's not just a new coat of paint. Square Enix is also addressing one of the biggest complaints about the original: its glacial pacing. Remember crawling through those initial hours before finally encountering your first slime? Brutal! Square has already said they're cutting some non-essential storylines and content like Grondal and even the Casino (RIP, digital gambling). But the biggest focus is on streamlining that notoriously slow opening.

Apparently, even Ichikawa-san gave up on

Apparently, even Ichikawa-san gave up on the original *DQVII* as a kid because of that sluggish start! But he assures us that this time around, you'll be battling your first monster within an hour. That’s a promise I, and a lot of DQ fans, are holding him to.

So, *Dragon Quest VII Reimagined*. Is it going to be a good weird or a bad weird? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure: it's definitely not just another HD-2D remake. And honestly, that's what has me intrigued. Sometimes, you gotta take a risk to truly reimagine a classic.