Dragon Quest VII remake for the 3DS

There has been speculation that a "seventh" sequel of a Square-Enix franchise was getting a remake. Naturally, many assumed it would be the oft-begged-for Final Fantasy VII... but that was eventually shot down. So it should come as no surprise that the game in question is actually Dragon Quest VII. And it's being remade from the ground up for the 3DS.


A rumor began circling the net yesterday, but today Jump magazine in Japan confirmed the rumor and published details and even a screenshot of the remake. They mention that it will utilize StreetPass in some fashion, perhaps in a similar way Dragon Quest IX for the DS did, by exchanging "quest maps" with every person you pass.

This game met an interesting fate in the US when it was originally released. Every Dragon Quest game before it had been released exclusively on Nintendo consoles, but just as with their then-rival Square, Enix opted to move over to the new PlayStation for their seventh entry. However, rather than taking a huge step forward graphically with 3D models, Enix chose to keep the next Dragon Quest closer to home with detailed sprites for the most part, and even chose to retain some of the original 8-bit sound effects. The game was gargantuan with over 100+ hours playtime just to finish the main story.

The remake, however, will feature updated graphics, seemingly in the style and perspective of the DS' Dragon Quest IX, and with improved menus and saving options (and the ability to simply close the 3DS when you want to pause for a while) might allow those who never completed the game the opportunity to do so.

The game is slated to release in February 2013 in Japan. And while there is no word yet on any plans to localize outside of Japan, Nintendo has made every effort in recent years to bring both all recent and all past Dragon Quest titles to all regions, so chances are very good this one will make it over as well.

Source: Operation Rainfall