Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is so good you can't tell it's a remake of a game from more than twenty years ago

· TechRadar

TechRadar Verdict

You could tell me Dragon Quest VII Reimagined was an entirely new game released for the first time in 2026 and I’d believe you. At the same time it stays undeniably true to the original, with still enough tweaks to feel more approachable than many other RPGs.

Pros

  • +Gorgeous aesthetic
  • +Charming cast and an engaging plot
  • +Superb combat

Cons

  • -A tad cliché
  • -Early-game can feel repetitive
  • -Easy to over level

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If you could condense every RPG ever made down to its core components, stir them into a hearty stew, and then feast on the resulting concoction you’d get Dragon Quest VII – the most RPG to ever RPG.

Its grand plot takes our heroes – a plucky band of budding upstarts hungry to explore the wider world – on an adventure across not only the globe, but through time too as they seek to defeat a great evil that has brought terror to their land. They’ll develop their skills in their chosen class (or Vocation as the DQ series prefers to call them), and use their abilities to battle a wide variety of monsters in turn-based combat.

As trope-fuelled as it gets, I nevertheless found I simply couldn’t put Dragon Quest VII Reimagined down – to that point that several times during this review process my TV had to check if I was still there as it had been on for so long.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: February 5, 2026

It helps that the story and characters are utterly engaging, but that was true for the original. Reimagined knocks things up a few pegs by boasting a litany of excellent quality of life updates that would make anyone forget the original released over 25 years ago.

While still turn-based, the combat has had a major tune up. With powerful ‘Let Loose’ effects, auto-battle options, the ability to speed up animations, or even take out enemies in the overworld before a fight can break out, the combat of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined feels faster while accessible.

You can still experience the meatiness of grinding through turn-based bout after turn-based bout, but in those moments when you’re tired of weaker foes you can much more easily power through to the next objective than you could in similar RPGs.

(Image credit: ARMOR PROJECT / BIRD STUDIO / SQUARE ENIX)

There’s also a tweak to the Vocation system. Moonlighting, when unlocked, lets you choose two jobs at once. This not only creates opportunities for more creative builds, but also makes it less of a slog to unlock the higher-tier vocations which ask you to first master lower-tier ones.

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