DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined

Honestly, sometimes I wish Steam had a sideways thumb for reviews of games I have mixed feelings about, and this remake or "reimagining" of Dragon Quest 7 is certainly one of them. This remake is mostly fine, I guess, but it does a lot of things I really dislike. Regardless, I'll give it a thumbs up. The original PS1 version of DQ7 is notorious for being an incredibly long JRPG and a slog to get through, potentially taking over 100 hours to finish. Before playing this game, I noticed a friend on Steam who had also bought it and apparently finished it in around 50 hours. I was amazed at how he managed to finish it that fast. Apparently, this version is VERY streamlined and cut down, hence the "Reimagined" title. One reason it's much shorter is that battles go faster, especially with auto-battle, and I auto-won a lot of fights even on hard. Because of this, you may or may not like this version if you've played previous versions of DQ7, like the original PS1 version, which I played, or the 3DS version, which I haven't. Veteran JRPG fans might dislike how heavily some mechanics have been streamlined, which is my main issue with this version. I don't mind Square making a version of DQ7 that trims the fat, but I do mind when they streamline the gameplay itself. IMO, the original DQ7 and turn-based JRPGs in general aren't that complicated to play. Apparently, the director of this remake stated that he didn't like the original game, which makes me conflicted. I feel that if you're in charge of a game, you should probably like the original to some extent, which might explain how this version turned out the way it did. In general, the original PS1 version is the most "complete" version, as far as I know, but it's also the longest and more of a slog to play through. This version is more accessible and palatable, but it's cut down and oversimplifies some gameplay mechanics IMO. I've never played the 3DS version, so maybe that's a sweet spot. [h1]What is this game about, why it was a slog to play, and how this version improves it[/h1] DQ7 follows Auster, the son of a fisherman who lives on a secluded island called Estard. He's friends with a prince and the mayor's daughter. Their world is mysterious because Estard seems to be the only island in existence. Auster and his friends discover a mysterious shrine with pedestals where they can place strange tablet fragments, allowing them to travel back in time to islands that somehow disappeared from the present. The game has a melancholy, gloomy vibe because you're constantly dealing with tragedies that prevent these islands from existing in the present. Below are some reasons why the original game, and even this new version, can be a pain to play through. [b]- You play through the islands, villages, dungeons, and other content more than once[/b] When you solve an island's problems, it reappears in the present, where you can find more stone fragments needed to travel to other islands and save them too. Since you have to revisit the island again you're constantly retreading similar content, which can be a pain. DQ7 also shares similarities with its predecessor, DQ6, which wasn't a particularly well-liked game. Instead of time travel, DQ6 involved dream worlds and had a somewhat similar structure. I think fans view DQ7 as DQ6, but "kind of improved and better." [b]- The original PS1 version was poorly paced, and this version somewhat improves it[/b] In the original, it took literally 3 or more hours to encounter your first enemy and around 30 hours to unlock job classes. In this version, it took me over an hour to fight anything and around 20 hours to change classes, though it might take you 15. That's still a long time. They cut much of the Shrine of Mysteries' first dungeon down to just two block pushes so you can get into combat faster. [h1]Good things I like about this version[/h1] [b]- Great voice acting[/b] [b]- Great visuals[/b] [b]- Grinding for levels and job levels is faster[/b] [b]- You can switch job classes anywhere and anytime[/b] In the original, you could only change classes at a specific temple you had to travel to. [b]- Somewhat better pacing than the original, despite cutting content[/b] [h1]Mechanics I don't really mind being streamlined[/h1] [b]- Markers telling you where to go[/b] Some people dislike this because the original and older JRPGs generally required you to talk to NPCs to figure out where to go, making you feel more immersed in the world. I don't mind it because I sometimes stop playing games when I get bored, and JRPGs can be particularly hard to return to. Sometimes I'll stop playing an old JRPG for months, come back, and forget where I was or what I was supposed to do. Having markers and a story recap helps. However, they should've made the markers toggleable, which you could apparently do in the new DQ 1-3 remakes. [b]- Universal inventory for all characters[/b] IMO, the original inventory system didn't add much. Having characters carry items that only they could access was mostly inconvenient. I guess it added some strategy by making you consider who carried what, but I don't mind this change. [h1]Streamlined mechanics and removed features I don't like[/h1] [b]- Automatically reviving after battles[/b] In the original, dead characters stayed dead until you revived them at a church or used a revival item. Changing this made revival items useless outside of combat, and dead party members in the original followed you around in coffins which was iconic to Dragon Quest. Automatically reviving characters after battles makes their deaths much less impactful. This should've been a toggle, but as far as I know, it isn't. I first encountered something similar in the Persona 3 remake, which makes me worry that other JRPGs might follow this trend. [b]- No outfits for character classes[/b] The 3DS version had these, so their absence here is disappointing. It's a downgrade in customization. [b]- Auto-battle streamlines the game too much and practically plays it for you[/b] I don't mind auto-battle because turn-based JRPGs can be tedious when I'm spamming the same attacks, and it speeds up trash fights. However, it should be limited to repeating your last action, similar to how the Final Fantasy 1-6 Pixel Remasters handle it. Auto-battle here is literally a "let me play for you" option, since the AI uses different spells and attacks and can practically play the entire game for you. [b]- The game is way too easy, even on hard[/b] I got through the first proper dungeon using only auto-battle on normal, and it was a complete breeze, which p,issed me off. Even on hard, the game feels too easy. Normal should feel normal, and hard should feel hard. [b]- Battles tell you enemy weaknesses[/b] Again, this should be an option you can turn off, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. When you cast spells on enemies, the game displays a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to indicate their effectiveness, removing the need to experiment with spells. [b]- I auto won way too many fights[/b] Like the 3DS version, this version no longer uses random encounters, which is fine. However, you can automatically win fights by attacking enemies on the overworld before they touch you, provided you're strong enough. This mechanic is fine in theory and great for not being forced to battle weak enemies, but I ended up auto-winning way too many fights. [b]- Cut content beyond the point where you can change classes was not necessary[/b] The game removes three island scenarios (El Ciclo, Gröndal, and Providence), the Immigrant Town, Monster Meadows, the Excellence Grading Organization, and monster vocations. Some other scenarios were also made optional. I understand wanting to improve pacing, but removing entire islands and side activities feels excessive. These could've been kept as optional content instead of being cut entirely.