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Dragon Quest
Square Enix reveals another classic JRPG getting a remake: Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined announced, coming February 2026 to consoles and PC

Dragon Quest
39 years after the legendary JRPG series began, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake includes a “new twist” that’ll be a “really big surprise” for veteran fans

Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I’m desperate to know what “really big surprise” the devs are hiding

Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake producer says “getting the balance right” is crucial when modernizing a classic, so you don’t have fans complaining, “‘We’ve got the original one, we don’t need the new game'”

“A lot of RPGs have adopted more action gameplay elements,” says Dragon Quest remake producer, making old-school turn-based JRPGs “actually rare nowadays” and “considered fresh again”

Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake won’t have an upgrade or cross save on Switch 2, making the JRPG’s game-key card your only physical option

Dragon Quest
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Dragon Quest

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined takes the original JRPG’s bloated story and cuts “subplots that have little or no direct relevance” to the main quest, but also adds “entirely new scenarios”

Jordan Gerblick

16 September 2025

Square Enix seems to know the original Dragon Quest 7 has some pacing issues

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(Image credit: Square Enix)

The original Dragon Quest 7 is a bonafide classic JRPG, but even its most ardent fans – myself included – will admit its fragmented story has some pretty serious pacing issues. Apparently, Square Enix agrees, as the recently revealed Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined cuts some unnecessary subplots and adds new scenes intended to make the plot feel more streamlined, according to the developers.

In a newly published Square Enix interview with Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa, this issue of pacing is addressed.
“The ‘reimagined’ elements of the narrative allude to improvements in the game’s overall framework, which offers a much deeper and more compelling experience,” said Ichikawa. “In our effort to streamline the overall story progression and provide a more engaging narrative, we decided to cut subplots that have little or no direct relevance to the main scenario.”

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Square Enix reveals another classic JRPG getting a remake: Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined announced, coming February 2026 to consoles and PC

39 years after the legendary JRPG series began, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake includes a “new twist” that’ll be a “really big surprise” for veteran fans

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I’m desperate to know what “really big surprise” the devs are hiding

Much of Dragon Quest 7’s main quest is essentially made up of interconnected mini quests sending the player to various islands to solve their inhabitants’ respective problems. It all comes together in a beautifully melancholic way, but I definitely remember some subplots that felt particularly unnecessary. It sounds like Square Enix is taking out the ones it deems irrelevant to the main plot and replacing them, although not necessarily at a 1:1 scale, with more meaningful ones.

“While some content has been removed, entirely new scenarios have also been introduced,” added Ichikawa. “Our goal was to build upon the strengths of the original game while striving to deliver a deeper, more immersive story experience for modern players.”
All of this helps to drive home Square Enix’s point about Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined being a full-fledged ground-up overhaul of the 25-year-old original, similar to the HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest 1-3 but with an art style I’m personally more drawn to as someone who didn’t grow up with the NES games.
Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined launches on Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 5, 2026.

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Jordan Gerblick

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After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.

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Square Enix reveals another classic JRPG getting a remake: Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined announced, coming February 2026 to consoles and PC

39 years after the legendary JRPG series began, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake includes a “new twist” that’ll be a “really big surprise” for veteran fans

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I’m desperate to know what “really big surprise” the devs are hiding

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake producer says “getting the balance right” is crucial when modernizing a classic, so you don’t have fans complaining, “‘We’ve got the original one, we don’t need the new game'”

“A lot of RPGs have adopted more action gameplay elements,” says Dragon Quest remake producer, making old-school turn-based JRPGs “actually rare nowadays” and “considered fresh again”

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake won’t have an upgrade or cross save on Switch 2, making the JRPG’s game-key card your only physical option

Latest in Dragon Quest

Square Enix reveals another classic JRPG getting a remake: Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined announced, coming February 2026 to consoles and PC

After modernizing the first three Dragon Quest games, remake producer says if the HD-2D games are “really well regarded,” then “that would definitely create a movement within the company to want to do more remakes”

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake producer says “getting the balance right” is crucial when modernizing a classic, so you don’t have fans complaining, “‘We’ve got the original one, we don’t need the new game'”

39 years after the legendary JRPG series began, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake includes a “new twist” that’ll be a “really big surprise” for veteran fans

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I’m desperate to know what “really big surprise” the devs are hiding

After the series riffed on Pokemon Go and Minecraft, former Dragon Quest producer says he left Square Enix after growing frustrated with “safe” spinoff proposals that were “copying others”

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