Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past release date and price
The Nintendo 3DS remake for Square Enix’s Dragon Quest VII is scheduled to hit stores in the United States on September 16. It was originally launched for PlayStation in North America in 2001 as Dagon Warrior VII. People can pre-order it for $39,99.
In 2012, Square Enix announced they were remaking Dragon Quest VII exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. The game got released in Japan in 2013. In the Nintendo Direct 2015, the remake was revealed to get a worldwide release in 2016 under the title Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past.
The title is the seventh installment of the popular Dragon Quest series of role-playing games. The Ultimate Hits title is one of the best-selling PlayStation games in Japan, having sold more than 4 million units.
It was also the first Dragon Quest game within the main series to go outside of Japan since Dragon Quest IV, and the last Dragon Quest title to reach North America with the alternate Dragon Warrior name.
Dragon Quest VII developers traveled to Pax West 2016 and talked to fans about making the game.
Developers revealed a couple of changes in Dragon Quest VII
Dragon Quest VII producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto discussed the development of the title and shared behind-the-scenes stories with the audience at Pax West 2016. The original Dragon Quest team, Square Enix, and Nintendo revamped some of the features in the game.
The vocation system was rebalanced to allow players to complete the game after mastering about ten classes per character. Players had it easier in the original game, only needing to learn four vocations out of 50.
Vocations are classes given to each character providing them with unique abilities and attacks.
As with Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, the game ditched random encounters. Instead, the enemies are going to wonder on the map, and most of them have unique attack patterns and unique background stories.
Dragon Quest is much more popular than Final Fantasy in Japan
When gamers think of RPG games, the first title that comes to their minds is usually Final Fantasy, but not in Japan. According to a rumor, the Japanese government asked Square Enix to not launch the game on working days because the game is too popular, and the officials fear a lot of people would call in sick.
Even though it is hard to confirm, it goes way back to the Dragon Warrior titles, and even Ubisoft Executives have said the rumor is true.
In Japan, Dragon Quest VII is the most successful installment of the series. Japanese gaming industry even considers the franchise as Japan’s national game. However, overseas it has been eclipsed by Final Fantasy, another RPG series by Square Enix.
In related news, Dragon Quest XI is currently in development for PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo NX. The upcoming game will come out in Japan in 2017.
Source: Nintendo