Cut Arcs and Puppet Style: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Developers Talk About Remake Creation

Square Enix has released a special video, "The Making of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined," in which the project's key creators – producer Takeshi Ichikawa, director Masato Yagi, and screenwriter Sayaka Takagi – discussed the challenges and philosophy behind recreating the classic game.

According to the developers, the dark and sometimes hopeless world of the seventh installment resonates with reality even more strongly today than it did 25 years ago. However, the project was created with a modern audience in mind, so many elements had to be built from scratch.

The main visual experiment was the "puppet" style: key characters were first created as physical dolls, and then meticulously scanned for transfer into the game. The developers had to carefully balance the graphics so that they didn't look too cute and didn't undermine the dense atmosphere.

Significant changes also affected the script. To speed up the pace and make the story denser, the team completely cut three lengthy story arcs. In return, the developers added new episodes, including a separate storyline about an adult Kiefer, which should answer old fan questions.

Combat dynamics were also adapted to modern standards. Regular battles can now be skipped by attacking enemies directly on the map, and battle speed can be adjusted. In addition, the developers deepened the job system: players will be able to combine up to two classes simultaneously and create unique hybrids.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is already available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

The video is available at the following link.