It was bound to happen. Traditionally, Dragon Quest games in Japan alternate between a full fledged sequel and a remake of a past installment. We’re up to DQVI in terms of remakes, released on the DS just last year. Here’s arguably the biggest installment of all time, remade on the 3DS. Release date: February 2013 in Japan. That’s pretty close.

Unlike the trilogy of remakes on the DS, the image on the left shows that DQVII’s conversion is going 3D and polygonal. For your background information, the DS remakes use a pre-existing engine which powered up the original DQVII on the PS1. Ironically, DQVII’s remake breaks the tradition by using what seems to be a new engine…which will definitely enhance the visuals a lot. That’s long overdue considering the PS1 version was butt ugly in my opinion. I’m not a visual person and enjoy trying any game as long as it’s good, but when I first saw DQVII playing in stores, I detested the visuals so much…and that’s coming from someone who had just played and got to know Enix through Star Ocean: The Second Story and Valkyrie Profile. Apparently according to our head honcho and resident DQ buff Jarrod Nichol, I missed out on a classic.

Well no more! This game has a very high chance of hitting international waters considering Nintendo of America’s dedication to the series as of late. Here’s hoping there’s some sort of announcement early next year…with an English version of Dragon Quest X for the Wii U I might add!

For now, we’ll keep you occupied with Jarrod’s retrospective video of the PS1 classic. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Update 10/31/2012: More news trickles after the initial announcement. ArtePiazza is confirmed as the developer so you know it’s in good hands. They’ve been hands-on with DQ remakes since 1996′s DQIII for the SNES and they’ve been responsible for the last trilogy of remakes for the DS. My analysis is that the engine they’re using for DQVII’s remake is based on the one from DQV’s remake for the PS2, because the art-style looks so similar. Also, the soundtrack will be fully orchestrated! Gotta love me some DQ music. Finally, new content and StreetPass features will be integrated into the main backbone. As if DQVII doesn’t need any additional content. The PS1 original is already freakin’ huge as Jarrod has said so many times.