Surprise! Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined Gets A Switch & Switch 2 Demo This Week, Includes Bonus Reward

Gotta hand it to SE, they are generous with their demos.

This is a generous demo I might get.
I still need to know when The Millennium Tales is coming.

I'm already sold, but I'm glad there's a demo for those who may be on the fence. For the mixed bag I find Square Enix to be, at least they're generous with their demos. Especially regarding save data carryovers.

I will be downloading this. Just started DQ 1/2 Remake so its a good time for DQ.

Getting this day 1 on PS5, but nice touch.

I love demos that start from the beginning of the game and let you carry over your save.

I wish the real game looked like that. Wow, stunning!

Still don’t know if I’m gonna take Switch 1 or 2 since I HATE key cards

Looking forward to checking out the demo!

This is my most anticipated game of 2026! I know I shouldn’t play the demo immediately as I did that with DQ11 and then the wait for the actual game to come out wasn’t very fun but I won’t be able to help myself I know.

Once again Square Enix with the in depth start of the game demo with progress that carries over. Only demo of theirs where the progress didn’t carry over recently was the FF7 Rebirth one on ps5 but I could be misremembering there.

Hey, my great grandma has that dress! Nice!

Nice. I'll look forward to installing it.

What a beautiful trailer! I am glad, that Square Enix is trying so hard, with the remakes. Thanks for the demo and the bonus item!

Is this a good entry point for me as someone who has yet to dive into Dragon Quest? I wanted to try the 2D-HD remakes of 1-3, but seeing as this is releasing pretty soon, too, and seems to be its own thing, I though this might be a good one, too?

Planning on getting the demo and trying for myself.

Prefect for me, was curious about this release, but not enough to just buy it.
Will definitely give the demo a go.

@Pillowpants if you’ve never played a Dragon Quest game before, I’ll assume you have no interest in retro RPGs. While there are many improvements over the original NES games, I feel like you would think the HD-2D remakes to be outdated.

So perhaps play Dragon Quest XI.

@Bass_X0 You assumed wrong. Dragon Quest is basically the only big JRPG series I have never played... I think that's due mostly because it was released in Europe pretty late.

I'll check out the demo for sure. But there are too many other games coming early this year for me to get this day one.

@Pillowpants
So far I have played the remakes of I-III, VIII, and XI. My personal opinion is, that every game I played is a good starting point to get into the series. My favourites are VIII and XI.

I hope you will like Dragon Quest VII Reimagined!

This is how they got me for DQXI, and I loved it.

@Jhena Thank you! I love turn-based RPGs. Knowing it doesn't really matter helps a lot. I might get the original 2D-HD trilogy first, but I'll definitely try the demo. I think I'll love it.

@Pillowpants I think DQXI is a perfect starting point for the series. Fantastic game!

Lol I didn't even know there was a Switch 1 version of this game. Do we know how much the upgrade will cost? I might get that one instead, as it's not key card and the cover looks nicer

Edit: Ok, just checked it, and it seems they are different versions... There's no upgrade path, same as with DQ 1+2. Damn it.

Wonder why a demo for this but not the first 3 remakes?

Shows confidence in the performance of the game.
I'll definitly be trying the demo out.

@MidnightDragonDX

Anti-Matter? Is that you?

I know the art style some people don't agree with but I love it, it's so unique. Wasn't sure if i'd play this, only other I played was the hd2d dq3 and I wasn't the hugest fan, but i'm glad I got a demo to see!

the whole key card situation has made me very wary of getting any new Square Enix games.

Already I haven't yet bought Octopath 0 because I don't know whether the Switch 2 version's enhancements are "worth" having to use a dang key card.

These long JRPG demos always completely work on me. Octopath Traveller 0, Romancing Saga 2, Trails in the Sky - they all had demos that hooked me. I just got the Dragon Quest III remake for Christmas so I might hold off on trying this for now until I have time for it. This does look excellent though.

@Spider-Kev No mention of Bluey, so probably not

On Topic: Can the DQ fans help me, I have never played one entry and I am already losing track of all the releases on Switch (2). What's a great starting point or rather, what's the DQ game you recommend at this point? Do they differ a lot? I'd prefer one with a great atmosphere and setting and story. Thank you

I need LRG or someone equally reliable* to put this on a proper cartridge!!! Or else, no sale from me.

*I have only had great experiences with LRG, I know some people haven't. But, y'know.... I can only comment on what I've experienced.

@kmtrain83 I’m trying to remember the last time a demo got a physical release. Did Xbox 360 magazines have demo discs?

That's nice, but I'm only just now getting around to playing the DQ3 remake and haven't even gotten to 1+2 yet. Really enjoying 3 so far, although I wish I could turn down the frequency of random encounters, which can get annoying. (Apparently, I can get a skill later on that will help with this, but I don't have it yet.) I'm pretty sure DQ7 has enemies in the overworld you have to touch to initiate a battle, which is vastly how I prefer my turn-based RPG's. Still having fun, though.

Whenever a demo save carries over… by the time I play the full game, I can’t remember what I was doing and end up having to restart anyway.

@NintendoWife you can start anywhere. DQ7 is a lot more story focused than 1-2 or 3, tho, so 7 would be a great place to start. 11 is story focused too.

The remakes of 1-3 are great, and they’ve added more story to them than they had before. I’d recommend giving them a shot, just not necessarily first.

Looking forward to see how it plays in comparison to the DQ11s
As really enjoyed that game.

I love all the Dragon Quest we've been getting lately. I'm not sure if I'd recommend newcomers start with DQ7 though--it's always been a bit impenetrable compared to stuff like DQ5, 8 and 11. But the remake may have adjusted the pacing. The visuals look spectacular.

@NintendoWife
I played Legend of the Starry Skies which I believe is number 8.

I enjoyed it immensely.

So far, it is my first and only Dragon Quest game

@Glassneedles

As I didn't follow Xbox, the last I remember was PlayStation. The Spider-Man 2 Enter Electro demo disk.

@Spider-Kev they were definitely a thing on PS2/Xbox (where I looked on in envy as a Gamecube owner) and a google has shown me some Xbox 360 demo discs but they were definitely dying out then, there were Dead Rising and Ghost Recon demos back in 2006 that convinced me to buy the games and I downloaded those. I can imagine some PS4/Xbox One games included demos for other games on the disc but none spring to mind.

I understand @kmtrain83 boycotting the game because of the game key card release but lack of physical release for the demo is a bit of a head scratcher for me.

@Glassneedles

Didn't a couple of DVD movies have demos on them if you put the disk in a system?

@Glassneedles
I was a Nintendo only kid and I still am.

NES to present

@Pillowpants DQ11 released with a 10 hour demo. If it's still available, give that a go.

Like you, I was a late starter on the DQ games due to being in the UK. 8 was my first DQ back on the PS2.

Long live turn based!!!!

Well, if it's like the DQ11 Demo, this should be pretty amazing. That demo really surprised me by continuing past the point where most demos stop, then allowing all of that to carry over to the full game. I thought I would hold off until a sale, but they managed to hook me and I bought after a week or so when the demo was done. Much more useful to hook someone than to just show off a taste of what might happen.

@IronMan30

While its not universal, I feel like the industry in general has shifted towards being more pro-demo than it was 15 or so years ago. Not sure if there is any simple explanation, though.

@Spider-Kev
was it the one where you made your own character/party on DS? that was 9 and i LOVED that one!

really hoping it comes to modern platforms.

@metaphysician true, Capcom does a decent amount of demos but of the third-parties that actually supports Nintendo they are among the best.

@NintendoWife I've played all mainline Dragon Quest games. I'd say go with Dragon Quest VII on Switch provided they haven't made any huge blunders (just check the average review score of it on release to avoid spoilers).

If you want to play the HD2D remakes then I suggest going for 1 first.

Dragon Quest XI is a good 3rd option, though waiting for a Switch 2 re-release might be better.

I’m not sold. But it isn’t something a demo can fix, sadly.

@kmtrain83 that makes sense! My sarcasm detector must be a bit on the fritz right now.