After seemingly an age of waiting we finally have the fabled Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (DQVII from this point) available in Europe for the first time since its original release as Dragon Warrior VII for the original PlayStation in 2001 (US) which was co-developed by Heartbeat & ArtePiazza when the series was still under the Enix publishing label. Back to 2016 though and we have a real treat in the form of this latest remake as it's the product of many years of built up experience being that most of the mainline DQ titles have all seem either remakes or re-releases of sorts over the years with some dating back to the GameBoy but the majority being released on the original Nintendo DS, not to mention DQIX which was released exclusively for the system; OK enough of the Dragon Quest history lesson (fascinating as the series is) and on with the review!    

Our story starts out with you the hero ("Edge" in my case) sneaking out of some secret spot West of your home town alongside your childhood friend Prince Kiefer as you attempt to fix up a wrecked ship as you plan to go off sailing around the world in secret, going back to your hometown of Pilchard Bay (a traditional fishing village) where you find Maribel trying to stow away on your father's ship, she quizzes you on where you were, your father gives you a mysterious map fragment acquired from his recent fishing trip which seems to suggest a larger world beyond the one you're currently aware of; this then sets a series of events in motion.

You are summoned to see King Donald of Estard, (the small island on which you reside) Maribel joins you before informing you she has places to be, so you go on to this meeting where you find out the plot seems to revolve around deception, all of the old folk telling the younger generation that there's nothing beyond the single continent, despite you being able to zoom out to the the larger map, all that huge space around you (hmm...) so with Prince Kiefer at your side you decide it's time to go on a quest for the truth, you soon realise that the boat plan won't work out straight away so you decide to seek out clues on the Island where you live which culminates at the Shrine of Awakening; to cut a long story barbarically short (the games does start off slow) you the Hero, Kiefer and Maribel end up going on a huge adventure which will have you collecting the titular fragments of the forgotten past all over the place as you try to fit them into what is essentially one large jigsaw puzzle that ends up opening the way for you as you embark on time travel and trying to make the world a bigger, better place... clearly there is more to it than that but I shall not be spoiling any major parts of the adventure for anyone including any revelations so instead I'll just be focusing on the main characters and some of the earlier places as this is truly a title which any DQ fan should go into with limited information.

Starting with the Hero who you can name whatever you like (apparently "Auster" officially) you have grown up in the fishing village of the aforementioned Pilchard Bay where you have spent most of your days often waiting for your fisherman father to return from his latest fishing expedition, though you often end up going off on adventures with your childhood friend Kiefer who also just happens to be Prince of Estard; he is anything but one for wanting to mooch around the castle though, instead he's often hard to keep track of but he's a strong and reliable ally to those around him with a rather cheeky nature even if he's rather impatient. Maribel is friends with both Edge and Prince Kiefer, she also happens to be the daughter of the mayor of Pilchard Bay though she certainly doesn't behave like it which is just as well because her bossy and constantly condescending personality mixed in with infrequent attacks of empathy makes for an interesting character who balances out the dynamic between the three party members.

Many places await you such as the first place you end up in called Ballymolloy (which clearly has strong Irish connotations) you learn the story of a villages destruction, the heartfelt tale of a Hero who tried to save it but couldn't alone, then there's Emberdale village on the plains around a Volcano called Burnmont (the people here speak reight Northern-like) where they worship the "Father of Flame" which might not be all that they presume it to be. Regenstein is a place which seems to have German roots and an eerie atmosphere what with people being turned to stone, rather than having lot of battling involved this is an area which is more about solving the mystery but it doesn't make it any less engaging, in fact you'll find that a lot of the places do take on certain regional dilects plus many original takes on conventional folklore which serves to add some intrigue to the adventure but as aforementioned I won't be telling you about everywhere, just believe me when I say that there's plenty to explore.

The script is a constant source of entertainment as well because it's so well-written, I can see why the game must have had a lengthy translation as there are some many different lines of dialogue just for minor NPC's who you can opt to talk with multiple times, let alone the amount our heroes have to say about certain situations. Perhaps what's most impressive though is the way in which there is a large amount of dynamic change as you progress, you can use the "Talk" option which will bring up many interesting lines relating to either events that have just transpired, or just a friendly reminder to "Get on with the quest!" from time to time if you tend to wander.

Plenty of moments made me smile as it's clear that the developers really put the extra effort in to ensure that your actions within the world are always felt, you even get to answer questions at certain points which don't seem to affect the general plot much though they do result in some great exchanges of dialogue with one favouriteexample being when I went to an area with higher level enemies and the way forward blocked, Maribel said to me "Hey Edge! What do you think you're doing? Just because you can sneak into a creepy-looking castle doesn't mean that you should! Even the level of interaction is kept interesting with multiple reactions just for checking your reflection in the mirror, you'll want to open every drawer and smash every breakable vase just because you can even though they only yield items once.   

Item organisation is fantastic, I was a little concerned when Medicinal Herbs started piling up in the inventory of each character, until I realised that you could move them to your Bag storage which is useful for overspill items, even better than that though after transferring a Hairband from Edge to Maribel I was asked if I wanted to equip the item right away, saving me a trip to the Equip screen... it's the small things which add up.

All of the enemies are brilliantly conceived, "Tongue-Fu fighters" which are ant eaters who use their tongues as a weapon, "Woebergines" the animated purple vegetable, "Slimes" of various varieties because it wouldn't be a DQ game otherwise, "Mouseflap" which is a mouse crossed with a wasp, it uses its ears to fly, "Crabble-rouser" metal crab enemy with one claw, a hand and... boots, "Kingfuchsia" manages to cross a bird with a flower, "Choppy Hopper" which is of course a dual-sword wielding Grass-Hopper and of course many, many more besides which will surely surprise, delight or even shock you with some of the designs, it's clear that much time was taken on expert creature design.

Featuring an excellent turn-based battle system which revolves around your characters, Edge the hero has a moderate amount of HP & MP so is good all-round, Kiefer has a lot of HP but no MP instead using special skills so he can tank, while Maribel has the most MP but least HP so she gets some amazingly useful spells, other characters may tag along at certain points but they act independently of your control, it can be a useful time to level up your party while you have an extra member by your side though. You can even opt to partake in a vocation system upon reaching a certain point, this allows you to take on jobs (including Jesters, Mages, Sheperds(?) and Thieves) which will alter your stat progression in addition to unique powers you'll gain under the Spells and Abilities categories which are always handy in the heat of battle; you get to try out some pretty fun costumes as you flit between jobs as well which is a very nice touch indeed.   

I found the Map on the second screen to be very useful, especially inside dungeons which can span multiple layers, puzzles like the rainbow stones in the mine where you need to match two of the same colour which makes them shatter thus revealing the way are simple yet clever in an understated way. I found the d-pad control more useful inside dungeons because of the games original roots, also useful when in battle for choosing between the various options, though at all other times it's best to use the circle pad for getting around; it's well worth mentioning that you won't be needing that fancy extra c-stick on the New 3DS models because originally one of the main unique draws of this title is the ability to rotate the camera all the way around your environments, this extends to most places including towns enabling you to get proper views of your surroundings whereby you may uncover an entrance that you may not have noticed otherwise, of course this only adds to the feeling of immersion in this 3DS remake so I'm glad that this feature made it across only to be made an even greater asset in the process.

There is a StreetPass feature allows players to swap traveller’s tablets to access special dungeons and items, you can even obtain them through online SpotPass too, either way it's handy because players can earn new classes, encounter new monsters and even explore new dungeons; you even get the chance to befriend certain monsters once you obtain a certain item, they may then choose to join you which sends them to Monster Meadows, from there you can check in on them or even send them on an adventure with the benefit that they may find you some more tablets along the way.

Plenty of other distractions await you as there is a Casino where you can test your luck out at various mini-games of either the mechanical or card-based variety, in addition to being fun in their own right you can win some fabulous prizes. Then you have an entire bestiary which is worth filling out if you have the time, plus a few other hidden surprises which I'll leave you to find out for yourself, suffice to say though, if you are the type of player who likes to wander across the world map, you'll certainly be rewarded. Just getting around the map can be fun as well being that in addition to walking around on foot you'll be sailing across the ocean as you unlock more islands and eventually soar across the skies on a well-furinished mode of transportation.  

The soundtrack by Koichi Sugiyama is nothing short of a masterpiece, compared to the original release on the Playstation (which we never saw in Europe) it's a more up-tempo arrangement which seems to feel more in keeping with the fast-paced nature of the battle system and in the spirit of adventuring in general, though that's not to say that there aren't sombre moments as through the course of the adventure you'll hear many varied themes which are multi-layered and have a decent amount of depth to them. While there have been some alterations made, I still believe that this is the best version of the soundtrack to date, individually some of the themes are simply beautiful such as the melancholy felt in the village of Ballymolly where things couldn't be worse when you first visit, to the overworld themes which invoke feelings of nostalgia for forgotten times in addition to a sense of foreboding mixed with excitement as you wonder what you'll discover next as you flit between both pieces at different moments.

Then you also have the brilliant main battle theme which you'll be hearing many times as you thwart foes in an attempt to level up, it's strong notes right from the moment you encounter an enemy which puts you right into the heat of battle from the outset, the notes sometimes seem punctuated by your attacks as you fall into a rhythm of dishing out attacks with carefully timed button presses even though it's a turn-based system; or perhaps that's just my rather odd playstyle but either way it certainly adds to the experience. All of the sound design seems very polished throughout, I couldn't find a single sound effect out of place thanks largely to the amount of thought which must have gone into their sampling, doors open with a satisfying echo, attacks are met with a leap or casting animation followed by the sound of melee or elemental damage when in battle, plus the tune which plays within the churches on an organ makes even saving a ritual in itself instead of just a necessary act to preserve ones progress.

Just to settle any disputes, of course if you listen to the full OST from the Japanese 3DS version then it will undoubtedly sound more pronounced in places due to its complete orchestral scoring, on this PAL release though I believe that the music still comes across in the very best way possible and I don't feel like much was lost in the conversion. All of the music sounds spectacular through the speakers of the New 3DS XL with no noticable degradation at even the highest volume, this should be considered an achievment as many other titles I've played on the format have had problems with the audio breaking up at certain volumes but not here; also you can opt to use a decent pair of headphones when playing as well if you have some to hand, if you do so then you are surely in for a treat as the optimisation is fantastic; the main theme is as always an exceptional treat for the ears.      

All of the art used in this remake is nothing short of breathtaking, especially when you compare it to the original release which while amazing for its time almost certainly was compromised in some way and while I don't want to be down on the original which is a classic in its own right to which we owe eternal thanks to Enix for, the amount of work which must have gone into remodeling every asset is mind-blowing as now not only is everything fully polygonal which is impressive alone but to be rendered in 3D as well is astounding. Indeed the fact that we live in an age where a portable machine can get an improved remake of what was originally a 32-bit CD-based home console never ceases to amaze me, I can only just about begin to fathom how Square-Enix are currently going about polishing the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VIII (originally a game on a console with near comparable power to the GameCube) to be ready for next year.

I really can't recommend Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past enough, it's simply one of the best titles in the series I've played to date let alone one of the finest RPG's released on the Nintendo 3DS thus far, even if we've had to wait some three years between its release in Japan for this version and a whole nearly fifteen years if we're counting from the North American release of the original game; it has most definitely been worth the wait. If you've been looking for an excuse to get really stuck into a good old-fashioned adventure which has a lot of modern sensibilities along with plenty of additional content, then look no further because this is one of those RPG experiences which takes plenty of established trappings and then goes against the grain with the story but turns out all the better for it thanks to the beautiful world which will gradually fold outward before your eyes while you uncover the mystery behind the history in a manner which is very satisfying indeed.