Dragon Quest FM

Austin did a review of Monster Hunter Stories 3 for work (that you can read below), and he also had to gush about how great it is on the podcast. Since you all love turn-based RPGs, this one is right up your alley. Austin even says it's his favorite monster taming RPG at this point, and that's saying a lot.
Austin's Review: https://screenrant.com/monster-hunter-stories-3-twisted-reflection-review/
Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dragonquest.fm
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dqfm
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dragonquestfm
Patreon: https://patreon.com/dragonquestfm

Today, we're talking about various character elements in the DQ7R, such as when Aishe and Mervin come in, as well as vocations and how leveling them up in the new version changes the pacing of the entire game.

If you're interested in winning a 4-day PAX East pass, click here: https://gleam.io/OnmoW/pax-east-giveaway

And if you're up for checking out the Kickstarter Beej is a part of and writing the hardcover campaign for, here's the link for that: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diceheads/storm-of-the-shadow-realm-an-animal-adventure-rpg?ref=7605v1

Last week we talked about the cool stuff coming out for Dragon Quest in 2026, and this week we're discussing all of the other cool games that we think you'll want to check out over the course of the year.

If you're interested in entering the PAX East giveaway, you can follow this link to enter: https://gleam.io/OnmoW/pax-east-giveaway

So what's coming this year? Do we get DQ12 finally? Even a demo? What about a Zenithian trilogy? It's the 40th anniversary of Dragon Quest, so we're due for something. But what?!

Austin kicks off this episode of Dragon Quest FM by unboxing the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Collector’s Edition live on air, finally cracking open a box that’s been taunting him in his office for over a day. We walk through each item—the slime plushie, PS5 physical copy, slime steelbook, and the wonderfully elaborate ship-in-a-bottle display. Austin's dog Olive is terrified of bubble wrap, and we tangent into downloading Final Fantasy XIV on a PS3 in BJ's office because of sketchy rural internet.From there, the conversation shifts into BJ’s early impressions of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined on Switch 2, including his frustration with game key cards on unreliable internet (which triggered the tangent), using “easy mode” boosts to XP and vocation points unashamedly, and enjoying Maribel’s alternate “day off” outfit unlocked via the demo save transfer. Austin vents about some pacing issues, arguing that some of the remake’s “streamlining” still leaves tedious sequences intact.