Celebrity Endorsement: An ad campaign featuring the male idol group SMAP aired to promote the game's Japanese release. Its popularity caused SMAP to also be featured in promotions for the next three games in the series.
Creator Backlash: In a 2016 interview to promote the release of the 3DS remake, series director Yuji Horii admitted that the game was "too long". The 3DS version notably shortens several of the sections most notorious for taking a long time to complete and includes numerous quality of life improvements that further speed up its pace.
Distanced from Current Events: The 3DS version changed the name of Tidal Wave to Jolly Roger due to the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Late Export for You: A 3DS remake saw release in 2013... but only in Japan. Due to the historically low sales of the titles in the West, Square initially shot down the idea of releasing it outside of Japan. Due to both fan interest and Nintendo taking over the translating and publishing duties, Square finally okay'd the release in 2016.
Network to the Rescue: Having stayed in Japan for years, fans of the series doubted the 3DS remake would ever reach overseas. Fortunately to the surprise of many, Nintendo would step in once again to publish it three years later after its original release with the Nintendo Treehouse even being responsible for the retranslation of the game.
Remade for the Export: Europe finally got a chance to play Dragon Quest VII in 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS, nearly 16 years since it was released in Japan.
Saved from Development Hell: The game was originally intended for the 64DD in 1996, but was then switched to the PlayStation in 1997 - the game itself was finally released in 2000, when the console successors were on their way or already out. By the time it came out in North America, the Gamecube was quite literally just around the corner.
Urban Legend of Zelda: It was rumored that Kiefer could re-join your party in the post-game of the 3DS version.
The game was initially conceived around the idea of being "narrow and deep", with only a single town and castle and just 10 maps for the player to explore overall. Elements of this remain in the final game, which is infamous for its sprawling length and abundance of backtracking.
Kiefer leaving the party was originally intended to happen later into the game, but was moved to earlier on in order to make it more of a crippling Player Punch. This is supported by datamining the game, which places the map data for Alltrades Abbey before the Roamer Encampment, and by equipment only Kiefer and Aishe can use appearing in the shop at Alltrades Abbey despite neither being in the party at the time.
General trivia
This game marks the franchise premiere for the Party Chat function. The mechanic was inspired by Yuji Horii playing Diablo and wanting to emulate the feeling of a multiplayer game, with each character having distinct reactions to everything experienced across the adventure. Maribel was created specifically to accommodate this function, making her a rare blend of the lead heroine and the Plucky Comic Relief.
