S8 05 - What Cool Stuff is Coming Out in 2026?

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.fmYouTube: https://youtube.com/@dqfm Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dragonquestfmPatreon: 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-giveawayAnd 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.

Austin was able to play Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined early and he's here with a review for us! We talk about what's good, what could be better, and what was surprising about playing through his third version of DQ7. Beej's copy of the game should arrive soon, so we'll dive deeper as he gets to play it and see more of the game.https://patreon.com/dragonquestfmhttps://youtube.com/@dqfmhttps://bsky.app/profile/dragonquest.fmhttps://twitter.com/dragonquestfm

The DQ7 Reimagined Demo has been out for a few weeks, and we haven't had a chance to cover it because of sickness! So now we can, and boy do we have opinions. From Switch, Switch 2, to PS5, let's talk about which of the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined demo versions is best, and what we think about the game so far.https://youtube.com/@dqfmhttps://twitter.com/dragonquestfmhttps://patreon.com/dragonquestfmhttps://bsky.app/profiles/dragonquest.fm

Well, that's a wrap. Season 7 is over, and we're moving into Season 8 nextg week. But as for now, let's talk about video games. We did our first Best of 2025 episode a couple of weeks ago and never even got to video games. And we're a video games podcast! So here we are fixing that, talking about all the games that we think are worth talking about this year (unless we forgot something we played, which is also entirely possible). Austin gave some really good indie suggestions at the end, too, that you should totally pick up.Check out our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/@dqfm, and our Patreon at https://patreon.com/dragonquestfm

This week, we're going over the second book in the Mark of Erdrick manga series, published by Square Enix Books & Manga. We're really thankful to them for sending over advance copies for us to read and talk about. We do a mostly spoiler-free discussion of book 2, and it's a fantastic book to read. It's out today, and you can purchase it at the link below! Don't miss our other episode where we discuss the production of the series with editor Jennifer Sherman, just a few episodes back. Thanks a bunch, and we hope you love the book as much as we do!https://amzn.to/4qq8mAF

This was supposed to be a catch-all episode of the podcast, but it turns out that we're not very short-winded. We talk about books, movies, and TV in this part of our Best Of 2025 shows.