Wow, that's much earlier than I had expected.  Probably won't even have time to start DQ7 by then... but I've still got DQ8 preordered.  Easily my most anticipated game over the next few months (even if I don't start playing right away).

I thought I would have bought VII by now, but with Moon and Xenoblade 3D to pick up first, it doesn't seem likely that I'll purchase it before the VIII release. So the inevitable question is would folks go with VII or VIII? I've never play DQ outside of a little time spent with Dragon Warrior on the NES.

I have not played DQ7.  I have it on my Christmas list.  I have DQ8 for the PS2 and it's fantastic!  Prior to that I had only played the first game on the NES which is a pretty primitive title.  DQ8 is good enough that it's made me interested in the series as a whole.  Supposedly DQ7 is one of the less accessible titles in the series with really slow pacing that they felt the need to tweak on the 3DS to make a faster paced game.  DQ8 however is one of the most widely regarded games in the series.  I suggest starting with DQ8 and if you like that check out DQ7 or go back and check out the DQ titles released on the DS.

Cool, thanks for the response. I really want to get into this series, so hopefully I end up with both. The size of VII is intimidating given how many weeks it takes for me to put in 100 gaming hours, but I was intrigued by some of the reviews that said that after the initial (long) introduction, the game is broken down into smaller chapter or short-story like components.

Awesome! I'm really excited to play this after playing Dragon Quest VII. Gives me something to look forward to after Pokemon Sun and Moon and before the Switch launch in March.

Whew! The silence was beginning to worry me. I wonder if they'll keep the old voice acting or if they redid that too... it was pretty fitting before so I hope they didn't ruin it.

If you can get only one then make it VIII, one of the best in the series. However, it's still a long game too, so be prepared for that.

Thanks Mop It Up. My memory was that people generally preferred VIII.