Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined Nottagen Choices Tested: Can You Actually Save the Town?

Why the Nottagen storyline drives people crazy

When you first travel back to the past Nottagen, you'd think it's just a normal side quest. But after you finish and return to the present, the town is still in ruins.

"But I saved it, didn't I?" — that's exactly where the problem lies.

Nottagen's outcome isn't decided by your combat strength, but by a dialogue choice and how you deal with a worm named Wiggles. Many people get stuck here because they assume "winning" is the only correct answer.

This article lays out the routes I've actually played through, including the consequences of each choice, what can be remedied, and what you'll miss permanently if you get it wrong.

Understand these 3 key points before tackling Nottagen

1. Wiggles decides the ending, not the earlier bosses

The only point in the entire Nottagen storyline that actually affects the present timeline is Buddy's pet worm, Wiggles.

The earlier fights against Malign Vine and Worm of Woe are just part of the process and don't affect the town's future. What you really need to be careful about is the final scene.

2. "Agreeing to help" and "killing it" are two different things

The villagers will ask you to deal with Buddy's worm. This is the easiest place to misunderstand: agreeing to help doesn't mean you have to kill Wiggles.

You can agree, then intentionally lose the battle to let it escape. That way you respond to the villagers' request and preserve the town's future.

3. Achievements don't depend on the ending, but items do

Completing the entire Nottagen storyline unlocks the "Worst. Town. Ever." achievement, regardless of whether you save the town or leave it in ruins.

So if you're just here for the achievement, either path works. But if you want to collect items and see the rebuilt town content, you need to choose correctly.

Recommended route (tested): Let Wiggles escape and save modern Nottagen

Here's the process I've actually run and confirmed restores modern Nottagen.

Step 1: Save manually first. Save once before talking to Buddy and entering the key scene. This is the only spot in the whole storyline worth a dedicated save; it'll save you a lot of time on replays.

Step 2: Deal with the worms in town. After returning to past Nottagen and talking to Buddy to trigger the story, the town will be overrun with caterpillars. Open the map to see the locations of several Worm of Woe; clear at least the marked ones. After clearing them, return to Buddy's house, where you'll encounter another one attacking him. Fight it and watch another scene.

Step 3: Leave Buddy's house to trigger the villager scene. After leaving the house, you'll enter a scene with villagers gathered. A man in blue in the center of town will ask if you'll help deal with Wiggles.

Step 4: There are two safe routes here.

• Route A (safest): Refuse to help. Follow the story, and Wiggles will eventually escape on its own, restoring modern Nottagen.
• Route B: Agree to help, enter the battle with Wiggles, then intentionally lose. The result is the same as Route A.

If you take Route B, be careful: don't use high-damage skills in battle. Wiggles doesn't have much HP, and one strong attack might finish it off, which would lead to the destruction ending. If you want to keep it simple, take Route A.

Step 5: Return to the present to confirm. Go back to modern Nottagen, and the town will be restored to normal, with villager dialogue, shops, and related events appearing. If it's still in ruins, that means you actually killed Wiggles in Step 4.

**Failure condition:** If you kill Wiggles in battle, modern Nottagen will remain in ruins, and some items and events in that area will be unobtainable.

The other path: What happens if you kill Wiggles

If you agree to help when the villagers ask and actually defeat Wiggles in battle, the result is:

• Modern Nottagen remains in ruins, and some items and events become unobtainable.
• The "Worst. Town. Ever." achievement still unlocks and won't be skipped.
• Main story progression is unaffected; other areas proceed as normal.

Simply put, this path doesn't affect your ability to beat the game, only how thoroughly you collect everything.

Pitfall guide: The 3 most common mistakes in Nottagen

Pitfall 1: Thinking winning means you saved the town. The logic of this storyline is the opposite. The earlier battles are indeed won, but in the final fight against Wiggles, winning leads to the bad ending.

Pitfall 2: Not saving before the key decision. The whole storyline takes a while to complete, but the real branching point is right before the villager asks you that question. Saving only at this one point can save you from replaying the entire sequence.

Pitfall 3: Treating "refuse to help" as a heartless choice. Intuitively, refusing the villagers seems disloyal, but in reality, refusing is what preserves the town. The game doesn't make this clear, so many people only look it up after seeing the ruins.

One more note: The Nottagen storyline is designed to allow repeated trips back to the past to retry, so even if you choose wrong the first time, you don't need to restart the whole playthrough—just go back and replay that segment.

Summary: Which path should you choose?

• Want full rewards and to see the town rebuilt → Refuse to help, or agree and intentionally lose to Wiggles.
• Just want the achievement and don't care about collecting → Either path works; you'll get it even if you kill it.
• Want to see the destruction version's text and follow-up dialogue → Kill Wiggles, then go back and replay later.

Practical advice: Save before the villager asks you, then play both paths. The branching point is close anyway, and seeing both versions of Nottagen is more interesting than looking up the answer online afterward.

References

• Nottagen Save Guide 2026: How to Prevent Town Destruction in Dragon Quest VII - Official Tinrec Blog
• Saving Nottagen - Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Walkthrough - Neoseeker
• Should You Help Nottagen? | Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined (DQ7)｜Game8
• Nottagen Cavern - Nottagen Scenario - Walkthrough | Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past | Gamer Guides®
• Nottagen Walkthrough Guide | Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined (DQ7)｜Game8