DQ7 Nottagen Guide 2026: Complete 7-Step Walkthrough & 3 Easy-to-Miss Details

Many people get stuck in Nottagen, not because they can't beat the boss, but because they can't find things. They rush into the church after reading half a guide, circle around three times finding nothing, and start wondering if it's a version bug.

Honestly, this section is really easy to miss things in. The church monsters move around, there's a free diamond on the second floor, and there's a choice that determines what the present town looks like—many guides don't explain these three things clearly.

Below, following the actual flow, I've broken Nottagen down into 7 steps from entry to finish, and marked the spots where you're likely to trip up.

What kind of place is Nottagen?

Nottagen is a town in Dragon Quest VII that has been taken over by monsters, with the sky permanently covered in darkness and the villagers living in endless night.

Its biggest feature is that it's split into two timelines: "past" and "present." What you do in the past directly determines what remains of the town in the present.

Because of this, this isn't a section you can get through just by fighting monsters. You need to investigate, help people, and finally make a choice you can't undo.

Before You Clear It: 3 Most Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Only checking the church, forgetting the well. The main story will lead you to investigate the church, but if you can't find the spot to investigate or the monster to fight in the church, don't rush to restart the game. Check the well too—sometimes the monster is there.

Pitfall 2: Making the choice without saving first. Nottagen has a major decision that affects the present town's outcome, and you can't redo it. Save before returning to the past.

Pitfall 3: Only following the main story, missing the hidden content on the second visit. When you return to Nottagen the second time, there's a free diamond on the second floor of Buddy's house. This kind of thing doesn't trigger a prompt—if you walk past it, it's gone.

Nottagen Complete Walkthrough: 7 Steps

Step 1: Enter from the Shrine of Mysteries

Nottagen is located on the northeast pedestal of the red pillar in the Shrine of Mysteries. Activate it to enter the new area.

After entering, don't rush to the town—there's a small area nearby you can explore first.

Step 2: Detour to Hill Near Nottagen to pick up the yellow fragment

Before reaching the main town, you'll pass through Hill Near Nottagen. There's a yellow fragment on the ground here—pick it up on your way.

This is an easily skipped stop because most people head straight into the town entrance when they see it.

Step 3: Enter town, defeat the two Babygoyles at the entrance

When you reach the entrance of Nottagen, two Babygoyles will block your way and trigger a battle. These two aren't hard, but remember to heal up before entering town.

After winning, you'll officially enter the town. You'll see villagers oppressed by monsters and the dark clouds that never disperse.

Step 4: Investigate the church (if you can't find anything, check the well)

The core of Nottagen's problem is in the church, and the story will lead you there to investigate.

This is where most people get stuck. If you can't figure out what to do in the church or can't find the monster to deal with, try investigating the nearby well as well.

Also, if you already defeated the boss of that area during your first visit to the past, the monster in the church may have moved to the well's location. In other words, "nothing in the church" doesn't mean you did something wrong—it just means the location changed.

Step 5: Find Buddy and agree to help

The villagers are discussing among themselves how to get rid of Wiggles. During this time, find Buddy and agree to help him.

After agreeing, follow Buddy to Hill Near Nottagen to trigger a cutscene, then you'll be brought back to Nottagen.

After leaving the house, you'll see a group of insect-type monsters attacking the villagers.

Step 6: Clear out the Worms of Woe, deal with the Malign Vine

Take care of the insect-type monsters (Worms of Woe) in town, then deal with the Malign Vine.

After defeating the Malign Vine, it will drop a green fragment. Once you have it, use Evac to leave the dungeon and return to the present Nottagen.

Note that the present Nottagen is still in ruins. This is normal—the story isn't over yet.

Step 7: Save, make the key choice

Return to Buddy's house to take care of one more thing, then leave the house when prompted to trigger an important cutscene.

Be sure to save before returning to the past. Next comes the most critical choice in the entire Nottagen section.

Key Choice: Help the villagers fight Wiggles, or refuse?

This cutscene gives you two paths: help the villagers drive off Wiggles, or refuse to help and let the town continue into the present in another way.

The two paths have different outcomes and will affect what present-day Nottagen looks like.

If you just want to see the main story, either choice will let you continue; but if you care about what remains of the present town in the end, I recommend saving two files and trying both to see the difference.

One more thing to note: different versions (the original Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Reimagined) have slightly different details in the flow. If the information you find doesn't match the game, first check which version the source is writing about.

Original Version Flow Supplement: Sulkk and the Western Tower

If you're playing the original version, Nottagen has an additional segment: after defeating Moostapha and the monsters in town, you can get a key from the Forky pigs to open the tower west of town.

Climb to the top of the tower and defeat the black dragon Sulkk, and the dark clouds in the sky will clear, bringing temporary peace to Nottagen.

According to the villagers, this "Pillar of Sulkk" was built by monsters over three days and three nights. This segment fills in the worldbuilding for "why the sky is always dark."

Completing the Nottagen storyline will unlock the "Worst. Town. Ever." achievement.

After Clearing: Organize Your Walkthrough Notes into Searchable Data

Sections like Nottagen—where the past affects the present and there's hidden content—are easy to forget if you rely on memory. My habit is to use voice notes to record key points while playing.

For example, with Tinrec, I turn on real-time recording and say while playing: "If nothing in the church, check the well," "Save before going back to the past," "Free diamond on the second floor of Buddy's house on the second visit." Once I'm done, the transcript is ready.

Even easier is its AI summary and to-do extraction. A ten-minute ramble gets organized into a few to-do items—glance at them before your next gaming session and you'll know what's left to do.

If you're progressing with friends, you can also record your discussions and convert them to text, then use AI Q&A to ask follow-up questions like "Who said we should fight which one first?" without re-listening to the whole recording.

Organized content can be exported to Notion, Google Docs, and other tools, and kept together with your walkthrough spreadsheet.

4 Things to Keep in Mind When Organizing Walkthrough Notes

1. Separate by version first. The original and Reimagined have differences in flow details, so your notes must clearly state which version they're for, or you'll get confused when you look back.

2. To-dos are more useful than transcripts. Rather than keeping a long block of text, turn "check the well," "save," and "second-floor diamond" into three to-do items. Tinrec's to-do extraction handles this.

3. Voice is faster than typing. Your hands are on the controller while gaming, so speaking is more practical than stopping to type. Real-time transcription saves you from typing it up later.

4. Still verify important content against the source. AI summaries can have misunderstandings, so for key choices and item locations, it's best to double-check the transcript or recording.

FAQ

How do I enter Nottagen? Enter from the northeast pedestal of the red pillar in the Shrine of Mysteries. After entering, you can first go to Hill Near Nottagen to pick up the yellow fragment, then head to the town entrance.

What if I can't find the monster in the church? Try investigating the well as well. The church is the core of the main story, but the monster's location may have shifted—many guides don't mention this detail.

Does it matter whether I help the villagers fight Wiggles? Yes, it affects what present-day Nottagen looks like. I recommend saving before making the choice, and saving two files if you want to see both outcomes.

What hidden content is there on the second visit to Nottagen? There's a free diamond on the second floor of Buddy's house. This kind of thing has no prompt, so it's easy to walk past and forget.

How should I organize walkthrough notes so I don't miss things? My approach is to record key points with voice notes while playing, then let a tool convert them into transcripts and to-dos. Tools like Tinrec can save you the time of recalling and typing things up afterward.

Summary

Nottagen isn't hard—what's hard is that it packs "investigation," "choices," and "hidden content" all into one section, and the past and present affect each other.

Just remember three things—if nothing in the church, check the well; save before making choices; and on the second visit, remember to go up to the second floor of Buddy's house—and you basically won't get stuck in this section.

If you're like me and often forget what you did earlier in a gaming session, consider using Tinrec to record your progress as you go. The free version has a basic quota, so try recording one round and see if this "talk, don't type" note-taking method works for you.

References

• Nottagen Walkthrough Guide | Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined (DQ7)｜Game8
• How to Beat Nottagen in DQ7 (2026): Complete 7-Step Walkthrough - Official Tinrec Blog
• Nottagen Cavern - Nottagen Scenario - Walkthrough | Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past | Gamer Guides®
• Monster Takeover - Nottagen Scenario - Walkthrough | Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past | Gamer Guides®
• Nottagen - Dragon Quest Wiki