Summary
- Producer Masaaki Hayasaka reveals the careful decisions that went into this new remake.
- One of the best – and most influential – RPGs of all time is now better than ever!
- The new game maintains the original game but adds new features such as the Monster Wrangler Calling, Monster Arenas, Autobattle and more!
Remaking a game is a daunting task, and even more so when you have a game like this Dragon Quest III. This beloved classic isn’t just a role-playing game – it is The Role play. Not only is it extremely popular with critics and gamers, but it also has enormous influence. If you’ve ever played an RPG developed in Japan, it’s probably thanks to this groundbreaking game.
So bring it to a modern audience Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake – available today on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC – was a tricky task; but also an exciting one! It gave producer Masaaki Hayasaka and the team the opportunity to show off what makes this game so exciting, but also add additional features to make it feel fresh and modern.
The first thing that catches your eye is the graphics – the entire game has been reimagined in the HD 2D graphics style made famous by games like Octopathic traveler. There are also new features, such as the new Monster Wrangler profession (which adds new abilities for use in combat) and Monster Arenas, as well as a variety of quality of life features that make the game a joy to play.
In short, it’s an incredible remake of an equally incredible game. But how did the team approach the challenge of bringing such a popular title to modern platforms like Xbox? Read on and find out.
Square Enix: Why did you want to do a remake? Dragon Quest III And why was now the time?
Producer Masaaki Hayasaka: Dragon Quest III was ported to many different platforms, but the only remakes were those for the SNES in 1996 and for the Game Boy Color in 2000. That means there hasn’t been a remake in over 20 years.
During this time we saw the birth of the HD 2D visual style Octopathic traveler
Square Enix: What makes HD-2D so attractive for the remake?
Hayasaka: I think the more retro a game is, the more the HD 2D style shows its true value.
Another reason we chose HD-2D is because this style is even more popular outside of Japan! We hoped this power would help us get Dragon Quest into the hands of more players around the world.
Square Enix: How to Improve HD 2D Graphics? Dragon Quest III?
Hayasaka When the original game was created, it had to work with limited memory. This meant that there was a limit to what the game could portray with its graphics – both in terms of environments and characters.
But times have moved on and we now have this HD 2D method to bring to life the scenes and character actions that the original players once had to imagine themselves.
I think this makes it all the easier to immerse yourself in the adventure.
Square Enix: What challenges did you face as you began transitioning the existing world? Dragon Quest III into this new visual style?
Hayasaka: The biggest challenge for us was scaling the locations.
If we took the maps from the original and made them in 3D at the same size, the environments would be very rich and intricate, but the game would have felt a bit sparse in terms of the amount of content.
On the other hand, if we made them too big, the excellent pacing of the original would be lost and the experience would feel tedious.
We conducted thorough internal testing and adjusted based on a lot of feedback from various people involved in the project. This means we have reached the current, ideal size.
Square Enix: Dragon Quest III has a very charming and distinctive tone and style. How did you capture that for this remake?
Hayasaka Our core concept was to change as little as possible from the original game. Dragon Quest III When it came out, it sparked a whole social phenomenon in Japan, and its mechanics and story are still highly regarded.
In other words, the original game is already thoroughly enjoyable and we wanted people to enjoy it in a way that was as close to that as possible.
Square Enix: Nevertheless, the remake offers quality of life updates such as combat speed and autobattle. Why did you add these new features to the game?
Hayasaka: We wanted to change as little as possible from the original, but we also followed a different concept from the beginning: meticulously optimizing all the parts that were difficult to play and adapting it to the expectations of a modern game.
Dragon Quest III a masterpiece, but it is also several decades old. This means that there are many locations that are a bit difficult to play when revisited.
Features such as combat speed, auto-save and auto-combat are some examples of additions we have included as part of the guiding principle of making it a modern game.
Square Enix: Another new addition is the new Monster Wrangler profession! What was the inspiration for this additional character type?
Hayasaka: Firstly, cities and other maps are larger than in the original. To encourage players to visit all corners of the world on their adventure, we had to add some new elements to the gameplay.
We also decided to add Monster Arenas as a new feature and thought if we had something that could tie these ideas together then we could present everything as cohesive and cohesive – an exciting addition to the remake.
At that time we decided to pursue a career as monster wranglers. Essentially we thought:
- Rescue stray monsters in the expanded overworld, cities, etc.
- Take part in battles in the monster arena with these monsters
- How about a Monster Wrangler as a new profession, with a special ability that makes it easier to save these monsters?
That’s how it came about.
Square Enix: How difficult was it to add this new calling to the game and balance it with the others?
Hayasaka: We racked our brains a bit about the balance and how hard we should do the job. But when we talked to Yuji Horii, the creator of the Dragon Quest series, his advice was that players would only be disappointed if the new profession was weak, so we should make it strong.
When we heard this, we decided to make it really strong!
Square Enix: What inspired you to add the Monster Arena feature for this remake?
Hayasaka: The monster arena in the original contained odds-based mechanics, which was a problem. If we were to incorporate it into a modern game as is, it would be classified as gambling and the rating would increase outside of Japan.
We wanted a lot of people to play the remake, regardless of age – so we decided to rework this part of the game and create new monster arenas.
Square Enix: How difficult was it to add these new features while maintaining the core of the original game?
Hayasaka: As mentioned before, we tried to find the balance between making as few changes to the original as possible while ensuring that we meticulously improved all the difficult-to-play areas to adapt it to modern games.
If we had changed too much, I’m sure the players would have said that wasn’t really the case Dragon Quest III. But if we didn’t change anything, people would say it’s too outdated and hard to play. In any case, finding this balance was a real challenge.
However, when making decisions, we always thought about what we should do to best meet people’s expectations, and I think that meant we could obviously make the decisions that would make players happiest – in terms of the story, new elements etc controls.
Square Enix: As you say, this game will be played by people who may have never experienced the Dragon Quest series before! What is your message to these new players?
Hayasaka: For those picking this up as their first Dragon Quest game, I really want you to feel for yourself that this is a legendary JRPG!
Dragon Quest I And Dragon Quest IIwhich was previously released on the NES, had received both critical acclaim, and Dragon Quest III was a social phenomenon when it was first released in Japan. It’s no exaggeration to say that these games founded the JRPG genre.
One reason I really made sure to stick closely to the original with this remake is because I personally want modern gamers to be able to experience such milestones in gaming history. So I really hope you feel that when you play the game!
Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake is now available for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC
DRAGON QUEST III HD 2D remake
SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
$59.99
The Legacy Begins DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning of the Erdrick trilogy. Story: Years ago, the great hero Ortega said goodbye to his wife and child as he set out to defeat the villainous archfiend Baramos. Ortega has failed in his quest and Baramos still threatens the world. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, Ortega’s only child is summoned by the King of Aliahan and given a most important mission: accept Ortega’s mission to defeat Baramos and save the world. Assemble your perfect party: Recruit a variety of allies, three of whom can join your party to assist you in your quest. Choose their callings, their looks and their voices. There’s even a brand new job in this remake: the Monster Wrangler! Travel through a vast open world: On your adventure, explore a wealth of cities, castles, caves, towers and dungeons where hidden secrets wait to be discovered. Strategic Turn-Based Battles: Fight a variety of monsters in DRAGON QUEST’s classic turn-based battles. Determine group tactics and switch weapons, skills and spells to face all the challenging enemies that await you.
