When it comes to naming The most emblematic RPG sagas There are some that cannot be missing from any list and one of them is Dragon Quest. It has been almost 40 years since it began to take its first steps and throughout this time it has received more than a dozen titles from the main series, although if we count the spin-offs, remasters and remakes, the number shoots up enormously.
Thanks to the new versions, it is a good way to relive the greatness of certain releases, as will happen once again in a couple of months with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remakea name that leaves no room for doubt as to what the essential characteristics of this work are. If the original adventure was already worthwhile, what Square Enix has achieved with this version is something to take one’s hat off to, because it is mind-blowing.
In the last few days I had the chance to try out a good preview at the same event where I was able to play Life is Strange: Double Exposure. I have thus seen first-hand the changes that have been made and it is very clear to me that this type of completely renewed versions should be a good example for any company that wants to bring back gems from the past, especially in the RPG genre.
A thrilling adventure with a huge facelift
The part I had before me was set at an advanced point where the group of protagonists receives a mission to recover the crown of the king of Romaria that has been stolen by a group of thieves, so the mission consists of traveling to the tower where they are and recovering it. It is not a plan to go into more details of the plot, since it continues to be the same one we already knew a few decades ago in this great game that can easily keep you busy for dozens of hours.
Of all the new features, it is undeniable that the most important and outstanding of all is the renovation of everything that has to do with the visual section. It is clear that masterpieces such as Octopath Traveler and other similar proposals have caused such a good impact that they wanted to repeat the move once again, since the adventure invites us to travel through a magical fantasy world that knows how to mix the pixel-art touch with 3D graphics.
In this sense, the settings look simply stunning. Each of the many places to visit are fascinating, with an immense amount of detail all around that makes it a joy to explore them all, whether it’s the cities, the thieves’ tower itself or the open field corresponding to the world map, but the main areas are the ones that stand out even more.
The characters are not far behind, and can lead the quartet of heroes through this world that never stops posing challenges for which it is necessary to prepare thoroughly. The truth is that the part I played was not easy and I had to give everything to survive, given that the path to the tower was very long and full of enemies with completely random encounterswhich kept appearing on the floors of the tower that I had to climb.
In these battles you never see the protagonists and only the enemies appear on screen, as if you were fighting in first person. In general, there are not very few enemies to defeat in each fight and they are usually divided into groups, so you may have to defeat five or six, but in reality there are only two or three different types, which is a good detail to keep in mind when facing them.
The reason is that there are normal attacks that only damage one of the creatures, but there are other attacks or spells that are capable of hitting an entire group, with their own weaknesses and strengths, so you have to think carefully about what are the best actions to take in order to eliminate a few of them at once. In addition, I must admit that they hit very hard and some are even capable of calling companions to come to their aid. In fact, there was even a simple combat in which I had to defeat more than a dozen enemies.
So it happened that when I got to the final battle I was a bit on my last legs after fighting so much, but thank goodness I had a good load of healing items to recover my strength. Also, returning to the graphic section, Enemies have their own animationsas well as the attacks and magic that can be unleashed, which in general makes everything a real spectacle for the eyes.
It is even possible to make certain adjustments to combat, such as letting it be artificial intelligence that makes the decisions of our colleaguesbeing able to establish the type of behavior that will be displayed, that these encounters happen automatically or at a faster speed. And that’s not all, because the interface has been updated and improved and the soundtrack boasts great songs that accompany the action and the places that must be visited during this exciting journey, among which there is no shortage of the most classic melodies with which it is undeniable that you are playing a game Dragon Quest.
On the other hand, although it is something I could not go into too much depth, I did find that the game has a kind of combat in the purest Pokémon style, since you can Capture monsters that you can then take to a coliseum to fight against other beasts commanded by human characters. The difference with normal battles is that here you can simply tell them to fight or follow certain tactics, but when it comes to taking action, they are the ones who strike as they see fit.
Although it is always a pleasure to enjoy a classic installment of the saga again, doing so with such a masterful facelift is even more worthwhile. I would love to see all this happen again. repeat in the future with other SNES gemscomo Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire II o Lufiato name a few, because Square Enix itself or companies like Capcom, should bring their great classics back betting on the same graphic style, because there is no better way to revive old times while fully preserving the original essence that at the time made these games so iconic.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Release Date
In just a couple of months you will be able to embark on your own journey in Dragon Quest III HD-2D RemakeIt is scheduled to be launched on November 14th and you’ll have the chance to play on any platform as it’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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