Despite the demand for remakes of beloved classics, it’s always a risky venture for developers to meet those demands. Change too little and you risk a version that feels inferior to the original, but change too much and you end up with what feels like a completely different (and not necessarily better) experience. Dragon Quest III set sales records at the time of its release and was met with universal critical acclaim, and remains highly regarded to this day; it’s definitely one of those games that needs to be handled with the utmost care when it comes to bringing it to modern platforms. So giving it an HD-2D remake, a visual style that has seen significant success thanks to games like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy, seems like a match made in heaven. Thanks to Square Enix, I had the chance to try out the full version of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake before its release next month to see if it lives up to its legacy.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake begins in a very atypical way: after choosing your character’s appearance, you’ll have to complete a rather extensive personality test, followed by one of several short scenarios. It’s a unique approach to more nuanced character creation that I haven’t seen in other RPGs, and the closest comparison I can make is the personality quiz that determines your starter and partner in the Pokemon Istery Dungeon series. Despite not having a significant impact on the story, your score here is quite significant, as it will determine your character’s stat growth. While you can change it later in the game through special books and gear, it adds a personal touch that draws you in before the game even starts.
The character you play is the child of Ortega, a famous hero who tried to defeat the archrival Baramos, but failed, at the cost of his life. Baramos now threatens the world again, so on their sixteenth birthday, King Aliahana summons your character and proclaims him the new hero, gives him a measly handful of gold and some meager supplies, and sends him on his way to save the world. in his father’s place.
Dragon Quest III was originally released in 1988, at a time when many games took a more freewheeling approach to gameplay than we see in modern titles. It was often completely left to the player to figure out where to go next by talking to NPCs for clues, trial and error when they hit an obstacle, and simple exploration. This is still an important factor in this HD-2D remake, but the addition of Quest Help Text and Objective Markers, which you can turn off and on at any time, makes finding the next main story objective a simple task.
If you choose to use these quality-of-life features to navigate the world, it’s still worth interacting with NPCs. Talking to the locals will lead to helpful hints, clues to secret locations on the overworld map, and otherwise missed side quests that can lead to valuable loot to help you on your adventure. After talking to a character, you can recall what they said and review it at any time via the recall function in the menu, which feels more organic than the traditional side quest menu that most RPGs use. One NPC I met early in my adventure gave me vague directions to five secret points on the map, and many will offer valuable advice not covered in the Travel Tips section of the menu.
Combat is turn-based, although you’ll be choosing the actions of the entire party before everything plays out in sequence on the screen, rather than when it’s time for that character to act. If you’ve ever played a turn-based RPG, you’ll be mostly familiar with the core mechanics at play here, as that’s the only major difference. However, this may also make it a bit more of a challenge, as it’s entirely possible (and it’s happened to me more than once) that all enemies will target one character and wipe them out before you can heal them on your next turn. You’ll be thrown into random battles as you explore the game’s overworld map and numerous dungeons, but the speed of the battle can be adjusted at any time, and there are three different difficulty settings that can be adjusted outside of combat, allowing you to set the pace and challenge level in the game according to your personal preferences.
Of course, the highlight is the graphical shift to HD-2D style, and although I’ve only visited a few locations so far, I’ve always been impressed. Enter a town or city for the first time and you’ll be greeted with a short cutscene to show off its most prominent architectural features, and the level of detail present during exploration is easily on par with Square Enix’s other HD-2D titles. The lighting adds extra depth to the environment and has a great effect at night, especially when your hero is carrying a torch. The colors are deep and vibrant, and that elevates this version of the game far above the mobile port that was released on the Switch in 2019.
I adventure in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake has only just begun, but I’m already mesmerized by the visual splendor, hooked on the turn-based combat, and excited to see where the game’s narrative takes me next and what secrets I might uncover along the way. There are a few design choices that feel a bit archaic and perhaps could have been tweaked a bit to make the game more accessible, but as things stand right now, I can safely say that this looks like a remake that has brought one of the most revered classics up to a more modern standard. but worth experiencing. We’ll have a full review for you closer to the game’s launch on November 14th, 2024.
Launch announcement:
A copy of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake for Nintendo Switch was provided by Square Enix for review purposes.
