Review: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake puts a modern polish on a classic RPG

For gamers young and old, returning to games created decades ago poses a unique challenge: appreciating dated graphics and archaic gameplay with modern eyes. Square Enix rose to the challenge by reviving the classic role-playing game Dragon Quest II for today’s gamers – although the retained mechanics may turn off some players accustomed to conventional RPGs.

It’s not for lack of trying. I got to play Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, as it’s called, ahead of its November 14 release for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. It’s appropriately named, with a refreshingly lush visual style that evokes nostalgia without limiting gamers to flat pixels. A tilt-shift camera style results in depth effects that cleverly convey the size and width of towns and dungeons, while trees and buildings blend into the foreground and background as the player’s heroes – drawn in 2D-like sprites – pass through them wander.

Combined with evocative lighting and shadows that make sunlight wander through the forest and torchlight glint in misty caverns, the game effectively walks the tightrope of recreating an experience as players remember the original from decades ago, while It’s also easy on the eyes for new gamers who are discovering the story of Dragon Quest III for the first time.

Despite some quality of life improvements added to smooth out the original’s difficulty, the same core mechanics of combat and leveling can discourage gamers used to precise control and detailed information. It’s a polarizing but understandable choice not to change the systems at the core of the Dragon Quest III experience.

Gamers who like the mechanics of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will find a beautiful and, by today’s standards, streamlined RPG adventure that embodies the best of yesterday’s gaming with a pleasing blend of visual style and beautiful music .

The best and worst of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

The HD-2D Remake is a new take on an old adventure: chronologically, Dragon Quest III is the first game in the series, a prequel to the first two installments. It tells the story of the player’s self-proclaimed hero, the child of Ortega, the legendary champion known all over the world who fell while trying to take down the greatest villain of the time, the arch-enemy Baramos.

In a setup that is as classic as RPGs can be, the player receives the blessing of the local king to follow in his father’s footsteps and throw a party. At a nearby tavern, I summoned followers who I could customize by choosing from eight classes (from your standard Warrior, Mage, and Cleric to more esoteric Merchant and Fool choices) and starting stats. I also had a say in their personalities, another unique feature of the game that determines how their stats grow as they level up, although this can be changed later with items. I chose three companions and went on an adventure.

Once I stepped outside your starting point of Aliahan, the bombastic soundtrack heralded the start of my journey. First composed by Koichi Sugiyama and performed by the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra, these versions of the original game’s music are a treat that, like the lush graphics, elevate a simpler adventure into a joyful romp. I soon encountered my first group of monsters, which began the game’s battle theme and quirky combat style unchanged from Dragon Quest III.

By default, companions automatically fight based on broad instructions: attack head-on, focus on healing, don’t use mana, and so on. This can be changed in the “tactics” menu at the start of each battle turn, and I did so right away, but some players may like not having to micro-manage their party.

Then there’s the game’s other unique take on combat: groups. If I were fighting two slimes and three ravens, I could only tell my party members to attack the slimes or ravens or cast spells, and sometimes they would spread the damage inefficiently instead of targeting one enemy for elimination. More annoyingly, later encounters will spread out similar enemies so they don’t group together, making your area attack spells (which usually target groups) less efficient. It’s annoying, but it adds to the charm and randomness of combat – on balance, a begrudgingly unique aspect of the game that’s been retained from the original.

Otherwise, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake has all the hallmarks of a classic RPG. I equipped my party with new weapons and armor to increase their damage and defense, and picked up unique items in dungeons that made going through a tunnel extension worth it despite the risk of random monster encounters. Later, I found personality changing accessories and books that, after consulting the menu attachments of different personality types, allowed me to customize my party to effectively grow their stats.

And like me, players who never experienced the original will find fun and surprisingly mature side stories tucked into the corners of the game. I found a town far to the north where all the villagers slept, which I discovered were under the curse of the queen of a nearby fairy village, furious that her daughter had eloped with a human – and when she delved into a nearby cave, she discovered their farewell, tearfully remarking that they had taken their own lives because they had never been accepted. Thus humiliated, the queen lifted the curse.

There’s even a monster arena – again, preserved from the original – where you can take friendly monsters you encounter in the world to compete in Pokemon-style tournaments to win gear and gold. It’s fun optional content, and you can even compete against royalty collectors who also cash in for some monster fighting fun.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is refreshingly old-fashioned

After last year’s gritty Final Fantasy

It’s clear how much care went into Square Enix’s choices about what to keep and what to update. Veterans who played the original will love the graphical updates, and newcomers will discover how light-hearted games used to be, although there’s still plenty of challenge in some of the tougher areas and bosses. The game scales well as your stronger party takes on longer dungeons, like the Pyramids of Ibis, which threw traps and puzzles at me and pushed my adventurers to their limits.

I never played the original Dragon Quest III, but I still thought the Remake took me back to the days of Chrono Trigger and other RPGs of yore. As with the Nintendo Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Square Enix has chosen a winning visual style that informed its creation. feeling like I’m playing an old-fashioned game with just the right amount of visual flair. Although the game’s environments are 3D, they are created in such a way that the 2D sprite-like people and monsters catch the player’s attention.

As my 2D sprite party wanders over hills and mountains as invisible clouds cast shadows on the ground, as the ocean shimmers in the distance and the orchestrated theme trumpets on, the purpose of the game is clear. It may not be for everyone, but those who want to step back in time will find that less complex adventures, reimagined for modern eyes, still retain the pure spirit of the original. Sometimes it is very fascinating to go out into the world to simply save the world.