It is rare that a game’s artstyle alone is enough to convince me to take a look, but what Square Enix has done recently with their “HD-2D” aesthetic is simply gorgeous. Having been used to establish new franchises like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy, it was only going to be a matter of time before it was used to invigorate some classic games from their back catalogue.
It may have been skipped over for the recent Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, but is used here for DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake. But has enough changed here other than a simple paint job?
But why start with Dragon Quest III, seemingly missing out the first two titles in the franchise. Well, Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation, as it was called in 1988, was in fact a prequel to the first two games, known better as The Erdrick Trilogy. And with confirmation from Square Enix that those two games are on their way as well, what better place to start than the very beginning?
In DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake you play as the child of a legendary warrior called Ortega. He was sent out to rid the world of an evil entity called Baramos, but never returned and ultimately failed. On your 16th birthday, you are sent out to finish what your father started.
The Dragon Quest series is one built on traditions, and it has rarely changed since its inception in 1986. It has stuck to those principles in being turn-based, cartoonish and a little more light-hearted than other JRPG series. The late, great Akira Toriyama’s work can still be felt here. This new HD-2D look to Dragon Quest III does nothing to dilute his vision and character designs.
But, unlike your father, you will not be alone in your quest. One of the first things you are tasked with doing is creating a party from the available members at the job centre. There are a couple of stock options that have classes that should give you the easiest and most vanilla route through DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake. You can also choose to create your own party members as well as their classes should you prefer something more original.
All the classes from previous releases are here, along with a brand-new one: Monster Wrangler. Already a strong, physical character to have on your team, the Monster Wrangler is bolstered by the fact that if you see any friendly monsters out in the wild, you can approach them and have them fight for you in the monster arena. This arena was previously available, but only in the remake can you actually participate in the battles themselves, along with your monster party of three.
Some monsters have specific requirements such as a certain time of day or for you to have a particular item. The reality is that as long as you have a Monster Wrangler in your party, you can gather these up with little effort. So, whilst this is a fun new addition, it does feel a bit superficial.
And in terms of major gameplay additions, this is pretty much it. Everything else is either to make Dragon Quest III feel more modern – ie. More forgiving – or is an aesthetic improvement. Yes, this is a remake, but one that feels much more in keeping with the original release rather than a complete overhaul. It is probably best to temper expectations; DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake remains a turn-based JRPG in the most traditional of senses.
But where it has been improved over the original shows, with a ton of effort gone into it. The aforementioned HD-2D upgrade is stunning and the pixel sprites look amazing against the more modern backdrops of towns and the world map too. All this is overtured by an amazing reimagined soundtrack by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. From the very first notes on the main menu screen, it lifts the entire game up with a rousing piece that is felt throughout the game.
More subtle improvements are there to either flesh out the story a bit better than the original, or make things more newcomer friendly. Flashbacks showing Ortega before he left for his grand adventure will likely help tie this game and the following two together more than the original releases could have.
For the newcomers, things like additional accessory slots, new spells, HP and MP restored when levelling up or even allowing multi-hit weapons to allow for critical hits may all seem insignificant on their own, but add them together and things are much more forgiving than they would have been.
Add to this things that are almost expected for games of this age being remade such as difficulty options and battle speed, and you can see what DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is targeting: those who haven’t experienced the series before looking for a place to jump in. And, as one of those newcomers myself, these things haven’t gone unnoticed and are very much welcome.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake does a brilliant job of keeping as close to the original without diverting too much. It is a remake, but not perhaps in the way you would expect, with so many other recent remakes changing so much. Here, that isn’t the case; even the stunning HD-2D visuals are to remind you that this is a traditional JRPG now, as it was then. That does mean however, that there will be very little here to convince those who didn’t like the original, or even turn-based JRPG otherwise, such is the tradition pouring out here.
The beginnings of a classic trilogy are here with DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-beginnings-of-a-classic-trilogy-are-here-with-dragon-quest-iii-hd-2d-remake/
Buy DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/dragon-quest-iii-hd-2d-remake/9P5ZQNN9WRL2/0010
Or buy from Amazon – https://amzn.to/3D6rno9
