Remakes are tricky. On one hand, you want to be true to the original game, especially if that game is historically significant or a pioneer of its genre. On the other hand, older games — especially very old games — can often be hard for players to get into. See, we’ve gotten really good at the whole “quality of life features, don’t waste the player’s time” thing in the last few years. Even if, like me, you love old games, it can be hard to revisit them unless you retrain your brain to compensate.
When I sat down to play Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake at a behind-closed-doors preview event at PAX West, I wasn’t sure what to expect, or how Square had chosen to go about updating a game that is, by all accounts, a classic. With Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (try saying that three times fast), Square has largely opted to leave a lot of things alone. In many ways, this is still Dragon Quest III. There are still random battles, and combat works more or less the same way. If you’ve ever played Dragon Quest III before, you should be right at home.
That’s not to say that there are no quality-of-life changes here to make things more comfy. You can change the battle speed on the fly if you’re looking to get through them faster (or make them last), and there’s even an auto-battle function if you need to grind or just don’t want to deal with combat for a while. But, by and large, the combat system is the same as it always was.
But the QoL changes and updates don’t stop with the battle system. There’s also more party customization, as Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will allow you to change everything from their clothing to their hair and voice. The new monster wrangler class lets you befriend monsters in the world and bring them into battle with you. And if that’s not enough for your monster-wrangling sensibilities, you can bring your monster buddies to Monster Arenas and battle them against teams of other monsters, which is new to HD-2D Remake. Previously, you could just bet on the fights. You won’t control your team directly, but you can set their tactics. Pull off the win, and you’ll unlock cool prizes. I got to mess around with it during my time with the remake, and it’s a lot of fun.
There’s also some new story elements. In addition to trying out the Monster Arena and spending some time exploring a dungeon, I also got to experience Dragon Quest III HD-2D’s opening and expanded personality quiz. After creating my character — I named him John Dragon Quest — a mysterious voice asked me questions about myself. I answered honestly, and the voice told me I was “an incredible person.” That’s awesome, but apparently, the voice will also roast you if you’re kind of a jerk, and I’m kinda sad I answered too well. Still, it’s neat to see so much effort put into this kind of stuff.
Obviously, the most striking thing about Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is, well… the HD-2D visual upgrade. HD-2D Remake is a looker; these are some of the best-looking character sprites I’ve ever seen, and the backgrounds are drop-dead gorgeous. If you’re here purely for a visual update, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. There are also new voiceovers in both English and Japanese, new illustrations, and a lot more, so Square isn’t skimping when it comes to making this version of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake all it can be.
All told, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake seems more like a Definitive Edition than a ground-up remake. There’s plenty of new stuff here to entice old fans to revisit a classic and enough to bring in new ones without losing the things that make Dragon Quest III special. If you’re just starting your Dragon Quest journey, this seems like a good place to do it. And if you’re an old fan, well, welcome back. This new version sure is pretty, huh? Square’s walking a tightrope here, but from where I’m standing, they’re balancing everything pretty well. And that’s not a bad place to be.
