Some of the most gorgeous games released in the past decade have been in Square Enix‘s HD-2D line of Japanese role-playing games. While these have mostly been original titles, such as Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy, we’ve now seen classic games get remade in the art style. First was Live A Live, and now Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake wows with a wonderful remake that stays faithful to the original’s beloved story while adding new quality-of-life features and extra content.
At its core, Dragon Quest III is very much the same as the original. You pick a male or female hero, and you’re then sent on a quest to rid the world of the evil archfiend as soon as you turn 16. It was always relatively bare-bones in terms of plot, instead putting the gameplay at the forefront, but thankfully, some fascinating extra scenes focusing on the hero’s father, Ortega, have been added to flesh out the final game of the Erdrick trilogy (wonderfully, it’s the first chronologically so it being remade before the first two Dragon Quest games actually makes sense).
One of the biggest additions to the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a new class called Monster Wrangler. This is quite a flexible role as it is able to support your party with healing while also launching dangerous monster-like abilities that can hit multiple enemies. Also new in the game are areas called monster arenas, where you can assemble a team of rescued monsters (you’ll find them throughout the game, and the Monster Wrangler class gains boosts from them) and compete in battles to unlock rewards. It’s a really fun feature to do on the side and adds a lot of fresh value to the remake.
Beyond looking gorgeous with its blend of pixel art and 3D environments, the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake also features a ton of new quality-of-life features. These range from three difficulty levels that can be changed at any time to being able to save lines of dialogue in order to quickly recall them if you need to remember something. There are also optional objective markers and the ability to use autosaves and faster battle speeds, which make it a much more modern and satisfying RPG.
While I do have nostalgia for the classic Dragon Quest games, I was very pleasantly surprised by how much fun Dragon Quest III still is. Sure, having a new class to try out and the monster arena to spend time in was a lot of fun and a wholly fresh experience, but the core battle system has really stood the test of time. It’s not quite groundbreaking like it was in ’88, but it’s just a good time and a reminder of why gamers fell in love with JRPGs in the first place. Taking down an epic monster designed by Akira Toriyama after a hard-fought battle? It simply doesn’t get more fulfilling than that.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Review: Final Verdict
Dragon Quest III HD-2D has the advantage of being based on one of the greatest Japanese role-playing games ever made. While a simple remaster would’ve been more than worthwhile, Square Enix and Artdink have gone above and beyond to make sure this has been modernized and enhanced so that first-time players will have just as magical an experience as those who played the original in 1988. That’s the sign of passion and exactly what a remake should be.
SCORE: 9.5/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 9.5 equates to “Excellent.” Entertainment that reaches this level is at the top of its type. The gold standard that every creator aims to reach.
Disclosure: The publisher provided a PlayStation 5 copy for our Dragon Quest III HD-2D review. Reviewed on version 1.000.000.
