DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a lovely remake of a classic that inspires modern JRPGS.
If there’s anything Dragon Quest does better than just about anybody, it’s distilling that old-school adventure, the kind that’s timeless and nostalgically tart at the same time. Whether one is a long-time fan or just taking a first dive into this RPG genre, chances are that Dragon Quest has touched something you played; it’s foundational from which so many games have been built, the blueprint for what such an epic journey should feel like.
With the DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake, we get to revisit one of its most celebrated entries fully reimaged for the modern audience. This isn’t a remake where the developers just dust off the cobwebs, give this game a nice visual glow-up, and a smidge of mechanical tweaks to meet today’s standards while still staying true to its old-school JRPG roots.
But with such a beloved classic getting the remake treatment, the expectations were always going to be sky-high. After three years of waiting since its announcement, it’s finally here, and the big question is whether it really delivers.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake has a nameable, silent protagonist who gathers a faceless party of four to stop the ambitions of Archfiend Baramos. It’s personal. The main character’s father, Ortega, seemed to have died on the very same journey years prior. For the most part, this narrative premise does most of the heavy lifting for Dragon Quest III, and beyond that, there isn’t much that happens, even from a character’s perspective.
This remake adds even more scenes and backstory for Ortega, reinforcing just how important his legacy is to literally millions of people across the globe. However, the general brevity and lightness of storytelling are still present. Because of that alone, this adventure may not be for everyone.
With that said, you might be thinking that’s a somewhat scant selection of additions from the remake, but as if the awkward HD-2D Remake name didn’t give it away, the real star of the show here is a full-on graphical remaking of the game. Environments are now composed wholly of 3D assets in DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake, augmented by some truly beautiful lighting effects. It’s a transformative visual evolution that gives this adventure a far greater sense of place and purpose.
Towns and cities have never looked so attractive, but the overworld map is most impressive in DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake. The sprawling wilderness in this game feels genuinely huge and much more memorable now that it’s in 3D, with varied terrain—in both look and elevation—that enhances the journey between locations.
The remake also includes optional objective markers, which are a considerate quality-of-life feature. Classic RPGs, such as Dragon Quest 3, can be obtuse regarding story progression. Objective markers make the prospect of overcoming potential hurdles much, especially later in the game when large swaths of the map open up.
Combat is another crucial element of any Dragon Quest game, and if you’ve played some of the more recent entries, it will feel pretty familiar. DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake features a purely turn-based system where your party lines up in a single row while enemies take up positions opposite. Depending on the lineup of enemies, you can use area spells like Woosh to wipe out groups or target certain weaknesses and abilities.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake also adds two new difficulty settings: Drai Quest for a more casual approach and Draconian Quest for the most hardcore players. Regardless of the selected difficulty, though, the grind remains an inescapable part of the experience. It can be because you need extra levels to balance out the odds or more gold; there is much grinding through repetitive battles that seems baked into the DNA of this game.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake has an overall solid combat system. The implementation strikes a good balance between introducing multiple strategies without burdening players in standard encounters.
Amongst the new introductions in the remake is Tactics, which lets you change how party members are behaving-whether to fight with reckless abandon, to employ a balanced mix of offense and defense, or to let you take control.
You directly control Erri to unleash physical or magical damage or heal at critical moments while the AI handles the rest of the party. Of course, faster combat speeds mean less significant battles are really quick, and this works with the overall pacing when exploring.
Random encounters are still a staple of DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake, and that might not be to everyone’s taste. I never felt like I had to grind, but it would have been nice if the remake included some sort of filtering system to help weed out lower-level enemies from the mix as a means of improving pacing, especially when backtracking, and serving as a better tell for when tougher foes might be waiting up ahead.
This monotony is heightened by the expanded 3D environments of DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake. The dungeons are more extensive, and the world map itself is colossal compared to the original. Unfortunately, random battle rates have not been adjusted. The feeling of walking for more than 10 seconds with another encounter being relentless is potent, especially in later dungeons.
That eventually becomes a chore as constant battling and backtracking for missed treasure start to become a grind. Items are available that temporarily reduce encounters, but they feel like a workaround for a problem that the remake’s design has exacerbated. A toggle to reduce random battles would have gone a long way in making the experience more palatable, especially for newcomers.
It saves face despite these gameplay issues, as DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake retains what made Dragon Quest 3 great: making your party members, creating a unique job class for them, and enjoying new features such as a fully fleshed-out monster arena.
The grind isn’t the only aspect where DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake feels like a product of its time. Sweetly light-headed in tone, the story is so surface-level in terms of emotional depth and complexity, which fans of modern RPGs would have gotten used to.
Interactions are few and far between, and the silent protagonist with faceless friends will surely make this feel very bare-bones to those who have gotten accustomed to richer, character-driven stories. There are new additional scenes for this remake involving the legacy of Ortega; these add absolutely nothing.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a visual treat. It’s great to see pixel art and 3D environments in harmony, breathing fresh new life into the world of Dragon Quest 3. Every town, dungeon, and forest is a joy to explore.
Special mention goes to the lighting effects, which bring an air of depth and atmosphere seldom if ever, seen in retro-inspired games. Minor gripes, such as the odd jittery shadow or disjointed depth-of-field effect, and art direction rise high, which is one of the remake’s crowning features.
The soundtrack isn’t too shabby either in DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake. The re-recorded music feels more affluent and more dynamic, perfectly complementing the visual upgrade this game has. Classic themes are amazingly nostalgic yet accessible to newcomers at the same time. Voice acting is limited; although it does add personality to NPCs, it still helps with the world-building.
At the same time, however, this tokenistic minimalism does have its appeal. The game’s focus is on the journey rather than the characters, which pulls a broader sense of adventure. It invites players to project their imagination onto the story between the lines created by the few lines of dialogue. This can be refreshing in a day and age of overly cinematic games, though, to be sure, it’s not for everyone.
Ultimately, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a game that knows who its audience is. It’s a love letter to fans of the series and a celebration of a pivotal chapter in RPG history. This remake serves up a shiny and visually beautiful take on a timeless adventure for those who appreciate classic RPG charm. Equally, its old-school design sensibilities and grind-heavy gameplay may be deterrence from those unfamiliar or uninterested in the genre’s roots.
Whether an old-time fan looking to reflect the magic or a newcomer out of curiosity, this HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III is well worth taking. It may not appeal to everyone’s tastes, but for those who love the series and its slimes, you’ll have some fun with this classic. Even though it’s a bit grindy, you can get this game if you want the classic Dragon Quest experience at its best.
