From Pokémon to Persona, in some way, modern JRPGS still share DNA with DRAGON QUEST. DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake arguably brings the most seminal title from within the long-running series to contemporary audiences. Taking place earliest in the timeline, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a faithful remake of the Nintendo classic, bringing with it the best elements of some of its later releases, redone in the distinctive 2D-HD style made popular by Octopath Traveller.
Before talking about all the good (and there’s a lot), let’s address the King Slime-sized elephant in the room — and no, I don’t mean the minor censorship regarding the character designs. The most disappointing aspect of DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is its lack of dynamic camera options during battles.
Sure, the reliance on a purely first-person camera during battles is faithful to the source material. Still, in reality, it’s 2024, and the option to toggle between a more dynamic camera would have gone a long way in modernizing DRAGON QUEST III’s latest remake. Furthermore, it’s not like the game doesn’t already feature stellar sprite work for the party, complete with unique weapon art to boot, which sadly is relegated to only appear briefly on-screen during the player’s turn phase.
Fortunately, outside of disappointingly archaic-looking battles, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a gorgeous-looking game that has evolved from when it was first shown off all the way in 2021. During its initial reveal trailer, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake looked like a faithfully updated take on the Super Nintendo or Super Famicom version of the legendary title. The retail release of the game, instead, features much larger-looking environments that give a grandiose sense of style while still maintaining the look and feel of the original map design and layout.
“DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a gorgeous-looking game that has evolved from when it was first shown off all the way in 2021.”
Lighting plays a key factor in bringing DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake to life. Monsters feature different lighting depending on the time of day or environment, fitting in line similarly to the backdrops themselves, which all feature a mix of 3D and 2D sprite work that mesh together beautifully thanks to the dynamic lighting system.
The 3D environments in DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake feel distinct from games like Octopath Traveller, which featured 16-bit-inspired texture work overlayed on top of 3D geometry, which gave that game an almost diorama-esque aesthetic. In contrast, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake instead features more traditional-looking 3D landscapes with 2D assets superimposed on top, making the game feel closer to something like DRAGON QUEST V on the Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2 while still being true to the unmistakable “2D-HD” look.
Outside of the eye-catching visuals, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake features a healthy dose of voice acting, with most story sequences now featuring fully voiced lines. In addition, the characters in your party occasionally yell out their attacks during battle, helping to modernize DQ III in a way that simply wasn’t possible due to file size limits of past releases.
Quality of life improvements in DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake include the option to speed up battles (something I highly recommend), auto-battling, and the autosave option. Here, the game will create a separate auto-save after each transitional screen, be it from a battle or entering or leaving a part of the map.
Besides the solid QoL improvements, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake features some brand-new content exclusive to the remake, including new scenes or episodes sprinkled throughout the roughly 40-hour main story featuring the legendary warrior Ortega. These episodes, which, although not earth-shatteringly rich, help further contextualize some of the events of DRAGON QUEST III’s otherwise simplistic narrative.
“DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake heralds the return of the King of JRPGs.”
The most substantial piece of new content in DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is the inclusion of the Monster Wrangler class, alongside Monster Arenas and over 100 Monsters to find and recruit within the game world. Similar to the DRAGON QUEST: Monsters spin-off series, recruiting monsters will not only amp up any Monster Wrangler class characters in your party but also unlock them for use in the Monster Arena Tournaments that can occasionally be found in the towns you visit throughout your adventure.
Unlike the typical turn-based random encounters with most enemies in the game, recruitable monsters are found strewn all over the game world, including places like dungeons and even towns, with many only coming out during specific times of the day. Some monsters are even hidden in plain sight until much later in the game, while the vast majority of them are found in brand new micro-biomes or secret one-room tiles that appear all over the overworld, adding to the wealth of places the player can now explore.
For those unfamiliar with DRAGON QUEST III proper, the latest remake adopts the unique character creation and party system of the original. Unlike modern JRPGs, which often feature an eclectic cast of characters, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake, like the original, instead features a fun and engaging class system that caters to the players’ preferences.
Want a team entirely composed of thieves? Go for it! All magic all the time is also doable, but realistically, the best way for new players just starting is to create a balanced team and then gradually change their classes around the 25-40 level range in order to keep all the unlocked moves of their previous jobs.
Changing jobs or character classes will result in that character reverting back to level one, with all their stats halved, which is why it’s best to focus on individual characters or wait till you have access to metal slimes to grind out levels quickly. Ultimately, changing jobs leads to some very powerful hybrid classes, something that is essential if you wish to tackle DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake’s post-game content.
In other words, if you’re looking for a fantastical and sweeping story with a focus on character-driven narrative, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake might not be for you. However, if you like the core mechanics of a JRPG and the idea of making different builds is something you enjoy, you will get a lot of the remake.
Now, for PlayStation 5-specific options, DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake strangely features a performance mode toggle, but the game is already running at what appears to be a native 4K resolve — I’m not exactly sure what the change actually does. Perhaps a higher 120fps, but with the flat and turn-based nature of the games, particularly the battles, it’s hard to say.
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake heralds the return of the King of JRPGs. Those looking for the best starting point for the series or wanting to re-experience one of gaming’s greatest roleplaying games in a new light owe themselves the chance to play DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake.
- DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy – the first three games of the mainline DRAGON QUEST series. Featuring vibrant HD-2D graphics, new and modernized features, and a refined narrative, players are invited to set out on an epic fantasy adventure to save the world from a dark evil.
- A fully modernized remake of the original: Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, bringing players into the world of DRAGON QUEST III like never before, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements.
- DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy – the first three games of the mainline DRAGON QUEST series. Featuring vibrant HD-2D graphics, new and modernized features, and a refined narrative, players are invited to set out on an epic fantasy adventure to save the world from a dark evil.
- A fully modernized remake of the original: Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, bringing players into the world of DRAGON QUEST III like never before, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements.
