Platform(s): PS5 (version reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch
Genre: JRPG, Turn-Based, Retro Revival, Remake

The Dragon Quest franchise is not only one of the earliest JRPG franchises, but it is also one of the most influential, establishing many (if not, most) of the genre’s original conventions and well-known mechanics. While other JRPG franchises have evolved and changed over the years, the Dragon Quest franchise has remained steadfast to its traditional and familiar designs and mechanics, and this even applies to the most recent entry, 2018’s Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age. However, that has also been the franchise’s strongest point for gamers, especially in Japan.

36 years ago (in 1988), Dragon Quest 3 was originally released. It is still one of the most popular games in the franchise, so much so that it can perhaps be regarded as the franchise’s equivalent of Final Fantasy VII. That being said, an almost forty-year-old game will, of course, be extremely dated when compared to modern standards. Thankfully, Square Enix chose it as the first game in the franchises to receive a new HD-2D Remake treatment with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. Does that finally make the game more accessible and up-to-date with current expectations? The answer is a resounding yes, so read on to find out more.

The Quest Begins Anew

If you’ve ever played a Dragon Quest in your life, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake will feel very familiar, like eating your favourite comfort food. Unlike the Final Fantasy VII Remake (which completely changed how the game is played in comparison to the original 1997 game), Square Enix has mostly preserved the original gameplay experience of the original 1988 Dragon Quest 3 in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. Despite being called a ‘remake’, it pretty much plays the same and it’s almost identical to the original in terms of certain details, gameplay and progression.

Unlike some modern JRPGs where the beginning sometimes gets bogged down or slowed down with the introduction of the story (where it at least takes several hours to get going), Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake opens up really fast and you’ll be getting into the meat of the core gameplay less than one hour into the game. In that way, it’s a lot like the beginning of a Pokémon game, where you start as a normal person suddenly thrust into an adventure the moment you exit your house. It’s the same in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, once you get past a brief intro segment, you immediately embark on your quest (pardon the pun).

The start of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake may be a bit jarring for modern JRPG players who are used to getting party members and companions via the story and narrative. That’s because, in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, you create your own party members and companions. Yes, it’s up to you to create each individual party member, name them and determine their classes. There are several classes to choose from, including the usual ones like the warrior, the mage, and the cleric, as well as the monster wrangler, a brand new one exclusively introduced in the remake. This adds a higher strategic element of choice and experimentation to the game, ensuring that no one playthrough is the same, as it’s up to you to create your own team and thus, craft your own personal quest or story.

The new monster wrangler class is not just unique on its own, but it also adds something more to the game in the form of a new monster-collecting mechanic. You’ll find monsters scattered throughout the world in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, and you’ll need the monster wrangler to tame and collect them. These monsters can then be used to fight in monster arenas located in certain towns in the game. While it’s fun to collect monsters and use them to fight in monster arenas, I think it’s a missed opportunity not being able to use them in normal battles. This is especially a shame, considering that I remember being able to summon and use the monsters that I’ve collected in normal battles all the way back in 2005’s Dragon Quest VIII Journey Of The Cursed King.

The biggest ‘change’ made in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake compared to the 1988 original is primarily the graphics. Square Enix has opted for an Octopath Traveller-like HD-2D style and it definitely works. The HD-2D graphics look amazing and breathtaking when you compare them directly to the graphics of the original SNES game or even any of the previous re-releases, it’s like night and day. At the same time, the HD-2D remake helps preserve the classic and traditional gameplay experience of the original 1988 game without changing it too much like say, Final Fantasy VII Remake did.

The biggest issue of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is its difficulty. For the first time ever in a Dragon Quest game, it offers three different difficulty levels. However, they’re a bit weirdly balanced and scaled. My previous experiences with Dragon Quest games have usually been that they were always notoriously hard in the beginning and they would get easier as I progressed through the game. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake feels like the opposite. On normal difficulty (Dragon Quest), it feels almost relaxing when you first embark on your journey and for the first half of the game or so, you don’t really need to grind that much. Then, in the second half of the game, once you reach a certain point, there are some ruthless and almost unforgivable difficulty spikes that force you to mindlessly grind.

Technically, there’s an easy copout and solution to this, as the easiest difficulty setting of the game (Dracky Quest) lets players be essentially immortal (yes, you can’t die on the Dracky Quest difficulty) but playing on that difficulty makes the whole experience feel less fulfiling and satisfying as if you’re cheating.

There’s enough happening to keep you propelling to the next objective and one of the best quality-of-life improvements in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is the game now clearly telling you where to go. Sure, you can turn it off if you want to preserve the classic experience of figuring it out yourself, but this is a huge time-saver for players who want to avoid headaches. In addition, there’s a Recall mechanic where you can check out important tidbits of information you’ve received from NPCs in a neat list. While the game still features old-school mechanics like annoyingly frequent random encounters and enemies that can kill you in just a few hits, grinding is also made easier and a lot faster because you can turn on ‘Ultra Fast’ mode for battles, which I turned on from the very start and never turned off ever again (because why would I want slower battles?). This is a huge time-saver, and it’s great that this game respects your time this way.

Another way that Square Enix has made Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake feel more like a modern JRPG is that they have added voiceovers and voice acting to the game. While the game still features a silent protagonist (though you can choose the voice for his/her/their grunts or yells during battle), the narrator and the major NPCs in the game are voiced, which adds to the epicness of the narrative parts of the game. Also, in classic Dragon Quest style, the voices are all British, European or foreign accents, which help make the game feel even grander in scale. There’s just something about non-American accents that makes an adventure feel more immersive (examples include The Lord Of The Rings, Narnia, etc.).

The music in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is also a highlight of the game. The orchestral soundtrack is a delight and never gets old, even after spending hours in the game. Is it something new or unheard of? No, not really, it’s the same Dragon Quest music we’ve heard in previous games of the franchise but there’s a reason why the music in Dragon Quest games has largely remained unchanged over the years. That can be attributed to the timeless nature of the music. Any JRPG fan or gamer worth their salt will instantly recognise the grand bellowing of the Dragon Quest theme. How many game franchises can boast of using the same theme for almost four decades and still be this iconic?

Unfortunately, despite the many quality-of-life improvements in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, there is still one archaic mechanic in the game. In many (if not, most) modern JRPGs these days, you can make manual saves at almost any time or place in the game. However, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake still follows the old Dragon Quest formula of only being able to make manual saves at pre-determined locations; only at churches and priests. That being said, one saving grace that makes this feel like less of a problem is that the game does feature a decent autosave mechanic. In Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, the game essentially autosaves as frequently as after every single battle or entering/exiting a location, so at least that sort of makes up for the lack of being able to save anywhere or anytime.

Adventure Ho!

How long is Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake? The fastest you can probably finish the entire game is likely around at least 30 hours but if you’re playing on normal difficulty or higher, it’s going to take longer than that. If you take the time to savour and explore the world in the game, that’s sure to add more considerable hours to your playtime.

While Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake doesn’t offer a ludicrous 100-hour playtime like Persona, recent Final Fantasy games or even the franchise’s own Dragon Quest XI Echoes Of An Elusive Age, it doesn’t need to because a game doesn’t need to be 100+ to be a rich and rewarding experience. These combinations of the old and new are what make the Dragon Quest franchise still so iconic and relevant to this day. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake continues that tradition, adhering it to a tee while also dishing out some welcome quality-of-life additions.

PROS

• Beautiful and lush HD-2D visuals.
• Quality-of-life improvements like ultra-fat battles and frequent auto-saves.
• The addition of voice acting adds gravitas & charisma to your adventure.
• A classic that still holds up today.

CONS

• Punishing difficulty spikes in the second half of the game.
• You can only make manual saves at pre-determined locations (churches and priests).

FINAL SCORE: 80/100

Review copy provided by Square Enix. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is slated to release for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 14 November 2024, with the Nintendo Switch version coming at a later date.