Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake turned me into a Dragon Quest fan – Tokyo Game Show 2024

Dragon Quest is one of the most popular long-running JRPG franchises in Japan. First developed by Enix in 1986 franchise has spawned 12 mainline games, several spin-off games, a handful of manga series, and a few anime series. For older fans of the franchisesome of her lasting memories come from Dragon Quest I, IIAnd III. Often referred to as the “Roto Trilogy” in Japan, the three games follow three generations of heroes and their adventures. It’s a shame this man was barely standing on his own two feet when they came out. Although I’ve had the opportunity to play the games several times over the years, it never really occurred to me – well, until the 2.5D remake of Dragon Quest III was announced. And now I may be a complete convert after playing the demo at Tokyo Game Show 2024.

Why publish one? Dragon Quest III Remake before I And II? In conversation with the Square Enix Staff at TGS, the team behind the remake wanted to re-release the Roto trilogy in the chronological order of the series rather than the release order. Because of this, some new story beats have been added to provide a better connection Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake To Dragon Quest I. This is great for someone like me who is completely oblivious to the lore and story, aside from the fact that the games are somehow connected. Both returning and new fans have something to look forward to in the story.

Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake is visually impressive, retaining the old pixel feel while updating it for the modern age. More importantly, the 2.5D graphics help make it a reality Akira Toriyama‘s designs without compromising on graphic limitations – especially the curvier and rounder designs shown earlier Dragon Ball. So, to quote Barny Gumble The Simpsons Episode “A Star is Burns,” “Just Put It in My Veins.”

We have a story that invites new players Dragon Quest III and images reminiscent of classic Toriyama art. What other quality of life improvements are there for a newbie like me? Although it’s not the most impressive upgrade, Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake now has full audio dialogue. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary or groundbreaking – it’s almost strange when a JRPG doesn’t feature spoken dialogue these days. This is a welcome feature. Not because it’s become a standard feature, but because fans can finally listen to their favorite characters and hear the emotions behind their words. And if language options in the demo are a standard feature for the official release, adventurous players will be able to mix and match multiple languages. So you could have English text with French dialogue or Japanese dialogue with Chinese text.

Naturally, Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake is a classic JRPG. You shouldn’t be surprised that the game still has that classic JRPG feel. This means slow character movement around the world map and turn-based combat. Thankfully, players can sprint out of combat, although there is no auto-run option and combat can be sped up with the press of a button.

If you’re like me and don’t enjoy random encounters, you can automate all those “tedious” battles. Like a very simplified Gambit system from Final Fantasy XIIOn each turn you have the option to enter commands automatically or manually during combat. These automated options include options like “fight aggressively,” “fight smart,” or “focus on healing.” Combined with the speed of combat, random encounters can feel like a pseudo-idle game. However, that doesn’t mean that the combat system is always automated. Players still have the option to manually enter each combat command. It’s just a nice feature to speed things up when needed.

All in all, that is Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake I didn’t expect to like the demo at Tokyo Game Show 2024, but now I’m all in and can’t wait to see the full game.