Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Preview - The Start of a New Adventure

From the excellent Octopath Traveler to the highly tactical and addicting Triangle Strategy, Team Asano might just be the most consistent team at Square Enix. And now, with the studio's downright gorgeous signature HD-2D style for Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, the series has the opportunity to reach a broader audience than it ever has before.

I'm in the camp of "never having played Dragon Quest before," but by all indications, this is a remake meant for both longtime fans, as well as curious newcomers. With the opportunity to play Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, I can, hopefully, offer a valuable perspective. One thing is certain, though: We have another hit in the making.

A World of Adventure in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

As a newcomer, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is the perfect starting place; the original three games are a trilogy, and chronologically, this is the beginning of it all. Rest assured, if you're worried about getting lost with the story, that shouldn't be a problem with this entry.

My demo starts right near the beginning of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake -- my party is fresh and unleveled. I was given some backdrop to the story, and so we play as a 16-year-old son of a hero setting out to right the failure of his father, Ortega. Ortega failed to defeat Archfiend Baramos, so one can assume that is the ultimate goal.

We begin in the town of Aliahan, and quickly venture out into the vast, open grasslands. My immediate surroundings are expansive and empty, though this is clearly by design. As I venture from Aliahan to my next destination, Reeve, the way forward is frequently interrupted by random encounters of various enemies, like Dragon Quest's signature slimes, and more.

The feeling of "retro" is immediate to me. The development team clearly spent an untold amount of hours crafting a beautiful world, but the intent to stay faithful to the old-school style of the original is evident in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. This is proven in its minimalist, black-and-white UI as well as nostalgic sound effects, even if it's not a 1:1 comparison to the original.

The combat, however, is where that retro style really comes through. The turn-based combat in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is undeniably less involved than turn-based strategy games that came after it, but it's no less fun. You'll dole out commands to your party, and they will act accordingly -- simple as that.

This can feel a bit drawn out at times if you're commanding each party member individually, but if you prefer, you can set your party AI to act according to a rule-set through the "tactics" menu. The AI seemed pretty smart no matter what option I chose, so having a specific tactic set is likely a good choice for beginners while they get the hang of things. You might even be able to rely on it for the whole game.

Other than that, we can now speed up gameplay, which is a most welcome feature, indeed. Old-school RPGs tend to suffer from slow and cumbersome combat, but that is alleviated with the fast-forward function. That, along with the tactics menu, are but two of many promised quality-of-life features we can expect from Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. In short, battles are quick and unobtrusive.

Good ol' Dungeon Crawling in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

I soon reached the next town, and once again found very traditional and grounded JRPG mechanics. I bought some new gear with my now slightly higher level party, explored a bit, and found my next destination was a tower on the eastern side of the map. The map, by the way, is a handy tool and it's impossible to get lost with it, if you were ever worried about what to do next.

The town had a church, and this serves as a point to save your progress; however, one new feature is the ability to "remember." This essentially works as another save, so you can now save your progress anywhere in the world without having to worry about where the next church is. I used this to great effect in the tower, since unforgiving nature of an old JRPG was very much present.

The tower was a surprisingly complex dungeon with a undeniable old-school charm. Because of my limited time, I bee-lined to the top of the tower, but I could have explored quite a bit of it. No doubt, going down the many different pathways would lead to treasure, and I can't wait to explore more of it. A handy map helped guide my way efficiently through the dungeon, so once again, I never felt lost.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is Another Artistic Masterpiece

The HD-2D style uses gorgeous pixel sprites combined with high quality textures and environments. For Octopath Traveler, you have this sparkly, polished feel to everything, giving it an identity distinguishable from, say, Live a Live. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake still makes wonderful use of this style, but does so in a way that's extremely faithful to the original style.

The late Akira Toriyama's influence is evident, even in this HD-2D rendition of his work. Pixel sprites of characters have an immediately recognizable look, so the unique identities of characters and even NPCs are expressed wonderfully. Monster sprites are simply outstanding, giving us a brand new and improved look for slimes, monstrous crows, evil toads, and more.

In fact, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is seeing the new monster designs and their animations. It's clearly reminiscent of the old-school Dragon Quest style fans are familiar with, but with that bit of extra polish to really elevate this remake.

The overworld is this bright and lush green within the grasslands, evoking more of an anime aesthetic than other HD-2D games. Towns and dungeons are crafted to utter perfection, the latter of which making great use of shadows and lighting to create an immersive dungeon-diving adventure. As another modern touch-up, some (not all) NPCs also have voice-acting.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake might not be the most complex JRPG, but it is one of the most promising. The way it streamlines combat to make it faster and more accessible is sure to please newcomers such as myself, and graphically, it's second-to-none. In a year full of incredible RPGs, we can expect Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake to join in as one of the best come November 14.

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Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was previewed at an off-site event during Summer Game Fest Play Days courtesy of Square Enix.