Let’s start with a confession about one of my greatest weaknesses. I absolutely adore the HD-2D visual aesthetic from the Octopath Traveler series, and I’ll play anything that employs it. Is your game unpolished with a bug that may or may not ruin save files? I’ll take my chances with it in HD-2D. Am I also looking at a 30-hour plot that reads like your intern randomly threw up gobstoppers labelled with names, places, and plot twists? How concerning—now gimme my HD-2D.
Obviously, if you choose to wrap this modern-meets-ancient art-style around one of the most celebrated RPGs of the golden age of gaming, well, winged serpents could not drag me away from your HD-2D quest.
I’ll clear my calendar for such a rejig, even if I didn’t grow up with the NES original because it didn’t launch in my country. For a few Aussies, like me, our introduction to DQ3 was a Game Boy port of the SNES refresh, which sold a million cartridges on launch day in ’96. Apparently, it also caused 300 Japanese fans to be arrested for truancy—a bit of gaming trivia I love almost as much as HD-2D.
Speaking of delaying education, I’m going to tell you what to expect with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake in two shakes of a Jackanape’s tail. For now, though, let’s service the needs of the “mind’s already made up” types, because I know you exist. If that’s not you, by all means skip the window shop by clicking here to continue.
Preorder Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Nintendo Switch
Get it at Amazon – $84.95 $79.95Get it at JB Hi-Fi – $84.95 $83Get it at Mighty Ape – $84.95 $74
PS5
Get it at Amazon – $99.95 $89.95Get it at JB Hi-Fi – $99.95 $97Get it at Mighty Ape – $99.95 $74Get it at PS Store (digital) – $99.95
Xbox Series X|S
Get it at Xbox Store (digital) – $99.95
PC
Get it at GMG (Steam) – $89.95Get it at Steam – $89.95
The standard edition comes with the game, along with the preorder bonus (detailed below), which includes a handful of in-game upgrades for your team of heroes. Don’t worry if you don’t see your store of choice in the list above. We’ll add new retailers as the listings become available.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Preorder Bonus
Preorder the game from any retailer, and you’ll receive the following in-game items:
Elevating Shoes x1Seed of Agility x3Seed of Magic x3Seed of Defense x3Seed of Strength x3Seed of Life x3
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Impressions
Here’s the basic overview: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a brand-new version of a classic RPG that first blew minds on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. It’s a faithful remake that, despite the significant graphical revamp and refined narrative elements, doesn’t stray too far from the source material.
If you’re already an uber fan, you’d know that the first three Dragon Quest games represent the Erdrick Trilogy, and (kinda sorta spoilers) this third installment was actually a prequel that outlines the first steps of the adventure. Semi-confusing, no?
Anyway, you must fill the 16-bit boots of a 16-year-old child of a hero named Ortega, who was sent to defeat the villainous Baramos. Your old man cocked it up, so the king sends you and a group of companions to rectify his mistakes.
By the by, it should also be mentioned that you’re not going to hit end credits and be left in a narrative lurch for long—Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD-2D upgrades are in the pipeline for 2025. It’s very much worth getting in on the ground floor now if you’ve been wondering what all the fuss is with this (soon to be) 12-games-thick franchise.
While I only had roughly an hour’s worth of hands on with DQ3, I found it to be surprisingly delightful and engaging, despite the somewhat creaky bones source material. I’m told that there will be new story elements and never before seen vocations for its heroes. Sounds like cutting room floor stuff that the diehard faithful will drool over.
Getting into the technicals, I noted Performance and Graphics modes on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, and more. The former translates to 60 frames per second, and the latter is a 4K resolution. Not sure why we can’t have both there, to be honest. This being a turn-based combat affair with the only major motion being your top-down traipsings across the overworld…I just went 4K and was perfectly happy.
I also noted that the devs are offering a choice between two protagonist appearances and three difficulty settings. If you do take the plunge there, you can always fall back on some quality of life features, including autosaves (with manual saves still available). Given that the combat here is light on the animations to preserve the OG feel, I was glad for the ability to speed the fisticuffs up with my shoulder buttons. Just give me my XP and a host of victory affirming, 16-bit-esque sound effects, please and thank you.
Other welcome additions included two camera modes, and a mini map which could be toggled on. I also love this feature and wish it was in more RPGs that I have to finish in dribs and drabs—an NPC conversation log that saves the last 30 interactions.
Looking back through my notes, it seems I also appreciated the now vestigial visual aesthetic where towns in the overworld appear like miniatures when compared to your super-deformed party. It’s also cool that the level designers add in rolling topography to what were once pancake grid overworlds, not to mention some gorgeous dappled light caused by foreground trees and moving clouds up beyond your vision. It’s modern things such as this—like the day/night cycle shoehorned in—that really make one appreciate the extra effort gone into enhancing this in sensible, non-destructive ways.
Unless my eyeballs and instincts are deceiving me, this package already has the feeling of being built by a team who worship the original article. Playing a remake like that is always an infectious experience, and I can’t wait to fill the gaps in my understanding of the “in the beginning” of a series I came to love later in the piece. November 15th can’t arrive soon enough.
Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.
