Dragon Quest III HD-2D Preview: A Brilliant Blend of Old and New
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake looks set to be another decent romp for fans of old-school JRPGs.
After taking in the first six hours of DQ3 HD-2D ahead of its release on 14th November I’m fairly confident that this remake of a remake is now the best way to play this landmark JRPG, but that was the point, right?
A prequel to the original Dragon Quest (which is also getting the HD-2D treatment) DQIII opens with players asked to answer a deities Cosmo quiz: ‘What kind of sexy hero are you’ before partaking in a light bit of roleplay to figure out where you’re a straight arrow or a slippery eel. Apparently depending on which way the wind blows, I’m both.
Once your dubious psyche evaluation is over your character wakes up on their 16th birthday to be told by their mother they need to stop writing about video games and get a proper job. Nope wait, go see the king, so you can go on a quest to find and or avenge your father who vanished while attempting to save the world from the Archfiend Baramos.
After a quick stop at the pub to corral the local drunks to your cause (thankfully a knight, a mage, and a priest walked into that particular bar) you are off on your grand adventure with little more than a pot lid and a stick for protection, the game ditches you into the sprawling world map and tells to deal with it.
That’s when I was handed a harsh reminder that, despite the beautiful new set dressing, sweeping score, and serviceable voice acting, I was still essentially playing a JRPG originally released in 1988.
An incredibly clever JRPG for sure. One that was in some ways, ahead of its time but still shows its age in some fundamental ways.
Something I am sure the devs were painfully aware of because although the original feeling of DQIII is lovingly preserved great pains, have been taken to polish up the parts of the experience that have become a little rusty over the years and make it a bit more palatable for modern audiences.
The first thing I noticed is that the game will now mark where you need to go next on the map and tell you your current objective, its a tiny change but an incredibly welcome one. Especially when presented with a vast world to explore and occasionally fairly spotty info on where to go and what to do next.
Most of this revolves around trying to make combat less of a grind. You can speed up encounters, as well as assign roles to members of your party during combat so you don’t need to worry about overseeing every action they make ( though you can do that if you like)
There are also three levels of difficulty that range from Dracy to Draconion, depending on how much you like having to make your way back to town after your party gets all but wiped out by one unfortunate encounter with a group of savage crabs.
On the plus side though, DQ III HD-2D autosaves a lot. The checkpointing is almost excessive in its design, but I welcome it.
But if you are a glutton for punishment, and want to play through the game as close to the original experience as possible, minus graphics (sorry you’re going to have to put up with it looking lush) the training wheels can be discarded in the options.
With a slowly expanding world to explore and the wind at my back, I’m looking forward to diving deeper into the beautiful world of Dragon Quest III HD-2D ahead of its launch on PC, PS5, Series S/X, and Switch later this month.
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