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NEWS: Dragon Quest I & II Games Get HD-2D Remake; Dragon Quest III HD-2D Game Launches on Novemb

That's great and everything... but why the III one first?

Minos_Kurumada wrote:

That's great and everything... but why the III one first?

They probably started working on III first and then, after it was far along in development, decided to also remake I & II, and so III is simply going to be ready to release first.

Vanadise wrote:

Minos_Kurumada wrote: That's great and everything... but why the III one first? They probably started working on III first and then, after it was far along in development, decided to also remake I & II, and so III is simply going to be ready to release first.

That's a big part of it. They didn't initially have plans to do I&II according to the devs apparently but the ravenous frenzy the announcement of III stirred up is very possibly going to even drag Chrono Trigger into this style of remake as well if this trilogy sells like the hotcakes that the online fervor is already signalling (in Japan).

You can actually go and grab the HD remasters of the DQ trilogy right now on Switch, but I think that like Sega remaking Phantasy Star I & II with the Sega Ages series and filling in extra story moments (gawd I miss those) the original two Dragon Quest titles in particular are VERY barebones by modern standards - it's really hard to recommend them over the bombastic later entries like 5, 7, or 8. The release of III first to set the stage for the other two games is strategic so as to allow newer players to have a better context for how cut & dry an RPG adventure the other two are comparatively.

Final Fantasy I has a similar issue and is why SE has usually opted to do FF Mobius, Stranger of Paradise, and Dissidia sorts of stuff whenever they return to Final Fantasy I - the original just doesn't have the most elaborate stuff going on in it compared to even FFIV, so I would still probably suggest new players start with DQIII and then do the others afterwards.

Minos_Kurumada wrote:

That's great and everything... but why the III one first?

There is no official reason why, but I'd guess it's a combination of two things:
1. DQ3 is one of the most iconic, influential JRPGs of all time, and although I & II were popular, III definitely had the largest cultural impact. It makes sense to release it first to appeal to customer demand. It's also honestly a much better game than I & II, and there may be some concern that releasing I & II first would dampen enthusiasm for III.
3. They probably started working on III first and then, after it was far along in development, decided to also remake I & II, and so III is simply going to be ready to release first.