Tokyo Game Show 2024

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Converted Me into a Dragon Quest Fan

Dragon Quest is one of the most beloved long-running JRPG franchises in Japan. First developed in 1986 by Enix, the franchise has spawned 12 mainline games, several spinoff games, a handful of manga series, and some anime series. For older fans of the franchise, some of their lasting memories come from Dragon Quest I, II, and III. Often called the "Roto Trilogy" in Japan, the three games follow 3 generations of heroes and their adventures. Too bad this man was barely standing on his own two feet when they came out. While I have had the chance to play the games several times over the years, it's never really crossed my mind—well, until the 2.5D remake of Dragon Quest III was announced. And now, I might be a full-on convert after playing the demo at the Tokyo Game Show 2024.

Why release a Dragon Quest III remake before I and II? Speaking with the Square-Enix staff at TGS, the team behind the remake wished to rerelease the Roto Trilogy following the series' chronological order rather than release order. Because of this, some new story beats have been added to help better connect 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 except for the fact the games are somehow connected. Returning fans and new fans alike will have something to look forward to in the story.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is visually stunning, keeping that old pixel feel while updating it for the modern day. More importantly, the 2.5D graphics help realize Akira Toriyama's designs without compromising graphical limitations—especially for the curvy and rounder designs shown in early Dragon Ball. Thus, to quote Barny Gumble from The Simpsons episode “A Star is Burns,” “Just tap it into my veins.”

We've got a story that's inviting for new players of Dragon Quest III and visuals that harken back to classic Toriyama art. What other quality-of-life improvements are there for a noobie like me? While it's not the most impressive of the upgrades, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake now has full audio dialog. This isn't anything out of the ordinary or groundbreaking—it's almost odd if a JRPG doesn't include voiced dialog in this day and age. This is a welcome feature. Not because it's become a standard feature but because fans can finally listen to their favorite characters speak and hear the emotions behind their words. Plus, if the language options in the demo are a standard feature for the official release, adventurous players can mix and match between several languages. So, you could have English text with French dialog or Japanese dialog with Chinese text.

Of course, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a classic JRPG. You shouldn't be surprised the game still has that classic JRPG feel. The means slow character movement on the world map and turn-based battles. Thankfully, players can sprint out of battle, although there's no auto-run option, and combat can be sped up with the push 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 XII, every player turn you have the option to automate or manually input commands during combat. Those automated options include choices like “fight aggressively”, “fight smart”, or “focus on healing”. Combine this with the battle speed, random encounters can feel like a pseudo-idle game. That said, this doesn't mean the combat system is always automated. Players still have the option to manually input every battle command. It's just a nice feature to speed things up when needed.

All in all, the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake demo at the Tokyo Game Show 2024 isn't something I expected to like but now I'm fully on board and can't wait for the full game.