Dragon Quest III first released in 1988, and as such contains a less in depth and more simple narrative compared to modern RPGs you will find today like in Nintendo’s Xenoblade series. If you want a truly deep story and characterization, then you may be disappointed, but what it lacks in this area, Dragon Quest III shines in other spots. Yes there is a simple plot of starting as a a nameless warrior who is the child of a once-legendary hero, being called on to save the world from the threat of an evil dark lord, but to be honest, it does not need much more and even then, this remake has some very clever references to other games in the series.
If you have ever played a Dragon Quest game before, you will know what to expect from the gameplay. Actually more than that, if you have played a JRPG before, you should know what to expect as Dragon Quest laid the groundwork for all JRPGs, taking influence from Western RPGs like Ultima and Wizardry and creating something special in the process. You will assemble a party to explore the overworld, arrive in a town where you can stock up on gear and rest, then head into dungeons for exploration and battles.
This is a rinse and repeat formula., but there is a very good reason that it has endured all these years and why we all love it. RPGs are about growth in some way, and leveling up, getting better gear and taking on more challenges gives you a massive sense of accomplishment. There is a standard character leveling system in Dragon Quest III, but also a class system that allows for some variety and customization.
You are able to shape your party as you like and level up and equip the gear you feel is right for the characters. You can also bring in, or hire, characters from over a dozen various classes and later on you will get the ability to reclass a character to allow them to gain new abilities, though this does mean the characer will see their level and stats reset. You can get them back up through grinding though, and to be honest this gives the game a lot of replayability for different classes and builds to use for future runs.
Of course, combat is an important aspect here, and like in the original uses random battles with a turn based system. You can choose whether you want to have manual battles controlling each character, or give a set of instructions and let the game do its own thing, albeit with the option to jump in manually at the press of a button. It works well overall, and the new visuals make the game’s battles shine bright.
What needs to be addressed though, is what has been done for this remake and the major point is the new visuals which are some of the best uses of the HD-2D engine and helps the world seem fully realized and lived in. Both the visuals and music are absolutely amazing and bring new life to a classic game. But there is more here, as Square Enix has made a number of quality of life changes and additions to the game, such as bringing the expanded Monster Arena and Monster Wrangler class from latter entries, as well as various tweaks like map markers to create an improved experience.
That is not to say the game has been drastically overhauled compared to the original, as this is still based on the original Famicom / NES game, and as stated, lacks many aspects of latter RPGs. There are also some issues with the game running on the Nintendo Switch performance wise, with some frame rate drops and stuttering. Fortunately, both of these are not deal breakers, because even with the issues of the former, the game is still fun and the latter issues do not make the game unplayable, though it is curious that previous HD-2D games did not have the same issues on Switch.
Overall, Dragon Quest III HD-2D is fantastic, and manages to truly pull you into the game. The music, as mentioned above, have received a major overhaul and stands as some of the best in the series, creating both epic scores and meaningful small sections that both accomplish different things with great success. Dragon Quest has always been known for its music, and I have to say that Dragon Quest III HD-2D may have the best music in the series thus far.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D largely did live up to the hype surrounding its announcement and release despite the long wait for the game. Yes, there are performance issues when playing the game on Switch, but they do not take away from the overall experience too much. This is a faithful adaptation of a classic JRPG that knows how to modernize and what aspects needed to be changed and which were best off being left alone.
Some remakes try and go all out, but Dragon Quest III HD-2D plays it smart and manages to walk the fine line of staying true to the original and giving something new to the fans. If you played the original back in the day, you will love this, and if you are a fan of classic JRPGs or just RPGs in general, this is one you will need to check out. Dragon Quest III HD-2D is highly recommended for all.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided.
