Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Video Game Review

Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation is already a seminal title among Japanese RPGs: a pillar of the genre whose influences run wide and deep across Japanese pop culture. Countless games have come in its wake, all inspired by that original game and its many creative decisions. The decision to remake the game in HD-2D, along the lines of titles like the Live-A-Live remake or Octopath Traveler games held great promise for fans. The result is taking an already-seminal title and making it one of the must-play games of 2024.

Square Enix and Artdink played around with the HD-2D in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Unlike Octopath Traveller, only the central characters are rendered in high-definition 2D sprites. The world around them is rendered in vivid 3D. At first blush, it’s not quite as impressive as the diorama-like vistas from Octopath Traveler, and yet, once you see the Hero/ine and their party arrive at Romaria for the first time or the sun-dappled village of Norvik, you’ll be sold. The world is bright and colorful, saturated with vibrant hues and details to enjoy everywhere. The grass is lush, the skies are endless, and the open plains of the battle screen are peppered with tiny gusts of wind and the shadows of clouds overhead.

So, too, are the characters revitalized. The enemies you encounter have all the charm you would expect from the late Akira Toriyama‘s art. Crabs bubble and snap their claws, one-eyed medusa monsters endlessly wriggle their snake-like appendages, and the eternally lovable slimes wiggle about with their immortal grins. Similarly, the iconic party members of the game are as charming and fantastical as ever: the imposing Warriors, the silly Gadabouts, and even the new Monster Masters follow after your hero/ine as you travel the world. Best of all, you can customize your characters to various ages or hairstyles. The characters only look cooler in combat, armed with whatever weapon you’ve given them. From the moment you start the game and look up at that breathtaking waterfall as you input your name, you know you’ve encountered a gorgeous game.

And thankfully, the beauty isn’t just skin deep. The best and most memorable parts of Dragon Quest III have been preserved. Much like other Dragon Quest titles, the storytelling is more a series of vignettes strung together than a sweeping narrative. Every locale you visit has its own story, from the tragic tale of star-crossed lovers at the core of Norvik’s village of enchanted sleepers to the ancient pyramid of Ibis. Some details of the game have been reworked to preserve the spirit of an older encounter while ensuring they’re not frustrating for newer players. The aforementioned pyramid, for example, now offers a treasure chamber filled with gold and other spoils—with each chest protected by an encounter with monsters.

The characters in your party have also been updated; now, character skills are divvied between Abilities and Spells. Some classes can even learn brand-new abilities (like the Hero with their new elemental sword attacks). The addition of the Monster Master class also adds a new wrinkle to party dynamics, tying into the Monster Arena mini-game added to this version of Dragon Quest—as well as incentivizing exploration of each map to ensure a steady supply of monsters to learn new skills from. And you’ll need those skills for the battles. Dragon Quest III now features three different difficulty options for the game; while I started at the standard difficulty, I worried for a bit that the base game would be too easy as my party was thrashing early monsters. As time went on, however, newer monsters started posing greater threats (and having a Gadabout in my party wasn’t helping). Of course, you can reclass your characters later at the Alltrades Abbey (where my Gadabout was promptly promoted into a far more effective Sage), opening the door to plenty of fun strategy and party options.

For longtime fans, all the fun details you love are still here. The voice at the opening waterfall still offers you a quiz to grant your character a stat-altering Personality Type (and those results cut as deep as ever). You can also grant your party members personality types, which can be further modified with equipment or self-help books. Characters still speak in thick regional accents, from the Italian of the Romarians to the Indian accents of Baharata. The new voice acting also shows these off without appearing too cartoonish. The music and graphics might change, and they might even add voice acting—but this is still Dragon Quest, and even now, the little 8-bit prompts for attacks and magic spells will tickle the ears.

There are a few aspects I would have liked for the game to improve upon. For one, menus can feel rather sparse as they don’t show item illustrations. There are new features wherein the game can give you prompts on where to go next and even note the location on your map; useful if you haven’t played in a while, but the fun of a Dragon Quest is exploring the world and maybe even getting a little lost. I appreciate being able to turn those prompts off.

A new Autosave feature lets you save without having to go to a church, which can even help you circumvent the series’ standard loss of half your gold if you lose a battle. I appreciate that the option is there for folks used to newer games, but it doesn’t feel suitable to my personal tastes to not come out of a loss without some penalty. Also, item management can be a real slog. Selling items at a shop means selecting and selling them one by one instead of all at once. Considering how many items you can have filling up your various item bags (one for each party member, plus a dedicated Item bag and a dedicated Equipment bag), it would have been nice to have something to cut down on the hassle. Also, battles and walking can feel aggravatingly slow; take advantage of the run toggle and the options for battle speeds whenever possible. Oh, and if you’re playing Dragon Quest III on a Switch, get ready for compromise. It’s a lovely game, but I noticed some definite framerate drops in busier locales like Romaria on my playthrough.

In the grand scheme of things, though, these issues do little to impede Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. It’s a true classic of a game, not given just a mere spit-shine but a loving reconstruction from top to bottom. All the things you love and remember are here, and more. For longtime fans, this is the definitive Dragon Quest III experience. For newer fans, this is possibly the best place to start if you’ve never played a Dragon Quest game.