Released in 1988, Dragon Quest III is, let’s not shy away from words, one of the founding JRPGs of the genre. Unfortunately, the ravages of time have made Enix’s game a bit harsh and less accessible seen through the prism of our 2024 standards. Fortunately, the craftsmen at Square Enix have taken out their tools to renovate the front and release Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, the ultimate version of the classic.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake has opted, as its name unequivocally indicates, for the so-called style HD 2Dlike an Octopath Traveler or a Live A Live. For those in the background, it is, roughly speaking, a graphic style that combines pixelated characters with 3D backgrounds. A style that works wonderfully, especially when used on retro game remakes. This gives them a look that is both nostalgic and modern. Damn, it’s so pretty, whether in the light effects, the depth effects or the composition of the sets which have all been carefully remodeled.
HDified memories
If the layout of buildings and towns in theopen world is the same as in the original Dragon Quest 3, the scale and distances have been adapted to best match its appearance of 2024. This new map calibration is just right: neither too big, which would have been too empty, nor too small, which would have been too compact. However, it is good to emphasize that the new rendering does not distort the graphic style of the original material since we directly recognize that we are facing a Dragon Quest, in particular via the palette of rich and vibrant colors.
The reconstruction of Dragon Quest III is not just visual. The gameplay and accessibility options have also been put through the grinder of modernity in order to make the game more enjoyable and accessible. Because, casually, Dragon Quest III was a difficult game and a bit dusty. Here, many new features make Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake much less punitive and much more accessible. Note for example the possibility of running, of teleporting out of dungeons (before, you hit your head) or of displaying (or not) the next stages of the main quest on the map.
The same goes for turn-based combat which now has three difficulty levels, modifiable at any time, as well as three speed levels: normal, fast and ultra-fast. The ultra-fast mode is clearly perfect for shortening farming sessions. It is even possible to roughly program your team, via fairly simple orders, to automate the many random fights as much as possible. Despite this, the challenge remains while being much less frustrating.
Still in the news section, we must highlight the excellent reorchestrated soundtrack of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. A treat for the ears.
The dragon’s beautiful quest
For the rest, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake retains its soulexcellent JRPG with simple but very effective turn-based combat (we could just complain about the too many random fights). THE vocation systemaka jobs, ultimately remains very modern in its approach. For those who are new to the game, know that it will be possible to change classes very easily while retaining the skills from your old job. The only penalty being to become level 1 again (not cool) but with half of your previous statistics (that’s cool). It is therefore possible to create great combos by mixing complementary classes. To this is also added a whole new class, the Monstrologer who, as his name suggests, is a monster specialist.
Scenario-wise, the departure is rather conventional: for your 16th birthday, the King sends you to travel the world to kick the butt of a dark threat, the Archdemon Baramos. But there is a little twist: the hero takes up the quest failed a few years earlier by his father. Despite a somewhat agreed pitch for 2024 players, theThe adventure quickly becomes gripping and progresses at a good pace without unnecessary fuss. The pleasure of moving forward in the story is intensified by the desire to discover the diversity of the world filled with villages, towns, many hidden places and different cultures to discover. The feeling of travel and discovery is omnipresent and feels great. Over the years, we ended up forgetting that a JRPG could have more than 5 cities. To further reward exploration, this remake introduces a new monster arena. A sort of mini game within the game which allows you to enlist monsters found all over the world to make them fight each other in Pokémon-style arenas (except that here the battles are automatic). A super nice little side note that makes you want to look for all these little monsters.
