Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake - Switch Review
"A wonderful reimagining if you know what you're getting yourself into."
Dragon Quest as a series is one that requires no introduction. It's iconic, especially in Japan; I mean, they accompanied the Tokyo 2021 Olympic opening ceremony to the Dragon Quest Roto's Theme track. There are many iconic entries in the franchise: the original Dragon Quest which arguably pioneered the JRPG genre; Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King with it being the first fully 3D entry on PlayStation 2/Nintendo 3DS; and even the most recent Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age; but above all, no entry in the series has had quite as big of an impact as Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation back in 1988, and 36 years later, we have been treated with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.
Dragon Quest III takes place prior to the events of the original, with a demon named Baramos looking to destroy the world. As the child (Hero) of the legendary fighter Ortega who was slain in battle as the Hero was growing up, it's up to the player to save the world alongside three chosen companions. It's quite a simple plot, but it's a plot from over three decades ago but with a beautiful HD-2D coat of paint and some modern quality of life updates, and that's going to be the general theme of this review.
The Good
In my most humble opinion, HD-2D is the best thing Square Enix has done in the last 15 years. Every HD-2D game since Octopath Traveler has been stellar and the art style continues to evolve in so many amazing ways, with both new entries and classic games receiving a new lease on life. With the iconic history that the Dragon Quest series can boast, seeing this historic title be presented in this art style is how I imagine every child back in the late 80s had imagined it in their mind. I couldn't resist looking up screenshots of the original Famicom version and marvelling at how far it's come.
With this edition, you could convincingly argue that this remake lays down the graphical foundation of the series for years to come. The possibilities are endless and may give the series a new lease on life, especially with the first and second entries looking to be remade and released next year. But why stop at remakes? Why not a new entry in this style? With modern RPGs becoming much more robust, this could be the start of the next generation of 2D Dragon Quest titles, while the upcoming Dragon Quest XII continues to iterate on what XI laid out.
Not only is seeing how this game brings forth the classic world in new and vibrant ways, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake provides a few quality of life improvements that would have greatly hurt the game in 2024. Additions like difficulty settings, quick-heal menu options, robust maps and waypoint markers make the 36-year-old game feel like less of a slog than it would have without them.
TL;DR
- An iconic classic with a beautiful new coat of paint
- The foundation of Dragon Quest games for decades to come
- Modern quality of life improvements
The Bad
And this is where we take off our nostalgia goggles and look at Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake with honest criticisms. I, for one, absolutely adore the Dragon Quest series, but it's certainly not without its flaws, especially for an entry that is fundamentally almost four decades old. The risk Square Enix had with remaking this game for modern audiences was changing the core game system and what made long-time fans look back on the game with such fondness. However, in 2024, the game shows its cracks where it merely has you traveling from one town to the next doing incredibly basic quests, overarched with a story that feels oddly paced.
And oh boy, the grinding! This part feels like something that could have absolutely been improved on with the remake. Many late bosses felt as though I absolutely had to grind for hours on end and have exactly the right accessories equipped if you are to have a chance. This felt more acceptable in the 1980s as RPGs were fewer and further between and thus more time could be spent grinding, as well as no quest markers, meaning you would've walked around more and come across plenty of additional random encounters.
It wouldn't be a Switch review in 2024 if performance issues weren't addressed. The overworld seems to be a pretty consistent 30 frames per second, but entering towns where the level of detail (which is truly gorgeous, by the way) drops that rate considerably. It's beautiful, yes, but in the same way that photos in a slideshow can be beautiful.
TL;DR
- A fundamentally 36 year old game
- So much grinding
- Performance issues
Final Score: 7/10
Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake is a wonderful reimagining if you know what you're getting yourself into. It's a beautifully stark contrast that demonstrates just how far the series has come, for better and for worse. Having this remake feels like walking into retro-themed arcade in 2024; you have a lot of respect for how far games have come and are really excited to play them, but after a surprisingly short amount of time, you find yourself wanting to go back to playing the newest entry released in this decade.
Thank you for checking out our Dragon Quest III HD 2D Remake Switch review, thank you to Square Enix (via Bandai Namco AU) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:
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