Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake Review (Xbox Series X|S)

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is a full remake of "one of the greatest RPGs of all time" according to Square Enix. Originally released as Dragon Quest III in 1988 on Nintendo’s Famicom, this chapter was helmed by creator Yuji Horii, the iconic Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama, and the legendary video game composer Koichi Sugiyama. This is the third game, but it’s the perfect way for Square Enix to reignite this adventure, as it’s actually…spoiler alert...the start of 'The Erdrick Trilogy’ and will be followed by the HD-2D version of Dragon Quest 1 and 2.

This entry marks the narrative beginning of this trilogy series. You take control of the child of the great hero Ortega, who was killed in battle by the villainous Archfiend Baramos. So, on your sixteenth birthday, you’re summoned by the king of Aliahan to follow in your father’s footsteps and save the world by recruiting a party of heroes and embarking on a quest.

When you venture forth in the HD-2D Remake of Dragon Quest 3, what you’ll immediately notice is the jaw-dropping visual makeover the game has received. As referenced in the game’s title, the third quest is now sporting Square Enix’s trademark graphical style, first seen in the 2018 release Octopath Traveler.

This facelift makes it incredibly easy to forget this remake is actually based on a game that’s now over 35 years old. The ‘HD-2D’ style enhances the pixel art and mixes it with all sorts of 3D elements and special effects. In general, you’ll see light bouncing off your surroundings, water reflections and plenty of glistening locations. There are also better rendered monsters and the overworld map has received a lovely facelift as well. Collectively, it all looks fantastic in motion and ran smoothly during our time playing on Xbox Series X and S.

And don’t forget the music…that iconic Dragon Quest theme song paired with all the familiar songs when you enter towns, dungeons or engage in turn-based battles. Each song matches the scene and mood of the moment perfectly – it’s all wonderful work by the late Koichi Sugiyama and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony.

Of course, the facelift isn’t the only selling point of this remake. You’ve now got English and Japanese voice work for the main story and select scenes throughout the game. Then there are a whole host of quality-of-life improvements – some more drastic than others. This includes three different difficulties, with the easiest focusing on the player’s story experience, and the harder one adding a whole new world of pain to the game for veterans. Then, like many other returning JRPGs nowadays, you’ve got your ability to fast-forward battles to speed up the grind and even skip text and cutscenes. Other assist features like objective markers means you’re never lost, and you can also memorise certain dialogue, so you never forget all the important conversations you’ve had along the way.

As for gameplay, one of the standout additions is the new vocation Monster Wrangler, where you fight with monsters and can deal damage to multiple enemies at once. There are also locations like the Monster Arena, found in multiple towns throughout the world, in which you'll do battle with monsters you’ve rescued, and they're a nice break from the main adventure. You'll find hidden locations around the world, too, that often reward you with all sorts of items. Another key feature for returning players is new narrative content featuring your father Ortega, while the general story has been updated a little to factor in the Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake. Apart from this though, the gameplay formula remains the same – you travel from one location to the next, battling monsters and levelling up your classes as you go about your quest to save the world.

All of these quality-of-life features and extra content make the game feel a lot more modern than the original release and previous iterations. There have also been some changes to the game’s artwork and certain other aspects of it, which has led to some discussion in the lead up to its launch. One thing though that hasn’t really been updated enough is menu navigation, and just the way items are equipped might be a bit too fiddly for some players.