When Square Enix revealed Dragon Quest VII Reimagined during the big September Nintendo Direct last month, it got me in a Dragon Quest mood. There’s always XI, but that’s a massive commitment I frankly don’t have the time for at the moment. I started replaying the 3DS remake of VII, but again, that’s a massive commitment (something Square Enix is aware of and addressing with the streamlined Reimagined, it says), so I landed on booting up last year’s Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake, and wow, am I so glad I did.
It’s the third game in the Erdrick trilogy, but chronologically, the first, and sets the stage for Square’s upcoming Dragon Quest I & II: HD-2D Remake launching later this month, which makes up the rest of the trilogy and comes after the adventures in III. So technically, playing the HD-2D Remake of III has brought me back to the series’ beginnings in a way. It’s been built from the ground up in the HD-2D visual engine that began with the first Octopath Traveler, so it’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and smart quality of life updates and changes, like the ability to change battle speed, make it a smooth way to play this classic that first hit the U.S. in 1992 (after the 1988 launch in Japan). Because it’s a remake of a classic, it also feels nostalgic; it serves as a reminder of a time when RPGs were much simpler, yet it remains just as enjoyable to play today.
If you haven’t given Dragon Quest a go in any form, this remake is a great place to start, and narratively, the first place to start. And if you’re playing on Switch 2, a free patch for the Switch version makes the game even smoother and prettier than it was at its launch last year.