Review: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Renews the Legend

I was somewhat surprised when Square Enix announced it would give Dragon Quest III the HD-2D Remake treatment before the first two games. In a series where connections between installments are often loose at best, the first three entries have a surprisingly tightly-woven narrative. Rereleasing them out of order felt rather strange, even if it fit the in-game chronology. Aside from story concerns, the first two Dragon Quest games are significantly simpler affairs than the third. Would people really be satisfied going back to Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake after experiencing the third?

Part of my assumption rested on the idea that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake would handle things in a similar manner as the third. While that game featured a number of small additions, it mostly stuck to the proverbial script. Had Square Enix done the same with the first two, I’m not sure how I would be feeling about the whole thing. That’s not what the company did, however. No, it took the word “remake” very seriously with Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. Even if you’ve played these games, you haven’t played these versions.

Square Enix gave the two games a similar treatment to Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake in terms of presentation. The lovely HD-2D graphics, the sumptuous symphonic soundtracks, hefty voice acting, and easy-to-use interface with plenty of quality of life features buff the appeal of these classics. The maps have new secret spots and stashes to seek out, giving you an extra incentive to explore them fully. You can choose from a selection of difficulty settings, and there are a number of assists you can make use of should you so desire. This is more or less what you would expect from this release if you played Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, though.

When you start the game up, you can choose which of the two you want to play. I would advise starting with the first, but if you want to jump ahead you can do so. Should you begin with the original game, it doesn’t take long for it to show off its differences from previous releases. There are new characters and sub-quests, and the overall progression is more linear thanks to some adjustments to the world map. It goes a lot easier on the player initially, but heats up quite a bit more in the long run. There are tons of monsters in the game that were not there originally, and you’ll have to deal with groups of them despite being a party of one. Luckily, you get a lot of new gear, abilities, and magic to help even the odds.

The second game feels even further expanded, particularly with regards to its story. There’s even an entirely new party member who largely manages to avoid feeling too shoehorned-in. Early though Dragon Quest II may have been in the history of the genre, it packs a lot more meat on its bones than the first game. This remake takes full advantage of that, and the results are impressive. It’s like every bit of terse storytelling from the original work has been fully fleshed out, and all of the implied pathos is now quite explicit. I don’t think anyone would confuse this remake of Dragon Quest II for a modern RPG, but you’d be hard-pressed to finger this as being based on a 1987 game if you didn’t already know.

On top of that, Square Enix has honored its intention to make the new release order work in a narrative sense. Dragon Quest III served as the original climax of the trilogy, with an exciting conclusion that tied the three games together. It’s now Dragon Quest II‘s job to see the trilogy’s story off, and things have been reworked to make it the grand conclusion it needs to be. Some of the original identity of the game is lost in that process, but I think it makes sense for this project. In a lot of ways, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is an ideal outcome for a remake. The original games are still out there, but this release offers such different takes on both that it’s more than worthy to stand alongside them.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is available for Nintendo Switch & Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam.