Thus were the Seeds of Salvation Sown
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a Re-Imagining of the original Dragon Warrior III not to be confused with Dragon Quest 3 The Seeds of Salvation which got a HD remaster on the Switch alongside the first 2 games. This new Remake comes with a Plethora of new standout features and graphical updates that adopt Squares new flagship HD-2D graphics similar to the Octopath Traveller series. Also included is a remastered fully orchestral soundtrack, voice acting and a new Vocation The Monster Wrangler.
This year has already had some fantastic JRPG releases such as Final Fantasy Rebirth, Persona 3 Reloaded and Metaphor Re:Fantazio and with it being November means there is still time before the end of the year for other JRPG to take the throne and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake certainly more than meets the requirements.
As the game starts out you are asked many questions about how you would react to certain situations in a bid to determine what kind of person you are which ultimately will affect your stat growth in game. After answering honestly as I can, I ultimately failed to read the sign that says go left, naturally being a JRPG player I’m not going to follow a sign but look for treasure instead, the game had other ideas instead. A sinkhole appeared beneath me and dropped me into a pit below and labels me as a Narcissist. So anyway moving on.
The Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake starts you off at home sleeping before your Mom wakes you up about going to see the King. The King who sends you on an arduous journey to rid of the big evil of the world is as barebones of a story you can expect and while there is no built up emphasis on the story compared to the original vision of the game, the voice acting is really well done and does a good job of making the world feel more alive in comparison also. Early on you will recruit new characters into your party and you have full control of how you will do this, Warrior, Mage and Priest? No problem, that is what I picked but you can select which characters you like, their names, personality, appearances and various stat points which you can also add, you can change your party freely later on. If you are familiar with Dragon Quest IX Sentinels of the Starry Skies, it pretty much functions the same, while this feature means there is no story or relationship with your characters it does not detract from the game in anyway. Dragon Quest IX was also a fantastic Dragon Quest game and personally one of my favourites to this day.
The design of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is what really stands out, both Characters and enemies have incredible attention to detail and animations that flesh them out. Your characters appear on the battlefield but when attacking will show a first person view of the battlefield giving it that old school Dragon Quest feel. Towns, Villages and Dungeons are incredibly well designed and much like Octopath Traveller it has similar design choices. Fauna and Castle Walls can be seen in the foreground or Castle Chandeliers will appear at the top and disappear as the camera pans near as you explore castles and much like that game, it also works perfectly. The shadows and lighting are really well done and even small fountains glisten in the sun and sun will beam through the trees making even small towns look especially vibrant. One nice touch I really liked was how the town and cities when seen on the world map are as close to a resemblance as what they are once you enter them.
The core gameplay of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is as old school JRPG as you would expect although the game has made it easier for newcomers to just enjoy the game at their leisure if they wish. The game comes with three difficulty modes and while I have been playing on the most difficult, I have not yet encountered any difficulty spikes although I know they exist which tells me the easiest difficulty is probably a walk in the park, it is some time before you get to fight a boss however but when you do they go hard. I have come close in an unlucky battle and I have had my weaker comrades die and in comical fashion follow behind in a giant coffin on the map. Much like other Dragon Quest games, grinding levels is made more fun by our friends the Metal Slime, difficult to defeat but when you do be prepared to get a heap of experience and goodies for your troubles. You never have to worry about escaping from Dungeons as using the Zoom spell does not result in head trauma should a ceiling be above you, instead you are actually able to escape harm and even allows you to return to an Inn instantly. With a quest marker that tells you where you should be going next the game is made with ease in mind but if you wish you can turn this off if you would prefer an old school experience. Inventory management remains largely the same with you only being able to use whatever item is in that characters inventory in battle meaning a lot of time in the menus transferring items and weapons across characters. Full incapacitation of your party will result in you losing half of your funds, a feature of Dragon Quest that has remained since the beginning but any funds in your bank remain untouched. Another addition are cursed Items which when equipped plays a really strange song and tells you that the Item is cursed, you are unable to unequip it until you reach the church and doing so requires a hefty fee so it might be wise to save some of those accessories unless you know you will use it until you get to a town. Reviving and buying new weapons and armour is generally expensive and you will most certainly need to grind to buy the next best equipment, again not really something that is alien to the Dragon Quest series.
Unsurprisingly Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake has a stunning soundtrack including different music in towns for day and night, the ambience and mood elevated further as your character moves about the town with a small lantern in hand. The night and day cycle is another aspect which enhances exploration. If there is an obstacle in your way and it happens to be in the day, come back at night and that treasure chest you saw and wonder if you could get? well you now just might.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a stunning addition to the catalogue of HD-2D remakes that Square Enix have created. The game does a good job of being an old school JRPG revitalised for new and returning players. The game comes with difficulty options and accessibility options also meaning some of those features that make the game easier can all be switched off. Being a Dragon Quest game means it is one that fans have been looking forward to for a while and now it is here, I can honestly say it was worth it, and the timing couldn’t have been better especially as fans got treated to a trailer which nobody saw coming that tells us that the first two Dragon Quest games will receive the same treatment next year.
A PlayStation 5 review code was provided by Square Enix
