The definitive way to play one of the all-time greats.
If you’ve listened to me talk on ZTGD radio, you’ll know about some things that I love. I love my family, baseball, open world RPG’s with a heaping helping of jank, and I love-love-love Dragon Quest. Of all the Dragon Quests I’ve loved before, Dragon Quest III is my absolute favorite. The first time I played the game I was completely sucked into the story of a son on a quest to save the world and to hopefully find his lost father, and I was blown away by the twists and turns that story took along the way. I’ve played Dragon Quest III on the NES (as Dragon Warrior 3), on Super Famicom, on Mobile, and now on the Steam Deck with the release of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and I have to say this new release is certainly the definitive way to experience one of the most celebrated RPG’s of all time.
Dragon Quest III released in Japan in 1988 and brought with it a host of upgrades and improvements to the existing Dragon Quest formula. The first game in the series to allow not just a full party of four characters, but to allow you to build that party however you see fit. Want to bring the “stock” party of your hero, a warrior, a mage, and a priest? Go for it. Maybe your hero fancies bringing along a whole party of thieves? It seems like a dangerous game, but you do you. What if you’re the lone wolf type, the kind of person who wants to send their hero on a solo adventure to save the world and doesn’t need anyone else getting in the way. Ok, I mean you’re probably going to die and I’m not sure why you think this is a cop movie in the 70’s but I’m not here to cramp your style. Dragon Quest III also introduced a host of quality-of-life improvements over the first two games, including making inventory management much simpler and eliminating the need to navigate the menu to open locked doors. This new version of the classic expands on that pedigree by adding even more modern features, which help to streamline the experience into something more familiar to players in the 21st century.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
If you’re not familiar with the original three Dragon Quest games, they all make up what’s referred to as the Erdrick Trilogy. Dragon Quest III is actually the first game in the series chronologically (something that has been up front and well publicized this time around but was not immediately obvious when the game was originally released). The games are the epitome of the type of old school, grind heavy, turn based RPG’s that you associate with the genre on the NES. They told their stories through conversations with NPC’s, and you often would not have a clear path on what to do moving forward unless you spoke to each character in each new town (and hopefully took good notes). This could make the games incredibly obtuse at times, one missed NPC dialogue could mean a couple hours of wandering around trying to figure out what to do next.
This new remake still leans heavily on this method of storytelling, but don’t fret if that’s not your style. Square Enix has added several big helping hands to point you in the right direction. Players have the option to turn on Objective Markers, which will circle your next major objective(s) on the map. You also have the ability to turn on Quest Help Text, which basically just shows you a brief, vague description of what your party needs to take care of next. Neither of these options are super intrusive, they only highlight main quests, and since they’re optional you can turn either or both off and navigate the old school way. If you want to find all the secrets on offer here, you’ll still need to rely heavily on NPC dialogue. Thankfully no note pad is needed, because a super handy “Recall” feature allows you to instantly save and reread any NPC dialogue by pressing the start button after you hear a juicy piece of gossip. All of these options contribute to a much more user-friendly experience and I recommend using all three if you’ve never played the game before.
If you have played the game before you may be thinking, “wait did they dumb down my classic RPG and make it for the littlest, tiniest babies?” Absolutely not. Out in the world, this is still the same experience you would expect from an NES Dragon Quest. Random battles are plentiful, with all the normal rules about encounter rates increasing in dungeons, forests, and hills. While DQ3 was always less grind heavy than its predecessors, you’ll still need to do some loops leveling up against weaker enemies to be able to take on the challenges deeper in the game. Later enemies and bosses require a keen understanding of what each of your spells and abilities can contribute and, perhaps just as importantly, when to call it quits and retreat to fight another day. Thankfully you’ll have plenty of tools in your toolbox to take down the Archfiend.
The vocation system was also new to the series when it debuted in 1988, and it makes for a very deep and strategic team building experience. As mentioned, unlike other Dragon Quest games you’ll build your own party here made up of whatever characters you want. You won’t discover new teammates as you go, but you can freely mix and match your team at Patty’s Party Planning place anytime you feel like a change. More likely though you’ll want to take advantage of the ability to change vocations at level 20 by finding Alltrades Abbey. This place allows you to switch your warrior to a mage (for example) in exchange for starting back at level 1. Not all is lost however, as your stats will only go down about half of what they normally would have decreased to for a new character. You’ll also retain any skills or abilities you’ve earned, meaning if you’re willing to put the grind in you can build extra powerful characters with a mix of skills you wouldn’t normally expect.
Your choices for starting vocation include between the heavy armor and weapon wielding Warrior, a Martial Artist with high agility who excels at critical hits, the magic wielding Mage, the incredibly flexible Priest who can heal as well as attack, the Merchant who has a very handy set of unique skills, a Thief who can sneak past enemies, and the Gadabout who is a wildcard with a powerful secret. New to this version is the Monster Wrangler vocation, which true to their name calls on a wide variety of monster related skills and is the only character who can always catch any of the friendly monsters you come across on your journey.
That’s right, as you travel the world, you’ll come across monsters tucked away in the corners of dungeons, hiding in plain sight in the middle of town, or chilling out in secret places on the world map. If you don’t have a Monster Wrangler on your team, the monsters will sometimes flee due to your loud footsteps, your unique odor, or just because they can see you. You’ll need to use your items and abilities to mask these offending characteristics if you wanna “catch ‘em all” (please don’t send the lawyers Big N). You’ll want to collect as many monsters as you can for several reasons. First, your Monster Wrangler teammates will increase in power and skill as you build your stable of friendly monsters past certain thresholds. Secondly, you’ll want a strong team of monsters to compete in the new Monster Arena battles that you’ll find in various towns along the way. These arena battles will allow you to pit three of your monster compatriots against a series of opponents, with very nice prizes of items and gold waiting if you can make it to the end. I love this addition to the game, and it adds a significant incentive to explore the entire map.
Speaking of the map, the structure of the world will be immediately familiar to Dragon Quest fans. You’ll travel the overworld, battling randomly as you make your way from town to town, shrine to shrine, and dungeon to dungeon. The ship returns from Dragon Quest 2, along with another method of travel late in the game that I won’t spoil. You’ll also find the aforementioned Secret Spots along the way. These take the form of conspicuous places on the map (a larger than average tree or a cluster of stones for example) where you can find items, NPC’s, and usually a hidden friendly monster. There are also Sparkly Spots you’ll immediately notice when you make your way out to the overworld, which allow you to collect some items or gold. While these are a nice idea, most of the time (especially late in the game) the rewards are outdated fodder to sell at a shop. They would have been better off in most cases just making these spots gold and eliminating the middleman.
HD 2D graphics were brought onto the scene in a big way with 2018’s fantastic Octopath Traveler, and we’ve seen plenty of great games in the style since. In my opinion, Dragon Quest III is the best-looking game in this relatively new subgenre. The character sprites are immediately recognizable as that classic Akira Toriyama Dragon Quest style, including the monster sprites. Environments are absolutely top notch. The sun bouncing off the water in the day and your lantern casting spooky shadows at night make for an incredibly engrossing world. Screenshots don’t do the game justice; you have to see it in motion to feel the real impact.
The Dragon Quest games are well known for their excellent music, and this one is no exception. You’ll get a fully updated version of the original soundtrack here and it’s absolutely tremendous. You also get voices for many of the characters you’ll run across which is a first for DQIII. This, along with some new cutscenes and backstory inserted along the way, really help to tell the story of the game in its best possible fashion.
As I said off the top, there’s no doubt Dragon Quest III is one of my favorite games of all time. A remake was a risky move, considering both the old-school nature of the game and the fact that it has technically been remade three times already (Super NES, Game Boy Color, and the Mobile/Switch versions). I am so glad that Square Enix decided to take the leap and build this game into their incredible HD 2D engine. I’m even more excited that we’re getting DQ1 and 2 in this style next year (although I’m very curious how they’ll pull off the solo nature of DQ1). Whether this is your first or fourth time going through this absolute classic, you’ll completely adore this version. I hope it helps a whole new generation of RPG gamers experience a true pioneer.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
