Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is looking to strike the perfect balance between nostalgia and modern gameplay. Even though it is determined to be as faithful as possible to the original game, which many consider to be a JRPG masterpiece, it will still feature new story content, visuals, and even some gameplay mechanics, including a new vocation. With this synergy of old and new, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake has plenty to offer fans from all walks of life.
The Dragon Quest series is popular for the freedom it gives to players when it comes to creating their party, among many other things. With a host of classes (or vocations as they are called in Dragon Quest 3) to choose from, such as Wizard, Soldier, and Hero, players have no shortage of options when choosing their party build. As well as new story content and a revamped Monster Arena, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D is confirmed to feature the Monster Wrangler vocation, a fan-favorite from previous Dragon Quest games. In an interview with The Best War Games at Gamescom 2024, producer Masaaki Hayasaka (via translation) elaborated on how these new additions would fit into the world.
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Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Will Feature New Classes and Content
Past Dragon Quest Games Will Serve as Inspiration for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D
Ensuring that the experience feels familiar, but fresh at the same time is one of the developer's main priorities when it comes to Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. This will take shape in a variety of different ways throughout the game. For example, Hayasaka explained how the game's new monster arena will take direct inspiration from Dragon Quest 10:
''In the original Dragon Quest 3, there was a kind of monster arena, but the way that worked was that players would bet on the outcome of monster battles. That kind of gambling system wasn't something that we wanted to do in a modern game, as it wouldn't really work as well. Instead of just removing it, we wanted to think about something that you can use to capture that same atmosphere, something that would be an appropriate addition instead. That's how we arrived at this new Monster Arena, taking inspiration from Dragon Quest 10.''
Clearly, past Dragon Quest games have influenced certain choices Square Enix has made with the remake. Vocations have always been a big part of the Dragon Quest series, granting players a degree of freedom over how they choose to play the game, and Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D will be no different in this regard. On top of the regular vocations, though, Hayasaka explained how another vocation has been added to the remake, one that fans of the series should be familiar with:
''For the Monster Wrangler vocation, we already knew that we were going to have a Monster Arena, so we wondered... Is there some other element that we could bring in that works with that? The Monster Wrangler vocation does exist within other Dragon Quest games, so we thought that it would really work well here, in order to sort of complete the package of new content within the game. In other remakes of Dragon Quest titles, quite often there has been a new vocation added, so it makes sense to do the same here.''
With so much new content included, fans of the original title could be forgiven for assuming the remake will deviate heavily from the original Dragon Quest 3, but this is not the case. The game will be as faithful as possible to the story, and none of the new content should disrupt that in any way. With other quality-of-life features like the soundtrack being composed entirely by a live orchestra, difficulty options, and the ability to speed up gameplay, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is pulling out all the stops to appease fans old and new.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
- Released
- November 14, 2024
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix, Artdink
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Franchise
- Dragon Quest
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
