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Game Information​

Game Title: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake


Platforms:

• Xbox Series X/S (Nov 14, 2024)
• PlayStation 5 (Nov 14, 2024)
• PC (Nov 14, 2024)
• Nintendo Switch (Nov 14, 2024)

Trailers:

• Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake - Launch Trailer | PS5 Games
• Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake – Overview Trailer – Nintendo Switch
• DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake – Release Date Trailer – Nintendo Switch

Developers: Square Enix, ARTDINK

Review Aggregator:


OpenCritic - 86 average - 91% recommended - 18 reviews

MetaCritic - 82 average - PlayStation 5

Critic Reviews​

Checkpoint Gaming - Pedro Cooray - 9 / 10

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a triumphant remake of a classic. The new visuals and sound design are beautiful and elegant, with new systems updating just enough to keep it palatable to modern audiences while still keeping systems that make this game unique. Though some elements don't hold up to scrutiny, including some parts of the voice acting and writing, and enemy behaviour, they aren't enough to detract from how enjoyable this game is, now made more accessible than ever. With similar remakes of the first two Dragon Quests on the way, fans and new players are going to have a good time. The quality of Dragon Quest HD-2D Remakes hopefully inspires a higher quality of classic remakes to come.

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ComingSoon.net - Tyler Treese - 9.5 / 10

Square Enix and Artdink have gone above and beyond to make sure this has been modernized and enhanced so that first-time players will have just as magical an experience as those who played the original in 1988. That’s the sign of passion and exactly what a remake should be

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Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - 9 / 10

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D is an excellent remake. Despite some cumbersome traditional gameplay mechanics the series holds onto, like item and party management, the classical turn-based combat is well-paced and offers a fair challenge to everyone.

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Digitec Magazine - Kevin Hofer - German - 4 / 5

“Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake” does justice to the original in all respects. The visual and acoustic presentation is simply brilliant. The few additions to the story make sense and don't distort the spirit of the original – even if its storytelling feels a bit old-fashioned. The new quality of life features in the menus and during battle are a welcome addition. Though, I would have liked the option to switch off the random battles completely.

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Final Weapon - Angelus Victor - 4.5 / 5

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake brings the first of the Erdrick trilogy to a modern audience, and it manages to do so with beautiful graphics and various nice quality-of-life improvements that make the ageless RPG yet again a must-play for newbies or even veterans to the Dragon Quest franchise.

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GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - 9 / 10

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is a prime example of enhancing a classic without taking away the things that made it so endearing. It's a must-play experience and well worth diving into for fans of the original.

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Kakuchopurei - Alleef Ashaari - 80 / 100

While Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake doesn't offer a ludicrous 100-hour playtime like Persona, recent Final Fantasy games or even the franchise's own Dragon Quest XI Echoes Of An Elusive Age, it doesn't need to because a game doesn't need to be 100+ to be a rich and rewarding experience. These combinations of the old and new are what make the Dragon Quest franchise still so iconic and relevant to this day. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake continues that tradition, adhering it to a tee while also dishing out some welcome quality-of-life additions.

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Manual dos Games - Luiz Henrique Silva - Portuguese - 9.8 / 10

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a true masterclass in how to create a faithful remake of the original material, preserving all the magic of the 1988 game while making it accessible to a new audience through a series of quality-of-life improvements in combat and exploration. Just like the original game, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a must-play title for any fan of Japanese RPGs.

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MonsterVine - James Carr - 3.5 / 5

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake accomplishes its goal of bringing a decades old game to modern standards, offering a gorgeous art style and some quality-of-life additions. The tactical nature of the combat still works, although the lack of tactics during boss fights is disappointing. A chunk of battle animations could have used more love as it doesn't feel like complete remake. The story isn't as compelling as more focused modern RPGs, but it does still offer satisfying world-building and a few emotional beats. That said, the pros outweigh the cons for this remake, even if the remaking could have gone a bit further.

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Noisy Pixel - Bailey Seemangal - 8 / 10

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake gives this classic a fresh coat of paint with a gorgeous HD-2D look and smart gameplay tweaks that make revisiting it feel worthwhile. With quality-of-life improvements and a flexible job system, it sticks close to its roots but doesn’t shy away from modern touches. While the high encounter rate and straightforward story might feel like holdovers from the past, it’s a satisfying trip back to a genre staple for those who don’t mind a little grind along the way.

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One More Game - Vincent Ternida - 8 / 10

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake successfully balances the preservation of the original game while making it accessible to modern players. With features like autosave, a recall function, and difficulty selection, players can enjoy the classic game on their terms.
The graphical overhaul and fully orchestrated soundtrack enhance the visual and auditory experience, allowing players to appreciate the game as it was originally intended. However, there are minor issues such as the extremely slow pace of combat and uneven difficulty settings, which can easily turn off certain players.

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Pizza Fria - Lucas de Azevedo Soares - Portuguese - 8.6 / 10

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a true treat for longtime fans and a great starting point for new players. The combination of HD-2D visuals and fidelity to the source material are top-notch, creating an experience that balances nostalgia with modernity.

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ProjectN - Dudu Cavagnari - Portuguese - 94%

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake captures the essence of what a video game should be. It's a simple game, yet it has so much charm and personality that it invites you to play. The HD-2D graphical style and the soundtrack blend perfectly with the game's vision, combining nostalgia with the power of modern technology.
Though challenging and with demanding grinding, it's recommended for all audiences, serving as a love letter to the series' fans and a stunning gateway to the world of JRPGs, which are gaining increasing recognition. However, the lack of localization in some languages is a downside, limiting the recommendation for those without an advanced level in the available languages.

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RPG Site - Cullen Black - 9 / 10

Dragon Quest III returns with it's first new remake in years, recapturing the spirit of what made the original so special.

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Seasoned Gaming - Alex Segovia - 8 / 10

I really appreciate Square-Enix going the extra mile to ensure one of the JRPG genre’s most celebrated early examples is available with a lot of thought and effort put into it.

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The Outerhaven Productions - Scott Adams - 5 / 5

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is the best way to play Dragon Quest III. It looks beautiful, sounds amazing, and is an extremely satisfying game to complete.

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TheSixthAxis - Miguel Moran - 9 / 10

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a wonderful new version of perhaps the single most influential JRPG. It isn't a top-to-bottom remake or a surprising meta-retelling – it's classic Dragon Quest, brighter and better than ever.

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Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 8 / 10

Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake is a charming and well-made update of one of the most classic RPGs of all time. It doesn't reinvent the mold and is too safe for its own measure, but at the same time, it's easily the most accessible and fun version of the game to date. You'll need to have some tolerance for dated design choices, but if you've ever wondered why people love the classic Dragon Quest so much, this is the game to play.

 

[RoboFu]

Pretty awesome considering this was a NES game.

Playing on my switch for nostalgia / fanboy reasons.

 

[Kacho]

I was in the moment it got revealed in that Nintendo Direct years ago. Let's fucking go.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Good stuff! Just one more day.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Can't wait for this.

 

[Hrk69]

Another banger

This year had been great

 

[Little Mac]

88%

 

[Little Mac]

8/10

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

December will be a mix of this and another FF7REBURF play though....holidays looking fanFUGGINtastic

 

[amigastar]

Nice, looking good. I loved Dragon Quest VII on the 3DS. But first i gotta play DQ8 on the 3DS. Also don't forget to change the battle speed to fast or ultra-fast, people.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

My copy is in the mail.

 

[VideoGameEnjoyer]

This looks great. A big cozy JRPG sounds perfect right now.

BUT

I played 90 minutes of the Mataphor Refantazio demo last night and was into that as well.

Getting both would be dumb since I'll have a hard enough time finishing even one of them. Anyone wanna help me with this choice? Platform preference as well, I have them all.

 

[adamsapple]

 

[jshackles]

Who's making the OT?

 

[Krathoon]

It is essentially the final version of DQ3. All gussied up.

I hope DQ1 and 2 get the same treatment.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Will prolly get it at some point, just so I can hate it and annoy TintoConCasera

 

[Vyse]

Can’t wait. So many games, so little time.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Will prolly get it at some point, just so I can hate it and annoy TintoConCasera

Actually I won't be getting this one, I don't like spending money on censored products.

You are free to join me on that hate, the more the merrier.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Actually I won't be getting this one, I don't like spending money on censored products.

You are free to join me on that hate, the more the merrier.

What did they censor?

 

[TintoConCasera]

What did they censor?

Some of Toriyama's original designs, which if you ask me couldn't be more disrespectful.

More specifically, the female warrior and female bunny girl designs, and the enemy troll design.

It's not much, and I bet the game is great, but I won't be giving Square any cent just out of principle.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

MonsterVine - James Carr - 3.5 / 5

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake accomplishes its goal of bringing a decades old game to modern standards, offering a gorgeous art style and some quality-of-life additions. The tactical nature of the combat still works, although the lack of tactics during boss fights is disappointing. A chunk of battle animations could have used more love as it doesn't feel like complete remake. The story isn't as compelling as more focused modern RPGs, but it does still offer satisfying world-building and a few emotional beats. That said, the pros outweigh the cons for this remake, even if the remaking could have gone a bit further.

Why did he give it that score, ignorant journalism?

 

[Sojiro]

Some of Toriyama's original designs, which if you ask me couldn't be more disrespectful.

More specifically, the female warrior and female bunny girl designs, and the enemy troll design.

It's not much, and I bet the game is great, but I won't be giving Square any cent just out of principle.

But how will you ever know what "body type" you are? . I am still on the fence with buying it personally, it looks fucking great, and DQIII is an awesome game. It's just, why oh fucking why did they feel the need to change the shit they did for the a tiny minority of people who likely don't even give a shit about the game? Yes its mostly small things, but I don't like that they did it, and don't want to see it continue.

 

[rkofan87]

MonsterVine - James Carr - 3.5 / 5

Why did he give it that score, ignorant journalism?

its game that was on nes my guy so of course its not like rpgs of today what a dumb ass.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Actually I won't be getting this one, I don't like spending money on censored products.

You are free to join me on that hate, the more the merrier.

Not buying it either. Censoring Dragon Quest is a big no no. I only approve censorship if it makes the characters more attractive. Here not so much. Just blatant disrespect to the artist.

 

[Paltheos]

Who's making the OT?

At the moment, no one's claimed it.

 

[Jinxed]

After selecting type A or Type B, it confirms type A is hero and type B is heroine. Thank you for the trolling Square Enix

 

[Mister Wolf]

Can't see myself paying full price. $30 - $40 is the range. If Acer quickly adds stereoscopic 3D support I would buy it immediately.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Can't see myself paying full price. $30 - $40 is the range. If Acer quickly adds stereoscopic 3D support I would buy it immediately.

Same.

I want to play this but $60 is too steep for a fairly basic remake

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Looks great and im glad for the good reviews. I'm currently at 20+ hrs of Metaphor Refantazio and i can't do two similar type games at the same time so DQ will have to wait for a while.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Everyone values things differently, but to me the HD-2D aesthetic is worth any amount. It's worth much more to me than most so-called AAA titles. I grew up playing those 16 bit JRPGs and for me, these types of games are the best of all worlds.

 

[Danjin44]

It’s Dragon Quest, of course it’s going be great game. I’m there day one.

Fantastic year for JRPGs.

 

[Rran]

They still have the dopey "Appearance A/B" thing, and immediately after choosing it, the game says something like "You would play as a Hero in Appearance A, and a Heroine in Appearance B," which makes the whole thing pointless. You get referred to as male (A) or female (B) throughout the game, except in voiced clips where they usually avoid pronouns.

Although there's one really awkward moment at the beginning where your mom (in a voiced line) says to her friend, "I'll go wake them up," referring to you. What mom would use "they" for her son or daughter? Really bizarre choice when it could've easily just been "I'll go wake the kid up" or something.

Another nitpick, every monster now has the pronoun "they," even ones with obvious gendered names. This is weird and confusing and always makes me reread sentences.

The censored art is especially bizarre because you don't even see the art in-game at all. And the sprites are too small to tell the extra changes.

Besides that the game is pretty awesome. Play on hard mode.

 

[Andyliini]

Looks good. I'll jump in after I have beater Mario & Luigi. Yeah, playing two RPG's back to back is quite time consuming, but it must be done

 

[Jinxed]

They still have the dopey "Appearance A/B" thing, and immediately after choosing it, the game says something like "You would play as a Hero in Appearance A, and a Heroine in Appearance B," which makes the whole thing pointless. You get referred to as male (A) or female (B) throughout the game, except in voiced clips where they usually avoid pronouns.

Although there's one really awkward moment at the beginning where your mom (in a voiced line) says to her friend, "I'll go wake them up," referring to you. What mom would use "they" for her son or daughter? Really bizarre choice when it could've easily just been "I'll go wake the kid up" or something.

Another nitpick, every monster now has the pronoun "they," even ones with obvious gendered names. This is weird and confusing and always makes me reread sentences.

The censored art is especially bizarre because you don't even see the art in-game at all. And the sprites are too small to tell the extra changes.

Besides that the game is pretty awesome. Play on hard mode.

And there's still gender related pieces of equipment. A leather vest was for female only

 

[Jinxed]

Looks good. I'll jump in after I have beater Mario & Luigi. Yeah, playing two RPG's back to back is quite time consuming, but it must be done

I was wondering about that one, I need to look into it after DQ3

 

[UnrealEck]

Does anyone know if they explained why they remove the christian crosses from the game?

 

[Spukc]

Does anyone know if they explained why they remove the christian crosses from the game?

because you go straight to hell for blasphemy

 

[Spukc]

Same.

I want to play this but $60 is too steep for a fairly basic remake

aye dragon's dogma is 40 right meow... on sale. will play that instead on my playstation 5 Pro

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

aye dragon's dogma is 40 right meow... on sale. will play that instead on my playstation 5 Pro

I think I would hate DD unfortunately

Same with BG3

 

[Rran]

And there's still gender related pieces of equipment. A leather vest was for female only

Yeah, there are still equips that can only be worn by men or women, such as garters, dresses etc.

 

[Spukc]

I think I would hate DD unfortunately

Same with BG3

BG3 i get.. that game is SLOW

 

[Krathoon]

The censorship seems pretty minor. Just a little more coverage on the women.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Man, I really thought the Silent Hill 2 Pro patch would be out and I could just casually saunter through that whole thing while waiting for DQIII. Well, here we fucking are. I want this game and I don't think I want to bother waiting any longer.

Has there been any indication yet as to whether the censorship extends to international releases, or if it's just for us filthy gaijin in the West?

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

I know this is a first world problem…but I HATE when companies sell a Collectors Edition but ship the game by itself/not in the CE box.

If I wanted just the game in sealed normal box I’d buy it from Best Buy!

 

[TintoConCasera]

Does anyone know if they explained why they remove the christian crosses from the game?

Dunno, but it's been the case with DQ since many years ago.

At first it was a trident (DQ VIII), then they went for a cross but with three sticks instead of four, kinda like a Mercedes symbol (DQ XI) which I don't mind. It's a fantasy world so I'd rather have fictional symbols rather than christian ones.

The japanese are just against the portrayal of crhistian symbols in their games, and this kind of censoring goes even as back as NES or SNES games. (Google about Super Ghouls and Ghosts for an example of this)

The censorship seems pretty minor. Just a little more coverage on the women.

For me it's not a matter of how much was censored, but the fact that they just went and did it.

 

[Chuck Berry]

I think I would hate DD unfortunately

Same with BG3

I bought and tried both. Wasnt feelin either of em (though I did put more time in DD2). You're good dawg.

 

[TheCed]

The censorship seems pretty minor. Just a little more coverage on the women.

Are you telling me things got blown out of proportion ? On the internet ???

But yeah
Glad Type1 and Type2 body type ended up being called Hero and Heroine when used in game.

 

[MagiusNecros]

For me it's not a matter of how much was censored, but the fact that they just went and did it.

I think it's also the matter they chose to move ahead with censorship right after the founding artist of the series died. And if they censor DQ3 they will also censor DQ1 and 2 as well.

But I agree it's not how much, it's the fact it was censored at all. And the fact it's primarily alterations on female characters while male characters that are buff and badass were either enhanced or untouched. And then altering some of the monster designs. Monster designs. Just UGH.

It's like man how is Star Ocean 2 R so perfect yet here we are with Dragon Quest.

 

[UnrealEck]

Dunno, but it's been the case with DQ since many years ago.

At first it was a trident (DQ VIII), then they went for a cross but with three sticks instead of four, kinda like a Mercedes symbol (DQ XI) which I don't mind. It's a fantasy world so I'd rather have fictional symbols rather than christian ones.

The japanese are just against the portrayal of crhistian symbols in their games, and this kind of censoring goes even as back as NES or SNES games. (Google about Super Ghouls and Ghosts for an example of this)


For me it's not a matter of how much was censored, but the fact that they just went and did it.

Oh I wasn't aware it had been a thing in the older games.
I'm sure I read a while ago that the creator of DQ was a Christian or something.

 

[nial]

I never thought this would ever cone out.

I hope DQ1 and 2 get the same treatment.

Weren't they supposed to next year?

its game that was on nes my guy so of course its not like rpgs of today what a dumb ass.

Can you even read? He's talking about the story, and yes, stories in 80s media can absolutely be as compelling (it not more) as modern works.