Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Review

Decades after Dragon Warrior III originally released (has it really been that long?!), Square Enix and ARTDINK set off on another grand adventure with the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Should players take on the mantle of Hero once more?

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Review

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The Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake begins with your 16th birthday – the age you were destined to set out on your adventure.

While still a child, your father Ortega went off to face the demon king Baramos and to bring peace to the realm. He never returned, so now it is your turn to set off and do what your father could not. Setting off to meet the king, he tells you about your father and his mission.

Given some gold and equipment, players will then set off and gather an adventuring party. Your father made the mistake of going alone; that’s not a problem here.

After forming your party, the first task is to get the Thief’s key and gain access to the next continent. The first island acts as a tutorial for the player.

While nothing too serious happens, players will still be tested. For instance, I forgot that bubble slimes can poison you on hit…and I didn’t have an antidote. You’ll grind, find new gear, and figure out your party comp before moving on.

You’ll also fight a lot, because the encounter rate has been cranked up.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake does make improvement in game speed, but that also increases the amount of enemy encounters.

As grinders, we don’t mind fighting a ton when it’s turn-based since we can just spam attacks. Do note players can change the battle speed, so encounters fly by. Don’t want to fight? Players can set the AI to take control of the fights.

The computer does well for the most part, but sometimes they burn heals or items. It isn’t uncommon for one enemy to be left, and the AI uses the turn to heal instead of just finishing it off.

Class-wise, you will be playing the Hero that can do anything. We gave said Hero the biggest damage weapon and went wild with it, but magic is also available. One”s group can have Warriors, Fighters, Mages, Clerics, Clowns, Thieves, Traders, and even Monster Wranglers.

Some are better than others, but all have a purpose in combat. Thieves steal loot after a fight and can use whips. Monster Wranglers get stronger as you recruit more monsters. While not a complicated system, it leaves a lot of room for customization within your group.

The Monster Wrangler is new to the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, getting stronger as you find more monsters for the massive Monster Arena minigame.

Said arena has changed; players used to just bet on fights and hope that you guys won. Now, players will go out, find monsters to recruit, and then use them in the arena to earn cash and prizes.

This is a simple system if you can actually find the monsters; but in practice they are well hidden. The other benefit to recruiting is that your Monster Wrangler gets stronger, and their moves do even more damage.

This system is a win-win, and we greatly enjoyed our time with it..

While you aren’t in the overworld or in town, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will have players going through dungeons. Most are well-designed, with a few traps and mimic chests, but again, the high encounter rate hurts here.

Despite being grinders, when one has fallen down a trap two or three times in a dungeon, we have had enough. Thankfully, the game is generous with the amount of healing items it hands out – even if that is another problem.

While Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a remake (it’s in the title), there’s still some annoyances carried ocwe.

Take the fact that players have an item bag and a bag for one’s characters. If a healing herb is in the item bag but not your character, it can’t be used in combat. In addition, there are markers on where to go next, but they aren’t great at helping you actually need to get.

Finally, the personality system isn’t well explained. As a result, players might have a mage that is getting increased strength stats — minor gripes, but still worth mentioning.

Thankfully, we didn’t run into any tech issues, crashes, or frame drops.

Fans of the original Dragon Quest III will feel right at home with this stellar HD-2D Remake. Rise, fellow heroes, and slay the great Archfiend.

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