Teasers
As a series prequel, it was always chronologically the first part of the Dragon Quest series. Square Enix is now re-releasing the RPG using the technology of Ocotopath Traveler. We were able to play it in detail for you in advance.
As Dragon Quest 3 was first released for NES, I was not even six years old. When it was first officially launched in Europe for Android and iOS in 2014, I was already a proud 32. The classic solo JRPG, which marks the beginning of the series in terms of the game's plot, will be released this year under the name Dragon Quest 3 – HD 2D Remake also as a completely revamped new edition for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. I recently had the opportunity in Hamburg to play the new edition on the current Nintendo console, which is based on the diorama-like “HD-2D” technology that is used in Octopath Traveler (in the test: grade 8.5) or most recently in Triangle Strategy (in the test: grade 8.0) was used.
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I can tell you two things straight away: With new graphics, voice output and slightly increased comfort, the new edition improves in terms of presentation and playability. In terms of content, however, the developers remain strictly true to the original, which should please fans of the original, but could put off newcomers in some parts.
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| Especially in the settlements, the remake improves dramatically with pretty background animations. |
Close to the original
Remakes of beloved games generally have a big problem. The developers could modernize a lot of things, but the fan base is particularly critical and sometimes reacts with strong rejection if the deviations from the original are (supposedly) too great. With Dragon Quest 3 – HD-2D Remake you don't have to worry about that. Square Enix is apparently not changing much in terms of content, especially with series creator Yuji Horii The person who acts as producer is the person who can give the developers of the remake a slap on the wrist if necessary. However, the developers of the remake are by no means reticent when it comes to innovations and improvements, especially in the audiovisual area.
The first thing to mention is of course the completely new graphics. They are roughly based on the style that Square calls “2D-HD”, which gave Octopath Traveler a special look, somewhere between pixel graphics and diarama art. This is combined with modern particle and lighting effects, as made possible by the technical foundation of the Unreal Engine 4. When you walk through the overworld with your party, the forests consist of three-dimensional trees. The ground is not flat, but rather undulating with small elevations and depressions. The water flows from fountains in a nicely animated manner. Fish swim around happily in a pond. Environmental objects (mostly) cast realistic shadows, and lit torches look exactly like them too.
In addition, there is a (typically JRPG not complete) but, according to previous impressions, very good voice output in English. Of course, you can also switch to Japanese at any time, but I did not try this out during the hands-on. In combination with the new soundtrack recorded by a live orchestra by the composer who died in 2021 Koichi Sugiyama Square Enix massively enhances the experience.
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The remake's sound effects, however, are decidedly retro-like. If you were to analyze the sound effects for footsteps or fighting noises, you would certainly see that they are now in CD quality or better. In terms of style, however, they sound like the 16-bit era at best. I don't know yet whether I'll like it in the long run. On the other hand, this approach didn't bother me in Octopath Traveler and Co., and actually made an important contribution to the atmosphere.
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| The overworld is visually much more complex. There are “real” trees and the landscape is undulating instead of cheaply flat. |
Barren battle arenas
What I don't really like are the battle arenas, as they often seem a bit sparse. Of course there are many variations of these for the countless random battles in meadows, forests or desert landscapes in the overworld or the cave or temple-like dungeons. But they seem more static to me than they should be in a turn-based role-playing game. While fine background animations provide a certain liveliness, especially in the villages and towns, not enough happens in the battle arenas I've seen so far. However, this effect may have been reinforced for me because the external circumstances during the hands-on were not ideal. By that I mean that when I played the game I was sitting a short distance away in front of a fairly large TV monitor and therefore never had the entire screen in view at once.
In addition, I played the Switch version. Nothing against the current Nintendo console, but as with the other “HD-2D” titles, the Switch is clearly at a disadvantage compared to other versions despite the pixel look. Especially in terms of the frame rate, which is probably not consistently constant. The target is probably 30 frames on the Switch, the resolution is unlikely to exceed the 720p of Octopath Traveler 2 On PC and the other consoles, however, there will be 60 fps and resolutions up to 4K.
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| Pixel characters and perspectives give the remake a classic feel. But modern lighting and particle effects are also used. The sound is also modern, apart from the deliberately retro sound effects. |