Even after 36 years, Dragon Quest 3 remains one of the most beloved JRPGs out there. And if you thought remaking it for a modern audience might put a heap of pressure on the developers at Square Enix‘s Team Asano, you’d be right.
Speaking to Famitsu (thanks Automaton), producer Masaaki Hayasaka and concept artist Naoki Ikushima share that the success of games like Octopath Traveler 2 and what it did to popularise the HD-2D art style didn’t mean they’d approach the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake project lightly.
“Obviously, I was aware of the fact that it’s a legendary title, so the greatest pressure I felt was, ‘If this fails, I won’t be able to stay in the industry,” Hayasaka jokes. I’ll have to live my life branded as the man who failed to remake a legendary game.
Thankfully, series creator Yuji Horii was on hand to consult when needed. Hayasaka says great care went into recreating the original JRPG, though not every idea made it through. In fact, at one point, the team was mulling over a 3D remake, though the idea was quickly tossed in the development bin.
“3D would significantly change the experience compared to the original,” Hayasaka says. “HD-2D was a better option as it would allow us to balance the nostalgia with the new.”
Rather, the changes that did make it to the final game were more about quality-of-life updates like hints alongside other accessibility-related improvements.
“The hint feature was our idea,” Hayasaka shares. “While our base concept was to preserve the playing experience of the original as much as possible, we wanted to thoroughly change the parts of the original that were difficult to interact with or made it difficult to play.”
Thankfully, the results look worth it. We’ve played Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake ourselves and have been impressed. The spruced-up JRPG is a “pixel-perfect overhaul,” though the game’s retained difficulty will likely delight old heads and frustrate some newcomers.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is out today.