The Biggest Changes In Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake

Dragon Quest 3: The Seeds of Salvation was released on the Famicom in Japan in 1988. It took a long while but eventually, it was released in North America in 1992 for the NES under the new title, Dragon Warrior 3. A few years later it was remade on the SNES but only in Japan.

That’s only a brief history but Dragon Quest 3: The Seeds of Salvation is one of the most popular titles in the franchise. That’s why it has been ported and remade so often with too many versions to count. The last of which was a 2019 port to the Switch. So, the changes in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake will be compared to that version mostly.

6 Difficulty Options

The Most Accessible Dragon Quest Yet

Final Fantasy games blew up in the West more than Dragon Quest did. Part of the reason may be because Final Fantasy games have often been easier or at least not as punishing. The grind levels have been extreme in Dragon Quest from day one and the fact that players can lose money is a real bummer.

There have been Dragon Quest spinoffs with difficulty levels but it’s refreshing to see in a mainline game remake or not. There are three difficulty levels to choose from in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and they can be changed outside of battle anytime. This will make Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake the most accessible mainline game in the series in ages and hopefully, that gamble will pay off well for newbies to the franchise.

5 Story Upgrades

A Voice Above The Competition

There are a lot of upgrades to the story beyond a new translation which is always helpful when bringing in a new audience. Voices have been added to the game which is odd considering this is a pixel-based game albeit a fancy one in the HD-2D style. Also, while there, not many scenes are voiced. If players aren’t feeling the story though they can always fast-forward through dialogue or skip it.

One of the weirdest changes though deals with the beginning flashback. In the 2019 Switch port of the game, players get to control a monster and ravage through a town with their fire breath although the destruction level is basically nonexistent. That doesn’t happen in the intro to Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and instead, players are given more time with the hero’s past. There are direct story changes like this throughout, but nothing truly major without going into spoilers.

4 Tweaking Your Party’s Looks

Giving Players More Customization Options

Players didn’t have a lot of customization options in the last port or the original game. They could choose their Vocation along with their gender and that was it. The party-building dynamic is a lot more intricate in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake when players go to Patty’s Party Planning Place.

They can choose their Vocation, their gender, one of several pre-made models, and then they can customize their hair color. It’s not as in-depth as some other RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 but it’s a big upgrade for this game. Also, players can choose their starting personalities in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake which will affect Vocations and progression through the game. https://gamerant.com/dragon-

3 A New Vocation

Round Up Some Monsters

In the last port, players had access to seven Vocations including Gadabout, Mage, Martial Artist, Merchant, Monster Wrangler, Priest, Thief, and Warrior. In Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, they now have eight at the start including the new Monster Wrangler. With this Vocation, players can go down a long road for an early side quest that will take them through the whole game.

There are specific locations where players can recruit monsters that they can then use in the Monster Arena. It’s best to think of this location like Pokemon Stadium rather than a mainline Pokemon Red/Blue. It’s a contained monster-catching experience but it is pretty normal for the series. As an extra note, Dragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen was the first game with monster-catching mechanics.

2 Expanding The World

Also, There’s A Mini-Map

Whether it was in 8-Bit or in 16-Bit, the world of Dragon Quest 3 has technically always been small. Locations were close together from the world map to in-town buildings. Everything has expanded in the remake though, giving players a more diverse open-world to explore.

A mini-map was added to help players navigate this bigger world and if they don’t like it then it can be turned off in the settings. Movement speed was also tweaked as players can now run from the start and there are even toggles to make the transitions smoother. The one strange aspect about the world is that players can now only save in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake’s many towns via churches. In the Switch port, there was a quick save feature and players could use that whenever they wanted.

1 The Battle System

Fast Forwarding And New Perspectives

The original version of Dragon Quest 3, and all ports after, presented battles in a first-person perspective. Players could see the enemies before them along with menus for their characters. The character models were not present in battle but they can be seen in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake before the fighting begins. They don’t have battle animations to attack enemies with but it’s still a nice upgrade and the monsters now move around.

Players can even tap the touchpad, on the PS5 version at least, to hide the UI and gander at battles with all models present. It’s a shame that there is no proper photo mode but the best new feature is in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake are the fast-forward options. This will make the slog of grinding less annoying thanks to the increase in speed.