Square Enix’s continued unearthing of buried treasure in its back catalog continues this week with the launch of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, which takes the seminal 1988 JRPG classic and reimagines it using the HD-2D visual style that originated in the Octopath Traveler series. Before Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake was released, Square Enix already announced it had plans to give the same remake treatment to Dragon Quest 1 and 2, with both titles arriving as a single package sometime next year. It’s clear that Square Enix knew the remakes would be popular among fans, and with Dragon Quest 12‘s development seemingly up in the air, the path forward for the series has never been clearer.
The near-universal critical acclaim and positive fan response to Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake makes future remakes in the same style almost a foregone conclusion, and the next project for Square Enix to tackle before, concurrent with, and after the release of Dragon Quest 12 should be remakes of the three Dragon Quest games in the Zenithia Trilogy. Unlike the titles in the Erdrick Trilogy, which have been remade and ported several other times prior to the recent HD-2D Remake series, the Zenithia games are harder to play on modern consoles despite being every bit as important to the continued evolution of the Dragon Quest series, and it’s time they come to modern consoles and PC.
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Every Mainline Dragon Quest Game, Ranked
There have been many mainline titles in the Dragon Quest series throughout the years though some stand out above the rest.
Dragon Quest 4, 5, and 6 are Foundational to Many of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D’s Improvements
Throughout the history of the Dragon Quest franchise, a lot of attention has been paid to the opening trilogy of games (otherwise known as the Erdrick Trilogy), with the first three games in the series having been remade and ported multiple times across several hardware generations. The same can’t be said of Dragon Quest 4-6, despite all three games being equally important to the continued growth of the franchise (and the evolution of JRPGs in general). Notably, many of the new mechanics present in the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake can trace their origins back to the three Dragon Quest games in the Zenithia Trilogy. Innovations from each game include:
- Dragon Quest 4 (The “Tactics” system allowing for players to have AI-controlled companions and the ability to create unique party compositions using pre-set characters)
- Dragon Quest 5 (First game in the series to feature monster taming and collecting, a major component of future series entries and remakes)
- Dragon Quest 6 (Attack animations for enemies and the Monster Master vocation)
Though all three games in the Zenithia Trilogy are currently available on iOS and Android mobile devices, the most recent console release for all three titles is each game’s Nintendo DS port. With a 10-15-year gap between the last time the Zenithia entries were brought to consoles, the second major trilogy in the Dragon Quest series is due for a modern reinvention that pays homage to its innovations to the series.
The Purported State of Dragon Quest 12 Leaves Room for Remakes of Past Games to Cover the Gap
Following the reveal of the game during Dragon Quest‘s 35th-anniversary celebration, the still-in-development Dragon Quest 12 seems to have suffered one setback after another, with one of the more profound being the passing of Akira Toriyama, legendary manga artist and lead designer for the series. Since then, series creator Yuji Horii has assured fans that the game is still in development, but the recent resignation of the game’s producer from the project in April of this year raises questions about when the game will eventually be released.
With a potential 12-24 month gap before Dragon Quest 12‘s release (well beyond its initially planned late 2024/early 2025 release window), Square Enix can keep players hungry for more Dragon Quest satiated by releasing a steady cadence of remakes done in the same style as Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D. The Dragon Quest series continues to experience a bit of a rising star in the West, and newer versions of classic entries in the franchise could be a great way to reach an even greater audience.
- Released
- November 14, 2024
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes