Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Looks Stunning In New Gameplay Footage

Plus, Square Enix reveals new character art

by Jim Norman 2h ago

Just when we thought we couldn’t be any more excited for Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Square Enix comes along and pushes our hype levels into overdrive. The remake’s official Japanese site has today been updated with new information and screenshots and several Japanese outlets have published extended gameplay footage showcasing the adventure in action.

Let’s start with the biggie and take a look at some of the new footage. Six different Japanese outlets have been permitted to share up to half an hour of gameplay and each showcases different elements ‚ so yes, there’s a lot to catch up on. Dengeki Online’s capture drops us into the game’s random encounters from the get-go, Famitsu’s contains a good deal of environmental exploration and 4Gamer’s shorter clip gives a whistle-stop tour of several locations in bite-sized chunks.

We have attached Famitsu’s 29-minute gameplay video at the top of this article, but you can find all of the fresh footage in the following rundown from the official @DragonQuest Twitter account:

The website updates also give us a bit more information on what the remake will have in store when it comes our way on 14th November. Three sections have been added to — ‘Character’, ‘World’, and ‘System’ — with the following summaries (translated by Gematsu) and new screenshots.

■ The Protagonist (You)
You are the child of Ortega, Aliahan’s celebrated hero. On the morning of your sixteenth birthday, you set out on the same fateful path as your father once did to defeat the Archfiend Baramos.

■ A World of Adventure
On your journey, you and your allies will explore all corners of a vast world. What mysteries await in the towns, castles, caves and towers they will discover? Perhaps the locals can provide a clue or two on how to solve some of the world’s problems.

■ Spells and Abilities Pave the Way to Victory
When exploring the world and its dungeons, monsters are never far away. Tense, turn-based battles proceed in classic Dragon Quest fashion, with you dishing out the orders to your party members. Attack with your trusty weapons, or employ a multitude of spells and abilities, each with their own unique effects, to take down foes in style. Defeating monsters rewards you with experience points which level up your party, and gold coins which allow you to purchase more powerful equipment.

And if it’s a closer look at the new Protagonist character art you’re after, Square Enix has you covered there, too! Back to the Dragon Quest Twitter account we go. Type A is voiced by Toby Laurence in English and Nobuyuki Hiyama in Japanese while Jenna Sharpe and Yuuko Minaguchi take on VA duties for the Type B.

Phew! Is that enough Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake newness for ya? We still have a few months to go before this one comes to Switch in November (and even longer before the first two games in the series get the HD-2D treatment next year), but things are looking really rather good, if you ask us.

Last month, we were lucky enough to go hands-on with the game and explore the early environments for roughly 45 minutes. We were super impressed with what we saw, suggesting that this might be “the perfect introduction to the sizeable series” for those who have long been wanting to dive in. You can check out our full preview below.

Where is your Dragon Quest III hype level sitting now? Let us know in the comments.

[source dragonquest.jp, via youtube.com, gematsu.com]

Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since.

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