Playing Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on my Switch this month was… well, something. Never played the original, so here’s the scoop. First off, the sprites? Mind-blowingly good. Like, can’t-stop-staring good. But then there’s the grind. Man, it gets rough. Either you stick with it or flip to the Dracky Mode where it’s almost impossible to die. Yeah, I went the Dracky route. No shame.
Anyway, this all happened after I had this whirlwind 25-minute demo of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake on the PS5 at PAX East 2025. Needed a point of comparison before I put pen to paper. Or, well, fingers to keyboard. Whatever. So, if you’re expecting a deep mechanical dive… not happening. It’s the vibe they’re going for here that’s intriguing.
So, in the Dragon Quest I demo, off I went from the starting town, across the fields, and into a cave. Did some monster mashing, took in the sights. New stuff? A bit scarce, but what the heck, it looks fab. Like, the new battles where you face a bunch of monsters at once? Nice touch.
Dragon Quest II? Gorgeous too, and the style reminded me of the III remake: low camera angles, voiced cutscenes. If you’ve played II back in the day, you know it’s got its quirks. Not quite the oddball of the series, but tricky all right. Somewhere between grind-happy Dragon Quest and the expansive III.
Now, with a few demo minutes, you can’t spot much. But if Square Enix jazzed up II like they did with III—speedy battles, more difficulties, the whole comfy package—then it’s a sweet deal for fans who have… mixed feelings about the game.
What caught my eye? The devs at Square Enix are making I & II feel like they’re sequels to last year’s III remake. Erdrick’s story in III sets the stage for I & II, which star his descendants. There’s this new content—story and gameplay—that weaves the games together into one continuous saga.
A chat with a Square Enix rep spilled the beans on how playing I & II together will match the length of last year’s III remake—30 to 40 hours if you didn’t mess with the difficulty. The rep was all in when I mentioned turning Dragon Quest II into an easier ride. Apparently, those upgrades were a major focus.
Oh, and on Dragon Quest Day, bam! Square Enix dropped the release date—October 30 for Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, even on Switch 2! My gut reaction? “Looks like they nailed it, like with III!” But dig a bit deeper, and you see Square Enix has big plans, some ambitious dreams for this remake deal. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
