Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remakewill look to breathe new life into an all-time JRPG classic, adding new story content, visuals, and other mechanics to the beloved world ofDragon Quest 3when it releases later this year. Most notably, keeping its masterpiece status intact is at the forefront of the project.
In an interview with Game Rant at Gamescom, producer Masaaki Hayasaka (via translation) discussed how this new project will pay homage tothe originalDragon Quest 3, staying as faithful as possible while adding new elements to keep the experience fresh and modern. He specifically talked about the importance of making the right changes for the right reasons to preserve the game’s legacy and ensure fans are satisfied.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake Doesn’t Make Changes Without a Good Reason
Many credit the originalDragon Quest 3with creating the blueprint for traditional JRPGsback when it was released in 1988. Set several years before the series' first two installments, it tells the story of a hero who is tasked with ridding the world of an evil fiend known as Baramos. To do this, the player can choose from several traditional classes such as Soldier, Wizard, and Merchant. They can also recruit up to three other party members, as they travel through the world on their quest. It was a revolutionary title at the time and Hayasaka is all too aware of how important it is to respect that, ensuring he and his team have only changed things for good reason.
‘‘The original is a masterpiece, so our number one policy is to make sure that we respect the original, carrying over everything that made it into such a masterpiece in the first place. I knew that if we just went around changing things, people would come in and say, ‘‘How did they change this? This wasn’t what we wanted, this wasn’t how it used to be.’’ We wanted to make sure that we weren’t doing that.’’
Dragon Quest 3’s Legacy Will be Preserved
The reception from fans is obviously paramount to Hayasaka, and he understands the difficulty in making changes to modernize the experience while preserving the core of such a legendary title. Difficulty levels, new quality-of-life features, and anew visual style similar toOctopath Travelershould help to introduce the game to a new audience, but that being said, none of these things have been added just for the sake of it, with each having a fundamental impact on the overall experience. Hayasaka continued,
‘‘Anything new that we added, we made sure we weren’t just picking up new things and adding them in for the sake of it. We wanted to make sure that they fit with theDragon Queststyle of game, and that anything new really had a purpose and was a great fit for this project.’’
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2Dis even adding new story content, and while this is not without its risks, it does show the team’s commitment to crafting a wholly fresh, engaging game for its audience. Hayasaka seems adamant that each change has enhanced what was already there rather than replaced it, and that is an awfully exciting prospect.
