Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake: The Final Preview

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I find the word “cozy” to be dreadfully overused when assigning genres to video games these days, but it’s hard to find another adjective that so perfectly captures what I love about Dragon Quest. Straightforward but rewarding turn-based combat paired with a classic hero’s journey told in a picturesque fantasy world result in a wonderfully traditional RPG experience I’ve always found so comforting. So when I was given the choice at a recent preview event to try out Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on either PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch, the choice to settle in on the couch in the Switch’s handheld mode was an easy one.

And rest assured, Switch owners, Dragon Quest 3 looked and ran great on the aging Nintendo system. Square Enix’s other HD-2D games like Octopath Traveler and Live A Live were perfect for playing in short bursts before bed, and Dragon Quest 3 is looking to fit that mold as well.

Unlike our first look at Dragon Quest 3’s remake which showed off how faithfully it’s sticking to the roots of the 30-plus-year-old NES RPG, the hour I played Dragon Quest 3 was spent with some of the remake’s brand-new additions. And so far, I’m extremely pleased with the new content that spruces things up without unrecognizably transforming the original experience.

First, I hung out in the revamped Monster Arena, where you can send monsters you’ve defeated and recruited throughout the game to do battle against other teams of creatures. In the original Dragon Quest 3, you could simply bet on the outcome of fights in the Monster Arena, but this remake lets you get in on the action yourself. Monster collecting has been a big part of both the main Dragon Quest games and the Monsters spinoff series for decades, and it’s great to see that legacy continue here.

I entered the arena with a preset team of a Slime, Healslime, and Spiked Hare, but this side mode is clearly set up for me to make my own teams with monsters I recruit across the main game. You don’t directly command your team