Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake review

thesixthaxis.com:

Last year, I visited Japan for a few weeks, soaking in the culture, the nature and way too many plates of curry. Giant billboards advertised the latest niche gacha game, and multi-floor department stores dedicated huge displays to current and upcoming game releases unlike anything I’d ever see back in America’s dried out and dour shopping culture. The single most mind-blowing display of gaming reverence and promotion, though, was when I walked into a Lawson convenience store in Osaka that had been converted from front-to-back with a Dragon Quest theme. The signage outside was made of slime smiles, when you walked into the store you’d hear the crunchy NES sound-effect of an opened door from the original game play, and half the store was dedicated to selling merch related to the franchise. Dragon Quest has had a lasting impact not just on gaming, but on Japanese culture as a whole. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, above all else, is a reminder and a celebration of that.

For people outside of Japan, it can be hard to notice that influence, and a lot of that is simply due to the Dragon Quest series not being nearly as impactful or consistent overseas. Mainline entries like Dragon Quest IX on the Nintendo DS or Dragon Quest XI have certainly made an impact on gamers worldwide, but for Dragon Quest III and what is essentially this franchise’s equivalent of Final Fantasy VII, there hasn’t been a widely accessible or brushed up release until now with this remake.

Of course, with HD-2D in the title, it’s clear that this isn’t a Remake or Rebirth moment for Dragon Quest. The bones of this game are the same as they were in 1988 – you’re a young adventurer boy or girl, tasked with forming a party of companions and setting off into the world to vanquish the demon Baramos and save the world. It’s without a doubt a clichéd story that’s been adapted and twisted and parodied for decades, but what’s important here is that Dragon Quest III is ostensibly the game that invented that kind of