Hello, everyone. I’m Shaun, and I’m a very big fan of Dragon Quest. This is not an especially unique condition, but it’s uncommon enough among Western gaming enthusiasts that we always have to cross our fingers that any given game will get localized and released globally. As one of those fans, I am very excited about Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake. It’s a great game and a very important one for the history of the medium, and it’s awesome to see it get such a high-class treatment.
On top of that, Square Enix has also announced that the first two games in the series will also be getting the HD-2D Remake treatment. It’s easy to see why Square Enix would lead this effort with the third game in the series. Dragon Quest 3 is where the series really hit the big-time in Japan, pushing the brand into the wider pop culture in a way few games had done before. Where the first two games have a rather prototypical feel at times due to being genre pioneers, Dragon Quest 3 has most of what modern players would expect from a JRPG. It feels classic, but never terribly dated.
It’s that latter point that is most important outside of Japan, where the series has enjoyed a decent level of popularity but never truly broken out the way it did in its home country. This isn’t the first time Square Enix has tried to push Dragon Quest in the West, and it surely won’t be the last. The attention afforded to HD-2D games right here and now presents a unique opportunity, however. It’s a chance for the formative games in the franchise to shine, and one that Dragon Quest 3 can take advantage of in a way its predecessors might not be able to.
Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the first three Dragon Quest games below.
There’s another fortunate aspect at play here. You see, unlike most of the games in the series, the first three Dragon Quest games have strong narrative ties. Where this could present a huge problem for releasing the games out of order, Dragon Quest 3 ducks the issue by being a prequel. Chronologically speaking, this is where the trilogy starts. There’s no issue with playing Dragon Quest 3 first and then going on to the first two when they’re released. Or… is there?
Prequels aren’t a new thing by any means, and they certainly weren’t back when the 8-bit Dragon Quest games were made. History is full of interesting stories, and that can apply to fictional worlds as well. A skilled storyteller can use a prequel to flesh out the world further, and even surprise those familiar with the original works by going against their firm expectations. Part of the fun of a prequel is that we generally know where things will end up, but not how they get there. There’s a lot of narrative meat in that type of tale. The more the person knows about what comes next, the more fun you can have playing around with that.
There’s another kind of prequel, though. Sometimes the person experiencing the story doesn’t even know it’s a prequel until the storyteller chooses to reveal it. Sometimes they know it’s a prequel but specific connections are kept under wraps until the right moment. It can be carefully hinted at along the way, enough to tickle at people’s memories. When the boom is finally dropped, the impact can be tremendous.
At first, Dragon Quest 3 seems like it’s completely separate from the first two games. Unlike Dragon Quest 2, the world you’re thrown into has no resemblance in form to that of the original game. A whole new map, albeit one that might be familiar in other ways to the observant. After going on a long quest that spans the whole world, evil is defeated. Celebrations are underway when it is revealed that there is a greater threat, and the only way to put an end to it is to chase it into its own realm. Courageously, as thou must, you volunteer to make that journey.
Suddenly, you find yourself in a completely new world. If you’ve played the first two games, you know exactly where you are. The geography, the layout of the nearest settlement, and even the music hammer it home. A clever little move that was played in a smaller way in the previous game. If you know the previous two games very well, some of the details will start adding up. You’re not just in Alefgard. You’re in Alefgard at a time before the original game’s events. The tasks you must perform to reach the final boss should also ring a bell.
By the end, many players will have already figured out what the final twist will be. It still hits. It turns out the legendary warrior Erdrick who the heroes of the first two games descended from is… you. So the trilogy closes, having fully closed its circle in a surprisingly elegant way for games of this vintage. It’s a stunning end to an excellent game, and one that might have you anxious to replay those first two games again.
Virtually every Dragon Quest fan already knows this, of course. Among Japanese gamers in general, the original Dragon Quest trilogy occupies such a large part of the history of the medium that even those who aren’t into the games have a good chance of being aware of this twist. If that’s the case for you, then it doesn’t really matter what order you play these games in now. It can even be fun to play them in their narrative chronological order.
This release of Dragon Quest 3 is very likely to reach people who haven’t played the original trilogy and aren’t aware of the story, however. For them, none of those big story beats are going to land the way they’re meant to. Dragon Quest 3 happens first, but it was never meant to be played first. It’s still a great game even without all of those connections being revealed, but it loses something. In a series that envelopes itself in nostalgia more than most, the final hours of Dragon Quest III are quite possibly its greatest, most natural callback.
Ultimately, Square Enix is probably making the right call by presenting Dragon Quest 3 ahead of its more rough-edged forbearers. At the same time, there’s a real cost to presenting these games out of their original order. While I’m sure that Dragon Quest 3 can get by just fine without its memorable endgame flourish, it’s a heavy sacrifice for those experiencing this legendary trilogy for the first time.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2DÂ will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on November 14, 2024.
Published: Oct 18, 2024 09:00 am