Square Enix has teased its Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake, confirming the game for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC.
Marking Dragon Quest Day, Square Enix posted a teaser video on Dragon Quest’s social media accounts for the long-awaited remake. The short video shows the Dragon Quest 3 logo being drawn along with the words “the legacy begins” and “The legend of Erdrick draws near.” There’s also the HD-2D logo and launch platforms.
Dragon Quest 3 is actually a prequel to the first two games, set years before the original game, telling the tale of an earlier part of the heroic lineage of Erdrick and depicting the first battle with the fiend Baramos. While it’s Erdrick’s descendants who featured in the first two games, this is generally known as the Erdrick Trilogy.
Further Reading: Dragon Quest at 35 – the history of a JRPG icon
Dragon Quest 3 was originally released for the Famicom in 1988, selling over one million copies on its first day of release in Japan. Over the years it has been remade and ported to a number of later consoles, first with the 1996 SNES port, a Game Boy Color adaptation of the original release, and more modern ports to the Wii, 3DS, PS4, Switch, and more.
The Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake was first announced back in 2021, with the reveal trailer showing the transformation to the art style popularised by Octopath Traveller. The game is in development by AMATA K.K. and Team Asano.
2021 was a big year for the Dragon Quest franchise, with Square Enix celebrating its 35th anniversary with a bevy of announcements. The HD-2D remake was certainly one highlight, but they also officially announced Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, the next mainline instalment in the JRPG series. There’s not side of a Dragon Quest XII update right now, good things come to those who wait, as the saying goes.
