Dragon Quest has not been as ubiquitous as Final Fantasy in recent years, but the two series are intertwined in the history of defining and formalizing Japanese RPGs. And just as the Pixel Remaster remakes of Final Fantasy have given players a fresh and modernized way to reexperience history, Dragon Quest is aiming to give players a dose of history with the Erdrick Trilogy--the first three Dragon Quest games, remastered across two packages. Dragon Quest 3 was a treat, and now DQ1+2 will round out the set with Dragon Quest 1+2 HD-2D Remake. Despite my affection for retro RPGs, early Dragon Quest is a relative blind spot for me, and after a little hands-on time I'm eager to play each of them to completion.
For starters, the games are a stunning marriage of classic pixel art and modern touches. I hadn't realized how much better Square Enix's "HD-2D" aesthetic had become in recent years. My impression from the Octopath Traveler games and the tactics game Triangle Strategy was still that HD-2D tends to be fairly muted and muddy. As much as I enjoyed those games, the art style didn't wow me. Dragon Quest 1+2, on the other hand, applies the structure of HD-2D to a much more vibrant world. The color palette and saturation feels reminiscent of 8-bit classics, which makes the beautiful sprite artwork pop.
This package includes both the first and second Dragon Quest games, which are rudimentary by today's standards, but that's also what makes them so endearing. The very first Dragon Quest game was a very early blueprint for the series, featuring just one hero character taking on the legions of slimes and monsters to overcome evil. The second game is a bit more reminiscent of early Final Fantasy games, with party members that come and go as the story demands. Even then, though, the options were set by default to give you direct control over the main hero and let the other party members move autonomously.
A battle in Dragon Quest 2.
Gallery
I got the impression from my preview session that these two games are packaged together because they're each comparatively limited in scope. But together with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, which was released last year, they represent a "trilogy" of the original Dragon Quest games. DQ3 is a prequel to the other two, so Square Enix decided to release them in chronological story order. But arranged in the original order--1, 2, 3--they represent a closer look at the evolution of early RPGs. First a lone hero, then a nomadic party, and finally a customizable party with job classes. Square Enix said it has also added an epilogue to the end of DQ1+2 that neatly ties the trilogy together.
I only played a couple of early areas in both games, which means I didn't have much opportunity for more complex strategies and managing equipment. But Square Enix seems to understand that some of the battles, especially the simpler ones at the outset, need a fast-forward function to make battles more light and breezy. You can swap middle-battle, so it's worth slowing down to see the charming animations of the enemy attacks once or twice, but after that there's no harm in making everything move a bit faster.
The story also leans into the olde English style of translation, and from my limited time it seemed more pronounced than I remember in the DQ3 remake. It feels a little goofy, but it's tongue-in-cheek, so after a little adjustment I enjoyed it.
And what makes Dragon Quest feel so special--forgive me for being late to the party on this, Dragon Quest fans--is its sense of character. Everything from the score to the enemy designs feels at once grand in scope and adorably bubbly and chipper. The enemy designs especially, presented in first-person in DQ, have a comical sensibility. It just makes a fun world to live and adventure in, and I can't wait to continue on and finish the quest.
Dragon Quest 1+2 HD-2D Remake is coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and Switch 2 on October 30.
Source
For starters, the games are a stunning marriage of classic pixel art and modern touches. I hadn't realized how much better Square Enix's "HD-2D" aesthetic had become in recent years. My impression from the Octopath Traveler games and the tactics game Triangle Strategy was still that HD-2D tends to be fairly muted and muddy. As much as I enjoyed those games, the art style didn't wow me. Dragon Quest 1+2, on the other hand, applies the structure of HD-2D to a much more vibrant world. The color palette and saturation feels reminiscent of 8-bit classics, which makes the beautiful sprite artwork pop.
This package includes both the first and second Dragon Quest games, which are rudimentary by today's standards, but that's also what makes them so endearing. The very first Dragon Quest game was a very early blueprint for the series, featuring just one hero character taking on the legions of slimes and monsters to overcome evil. The second game is a bit more reminiscent of early Final Fantasy games, with party members that come and go as the story demands. Even then, though, the options were set by default to give you direct control over the main hero and let the other party members move autonomously.
A battle in Dragon Quest 2.
Gallery
I got the impression from my preview session that these two games are packaged together because they're each comparatively limited in scope. But together with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, which was released last year, they represent a "trilogy" of the original Dragon Quest games. DQ3 is a prequel to the other two, so Square Enix decided to release them in chronological story order. But arranged in the original order--1, 2, 3--they represent a closer look at the evolution of early RPGs. First a lone hero, then a nomadic party, and finally a customizable party with job classes. Square Enix said it has also added an epilogue to the end of DQ1+2 that neatly ties the trilogy together.
I only played a couple of early areas in both games, which means I didn't have much opportunity for more complex strategies and managing equipment. But Square Enix seems to understand that some of the battles, especially the simpler ones at the outset, need a fast-forward function to make battles more light and breezy. You can swap middle-battle, so it's worth slowing down to see the charming animations of the enemy attacks once or twice, but after that there's no harm in making everything move a bit faster.
The story also leans into the olde English style of translation, and from my limited time it seemed more pronounced than I remember in the DQ3 remake. It feels a little goofy, but it's tongue-in-cheek, so after a little adjustment I enjoyed it.
And what makes Dragon Quest feel so special--forgive me for being late to the party on this, Dragon Quest fans--is its sense of character. Everything from the score to the enemy designs feels at once grand in scope and adorably bubbly and chipper. The enemy designs especially, presented in first-person in DQ, have a comical sensibility. It just makes a fun world to live and adventure in, and I can't wait to continue on and finish the quest.
Dragon Quest 1+2 HD-2D Remake is coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and Switch 2 on October 30.
Source