We already know that the HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest 3 is going to look amazing, and now we have some new information on what other improvements and additions the updated classic is getting. In a recent Famitsu article, Square Enix revealed a range of information on the hotly anticipated remake, including quality-of-life improvements for modern gamers, but the most intriguing bit of news is that the game will get new story elements
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While the majority of the Famitsu article goes in depth about the writer’s hands-on time with the Dragon Quest 3 remake, it ends with a message from series creator Yuji Horii and producer Masaaki Hayasak. The pair reveal there will be new story chapters, supervised by Horrii. That’s some enticing news for fans of the series, as it means this is more than just a visual upgrade to the 1988 RPG classic. Square Enix didn’t give much detail about what those new story elements will be. It could mean the remake has anything from new interstitial chapters fleshing out the world to more direct connections between DQ3 and the first game in the series— a chronological sequel to this third game.
There is also a long list of gameplay and system improvements. The game will have three different difficulty levels, with combat getting new abilities, and there’s an option to adjust the speed of battle. Thanks to modern hardware, towns will have more villagers, and the chance for monsters to appear in what were once safe havens.
Taking inspiration from Octopath Traveler II (another gorgeous HD-2D game), the overworld will have a day/night cycle. I already mentioned how beautiful the DQ3 remake looks, but I really can’t stress enough how pretty the screenshots are. It really seems like Square Enix is pushing the HD-2D engine even further, and the development team is taking advantage of that in order to make the game’s regions more varied.
Frame rate and graphics fans will be happy to know that the game will support 60fps. Though console players will need to choose between favoring framerate to get that 60fps or getting prettier graphics with a 4K mode. All of these improvements will likely also come to the Dragon Quest 1 and 2 remakes, coming at some point in 2025.
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