For the last few years, Square Enix has been busy bringing back their earliest RPGs in various forms, from the re-releases of the first six Final Fantasy games to the HD-2D remakes of Live a Live and Dragon Quest III. And now, the group behind those HD-2D reimaginings, Tomoyo Asano’s division at Square Enix (Team Asano), is working on a logical follow-up to their previous work: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. Both games will be bundled together when they come out later this year on October 30 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, and PC, each modified and at least partially expanded like last year’s Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake.
Having had hands-on time with both games, these remakes inject a bit more complexity into these fairly rudimentary early RPGs while channeling the series’ charm as you battle through faithful versions of Akira Toriyama’s legendary creature designs. While only time will tell if the gameplay changes alter too much or too little, from what I saw, they might split the difference by sanding off the blocky NES-era edges, while still remaining a largely faithful throwback.
Of the two games in the bundle, it might be harder for the remake of Dragon Quest to nail this balance. While it was a positively foundational turn-based RPG that condensed fantasy game influences like Wizardry, Ultima, and lesser-known Japanese contemporaries into a far more palatable package, many modern players would likely chafe at its design: there was no adventurer’s party, you fought enemies one on one, caves were impenetrably dark, it was difficult to navigate the world without a guide, and grinding for levels was more or less required. Thankfully, from what I’ve seen of the HD-2D remake, many of these harsh elements have been toned down, if not removed outright.
As I played the demo, I quickly found myself in Erdrick’s Cave, the place where the hero begins their journey in earnest. You’re first major goal is to track down a tablet meant to instruct Edrick’s descendants (your character) on how to save the world—classic fantasy stuff. And although the original had this same setup, this new version’s specifics were fairly different. For instance, there was a new interaction after entering the cave, as I met a crew of pesky adventurers after the same secrets as me. It’s an inclusion that implies there may be other added characters and story-touchups throughout, but if there’s one thing that’s very much the same, it’s that characters still speak in faux-early modern English, a detail that continues to give the dialogue some personality.
And of course, along the way to find the tablet, I found myself in many random encounters with bats, rats, and other nasty guys. While you still play as a solitary hero instead of being teamed up with a party, battles feature multiple enemies in this remake, making fights more strategic. On top of this, it seemed as though the hero had more spells than in the original game, especially at this early point, which adds further depth.
That said, despite these tweaks, these turn-based scuffles were still fairly straightforward, and I never felt particularly in danger. It’s hard to tell if this was because my pre-loaded save file was over leveled, or if they generally tuned down the punishment compared to the original, but there wasn’t too much tension in these fights, and I was basically safe to spam my basic attack if I wanted to. After battling through these monsters, I reached the center of this maze and claimed my prize.
While my time with this first game in this HD remake package was short, it became fairly clear why both of these two games were bundled together; although the visual updates are great and I had a perfectly pleasant time selecting spells, the reality is that the original Dragon Quest is quite simplistic compared to the countless games that it inspired—this isn’t exactly suprising given that game design is usually an iterative process. While it’s too early to say, this remake may mostly be helpful as a history lesson, letting curious players explore this crucial genre entry without forcing them to endure the grind of many early RPGs.
As for Dragon Quest II, plenty of jumps stand out from its predecessor, and the biggest is that you now control a party of adventurers instead of a solitary warrior. The story follows the Luminaries, who consist of the protagonist (a meathead knight who can’t use spells) and his two cousins, the Prince of Cannock and Princess of Moonbrook. Just like the first game’s main character, they are descendants of the legendary hero Erdrick, and they must tap into this legacy to stop an evil wizard from destroying the kingdom.
The inclusion of these allies makes a world of difference, as both the Prince of Cannock and Princess of Moonbrook wield a long list of spells that, as far as I could tell, seemed quite expanded compared to the original game. There were AOE attacks, moves that specifically targeted flying enemies, various healing incantations, debuffs, and more. And then there’s our decidedly unmagical protagonist who hits guys really, really hard with a sword, which, while decidedly unflashy, also happens to deal a lot of damage. This large toolbox felt downright necessary because if there’s one thing that seems at least partially maintained from the original game, it’s that these battles were damn hard.
Perhaps my characters weren’t beefed up enough, but I had more than a few allies end up in coffins as I explored the overworld. Thankfully, because I was given so many spells and resources, these defeats usually felt like my fault instead of the game’s balancing, which perhaps differs from the infamously crushing battles in the NES version. Many fans consider Dragon Quest II the hardest entry in the series (usually in a not particularly positive way), and hopefully this remake can remain challenging while making things more fair.
And as I explored this overworld, getting sent back to a priest who was probably increasingly irked as he healed our wounds over and over, the most apparent change across both remakes was the sharp HD-2D treatment, as pixel art characters combined with a 3D world washed over by scene-setting lighting. This visual style continues to evoke a diorama-esque effect as these little figures move around in a world with realistic-looking trees and ancient caves, a clever way to modernize the game’s aesthetics and camera perspective without completely throwing out what came before. Maybe best of all, these visual upgrades move things closer to Toriyama’s evocative concept art, giving this fantasy world a unique and colorful vibe that distinguishes it from countless other high fantasy backdrops. If there’s one element about these games that should never, ever change, it’s the design of those familiar, dopey-faced Slimes—these little dorks are as timeless as ever.
While my time with <i>Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake</i> was too short to say anything definitive about if these games will capture the appeal of these classics while softening some of their quirks, if nothing else, what I saw maintained the series’ charm—the HD-2D aesthetic works as an excellent bridge between old and new. And while I have reservations about whether the first game’s relatively simplistic mechanics will be enough to remain engaging even after the remake’s improvements, it seems like the second offers more to work with. Dragon Quest II is a more complicated and arguably more flawed game that could be honed into something great. All that said, given Team Asano’s recent work with Live a Live (2022), Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake, Octopath Traveler, and more, they’ve certainly earned the benefit of the doubt across the board.
Elijah Gonzalez is the assistant Games and TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to playing and watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves film, creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.
