The long-awaited “HD-2D” remake of classic Enix role-playing game Dragon Quest 3 is coming to Nintendo Switch this November, publisher Square Enix announced Tuesday during a Nintendo Direct showcase. But Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D isn’t the only classic Erdrick adventure coming from Square Enix — the collection Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D was also announced Tuesday, giving fans of Akira Toriyama and Yuji Horii’s RPG series a lavishly remade trilogy to enjoy over the next year.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D will send players on a remade fantasy adventure as The Hero to take down the archfiend Baramos, traveling to towns, dungeons, and underground caves, and battling slimes and other Toriyama-designed monsters in turn-based battles. The original Dragon Quest 3 is set before the events of the first two games in the series, so, chronologically, playing Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D first will prep you for the next two games.
Square Enix didn’t say much about what’s changing for Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D, or whether they will feature expanded narratives as Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D will, but that seems quite likely.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D will be released on Nov. 14 on Nintendo Switch. Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D are due sometime in 2025.
Square Enix’s brand of HD-2D games started with developer Acquire’s retro RPG Octopath Traveler in 2018. The RPG publisher saw the potential in HD-2D for both new releases and remakes; the style has since been employed for Octopath Traveler 2 and tactics RPG Triangle Strategy, with plans for more remakes beyond the early Dragon Quest games.
