Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (Nintendo Switch 2)

February 6, 2026

I recently saw a quip where someone compared jumping into Dragon Quest nowadays to a lifelong Christian getting excited to read the bible for the first time. I initially interpreted the quip in a limited scope--this is an RPG that all RPG fans should have played by now. Having now completed Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, I realize that the game is far more fundamental. This is a game that clearly engaged the neuroplasticity of game developer brains over the past 35+ years to influence 'games' at large rather than simply RPGs.

I'll point to a somewhat recent example, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A few years removed from release, people regularly discuss their favorite moments exploring that version of Hyrule. Sometimes people mention 'Eventide Island' where you are stripped of all your equipment and are forced to reengage with the game mechanics at their core in order to get back all that you had built up for yourself. It's an incredible segment that develops your appreciation for the progress you've made up to that point. Just as often people bring up 'Tarrey Town.' In my opinion, 'Tarrey town' is the most fully realized side quest in all of Breath of the Wild. You may be on an important mission--to save all of Hyrule from near certain destruction--but you take a slight detour to help create a village from nothing. The message here being that if you don't take the time to build and preserve a society worth saving, then what is the point Link's quest at all? 'Tarrey Town' sticks with people, it is unique and heartfelt, it is another cherry on top of triumph of a game littered in cherries. Still, imagine my surprise when I learned that Dragon Quest III pulled this trick first and somehow more effectively. I had never even heard about this before it arrived in my playthrough, and by even mentioning it here I have unfortunately denied you that same pleasure of discovery, so I won't delve into its finer details any further.

Ideas on this scale are sprinkled throughout the Dragon Quest III adventure. Pokemon? That's in here. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? There is a bit of that too. I think I even saw a bit of the Road to Empress in the back half. Heck, when a character in your party dies they still follow you around the map, but are now represented by a floating coffin. It seems all but certain that this imagery played some part in one of the more inspired video game items of 2025--the 'Coffin Board' from Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

The game is inspirational, that much is clear. At the same time, a lot of the game feels overly familiar, a natural consequence of partially road-mapping so many games that followed. The game is comfortable, its cozy, at times it is the digital equivalent wrapping yourself in a blanket with a good book and a steaming cup of cocoa. This authenticity is a double edged sword, for me at least, at times it goes beyond heartfelt into the realm of sappy--especially near the ending. That being said, there is an endearing literary quality to it, though pulling clearly from children's fiction and fairy tales.

The game is iconic. The music is incredible--I mean a song here was later used as the introductory track of the Parade of Nations at the 2020 Olympic Games! Seemingly the literal definition of the international stage. The visuals have also stood the test of time--the slimes are familiar to people that have barely picked up a controller before. There are delightful strokes of playfulness throughout--best encapsulated in the cat suits that you can don on your characters, a choice so of-the-current-era that I had to go back to double check that it was in fact a feature in the original too. The world map is also memorable and varied--with plenty of surprises in store as you continue through the game.

By the end, the game does require you become invested not only in the characters but the mechanics too. I don't think you can get past the final fights of the game without having a deeper understanding of how the combat is designed. By the time it all said and done, I was reflecting on the grand trip I had been on, and whether it could have been better. My mind immediately went to one spot, your party. The game lets you swap your party members throughout the game, as a result you never really get big story beats to learn who these people are or why they are at your side. To me this one weakness could have been easily addressed, and other games certainly made those moves in its wake. Still, that inclination to analyze, improve, and be inspired is a byproduct of the ingenuity bursting out everywhere else in the game, and is certainly a big part of why this game is rightfully celebrated.