“I’m going to strive yet another time, Invoice,” my grandma says, undeterred by her dangerous RNG, strolling into the dungeon as soon as once more and all the best way to that chest that may have the Demise Necklace.
As my grandpa flips again a web page in his thick, well-loved Dragon Warrior GameFAQs printed walkthrough, he smiles again and says, “Bear in mind to make use of the torch as you stroll into the dungeon, Mother.”
Grandma appears again, huddled in her blanket. “Which means do I flip once more? Zach, keep in mind that the merchandise you will get from this chest each from time to time is price some huge cash.”
I look over at my spouse and provides her a smirk earlier than replying, “Oh, I bear in mind, Grandma. Aren’t you a excessive sufficient degree to only transfer on with out it?”
I already know her reply earlier than she offers it.
“That is at all times the best way I do it. I would like that gold. Bear in mind after I helped you discover it? Which means do I am going once more?”
Affected person as ever, Grandpa gently factors and says, “Flip proper after the steps there, Mother.”
In so some ways, it’s acceptable that that is the final time I noticed my grandma. She was at all times fiercely intransigent: she needed to do issues and play issues her means. Even with different variations of Dragon Quest I obtainable, she needed to play the NES model. She needed the acquainted rhythms, the acquainted RNG, and the acquainted directions my grandpa so lovingly gave her. Whilst she was shedding her reminiscence, at the same time as she couldn’t wrap her head round new video games, at the same time as she may barely see the display screen, that is how she held on to a basic piece of who she was.
Nonetheless, even together with her cussed love for the way “issues must be,” I’m satisfied my grandma would have cherished final yr’s Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, a sport that’s trustworthy in all the appropriate methods to the unique whereas additionally updating it for a contemporary viewers.
Would she have favored Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake? I’m much less positive. These are finally very totally different video games. They use the unique iterations as a baseline, however have their very own identification. This largely works with Dragon Quest II, turning it from a very bold slog into one thing truly enjoyable to play, however with Dragon Quest I, it’s generally a clumsy match, muddying one thing that has at all times been pure and easy.
Don’t get me improper: I perceive why the unique Dragon Quest specifically wanted some changes. As revolutionary and genre-defining because it was (I imply, it was the primary true JRPG), it’s not a nice expertise in 2025. Being pressured to make use of a torch in dungeons to get round, shopping for keys on the store to get into sure doorways, and solely combating one enemy at a time is fairly darn boring these days. The horrible balancing and broad aimlessness of Dragon Quest II isn’t precisely a blast both. These video games wanted extra adjustments than the already wonderful Dragon Quest III, however that doesn’t imply that all of them work.
Take fight, as an illustration. In Dragon Quest I HD-2D, you continue to solely management one character (one thing the NPCs touch upon so much, a enjoyable little jab on the authentic), however he’s an absolute beast, replete with dozens of expertise, a few of which you discover from exploring and grabbing “Scrolls,” excess of you had in earlier variations. You’ll be able to even superpower these strikes by gathering the 5 Sigils that initially solely appeared in Dragon Quest II. These Sigils would possibly permit your strikes to “crit” randomly, or you may select to energy them up when you’re at low HP. There are additionally a number of enemies in random encounters, and much more boss fights. Put merely, there’s simply much more happening.
That every one sounds extra enjoyable than the unique, proper? Early on, I agreed; it’s actually extra attention-grabbing to have a number of enemies in battles. However finally, particularly within the late sport, fights flip into an RNG-fest. Far too many battles are decided by one factor going improper, and with only one get together member, there’s no technique to get well from dangerous luck. I spent at the very least two hours on a boss combat, and I didn’t go grind as a result of I knew if my Midheal restoration spell critted on the proper time, I’d be completely wonderful. And lo and behold, when the turns got here out proper, when a few talents randomly powered up on the proper time, I breezed by means of. No quantity of Dragon Quest information or tinkering saved me, and albeit, I don’t assume it may have. I don’t even need to think about the profanity that may have poured out of my grandma if she needed to take care of a few of these boss fights.
Most of these changes carry by means of to Dragon Quest II 2D-HD, however right here they work. The Sigils nonetheless offer you random buffs, and everybody, together with enemies, has much more expertise to work with than earlier than. The distinction, after all, is that this time you’ve gotten 4 get together members (with the pleasant addition of the Princess of Cannock). Oh, and an enormous change from the unique DQII is that the entire get together is definitely helpful. So, if one thing went improper and killed one get together member, as a substitute of an inevitable wipe and retry, I managed with the opposite three. It performs truthful as a result of it is aware of learn how to play with all of the instruments in your field—the brand new Dragon Quest I doesn’t.
That goes for the story, too, which is drastically expanded in each video games. The bottom narrative continues to be the identical in every: you play because the descendant(s) of the legendary hero Erdrick, and you must sort out the good evil that threatens the world. Each video games’ NPCs get extra dialogue, villains get a again story and comprehensible “motivations,” and there are much more issues you must do. The get together members in Dragon Quest II every have distinct and vibrant personalities. Understandably, this makes each video games considerably extra linear, as many as soon as optionally available duties are required (sure, it’s important to save Princess Gwaelin in Dragon Quest I this time, however what monster would skip that?).
However does Dragon Quest I really want all that? Positive, the extra dialogue and characterization is good, particularly for the aforementioned Princess, and I at all times take pleasure in studying extra of the pleasant localization, however what was as soon as a fast, easy, clear 6 or 7 hour sport now takes twice as lengthy. Lots of the extra content material looks like padding that’s both meant to name again to the chronologically prior Dragon Quest III or set one thing up in Dragon Quest II. Dragon Quest I has at all times been a smaller sport that doesn’t want railroading, and the extra pointers, roadblocks, and content material detract from the easy magic of discovery.
For Dragon Quest II, nonetheless, this all is smart and virtually totally works for me. It’s a sport that thirsts for complexity, a sport that swung large again in 1987, and when you ask most individuals (me included), it whiffed. It needed to provide the freedom to discover together with your boat however didn’t offer you sufficient course. It needed to be extra story-driven, however it didn’t have the house on the cartridge to inform a compelling one. It needed so as to add complexity to fight, however it solely made one get together member price something. They lastly obtain all of their ambitions right here, with simply sufficient course to go together with the exploration, a completely fleshed-out story with charming characters, and a fight system that’s strategic and balanced with none main problem spikes (when you’ve performed the unique, what I’m speaking about). It’d take over 40 hours to finish now, however the extra time feels natural and important. Put merely, Dragon Quest II is the crown jewel of the 2 video games right here, and at last price enjoying as greater than only a historical past lesson.
That isn’t to say that each addition to Dragon Quest II is profitable, however my complaints are principally minor. The added underwater exploration is gradual and awkward—and if you wish to discover the entire secrets and techniques this sport has to supply, you’re going to be spending plenty of time down there. This subject is compounded by the variety of necessary objects randomly strewn all through the totally different areas, or chests tucked into the very finish of a dungeon which you could’t open till a lot later with a key. Even now, I nonetheless haven’t discovered a number of objects, and belief me, I have regarded, however finally I received uninterested in strolling backwards and forwards and hitting “X” till I situated them. And don’t even get me began on the brand new dungeon required for the “true” ending—it’s an hours-and-hours-long train in tedium and despair, although the trouble is completely price it for long-time sequence followers.
I do know I haven’t addressed this up thus far, however to be clear, each of those video games nonetheless appear and feel so much like Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Battles are nonetheless random and from a first-person perspective. The graphical type is totally intact and, once in a while, improved, with much more verticality within the cities and dungeons specifically. There are secret spots and glittering merchandise spots littered over the world map. The music nonetheless pulls from the Sugiyama-conducted “Symphonic Suites,” and whereas I desire Dragon Quest III‘s OST to both of those, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony nonetheless does an incredible job of bringing the unique classics to life in a means that matches the type and taste of the remakes.
All of these quality-of-life options of Dragon Quest III HD-2D are again, too, together with quest markers, problem settings, and the power to hurry up battles. They’ve even added a number of extra that I fortunately imbibed in, together with marking treasure chests and secret spots on the map. As at all times, you may flip off these options in order for you a extra pure expertise, however particularly within the nonetheless open-ended Dragon Quest II, I’m delighted they’re right here, it doesn’t matter what my grandma may need considered them.
A part of me wonders if I’m a bit like my grandma whereas enjoying Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. Perhaps I’m too connected to what I like to need issues to vary. Perhaps the one cause I like the adjustments to Dragon Quest II is as a result of I by no means cherished it to start with. Perhaps I solely need Dragon Quest I to remain the identical as a result of it’s the final sport I ever noticed her play. Perhaps I need the builders to cherish that second, that simplicity, the identical means I do. Perhaps it’s simply because I miss her.
You realize what? My grandma was proper. Some issues don’t want to vary. However I can at all times return and recreate that second any time I need with the unique. Perhaps this new model of Dragon Quest I isn’t for me, however the brand new Dragon Quest II positive is, and it’s wonderful.
