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Rosewood

The metal babble flees!
(she/her)
DQIV is my favorite, too, if its being the only one I've played through more than once is any indication. I ended up being an unthinking iconoclast by not using Alena in either of my parties that beat the main story's boss.
 
I ended up not being particularly bothered by the three party member restriction in DQV SFC. I don't disagree with the decision to increase it to four party members in later releases, but also I think that the strongest section of the original release happens while dungeon crawling with the narratively suggested three person party in the last third of the game when they set you loose to piece together the puzzle of how to reach the endgame. It's a very well designed three person party that feels like a complete unit with each member lacking something important but coming together very effectively as a whole. Obviously it's totally optional to use this party in the first place, but the game really supports the choice to use them as a team. It's a nice narrative and gameplay capstone to the wandering protagonist's shifting companions and randomly gathered monster companions that often create the feeling that something is missing, especially in a three person team (not in the sense that you struggle with progression, but just in the sense that the parties for long stretches of the game feel a bit atypical).

I think the SFC release of DQV might be the easiest Dragon Quest of all time. Without grinding or lucking into any particular rare monsters (I didn't even get anything in the Heal Slime line!), I don't think there were any encounters that gave me the struggle I associate with more difficult Dragon Quest bosses except for the post-game hidden boss. This wasn't a negative for me exactly, but I was a little surprised by it.

On a replay, I think I like DQV a little less than I did in my memories of it, especially in comparison to replaying DQIV so recently before it. Although I did really like the dungeon crawling and party composition of the final third, I think the moments when DQV opens up and has you just figure out what to do are not as strong as other entries in the series. Those are maybe my favorite parts about DQ as a series, and I think that DQV maybe has the least of that. I know many find these parts frustrating, so this might be a reason why others might prefer DQV over other entires, though.To be clear, I had a great time and enjoyed experiencing the original version of it, but overall my experiences of playing the original release of DQIV and V is to like IV more than I did before and V slighlty less.

Will probably give DQVI SFC a go at some point, but SaGa Emerald Beyond comes out this week, so that will not be soon...
 

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
Honestly what version preference ultimately comes down to for me is that only one iteration of DQV features Debora and it's not the Super Famicom game.
 

YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
I would also encourage anyone with the interest to check out the Japan-only PS2 remake of DQ5. Its presentation is sort of a souped-up version of the DQ7/DS remakes game engine. And there does exist fan translations for it, I believe in both "modern" and "classic" DQ varieties.
 
They put out a very brief teaser for the DQIII remake the other day for Dragon Quest Day, which is the first official PR for it since it was announced 3 years ago:



No release date or window yet, but it does at least announce that it's coming out on all consoles and PC.

Some people are getting themselves worked up about how it must now be a full I-III trilogy package because they don't say DQIII in the teaser anymore, and also Horii mentioned wanting to eventually do I and II as well in an interview a while back. That would be interesting if it happened, but I'm not going to set myself up for disappointment by assuming that will be the case.
 
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YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
Some people are getting themselves worked up about how it must now be a full I-III trilogy package because they don't say DQIII in the teaser anymore, and also Horii mentioned wanting to eventually do I and II as well in an interview a while back. That would be interesting if it happened, but I'm not going to set myself up for disappointment by assuming that will be the case.
If they did this and still sold it at the normal $60 price range, I would be very surprised. I suppose if they did separate releases and also bundled it all together that could work too...
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
HD-2D remake of III comes out November 14th, 2024. The rumored I & II HD-2D remakes come out in 2025. Hooray!
 

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
Narratively chronological release order for these is kinda funny. It does mean I get to finish with my favourite one out of the bunch, but at least in their original forms it doesn't reflect the series's evolving design sensibilities across the trilogy with the order being mixed up. I wonder if there are any significant changes taken to accommodate that fact now they're being treated as one serial work through this project.
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
It is funny, especially because they got Yuji Horii to just blatantly say it's the narrative order in the direct, which for whatever reason kinda surprised me. I wonder how much they'll charge for I & II HD-2D, and whether I'll bite on those games at full price...
 
I wonder if there are any significant changes taken to accommodate that fact now they're being treated as one serial work through this project.

Horii is teasing that something special will happen if you play 1&2 after completing 3, so there's definitely going to be at least some kind of easter egg. Also, promotional materials for 3 seem to reveal a new job, so they're definitely at least doing some expansions and additions here and there.

 

Poster

Just some poster
Hmm, I might be interested in playing through this trilogy again, but it is going to be interesting going from a party-based job system to single guy trading blows with slimes.
 

YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
I wll always take an excuse to replay Dragon Quest 1. And maybe they even toned down the encounter rate for Dragon Quest 2, that would be great. But since 3 is coming first I will definitely buy it, however all of my replays of 3 stall out relatively early for some reason...
 

Sarge

hardcore retro gamin'
I actually replayed the SNES version of Dragon Quest II not long ago, and honestly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the NES version back in the day. Maybe my memories are playing tricks on me and it's a heavy dose of nostalgia involved. Not sure.

Very happy to get all three of these - I've played through all three games many times. Especially DQIII on NES.

Also, they can go jump in a lake with that paltry collector's edition selling for $200.
 

Patrick

Magic-User
(He/Him)
I loved DQ1. I skipped to 3 and it’s wonderful, but I never finished it. I keep trying to get back in to it & I don’t.

I should probably give DQ2 a shot.
 

Isrieri

My father told me this would happen
Hmm, I might be interested in playing through this trilogy again, but it is going to be interesting going from a party-based job system to single guy trading blows with slimes.

I had a thought about this. I thought it kind of funny that I&II are going to be released so much later. Personally I feel Dragon Quest I in any format is a really hard sell in 2025 even with a beautiful coat of fresh paint. Its still a great game but I dunno how they could leave it as it was and expect to enthrall new players.

So hear me out: I think the reason all three aren't being developed and sold as a package deal, is because they're going to continue the story. You go through the original beat for beat and defeat the Dragonlord, then the game goes into a surprise Part 2 where you follow the hero and the princess as a party of two, on their mission to explore the lands outside Alefgard and found new kingdoms of their own. Nothing huge, just a short interlude to tie the two games together better. Plus it would seem a shame to work on making combat look so beautiful in III, to only be 1v1 fights in the very next game. I wouldn't be surprised if they change the game enough that you *could* recruit guest characters in some way. Maybe they'll include new areas even.

Of course the HD2D process might be enough work in itself to justify against going full monty on a re-imagined DQ1. But I would be very surprised if they don't change anything at all.
 
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Bongo

excused from moderation duty
(he/him)
Staff member
Dragon Quest II is one of those games where small changes can lead to drastic improvements, as I discovered a while back.

The way I see it, though, DQ1 and DQ2, these days, are sort of like an addendum to DQ3, which is the main event. Supplements. Historical footnotes. These remakes would not exist if they couldn't be assembled from assets and code developed for DQ3, which by contrast is capable of justifying its own existence to a suit. So they'll probably make 'em cheap and sell 'em to people who know what they're getting into.
 

JBear

Internet's foremost Bertolli cosplayer
(He/Him)
I feel like people are assuming a lot of intentionality here where I'm not sure any exists. It feels much more to me like they decided to do this cool version of DQ3 and then decided after the fact to do the same to the prior titles. Which, to be clear, I'm excited about! But I don't have any expectations beyond that.
 

Lokii

(He/Him)
Staff member
Moderator
I imagine it's probably both. They started the project just to do 3, it gains some hype, they got the resources to do 1/2, see an opportunity to throw in some connective tissue, some avenues for expansion, a justification to get people to pay money for the most dated and slightest games in the series and away we go
 

Octopus Prime

Mystery Contraption
(He/Him)
just from the trailer alone, and some of the merch, it’s clear that DQ3 has more to it than a mere (albeit gigantic) facelift. Not unreasonable to assume that 1&2 would get the same.

Setting aside the fact that 3 has about as many Beep Boops worth of video game as 1 and 2 combined
 
There's a gameplay video now, via Famitsu.


It's still Dragon Quest. To me, this more or less feels like a natural extension of the style they used for DQIV and VII on the PS1 and IV-VI on the DS. It's almost as if they just sort of lucked into a situation where the approach they'd already been taking previously is now called HD2D and is a trendy marketing term with positive associations. Personally, I think some of the effects are a smidge too busy for my taste, but if that's what it takes to get a version of DQI-III in the style I already liked for IV-VII these days, it works for me. Mostly I think it looks great and, very importantly, seems like it plays very well.
 

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
I've played the DS games pretty exhaustively, and the game in that trailer looks like a vast improvement in style.
 

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
Pettiest of petty quibbles: Don't like the battle transition. Feels unfinished somehow. And I suppose it could be.
 

YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
I skimmed the video. About the time I thought to myself "boy I hope you can increase the battle speed" the video showed off that you can increase the battle speed.
 

Bongo

excused from moderation duty
(he/him)
Staff member
It seems they simply hadn't implemented that feature, as in the latest video, party member field sprites do indeed reflect the equipped weapon type:


Additionally, you can customize the appearance (costume variant, color scheme, voice) of your party members. And there's Monster Wranglers!
 

Bongo

excused from moderation duty
(he/him)
Staff member
It's possible there are minor new details in this gameplay overview trailer, but I'm more impressed that it is just a pretty succinct overview of why RPGs are appealing, aimed at the sort of player who'd never tried one before.

 

spines

cyber true color
(she/her, or something)
i beat dragon warrior 1 game boy color. kind of a friday whim (into saturday) but it hit nicely with a blend of simple rpg and the strong adventure game elements. pretty interesting turn-based take on the "you're playing a guy who fights with swords and maybe a little magic" i've been playing a bunch this year, with other elements like the world map and numerous towns really having a clearly different vibe than, like, ys. i haven't actually beaten a dq before, though i've played 7 and 8 a while and would still love to make it through them someday. that day is still in a future that is not imminent

soon i'll try 2 color though
 
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