Dragon Quest I, II, and III [1, 2, and 3]: The Erdrick Trilogy HD-2D Remakes (2024-2025; PC, PS5, Switch, XBOX Series X/S)

[Koby]

 

 

The Erdrick Trilogy, also referred to as the Loto Trilogy or Roto Trilogy is a commonly used term used to refer to the first three games in the main Dragon Quest series, as these games not only share a similar setting, but also the same timeline. In particular, they all involve the kingdom of Alefgard and the hero Erdrick.

 

Dragon Quest III is chronologically the first game in the trilogy. It tells the story of the Hero, child of Ortega, the previous champion of Aliahan, being chosen by the kingdom to likewise attempt to defeat the source of evil polluting their world, the Archfiend Baramos.

 

Dragon Quest tells the story of a descendant of Erdrick stepping forward to defeat a new evil foe who has taken up residence in Zoma's former citadel. The new Hero follows in his forebear's footsteps and must emulate many of his actions in order to defeat the Dragonlord. Upon his victory, the hero takes the princess of Tantegel, Princess Gwaelin, as his bride and together they leave Alefgard to explore the larger world outside its boundaries, the land of Torland, founding in the process three new kingdoms.

 

Dragon Quest II begins with an attack on Moonbrooke, one of three kingdoms founded by the hero of Dragon Quest, by an overwhelming army of evil monsters. In response, three descendants of Erdrick, each the heir the kingdoms of Midenhall, Cannock, and Moonbrooke, unite to defeat the foul High Priest Hargon, as well as the dark deity he served, Malroth, the Master of Destruction.

 

 

[Koby]

Store pages are up on steam now:

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2893570/DRAGON_QUEST_I__II_HD2D_Remake/

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2701660/DRAGON_QUEST_III_HD2D_Remake/

 

You can wish list both, and pre-order 3.

 

If you're a Gold XP member on GreenManGaming, 3 is already -18% off on pre-order:

https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/dragon-quest-iii-hd2d-remake-pc/

[Zemekis]

Ooh nice. I knew they were doing these but I hadn't heard about a release date until now. And just a few days before my birthday! Perfect. I know most will use Steam regardless, but for boomers like @Dave55811 & I, the physical version of III is up for pre-order as well via:

Amazon PS5 | Switch | Xbox

Squeenix Store

Best Buy PS5 | Switch | Xbox

The are USA retailers so your mileage may vary. I'm sort of a fairweather DQ fan, but my wife is into them so I'll be picking these up. Not advocating for preorders, btw. Since it's Squeenix I want them to work for it I don't usually participate in these gaming news/link threads, but this is one I want to see do well. I did my part, back to the old folks home with my physical discs.

Thanks for the thread, this was very relevant to my interests.

[Koby]

I've played DQ3 twice before, once via the GBC port and once via the Switch port. Yet I'm very much looking forward to replaying the remake. Seems like they've added some stuff to it like for example another class to play. I'm also very interested to see what they do with the first game, especially since the original had you going through the game solo and it was very short overall. 1 & 2 combined are only about equal to the length of 3. I feel like people could play through all 3 in about 50 hours. So definitely going to be interesting to see what kind of depth they add to it. Hopefully more interaction with NPCs and building of the characters. This stuff often fell to the wayside in games of that era where scripts had to be short and to the point to fit on the tiny cartridges, etc.

 

My single gripe with the Remake of 3 is that you only see your characters in battle during the command phase. During the actual action phase of the battles, it zooms in on the enemy so you only see like the magic particles or the strike of your weapon. I feel like this was done to cheapen the cost by not having to show the characters animated for attacks. I know DQ 1-9 is this way so it's only keeping the old way, but I thought the point of this remake was to bring in modern things and feel like this is one thing I was really hoping they'd improve and do for it.

[Zemekis]

I'm not enough of a DQ purist to pretend that the perspective shifting during battle is a dealbreaker for me, but I see where you're coming from. I'm happy that I can see my characters at all, in comparison to some of the DQ games I've played. I agree that the zoom in seems like a cop-out for making battle animations. I didn't know that I & II were comparatively shorter than III. I played through Dragon Warrior on the NES, IX on the DS and XI Definitive Edition on the Switch. I own VII and VIII on PS1/PS2 but haven't played through them yet. Should I? Where do VII and VIII sit on the tier list?

[Koby]

2 hours ago, Zemekis said:

I own VII and VIII on PS1/PS2 but haven't played through them yet. Should I? Where do VII and VIII sit on the tier list?

5, 8, and 11 are generally on the list of best DQ. Just depends on the fan, but it's always one of those three.

 

7 I can't say anything about as 7 & 9 are the only two I've yet to play.

[Zemekis]

Thanks. I think 7 was a PS1 JRPG which makes it extra shocking that I haven't played...but I never hear it brought up in JRPG classic discussions. You'd think that a PS1 DQ game would be among the greats, I guess it really was just a miss. I have a copy so I'll try it out sometime soon. I'll hit 5 & 8 first, though. Do you have a personal favorite?

[Koby]

3 hours ago, Zemekis said:

Do you have a personal favorite?

Tough. Due to modernization I'd probably give the edge to 11, but 5 & 8 are both very good games.

 

Wasn't really fond of 1 & 6 when I played them, but I think most of my issues with 1 might be fixed with the Remake next year (at least I hope). 6 was okay when it came to the gameplay as it's the usual DQ fare, but the story was so confusing and it didn't properly explain things for long time if at all and thus it gets even more confusing jumping between the two worlds and keeping up with which is which, yada yada. Just overall didn't enjoy the story of 6, which might be why I've put off getting into 7 aside from hearing that 7 is apparently one of, if not the longest titles in the franchise. 4 was really nice too. The way they handled the chapters was kind of unique though it left you wondering when the heck everything would come together for a while until it became obvious. All in all, if you jump into a DQ game you can't really go wrong. They've all got the same tride-and-true DQ formula to the battles and classic DQ stories. The franchise doesn't try to experiment outside of the box like Final Fantasy does, which to me is a positive, because you always know what you'll get with a DQ game. Though early talks of 12 have seemingly scared fans into thinking they're about to start messing with that formula and it remains to be seen how that ends up.

[Spoony]

 

Boss Troll getting censored is really... strange. To me this is an insult to the late Akira Toriyama's design.

 

I'll still play the game because it's Dragon Quest, but I hope a fan mod decensors this day one.

 

Square Enix removing Male and Female in the game for Type Alpha and Type Beta is really pathetic. 

Edited July 26 by Spoony

[Zemekis]

1 hour ago, Spoony said:

Square Enix removing Male and Female in the game for Type Alpha and Type Beta is really pathetic. 

Is Square Enix trying to imply that Females are, in fact, Beta Males?

[Spoony]

6 minutes ago, Zemekis said:

Is Square Enix trying to imply that Females are, in fact, Beta Males?

I mean that's what I see when I see the Type A and Type B bullshit, but I'm sure that isn't what Square intended.

[Koby]

Square Enix and developer Artdink Corporation have released new information and screenshots for Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake introducing the game’s new episodes focused on the protagonist’s father Ortega, as well as the game’s remade world.

 

This remake contains several new scenes which shine a spotlight on the protagonist’s father, Ortega, giving players a better understanding of the man himself and his quest. The story also features new, formidable foes.

 

 

So the monster featured at the crater is called "Garboyle" and we know the game will feature Ortega's saga with Simon (now called "Simao" in this remake).

 

 

Also looks like the town of "Isis" has now been renamed to "Ibis". (!!)

 

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake features a world map modelled after our own. Each region boasts its own culture and traditions; you’re bound to feel like you’ve circumvented the globe after you’ve seen all the world has to offer! We’d like to give you a sneak peek of what lies ahead, paying special attention to the stunning HD-2D graphics, and extra details that have been added just for this remake.

 

Portoga

A seafaring nation home to a bustling port that’s filled with the finest shipbuilders. Due to its status as one of the world’s key trading spots, there are few better places to be if you need to learn more about the state of the world at any given time. Travel slightly south of its shores and you’ll be greeted by a lighthouse where travelers are known to gather to trade tales.

 

Jipang

A small island nation known by many names: the Land of the Rising Sun, the Golden Country to name a few. It is filled with countless cherry blossom trees and rice paddies. Venture under its mammoth shrine gate and eventually you will be greeted by a resplendent manor.

 

 

Ibis

A kingdom surrounded by miles of desert. Ibis has much flora that could only be found in a clime of its ilk, and the well within its borders is one of its people’s few, precious supplies of water. The nation was originally founded by King Faro and is now ruled by a queen famed for her beauty.

 

[Zemekis]

10 hours ago, Koby said:

the man himself

I think you mean the Type A itself.

[Koby]

Are you still interested in playing this @Zemekis? Despite the censorship and whatnot I'm going to power through and play the game. Maybe mods can one day undo these things, but I'm still wanting to see what the newest method of playing the Erdrick trilogy is like and what kind of additions they've added... If nothing else it looks nice to look at unlike the hideous looking Switch versions of the first three games currently available.

 

Have you seen the fan made "Dragon Quest +"? It looks surprisingly well done and might be one of the best ways to experience the first game at this time (before the remake of course).

 

https://rpgmaker.net/games/4058/

 

RPGMaker.net is going away soon though so might want to grab what you from there like this game before it disappears.

[Zemekis]

On 8/20/2024 at 2:51 AM, Koby said:

Are you still interested in playing this @Zemekis?

Not anymore, unfortunately. Rather, I am interested in playing it but not buying it. That would be fine if I was going to play on the PC because there are options (short of doing naughty stuff to my Switch or Playstation)...but I had intended to buy this game for my wife & play with her on console. She's more into DQ than I am, and these older entries are simpler for a non-gamer. I can't rightly purchase this without rewarding Squeenix for going in a direction I don't like, and we aren't going to huddle around my PC to play an illicit copy. There are plenty of other games to play, and since they have introduced hurdles to my enjoyment of this release I'm happy to move on. It's a shame, I won't deny that, but I also won't dwell on it. You can see my genuine reaction to the news of this game within this very thread all the way to them losing a sale. It's sad to reread!

I hadn't heard about DQ+, looks cool! I downloaded it. Luckily, the files on the download page are hosted on Archive.org....although their future is up in the air as well. I may download the game & patches and stick them in a Google Drive linked here as a backup. For now, here are some archives of the game's Download page: Archive.fo | GhostArchive | Wayback

 

Here are the game files hosted on Archive.org, although some are missing. I'll toss them all in a Drive link when I get time to come back and edit this, so future generations can enjoy it.

[Koby]

 

 

You can customize characters including their clothes and their voices. =O