Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake: Difference between revisions

 
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'''''Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake''''' is a full remake of ''[[Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation|Dragon Quest III]]''. It was originally announced as part of the 35th series anniversary celebration on May 27, 2021.
'''''Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake''''' is a full remake of ''[[Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation|Dragon Quest III]]''. It was originally announced as part of the 35th series anniversary celebration on May 27, 2021.


Unlike previous remakes of ''Dragon Quest III'', the HD-2D remake offers a modernized vision of the original title with additional scenarios, voice acting, [[Monster Master|new vocations]], and modern ''Dragon Quest'' series features such as battle tactics or faster battle settings. The graphics are completely redone in the "HD-2D" style popularized by previous Square Enix published games such as ''Octopath Traveler'' and ''Triangle Strategy''. With the passing of [[Akira Toriyama]] on March 1 2024, artist [https://x.com/fenyo_n Yoshiya "Fenyo_n" Fujisaki] was brought on to the project as the chief illustrator with Naoki Ikushima providing the game's box art.
Unlike previous remakes of ''Dragon Quest III'', the HD-2D remake offers a modernized vision of the original title with additional scenarios, voice acting, [[Monster Wrangler|new vocations]], and modern ''Dragon Quest'' series features such as battle tactics or faster battle settings. The graphics are completely redone in the "HD-2D" style popularized by previous Square Enix published games such as ''Octopath Traveler'' and ''Triangle Strategy''. With the passing of [[Akira Toriyama]] on March 1 2024, artist [https://x.com/fenyo_n Yoshiya "Fenyo_n" Fujisaki] was brought on to the project as the chief illustrator, with Naoki Ikushima providing the game's box art illustration.


==New features==
==New features==
===Presentation changes===
*Re-imagined locations and HD-quality sprites
:*Certain areas have been slightly modified to account for the perspective changing from the classic top-down view to the pop up book style found in other HD2D titles
*Orchestral soundtrack
*Increased language support: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, European Spanish, and Latin American Spanish
:*''Dragon Quest III'' had not yet been translated into most of these languages prior to this remake.
*Voice acting support: English and Japanese
*Fully animated monsters with sound effects
===Scenario changes===
===Scenario changes===
* New scenarios and characters supervised by [[Yuji Horii]].
*The mysterious voice that [[Dream Scenario|assesses the Hero's character]] now guides the young savior, warning of upcoming threats:
* New story segments that features [[Ortega]], the heroes's father.
:*Informing the player of the [[Six Orbs]] upon obtaining the ship in [[Portoga]]
* The [[Monster Arena|monster arena]] has been totally revamped to allow players to enter their own recruited monsters instead of relying on the arena's stable.
:*Congratulating the slaying of [[Orochi]] and speaking of using the orbs to awaken the Everbird, the first time the player is told of [[Ramia]]
* [[T'n'T board]]s added in the Super Famicom remake have not been reimplemented after their removal in the 2014 android/ios port.
:*Warning the Hero to not grow complacent after bringing peace to [[Manoza]] and specifically telling the player to seek out the [[boatman's bone]] and the [[mountaincleaver]] sword
===Presentation===
*Cutscenes have been added that embellish [[Ortega]]'s journey:
* Re-imagined locations and HD-quality sprites.
:*The Hero's mother asking for Ortega to postpone his mission until their child is older, but being unable to do so
* Certain areas have been slightly modified to account for the perspective changing from the classic top-down view to the pop up book style found in other HD2D titles.
:*Camping with the [[Shrine of the Dwarf|dwarven blacksmith]] and reflecting fondly on his beaten-up [[Ortega's Helm|old helmet]], with the dwarf lamenting that he does not have the [[Zenithium|proper materials to make it last]]
* Orchestral soundtrack.
:*Having a duel with [[Simão]] that shows the two travelling as a party for some time
* Increased language support: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, European Spanish, and Latin American Spanish.
:*Ortega fighting off an attempted siege against [[Mur]] by himself despite his wounds, indebting the village to him
:*''Dragon Quest III'' had not yet been translated into most of these languages prior to this remake.
:*The battle at [[Mt. Necrogond]] sets Ortega against a legion of monsters instead of just a single, non-descript flying monster as seen in the Super Famicom version, dragging the fiend into the mouth of the volcano after intercepting it's ambush
* Voice acting support: English and Japanese.
:*In-game dialogue reveals that Ortega journeyed to [[Rimland]] and even met with the [[Rimland priestesses|twin priestesses]], as well as rescuing a [[Elves and Faeries|faerie]] in the underworld
* Fully animated monsters with sound effects.
*[[Hero's Mother (Dragon Quest III)|The mother of the Hero]] has been given more focus and dialogue, reacting to key events
* Faster battle settings, as seen in recent ''Dragon Quest'' titles like in the [[Nintendo 3DS]] release of [[Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King|''DQVIII'']] or in the international releases of [[Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age|''DQXI'']].
*The Hero's grandfather has been given a distinct sprite instead of using the stock old man sprite
* The player can customize the party's appearance by eight options per vocation with four for each sex.
*[[Patty]] now uses her design from {{Dragon Quest IX}}, has been given more dialogue, and has been revealed to have watched over the Hero since childhood like an older sister
:* The new character [[Healizah]] can modify a character's appearance between the four options, along with his or her hair colour and voice upon reaching [[Alltrades Abbey (Dragon Quest III)|Alltrades Abbey]].
*[[Simão]] has been rewritten into a proper character and was one of Ortega's travelling companions
* Characters now speak in battle: shouting while attacking, yelling the names of spells while casting, grunting while being attacked, etc.
*[[Petya]] is now depicted as a young man instead of a child, showing that much time has passed since Ortega departed Mur
* The camera pulls back to reveal the party while the player is selecting actions for a turn.
*[[Baramos]] is now fully aware of the Hero's mission to assassinate him and has acted accordingly, deploying powerful henchmen to the following locations to serve as new boss battles:
:* Equipped weapons are visible during this period.
:*[[Chiromancer]] and [[Madvlad]] guard the [[Blue Orb]]
* Defeated monsters and collected items can now be viewed in the misc. menu.
:*[[Kylla]] and the [[Ripper of the Rift]] guard the [[magic key]] hidden in the depths of the [[Pyramid|Ibis pyramid]]
===Gameplay adjustments===
:*The unnamed monster that fought Ortega on the volcanic rim of [[Mt. Necrogond]] has been given its own identity as the [[Garboyle]] and guards the entrance to the Necrogond region
* New vocation: [[Monster Wrangler]].
:A new mandatory destination, the [[Romarian Road]], has been added to elaborate upon [[Robbin''Ood]]'s theft of the [[Romaria|Romarian]] crown
* Certain stats have been modified to modern standards:
:The [[Romarian Outpost]] has been closed due to the rising threat of monsters on top of Robbin' 'Oood being at large, with the guards informing the player to seek out the [[magic key]] in [[Ibis]]
:*{{Agility}} is no longer divided by two to calculate base defense, now determining base evasion instead (while still impacting turn-order)
*[[Gopal Gupta]] is regretfully unable to give his rescuers the [[black pepper]] they requested, pointing them to {{Alltrades Abbey 3}} to the north in the hopes of finding a merchant selling it
:*{{Resilience}} now determines base defense power instead of HP growth
*The ruined town of [[Theddon]] is preyed upon by a horde of [[dying fire]]s and [[phantasm]]s, which serve as the boss fight for the [[Green Orb]]
:*{{Stamina}} has been added to determine HP growth, using the same formula as Resilience in previous versions
*There is now a cutscene showing the [[Jipang|Jipangese]] citizens discussing [[Yayoi]]'s disappearance and dreading that [[Pimiko]] will punish them severely for allowing another sacrifice to [[Orochi]] to escape. One also mentions the [[The Jipangese swordsmith|swordsmith]] who fled with his wife when she was selected to be the sacrifice just before Yayoi
:*{{Wisdom}} now determines the growth of spell power instead of each spell being fixed to a static range, in addition to MP growth, and now influences the learning of certain combat skills in addition to spells
*The [[Boss troll|false king of Manoza]] is now revealed to have been a servant of Baramos
* Certain out-of-combat facets have been modified in a similar manner:
*The player is not granted entry to the [[Castle of the Dragon Queen]] until Baramos is slain
:* You now save your game at [[church]]es, instead of with monarchs
*The [[Great Pit of Giaga]] is surrounded by an impenetrable darkness, and players cannot enter the [[Alefgard|Underworld]] until obtaining the [[Sphere of Light]]  
:* Upon being defeated, you now have the menu option to revert to your previous autosave (without [[experience points]] earned since then), if you don't wish to return to your last save point and lose half your [[gold]]
*The [[Soul of Baramos]] has been fleshed out into a fully-fledged character of his own right distinct from Baramos, and ambushes the Hero at the [[Tower of Rubiss]]
:* [[Zoom]] now functions as it does in ''[[Dragon Quest XI]]'', being usable indoors but no longer usable in fights, and now lets you travel to many more places on the map
*The [[Temple of Trials]] has been added as a new bonus dungeon, replacing the [[Ice Cave]] of the [[GameBoy Color]] version
* Upon being defeated, you can now choose to redo the fight you lost without penalty.
 
* [[Church|Churches]] now offer a pity discount on Resurrections, based on how many of your party members are dead.
===Facility changes===
* New spells, such as [[Moreheal]], [[Zapple]], and [[Zin]].
*The [[Monster Arena (Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake)|monster arena]] has been totally revamped to allow players to enter their own recruited monsters instead of relying on the arena's stable
* The inclusion of selectable combat skills for melee vocations, such as [[Double-Edged Slash]], [[Mercurial Thrust]], [[Pressure Pointer]], and [[Cop Out]] <ref>Weekly Shonen Jump issue 32, 2024</ref>. The battle menu lists lists Spells and Abilities separately.
:*[[T'n'T board]]s added in the Super Famicom remake have not been reimplemented after their removal in the 2014 android/ios port
*{{Boomerangs}}s and [[Whip Weapon Family|whips]] can now land [[Critical Hit]]s, though less frequently than single-target weapons.
*Saving the game is now done in [[church]]es or by speaking to conveniently-placed nuns instead of by speaking to the local monarchs.
* The inclusion of additional monsters, such as [[Dying fire|a new variant]] of the [[Dancing flame]] monster line, and the [[Garboyle]], who originally was an unfightable monster in the game's SNES and Game Boy Color intro.
*Patty can now loan characters to different save files. These borrowed buddies cannot change their equipment or level up, but there are no restrictions preventing powerful allies from being sent to a new game file
* Additional boss monsters for certain areas of the game.
 
* Battle tactics, available for the first time in ''Dragon Quest III''.
===Character changes===
* Three modes of difficulty: Dracky Quest (Easy), Dragon Quest (Normal), and Draconian Quest (Hard).
*[[Character customization]] has been enhanced, with each vocation now having four designs to choose from when recruiting allies at [[Patty's Party Planning Place]] as well as 14 hair colours and 18 different voices
* Monsters either have skills and/or spells added to their repertoire. (For example, [[Seaslime]]s use [[Soothing Song]] and [[Handsome crab]]s use [[Assassin's Stab]], while [[Cumaulus]]es cast [[Dazzle]] in addition to [[Frizz]])
:* The new character [[Healizah]] can modify a character's appearance between all available options per gender and vocation. She can be found at [[Alltrades Abbey (Dragon Quest III)|Alltrades Abbey]]
* Monster damage resistances now function as they do in modern Dragon Quest games, reducing damage by the listed percentage instead of providing a chance to negate. Some monsters now have ''negative'' resistances as well.
*The [[Monster Wrangler]] has been added to the list of vocations, and is freely available from the start of the adventure
:*Since elemental attacks are no longer negated, damage resistances are now indicated by the color of the damage number
*The Hero's stats has been buffed considerably, with particular emphasis given to MP growth
:*On a similar note, the [[Bang]] line of spells now goes against a separate resistance from the [[Frizz]] and [[Sizz]] lines
*The stat-boosting seeds are now applied to a character instead of a vocation, meaning that if a [[Gadabout]] bulks up with 10 [[seed of life|seeds of life]] and changes vocations to a [[Sage]] all of the extra HP points are retained instead of being cut in half when a character swaps professions as with the natural stats
{{clear}}
*Characters may now equip two accessories, ala {{Dragon Quest XI}}
 
===Battle changes===
*Three modes of difficulty are available: Dracky Quest (Easy), Dragon Quest (Normal), and Draconian Quest (Hard). The difficulty setting can be changed at any time
*Faster battle speeds like in the [[Nintendo 3DS]] release of {{Dragon Quest VIII}} or in the international releases of {{Dragon Quest XI}}.
* Characters now "speak" in battle: shouting while attacking, yelling the names of spells while casting, grunting while being struck, etc
* The camera pulls back to reveal the party while the player is selecting actions for a turn
* Equipped weapons are now visible in battle
*Several new [[List of items in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|items]], [[List of accessories in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|accessories]], [[List of armour in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|armour]]s, [[List of helmets in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|helmets]], [[List of shields in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|shields]], & [[List of weapons in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|weapons]] have been added
:*Many existing pieces of equipment have also been rebalanced
*The [[artificial intelligence]] of the 2014 Android/iOS version has been replaced with a superior A.I.
*Group-targeting spells will now deal more damage if used against fewer than four enemies, scaling to 110% damage at three, 120% at two, and 130% at one foe
*The [[Bang]]-family of spells has been separated from the Fire element and given a distinct tag in the game's programming
*New spells that debuted later in the series have been added: [[Defizzle]], [[Magic Barrier]], [[Moreheal]], [[Zap]], and [[Zin]]
:*The [[Eye for Distance]] and [[Storeyteller]] abilities have been deleted
*Several [[List of skills in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake|new skills]] have been added such as [[Double-Edged Slash]], [[Mercurial Thrust]], [[Pressure Pointer]], and [[Cop Out]] <ref>Weekly Shonen Jump issue 32, 2024</ref>
*All stats caps have been raised from 255 to 999
*{{Agility}} is no longer divided by two to calculate base defence, now determining base evasion instead (while still impacting turn-order)
*{{Luck}} now penetrates a monster's resistance to status ailments in addition to protecting the character from the same, determines how often characters score a [[Critical Hit]], and also has a minor influence on physical damage
*{{Resilience}} now determines base defence power instead of HP growth
*{{Stamina}} has been added to determine HP growth, using the same formula as Resilience did in previous versions
*{{Wisdom}} now increases magic damage by up to 30% instead of each spell being fixed to a static range, in addition to MP growth, and now influences the learning of certain combat skills in addition to spells
*[[Boomerang (weapon type)|Boomerangs]] and [[Whip (weapon type)|whips]] can now score critical hits like any other weapon
*Buffs and debuffs applied to a character are now displayed in icon form next to the HP bar
{{Clear}}
*The inclusion of new monsters, such as [[Dying fire|a new variant]] of the [[dancing flame]] monster line and the reimplementation of lost monsters from the [[GameBoy Color]] version
*Monsters either have skills and/or spells added to their repertoire. For example, [[Seaslime]]s use [[Soothing Song]] and [[Handsome crab]]s use [[Assassin's Stab]], while [[Cumaulus]]es cast [[Dazzle]] in addition to [[Frizz]]
*Monsters' resistances to attack spells has shifted from stochastic to damage reduction, as has been the series standard since {{Dragon Quest V}} in 1992
*Striking a monster with an element it is weak to displays the damage in red, and hitting it with a resisted element displays damage in blue
*The player is notified if a monster automatically heals at the end of its turn
*Proper monster families have been added to the battle system, expanding on the [[Dragon family]] of the original. The groupings include the [[Beast family]], [[Bug family]], [[Dragon family]], [[Floating enemies]], [[Humanoid family]], and [[Undead family]].
 
===Miscellaneous changes===
*Bestiaries, item guides, and a personality guide have been added
*Characters can now dash instead of walking casually
*Isis has been renamed to Ibis
*[[Zoom]] can be cast indoors now, and the list of destinations has been expanded to include shrines, dungeons, and other points of interest
 
==Update history==
===May 23rd, 2025===
*The movement speed when travelling by boat or using Ramia has been increased
*Adjustments have been made to avoid boat travel speed being reset by opening the menu or getting into a battle while travelling by boat
*A feature has been added whereby pressing the menu button while flying with Ramia allows the player to switch between automatic and manual flight modes
*Ramia's low altitude flight now moves more quickly, similar to the Super Famicom version
{{Clear}}
*Critical hit rates for the Hero and Martial Artist have been doubled
*[[Falcon Slash]] has been buffed from 70% damage per strike to 75%
*[[Gigaslash]] has been buffed from 225~275 damage to its traditional 350~410
*[[Cutting Edge]] has been buffed from 220% damage to 300%
*[[Monster Pile-On]] has been nerfed, only dealing full damage when all 121 rescue monsters have been found. It also now performs 3~5 strikes per use instead of being fixed at 4
*[[Wild Side]] now costs 30 MP to use
*[[Priest]]s can now equip the [[Duplic Hat]]
 
*A limit has been placed on the number of times that some monsters can perform certain actions within one turn
*Some monsters have been adjusted so that they no longer use [[Defending Champion]] in the next turn after they become the last remaining monster
*The status-ailment resistance of boss monsters has been increased for Draconian Quest difficulty.
*Adjustments have been made to make it more difficult for both enemies and party members to be successively afflicted with the same status ailments
*[[Metal chimaera]]s and [[hardy hand]]s now yield more experience points when defeated
*Defence has been lowered for all monsters except for [[Metal slime family|metal slimes]]
*Minor adjustments have been made to the way that damage is dealt
{{Clear}}
*Once the Mini Medal Manor in the Aliahan well has been visited, it will be added to the list of Zoom destinations
*A new “short-cut button” feature has been added that allows spells and abilities to be assigned to specific buttons. For more information, please refer to Traveller's Tips in-game.
*In the Temple of Trials, the number of [[Elfin Elixir]]s required to advance has been lowered from 25 to 10
*A treasure chest has been added to the Temple of Trials, allowing players to acquire one more [[Gringham Whip]]
*Fixed a bug whereby levelling up after using the [[Seed of Life]] or [[Seed of Magic]] items would cause the status increase value to be calculated twice
*Adjustments have been made so that if trophies and achievements have not been acquired correctly, selecting Misc. > Info in the menu allows some of them to be reacquired
*Miscellaneous fixes for minor bugs
*The gold golem has been renamed to [[gold digger]] to distinguish it from the recurring monster of the same name, in preparation of the latter's appearance in ''[[Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake]]''.


==Development==
==Development==
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堀井: 僕としても、 最新のゲーム機の性能を存分に活かした『DQIII』を遊びたいと思っていたので、リメイクの提案には「ぜひやろう!」と返事をしたんです。堀井: 3Dでリメイクする案もありましたが、 2Dだったものをいきなり3Dにすると、調整が必要な部分が増えて、ゲーム性が変わってしまうんです。でもHD-2Dであれば2Dの味が残るので、 最新の映像でファミリーコンピュータ(以下FC) 版と同じ感触の冒険ができていいな、と思いましたね。ドラゴンクエストIII そして伝説へ… レジェンダリーガイドブック ISNB 978-4-08-779822-7 page 394</ref>.
堀井: 僕としても、 最新のゲーム機の性能を存分に活かした『DQIII』を遊びたいと思っていたので、リメイクの提案には「ぜひやろう!」と返事をしたんです。堀井: 3Dでリメイクする案もありましたが、 2Dだったものをいきなり3Dにすると、調整が必要な部分が増えて、ゲーム性が変わってしまうんです。でもHD-2Dであれば2Dの味が残るので、 最新の映像でファミリーコンピュータ(以下FC) 版と同じ感触の冒険ができていいな、と思いましたね。ドラゴンクエストIII そして伝説へ… レジェンダリーガイドブック ISNB 978-4-08-779822-7 page 394</ref>.


With the presentation decided upon the goal of the project was to respect the original while still adding new elements to enrich the play experience. One example of this was changing the look of each town and castle now that they were not bound to the same tile sprites as they were in the Famicom and Super Famicom versions. As the world of ''Dragon Quest III'' is based on the real world, Hayasaka placed emphasis on reflecting the real life cultures each locale was derived from without altering the classic feeling too much. When Horii compared the HD remake and the Famicom version side by side, he noted the two had a similar atmosphere despite the latter's more primitive graphics, which Hayasaka took as a great personal success<ref>早坂: FC版では、どの町も同じマップチップ (マップを構成するパーツ) が使われているため雰囲気が似ていましたが、HD-2Dになったおかげで間ごとにヨーロッパらしさや日本らしさ、アジアらしさといったちがいを表現できました。『DQIII』のワールドマップは現実世界をモチーフにしているので、実際のイメージを再現できたのは大きな魅になったと思います。
The game was originally announced as a co-production with Japanese studio Amata.<ref>Romano, Sal. [https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/dragon-quest-iii-hd-2d-remake-announced-for-consoles "Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake announced for consoles"]. ''Gematsu''. May 27, 2021.</ref> With the presentation decided upon the goal of the project was to respect the original while still adding new elements to enrich the play experience. One example of this was changing the look of each town and castle now that they were not bound to the same tile sprites as they were in the Famicom and Super Famicom versions. As the world of ''Dragon Quest III'' is based on the real world, Hayasaka placed emphasis on reflecting the real life cultures each locale was derived from without altering the classic feeling too much. When Horii compared the HD remake and the Famicom version side by side, he noted the two had a similar atmosphere despite the latter's more primitive graphics, which Hayasaka took as a great personal success<ref>早坂: FC版では、どの町も同じマップチップ (マップを構成するパーツ) が使われているため雰囲気が似ていましたが、HD-2Dになったおかげで間ごとにヨーロッパらしさや日本らしさ、アジアらしさといったちがいを表現できました。『DQIII』のワールドマップは現実世界をモチーフにしているので、実際のイメージを再現できたのは大きな魅になったと思います。
堀井: 今回、思い出は時間とともに美しくなることを実感しましたね。HD-2D版を遊んで、「映像はもう少しチープだったけど、FC版のグラフィックもこんな雰囲気だったな」と思ったのですが、実際に見くらべたら「こんなに簡素だったっけ!?」と(笑)。
堀井: 今回、思い出は時間とともに美しくなることを実感しましたね。HD-2D版を遊んで、「映像はもう少しチープだったけど、FC版のグラフィックもこんな雰囲気だったな」と思ったのですが、実際に見くらべたら「こんなに簡素だったっけ!?」と(笑)。
早坂: 改めて「こんなにちがうの!?」と驚きました。ただ、そんなふうに感じるということは、FC版を遊んだ当時に脳内に思い浮かべたイメージとHD-2Dの映像がそんなにズレていないとも言えるので、制作者としては大成功です。ドラゴンクエストIII そして伝説へ… レジェンダリーガイドブック ISNB 978-4-08-779822-7 page 394</ref>. This attention to detail extended to the overworld representations of each town and castle as well, something that actually caused a dispute during development. Each locale was given a unique, miniaturized representation on the world map instead of sharing the same sprite tiles as in prior versions, and Hayasaka wanted the player to be able to enter each from any side. The planner contested this and insisted it wasn't realistic enough for a modern game, to which Hayasaka countered that such a feature would be better for difficulty balance as a party in a critical state wouldn't run the risk of being wiped out by monsters when walking towards an entrance on the opposite side of the town. Neither would compromise and Horii settled things by agreeing with Hayasaka<ref>早坂: その仕様は、プランナーと結構もめまして・・・・・・。もし特定の出入口からしか入れなかったら、ボロボロの状態はんたいがわ いりぐちでフィールドを歩いて帰ってきたときに、反対側の入口までまわりこむ途中で敵と遭遇して全滅してしまうかもしれない。そうならないように、町のシンボルのどこかに触れればすぐに入れるようにしてほしい、とプランナーに頼んだのですが、「いえ、最新のゲームとして、これくらいのディテールは必要です!」と説得されまして・・・・・・。
早坂: 改めて「こんなにちがうの!?」と驚きました。ただ、そんなふうに感じるということは、FC版を遊んだ当時に脳内に思い浮かべたイメージとHD-2Dの映像がそんなにズレていないとも言えるので、制作者としては大成功です。ドラゴンクエストIII そして伝説へ… レジェンダリーガイドブック ISNB 978-4-08-779822-7 page 394</ref>. This attention to detail extended to the overworld representations of each town and castle as well, something that actually caused a dispute during development. Each locale was given a unique, miniaturized representation on the world map instead of sharing the same sprite tiles as in prior versions, and Hayasaka wanted the player to be able to enter each from any side. The planner contested this and insisted it wasn't realistic enough for a modern game, to which Hayasaka countered that such a feature would be better for difficulty balance as a party in a critical state wouldn't run the risk of being wiped out by monsters when walking towards an entrance on the opposite side of the town. Neither would compromise and Horii settled things by agreeing with Hayasaka<ref>早坂: その仕様は、プランナーと結構もめまして・・・・・・。もし特定の出入口からしか入れなかったら、ボロボロの状態はんたいがわ いりぐちでフィールドを歩いて帰ってきたときに、反対側の入口までまわりこむ途中で敵と遭遇して全滅してしまうかもしれない。そうならないように、町のシンボルのどこかに触れればすぐに入れるようにしてほしい、とプランナーに頼んだのですが、「いえ、最新のゲームとして、これくらいのディテールは必要です!」と説得されまして・・・・・・。
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''Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake'' was formally announced during the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfmOWgfYVjY| series 35th anniversary livestream] on May 26, 2021. Beta footage that dirfers from the final product was shown, along with a debriefing from producer Masaaki Hayasaka. In his typical mischievous fashion Yuji Horii also let it slip that [[Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake|remakes of the first two games]] and that there would be surprises in store for those who played the trio in chronological order, much to the chagrin of his co-host and live English translator.
''Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake'' was formally announced during the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfmOWgfYVjY| series 35th anniversary livestream] on May 26, 2021. Beta footage that dirfers from the final product was shown, along with a debriefing from producer Masaaki Hayasaka. In his typical mischievous fashion Yuji Horii also let it slip that [[Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake|remakes of the first two games]] and that there would be surprises in store for those who played the trio in chronological order, much to the chagrin of his co-host and live English translator.
==Censorship controversy==
The game has been strongly criticized for the censorship of the female [[Gadabout]], female [[Warrior]], and the male [[Monster Wrangler]]'s clothing prior to its release, altering the classic designs to expose less skin in order to comply with the [https://www.cero.gr.jp/en/ Japanese CERO ratings board]. The ratings board has grown increasingly strict in its regulations in the decades since the original release of the game in 1988, with the censorship being mandated in order for the remake to secure a rating of '''B''' and be legally sold to children. Fans noted the censorship of the [[boss troll]]'s lip colour in preview footage shown on June 18 2024, wherein the giant's lips were changed from pink to green and it's nose was altered to be significantly smaller, though the change in the colour of the lips were already present in its appearance in ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince]]''.
The removal of gendered language during the character creation process has also been criticized. This was first revealed during June 2024 in the 32nd issue of Weekly Shonen Jump where the Hero and Heroine's full art was revealed, referring to the two as  "looks A" and "looks B" despite the artwork clearly depicting the two as a man and woman respectively. Matching voice actors were cast for their battle dialogue as well, with [[Nobuyuki Hiyama]] and [[Yūko Minaguchi]] for the Japanese dub and Toby Laurence and Jenna Sharpe for the English dub. A trailer shown on August 27th would show this peculiarity extending to the party members as well, where their sex was replaced with "appearance A/B". The change was further criticized when it was revealed that the English script still uses proper terms when referring to characters in-dialogue, such as the appearance B [[Thief]] Samantha being referred to as a woman by Healizah when giving her a makeover, making the alteration totally pointless.
On September 28, an interview between [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_tD58w6io Denfamico Gamer]'s NAZ CHRIS and Yuji Horii and [[Kazuhiko Torishima]] would be held commemorating the 2024 Tokyo Game Show, with Horii and Torishima representing [https://www.j-wave.co.jp/original/maadspin/ radio station Tokyo M.A.A.D. SPIN] through their radio program "Yubo & Mashirito 's Koso Koso station". The interview pretained to the HD2D remake of ''III'', the ongoing scandal regarding the game's censorship prompting NAZ CHRIS to ask Yuji Horii about the changes directly, specifically for the female Warrior. Horii revealed that the changes were due to the strict age ratings regulations, stating that even just showing too much skin would raise the game's rating and prevent the game from being sold as an all-ages product as ''Dragon Quest'' had been in the past. NAZ CHRIS replied by saying the game is simply a work of fiction for the players to immerse themselves into, to which Horii agreed and stated that he doesn't understand what the problem is either<ref>NAZ CHRIS: あとすごい話題になってた。そのコスチュームとか、当時とそのままなのかどうなのかみたいなのがありましたよね。 また...
堀井: まあね、あのいろいろ規制もあってね。露出しすぎちゃいけないとかね
NAZ: あそこまあちょっとあんまり深掘りする気はないんですけど。いいのにだってフィクションだけど、その中にあ、主人公ってあなたが入って冒険するっていうことでいいじゃないと思うんですけど、違うんですかね?
堀井: なんなんですかね。よくわかんないですけどね。これについてはね
NAZ: ゲームだし、フィクションという自分の中のこうバーチャル体験でのあのノンフィクションだから、楽しくければいいのにっていうふうに思っちゃいますけどね。
堀井: あんまり露出するとね、年齢が上がっちゃうっていうね。
鳥嶋: まあまあね。
堀井: 全年齢じゃなくなってしまうっていうのが
鳥嶋: ルールがやっぱなんか各国違ったりするんでね。広くろうと思うと、一番厳しいところに合わせざるを得ないとか。でも,</ref>. Torishima followed Horii's statement up by pointing out that ratings regulations vary greatly between different nations. Torishima strongly criticized the forced compliance to these regulations to conduct international business in American and the UK, going so far as to call them an "evil disguised as good", and pointed out that it is simply impossible for there to be content that offends no one due to everyone having different perspectives; Torishima asserts that so long as certain absolute taboos are not broken then creative freedom should be unfettered<ref>NAZ: 当時そんなこと思わなかったですね。
鳥嶋: コンプラっていう名のね。やっぱりね、ある種のね。なんだろうな、絶対神と言うべき善の名を借りた悪みたいのがあるよね。あの全員が不快感を覚えないなんてことはないわけだって、株不快はこういうことを覚えるどうこうでもいいわけよ。だって綺麗、汚いとかさ、善悪って人それぞれ感じ方があるわけじゃんで物事はやっぱり。根っこにあるのは、やっぱり絶対やっちゃいけないことだけ。いくつかそれをさえやらなきゃといいじゃないって、そういうのがないわけだから、やっぱりあの欧米英米の方から欧米の方から来てる?</ref>.
Torishima drew comparisons between the narrow-mindedness of modern-day age regulations to the religious zealotry of the Puritanical mindset of the past, and highlighted the difficulties of selling Jump magazine in America as an example. The content that was deemed perfectly suitable for eight year old children in Japan was mandated to be marketed as strictly for teenagers and older in America or legal action would be applied<ref>鳥嶋:その宗教的な概念からくるその清教徒の考え方って、アメリカにあるじゃない?彼らのコンプラの考え方って本当ない。狭いうんでだから、向こうでコミックスだけに、全部その年齢で。 あの, 区切ってやらなきゃいけない少年ジャンプの漫画だったらサーティーンアップ13歳以上じゃないと出せない。それは全部見てくれなきゃいけないで、それを訴訟が起きる。そのために保険も入らなきゃいけない。もうこんなね、バカな国とねやるの。</ref> Torishima declared that doing business with America was infuriating and even damaging to Japan itself by forcing the smaller nation to comply to such ridiculous laws, which Horii explained as being the reason for the removal of gendered language during the character creation process. Foreign meddling mandated the censoring of the words men and women and forced Horii to utilize the awkward workaround of appearance A/B, despite everything else in the game acknowledging the common sense differences between the two sexes. Horii wondered aloud who on Earth would ever complain about the use of such common words in the first place<ref>堀井: 主人公もね、男女選べるんだけど、男を女選ぶって書いていけないのねタイプ一タイプ二なのねねえそう男女誰が一体文句言うんだろうと思うんだよね。
鳥嶋: そうそうですね。
堀井: うん, わからない。</ref>.
This interview would be catapulted into the international news cycle thanks to X.com user [https://archive.is/ZqIaz Valute News] clipping the portion of the interview concerning censorship and providing English subtitles. The ripple effect of the post would draw significant attention from beyond the game industry's own news channels, leading to outlets such as [https://archive.is/fIRQw Forbes magazine] and [https://archive.is/qjpp9 Elon Musk] commenting on the situation and drawing even more attention to the censorship of ''Dragon Quest III''.
On October 3, Tokyo M.A.A.D. SPIN released an official statement regarding the viral interview, stressing the mistranslation performed by Valute News that turned Torishima's use the English word "puritanical" into the phrase "sex education". An English counterpart to the statement was also announced, but was formally delayed later the same day. Valute News would also release a formal apology for the error, and deactivated the account. Additionally, the Denfamico Gamer youtube channel has since been privated the video.


==Credits==
==Credits==
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==Gallery==
==Gallery==
===Illustrations===
===Illustrations===
<gallery><center>
<gallery>
DQ3 HD2D Boxart US.jpg|US boxart.
File:DQ3 HD2D Boxart US.jpg|US boxart.
DRAGONQUEST HD2D Artwork.jpg|Artwork of the [[Erdrick Trilogy]] HD-2D Remakes by Naoki Ikushima.
File:DRAGONQUEST HD2D Artwork.jpg|Artwork of the [[Erdrick Trilogy]] HD-2D Remakes by Naoki Ikushima.
DRAGONQUEST III HD2D Logo JP.png|Japanese logo.
File:DRAGONQUEST III HD2D Logo JP.png|Japanese logo.
Erdrick Trilogy HD-2D logo.png|The Erdrick Trilogy logo created for the game
File:Erdrick Trilogy HD-2D logo.png|The Erdrick Trilogy logo created for the game
Party camping III HD2D illustration.jpg|The party planning the next day while monsters look on
File:Party camping III HD2D illustration.jpg|The party planning the next day while monsters look on
Heroine and Ramia III HD2D illustration.jpg|The party takes flight with [[Ramia]], paying homage to the box art of the [[GameBoy Color]] version
File:Heroine and Ramia III HD2D illustration.jpg|The party takes flight with [[Ramia]], paying homage to the box art of the [[GameBoy Color]] version
DQ Carnival 2025 banner.jpg|Main artwork for the [https://archive.is/zypQJ| 2025 Dragon Quest Carnival]
File:DQ3HD Launch Art.jpeg|Launch art by concept artist Yo Shimizu.
</center></gallery>
File:DQ Carnival 2025 banner.jpg|Main artwork for the [https://archive.is/zypQJ| 2025 Dragon Quest Carnival]
</gallery>
===Promotional images===
===Promotional images===
<gallery><center>
<gallery><center>
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===Characters===
===Characters===
<gallery><center>
<gallery><center>
Hero male III HD2D.png|The Hero
Hero Appearance A III HD2D.png|The Hero
Hero female III HD2D.png|The Heroine
Hero Appearance B III HD2D.png|The Heroine
Ortega Dragon Quest III-HD key art.png|Ortega
Ortega Dragon Quest III-HD key art.png|Ortega
Healizah key artwork.png|Healizah
Healizah key artwork.png|Healizah
Gadabout female III HD2D.png|Female [[Gadabout]]
Gadabout Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Gadabout]] Appearance A
Gadabout male III HD2D.png|Male [[Gadabout]]
Gadabout Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Gadabout]] Appearance B
Mage female III HD2D.png|Female [[Mage]]
Mage Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Mage]] Appearance A
Mage male III HD2D.png|Male [[Mage]]
Mage Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Mage]] Appearance B
Martial artist female III HD2D.png|Female [[Martial Artist]]
Martial artist Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Martial Artist]] Appearance A
Martial artist male III HD2D.png|Male [[Martial Artist]]
Martial artist Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Martial Artist]] Appearance B
Merchant female III HD2D.png|Female [[Merchant]]
Merchant Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Merchant]] Appearance A
Merchant male III HD2D.png|Male [[Merchant]]
Merchant Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Merchant]] Appearance B
Monster wrangler female III HD2D.png|Female [[Monster Wrangler]]
Monster wrangler Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Monster Wrangler]] Appearance A
Monster wrangler male III HD2D.png|Male [[Monster Wrangler]]
Monster wrangler Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Monster Wrangler]] Appearance B
Priest female III HD2D.png|Female [[Priest]]
Priest Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Priest]] Appearance A
Priest male III HD2D.png|Male [[Priest]]
Priest Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Priest]] Appearance B
Sage female III HD2D.png|Female [[Sage]]
Sage Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Sage]] Appearance A
Sage male III HD2D.png|Male [[Sage]]
Sage Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Sage]] Appearance B
Thief female III HD2D.png|Female [[Thief]]
Thief Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Thief]] Appearance A
Thief male III HD2D.png|Male [[Thief]]
Thief Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Thief]] Appearance B
Warrior female III HD2D.png|Female [[Warrior]]
Warrior Appearance A III HD2D.png|[[Warrior]] Appearance A
Warrior male III HD2D.png|Male [[Warrior]]
Warrior Appearance B III HD2D.png|[[Warrior]] Appearance B
</center></gallery>
 
===Official statements===
<gallery><center>
Yubo & Mashirito Koso Koso station Japanese press release 1.jpg|The response of Tokyo M.A.A.D. SPIN to the viral interview
Yubo & Mashirito Koso Koso station Japanese press release 2.jpg|Page 2
Valute-News statement October 3 2024.png|Valute News' apology post
</center></gallery>
</center></gallery>


==External links==
==External links==
*[https://dragonquest.square-enix-games.com/games/en-us/dragon-quest-123-hd2d-remakes/ Official website]
*[https://dragonquest.square-enix-games.com/games/en-us/dragon-quest-3-hd2d-remake/ Official website]


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>


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