Last year’s Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D was wonderful. It is the first game in the series to introduce a party-class system and non-linear storytelling. The remake added quality-of-life improvements, making it the definitive entry. One year later, and the same can be said about the Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remakes. However, these games, as fun as they are, still have many cumbersome mechanics ingrained in their design decisions made at a time when such mechanics were more common. The series’s earliest entries are the hardest to begin, understandably so given their age. Now, the complete Erdrick trilogy is seeing new life with the final two games receiving the remake treatment.
Dragon Quest 1 and 2 are, at this point, archaic. I have no intention to return to them. So, with Square Enix deciding to remake them, I’m more than happy to revisit them. The remakes pick up following the events of Dragon Quest 3, only now they feature the same HD-2D visuals showcased in Octopath Traveler. Despite launching first, the playing order gets a shake-up for anyone following along. Dragon Quest 3 kicks off the Erdrick trilogy (named after the hero of the third game), followed by Dragon Quest 1 & 2 in that order.
What excites me about the fact that the first three Dragon Quest games are now updated and modernized is that they feel more unified than ever before.
Return to Dragon Quest’s Alefgard
Dragon Quest 1 introduces players to the world of Alefgard. The story follows the hero, a descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick, on a quest to rescue Princess Gwaelin and defeat the evil Dragonlord. As a descendant of Erdrick, you’ll have to step up and stop the evil.
A significant change has been made to the original solo hero battle system. There’s a slew of changes that make Dragon Quest 1 feel like a part of the same trilogy, including having enemies from DQ 2 and 3 appear, the inclusion of spells like Sizz, spell vulnerabilities and more. In Dragon Quest 1, the hero wields Sizz-type and Zap-type spells. His ability Dragon Slash deals a ton of damage to dragons.
Playing as one character might be jarring at first, but in the context of being a descendant of Erdrick, I dig it. My character (Edward) is a righteous and selfless hero who wants to help those around him, even the likes of joke characters like the descendant of Robbin” ood, who even mentions our ancestors were acquaintances and Erdrick was in service to the OG Robbin” ood.
A lot of the mechanics from Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D land here in this remake, with combat having the same feel and rhythm, even being able to run through battles at normal or ultra-speed. As I said, the project of remaking the first three DQ games feels unified and plays like a dream, making it a dream to revisit these titles I’d otherwise never touch again.
Some of my favourite changes streamline exploration, which I found tedious in older games. In the Options, you can now toggle secret areas on or off, making them visible on the map for easier access. Plus, treasure chests will appear in dungeon maps if you decide to toggle them on.
The story is the most basic of the three Erdrick trilogy games. As the ‘Hero’, your job is to rescue Princess Gwaelin. Square Enix’s inclusion of new scenarios does justice to the story by adding nuance sorely lacking in the original.
Both games in the bundle add scrolls, which are items you’ll find in dungeons and in the world. Having scrolls available means you can customize your character with powerful skills and spells that are frankly necessary, as combat is rebalanced to include harder-hitting enemies and fiends with magic that can very well drop you if you’re not careful. With access to your own abilities, there’s a more even playing ground.
Additionally, you can assign four skills to the directional buttons for ease of access. I’ve mapped Heal and Zoom to the up and down buttons, with the other two left in rotation for whatever I might need in a dungeon.
Overall, in the 13 hours it took me to roll credits, Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D is a brief, but fun middle-of-the-road game which sets up its sequel, and I even feel like the primary focus of the duology has the series’ second title as the flagship title..
Dragon Quest 2
The sequel takes place 100 years after the first game. Dragon Quest 2 expands the story to include multiple heroes. The game follows the Prince of Midenhall, the original hero’s descendant, as he sets out to defeat the evil sorcerer Hargon, who threatens the world with destruction. These stories being told aren’t exactly the most memorable or deep, but they’re timeless, and even 40 years later, the story is about good vs. evil. I can imagine these stories were a lot more memorable years ago.
While exploring the overworld and dungeons in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, monsters will appear. In the first game, you’ll play as a single character, while the second game adds a party of up to four characters. Each character features unique skills and spells, so make sure to take advantage of their strengths.
In Dragon Quest 2, the Prince of Midenhall can also learn Forebearance to protect allies, plus use skills like Knuckle Sandwich. The Prince of Cannock is well-balanced with skills and spells. He has access to Gigaslash, which strikes all enemies with lightning. The Princess of Moonbrooke excels at spell-casting and uses support and healing spells like Oomph and Insulate. The Princess of Cannock is agile and excels at Frizz-type and Crack-type spells.
Combat is essentially the same as its predecessor, but now emphasizes party management. Difficulty levels return, from Dracky Quest to Dragon Quest, and Draconian Quest. Plus, you can adjust battle speed and auto-battle, and even adjust weakness indicators for a streamlined experience. I wouldn’t worry too much about the challenge, since these are all optional toggles you can enable.
A new playable in the form of the Princess of Cannock happens early on, and she’s a great addition. She joins as you look for her brother, the Prince of Cannock, and packs a punch. Matilda has powerful magic and can support the party, too. She’s a character who slots neatly into the existing lore, and it’s nice to see her play a larger role after teasing her participation.
Scrolls are obtained from chests and other places, allowing one of your teammates to learn new skills and spells. However, only certain characters can know what the scrolls offer. It’s ultimately up to you to plan and dole out which scrolls belong to what characters, but they are often worth discovering and using.
Five sigils appeared in the original Dragon Quest 2, holding the power of the sun, star, moon, water, and soul, and returned in both games. The original game showed no benefit to earning them. In the remakes, you collect the five sigils throughout the campaign. If you have a sigil, it includes various effects in battle when conditions are met. Each sigil has a different effect, too. The Sun Sigil may improve critical damage in battle, while the Soul Sigil improves spell potency, and the Moon Sigil might offer additional healing and bonus damage. The sigils are also included in the original DQ in a similar capacity for the hero to use in battle.
There’s also the new underwater area you can explore, exclusive to the Dragon Quest 2 HD-2D remake. As you explore the ocean, you come across a mermaid in need of assistance. You quickly learned that the Mersea Kingdom is under attack from one of Haran’s champions, Mariella, looking to destroy the Seabed.
The new area is ripe with hidden secrets and dungeons, and even offers incentives to return to previous areas. Both games are unsurprisingly challenging on normal mode, and the new content is on par with the difficulty of the main storyline.
Both DQ 1 and DQ 2 also look incredible. The HD-2D implementation is one of the best we’ve seen yet. Animations in battle showcase spells, strikes, and slashes with fervour. I’ve always loved the style of the Dragon Quest games, and you can see a lot of the early designs implemented so carefully and lovingly in each game. However, when you play DQ 2, be warned about Matilda’s in-battle cries. I had a few people look at me with a bit of shade when playing in public.
The story is also expanded with bigger scenes, giving the cast time to stretch out and open up. DQ 1 is a brisk walk, but DQ 2 is larger in every sense of the word. You grow to love these characters more, each with a distinct personality and traits to match. I ended up really having a blast getting to know these characters by the end of the story.
As the series has grown, it’s become harder to revisit the earlier games. The first three games in the series are mainly by-the-numbers, doing nothing special, especially compared to later titles like Dragon Quest 7 and 11, which shattered expectations.
Verdict
Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D is a tribute to the enduring appeal of the Dragon Quest series’ early roots. It combines familiar elements with refreshed lighting, expanded worlds, and improved user experience to deliver thoughtful quality-of-life updates while preserving the core game mechanics of the originals. You might ask why the Erdrick trilogy is the focus of its series over the last few years, and I can tell you it’s worth sticking through to the end. The trilogy reunites the scions of Erdrick for a new generation, delivering a simple tale with bells and whistles.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PC
