When a game is successful, it’s hard to imagine it “being any different” on a grand scale. After all, it worked, why would anyone want anything extremely different? In the case of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, fans and critics alike loved the old-school vibe mixed with new-age sprites to help the game “pop” while feeling reminiscent of what came before on the SNES. It makes sense when you think about all the other HD-2D games that Square Enix has made. Yet, the publisher almost went in another direction entirely.
Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii revealed to Nintendo Dream that a full-on 3D remake was considered, but it was eventually rejected due to gameplay shifts:
“At first there was conversation about making the game 3D, but if we make any Famicom game into 3D it significantly changes the feeling of the game too. By using HD-2D instead we can cleanly recall the memories of the original without changing the game itself.”
This was indeed the right call, as the game was not only a major hit, but Japan especially loved how it felt like the original games, just with some key upgrades. This style is what we’ll get with the upcoming remakes, too. You can read our review of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake here!
