Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is heading to modern platforms this year

After the success of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake last year, Square Enix has announced that a Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is on its way as well. Just as the title implies, this package is a substantially visually enhanced remake of the first two Dragon Quest entries. These games will be bundled together in a single package, using the same mix of pixel-art sprites and 3D graphics employed by Dragon Quest III’s remake as well as the Octopath Traveler games.

As its name implies, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake will include remakes of Dragon Quest (first released on the NES in 1986) and Dragon Quest II (which released the following year). The games were foundational entries in the nascent JPRG genre. They are also pretty short by modern standards, hence why they’re being released in a single package. Dragon Quest I-III collectively are known as the “Erdrick Trilogy”, by virtue of sharing a setting and timeline (even if it is non-linear: Dragon Quest III actually takes place before the events of the previous two games).

The games have received substantial visual upgrades in this upcoming release, as well as a stunning orchestral soundtrack by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. That said, it is unclear to what extent the gameplay of these entries will be enhanced to meet modern gameplay expectations. The first game in particular is fairly…unconventional as far as turn-based JPRGs go, featuring only a single playable character. Furthermore, both games are known to require a lot of grinding (which has admittedly been somewhat mitigated in subsequent remakes). That said, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake received a good amount of quality-of-life improvements to make it satisfying to players accustomed to modern JPRGs, so we can likely expect something of that nature with the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake package as well.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was a mammoth success for Square Enix. The game sold 2 million units globally and became the top-selling game in its home nation of Japan last year, according to stats from Famitsu translated by Eurogamer. Hopefully based on the success of these remakes we can expect more releases of later, more famous entries in the Dragon Quest franchise, particularly Dragon Quest 4-6. We don’t have a precise release date yet, however the trailer confirms that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake will be coming out on Switch, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year.