Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D RemakePublisher: Square EnixDeveloper: Square EnixAvailability: 14th November 2024Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Steam)
Square Enix is really piling on the options for its Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake, though the inclusion of the new Monster Wrangler vocation is the biggest addition yet.
I previously went hands-on with the game for its initial reveal, describing it as the perfect excuse to properly play such an iconic series. It comes not just with beautifully revamped graphics and sound, but modern features like autosave, varying battle speeds, and – as newly announced (see the video below) – the option to customise the look and voice of each character according to their vocation.
Vocations are the Dragon Quest equivalent to Final Fantasy’s jobs, or a typical class system. And the Monster Wrangler is a new addition to Dragon Quest 3, but not to the series as a whole – it’s appeared in the likes of Dragon Quest 10 and is inspired by spin-off Dragon Quest Monsters.
There are a couple of reasons to include the vocation in this remake, producer Masaaki Hayasaka told me at Gamescom.
“The world map of all the field areas is much larger in this version than in the original,” he said. “Since they are that much larger, we wanted some kind of new gameplay element that players could enjoy using that space.