Ever since it first introduced the HD-2D art style in 2017, fans have been begging Square Enix to remake some of its most beloved classic titles in the style of Octopath Traveler. While the team behind Octopath Traveler has already revealed its next game, the Fire Emblem-like Project Triangle Strategy, it turns out they will be returning to one of Square Enix's most beloved classic games with a remake of Dragon Quest 3, as announced during the Dragon Quest 35th anniversary stream.
Dragon Quest 3: The Seeds of Salvation first released in Japan in February 1988 and was developed by Chunsoft (now known as Spike Chunsoft) and published by Enix (now part of Square Enix.) The game was a genre-defining JRPG and is most synonymous with having perfected many of the standards that the genre still functions by today. Chronologically, it is the first entry in the series, making it a prime candidate for a remake intended to retell the story of the series from the beginning.
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It seems like that's just what Square Enix intends to do, with the developer announcing that the HD-2D team responsible for Octopath Traveler is hard at work on a full remake of the game with the possibility of even following it up with remakes of the first two games. Square Enix announced the Dragon Quest 3 remake as part of its 35th anniversary stream, where it also announced Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate, a new expansion for the Japan-only MMORPG Dragon Quest 10, and multiple new spin-off titles.
Square Enix has recently been looking towards remaking past projects, with its most ambitious effort in recent years being the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project, which aims to reimagine the beloved PS1 RPG for a whole new audience. Recently it published a remaster of NieR: Replicant, and in 2020 it released the full remake of Trials of Mana. A few months ago the publisher announced that it would be partnering with Panzer Dragoon Remake developer Forever Entertainment for multiple upcoming remake projects, which some fans have theorized to be remakes of the Drakengard series.
Dragon Quest 3 is the first remake project from the HD-2D team at Square Enix and represents what could be a bright future for the developer in revisiting past IP and reintroducing them to fans in a way that does not deviate too much from what made the original titles so beloved. Fans have already began drumming up excitement for possible Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger remakes in this style. During the 35th anniversary stream however, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii implied that the team is already considering remaking Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest 2 in this style. As for the Dragon Quest 3 remake, no platforms were revealed other than the game is coming to "consoles," nor was a release window. It was confirmed that much like Dragon Quest 12, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake will be one of the first titles in the series to launch worldwide simultaneously.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is currently in development.
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