When it comes to legendary JPRGs in the West, you can rattle off the usual suspects pretty easily. Final Fantasy VII, Persona 4, Chrono Trigger... you get the picture. However, Dragon Quest III is criminally overlooked. With the recent rerelease of the Erdrick Trilogy on Switch, this gives players a new opportunity to check out one of the best releases in the entire series. While Dragon Quest enjoys some moderate notoriety in the West these days, Dragon Quest III is clearly a notable step up from its predecessors and is one of the best JRPGs you can buy on Switch today. It does come with some notable caveats, however.
Dragon Quest III is a prequel to the original Dragon Quest and tells the story of Ortega, who is tasked with the quest of defeating the fiend Baramos. While we saw some flourishes of a story in Dragon Quest II, it's this amazing third entry which allows the franchise to really hits its stride in terms of plot. The winding storyline keeps you engaged, and the expansive world lets you keep discovering new nooks and crannies to explore. Dragon Quest III’s world is a genuine joy to poke around in and will keep surprising you as you progress. NPC interactions are one of the biggest highlights in the game, and the way that they are written makes this an incredibly fun romp through a lighthearted fantasy world.
Armed with one of the strongest soundtracks a Dragon Quest title can have, the rearranged MIDI tracks composed by Koichi Sugiyama shine, and let Dragon Quest III’s lighthearted fantasy romp really bring out its personality. It's a treat to go through the game and keep being delighted by the music in new areas.
There have been a few improvements made in Dragon Quest III, most notably a full heal option, where you’re able to swiftly get your entire party’s health back up with a single button press (as long as you have the required items, of course). Additionally, you have one extra party member, and you can compose your party however you’d like. Further pushing the boat out is the addition of a day/night cycle, where you’re able to face off against different baddies if you’re lurking around in the evening hours.
The battle system has been slightly reworked to factor in more engaging gameplay, with more skills that add a new dimension to the tried-and-true “whack it with a sword and maybe cast a spell” strategy that the previous two games in the series employ. As ever, the random battles persist in this release, and can still be frustrating; without the addition of a turbo button to ease up on those enemy turns, things can get frustrating as you wait for enemies to slowly attack your party.
In comparison to Dragon Quest I and II on Switch, III does not seem to suffer from the same issue of character art not being in line with the backgrounds, and they manage to blend in pretty seamlessly. This also lets you really see the Akira Toriyama sprite-work shine. Unfortunately, there is still a slight stuttering issue while exploring maps, but it’s not enough to distract you from the game completely.
Conclusion
Dragon Quest III might be slightly more expensive than its two younger brothers on the Switch eShop, but it stands tall as a great way to explore the world of Dragon Quest for the first time. Even when compared to modern JRPGs, Dragon Quest III still stands tall as one of the best in the genre. If you had to pick just one of the three rereleased Dragon Quest games, pick Dragon Quest III – we can promise that you won’t be disappointed.
Comments 42
Might one day pick this up.
Got so many games to play as it is.
Brilliant game but wow those graphics are hideous.
I played the mobile port on iOS and I can say that that port really isn’t bad even though it’s locked to vertical orientation.
I will be getting this! Hopefully SquareEnix will get around to rereleasing the missing DQ and FF titles! One can hope!
PS-and the Chrono titles too!!
I have the physical Switch version of 1-3 incoming, but I might just play the fan-translated SNES port that I own as a repro cart, as that still seems to be the best way to enjoy the game.
I finished it on Android earlier this year, and I gotta say it really is a huge step up compared to entries I and II. Having started in the series with DQIV for Nintendo DS, I later played V, VI and VII, and then I, II and III when I discovered they were on mobile devices. So I can say III is the closest to a modern DQ of all Erdrick Trilogy, really close.
About the party of 4, though, whereas you can create the characters that go with the protagonist (which isn't called Ortega, who is their (yes, their) father), the downside is that only the Hero/Heroin has a story. That was a disappointment compared to Dragon Quest IV, the entry with the most detailed party characters, but I understand it, just as I understand it happens again in DQIX and for the same reason.
I enjoyed it a lot, but there is a huge grinding in the post-game, which was really tedious. On the other hand, that unfortunately makes it a fully-fledged Dragon Quest LOL
PS: why did they mantain the sprites in a 16 bit style here but modified the ones in entries I and II? They didn't need to be altered, but the decision of not doing it here makes it even more outrageous.
@BarefootBowser
I know how that is.
I have at least 44 NX games.
And well over 850 steam games, I'll never get to all of them.
question though, from what I’ve seen the monsters still have the ‘upgraded’ artwork, right? But these blend in better than dq1 and 2, is that correct?
Does the game on iOS have the original sprites?
Still waiting to get the game boy color version of this
I can't wait to play this game again!
High res graphics very poorly drawn. Is there the option for original graphics?
For me this will always be my favorite Dragon Quest game.
Maybe one day they'll give us a DQ 1-3 NES/SNES/GBC port bundle like the Collection of Mana.
the GBC ports were my favorites. I liked the cut scene intro for DQ1.
Hopefully we get the 4,5 and 6 Mobile ports of the DS remakes after the DQ Monsters GBC port comes out.
these games looked ok on mobile but i wasn't sold when i played the ps4 version of DQ1.
How was the 3ds versions? or was that just Final Fantasy?
to bad they didn't use the 16bit sprites from DQ11
@NicolausCamp If you were lucky enough to grab one of those SNES controllers I would suggest playing it on Switch with that controller. I got one and I just finished Zelda Alttp and now I'm playing the collection of Mana. I have to say, the controller adds a lot to the feeling
The sprite work in this version is still better than the first two but the battle system animations are still meh at best.
I have the GBC version of Dragon Quest 3. Got over half way and moved onto something else because I was bored, yet I was hooked on Dragon Quest 4 for DS and played all the way through.
Didn't realise 4, 5 and 6 were all available on mobile in addition to Chrono Trigger. Not a fan of playing games on my phone though.
As someone who played all four Dragon Quest NES games back in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, I don’t see how any of them can justify ratings as high as you’re giving them. They consisted almost entirely of tedious grinding which we all endured because we didn’t know better and all the other RPG’s in the market, of which there were few, were the same way. I couldn’t in good conscience recommend any of them to someone today, even a friend my age who was considering playing for nostalgia value.
I really love the DQ series.
Kinda lame this review. The 2nd game isn't much different on graphics part. Sure there is a bit more... but still.... this gets 8 and 2nd game gets a 4... it doesn't make sense at all
I beat this game, like, 3 hours ago. Really had a blast with it.
If anyone wants to give it a try on the trilogy, this is definitely a good place to start. I think it is well polished and content-wise is great. You won't be lost if you start from this one. (But the game is better if you played DQ1)
@Alucard83 You have to consider that this isn't just a review for graphics and presentation. This game is simply better thant the DQ2 in many, many aspects of gameplay.
DQ2 is usually considered one of the weakest games in the series, while DQ3 is usually considered one of the best. I played one after the other and I can say that DQ3 is so much more enjoyable than DQ2.
@riki_sidekicks To be fair, those games are not exactly the same as the NES games in gameplay. Specifically, all those 3 games now give more XP for defeating monsters than in the original NES releases. And that is not something made for the Switch/Mobile ports. They fixed that since the GameBoy ports.
For instance, I only had to grind once in DQIII, and only because I changed the classes for my characters (so they all go back to Lvl. 1)
I’ve been really enjoying this, but I got stuck after getting the boat and looked up a YouTube video... and it was the Super Famicom version. Oh my goodness. I wished we got that version instead. I’m thankful for what we got though. Couldn’t get into this game on GBC or iOS.
@w00dm4n The 3DS had two DQ games: a remake of 7, and an enhanced port of 8. The remake of 7 is the best way to experience 7, and the 3ds version of 8 is really good. For 8 I could recommend either the original PS2 or the 3ds versions as both have their good points. Just don’t get the mobile port of 8, it runs badly
Despite the negatives DQ3 has on Switch, the game is still fun to enjoy. Nice to play one of the original DQ3 games on a modern system. ^^
Dq2 is better than Dq2 but there much closer than the NL reviews suggest. Both are riddled with issues that persisted in the era they were developed...
The entire review is less than 550 words. Was this a homework assignment Mr. Ahmed had to complete in one night? lol ....Why even do these reviews anymore? Just go all Filip Muicin on them and just copy someone else...or link us to a quality review. High school kids write this much in a journal entry LOL
@Nintendofan83
This is an old NES game with different graphics. There is not much to write about, so why complain when its not as big as other games?
You didn't mention the sages/class system, with going jester as a self-inflicted challenge that is rewarding. For its time to have that replay value is great. Thanks for mentioning day/night and how it's better than the previous 2 that people criticized the site's reviews. However, no mention of pachisi (sugoroku board game)/mini medals? No point buying if not in it.
@MrVariant Mini medals are in, Monster Medals aren't. Pachisi is also out
"Dragon Quest III is a prequel to the original Dragon Quest and tells the story of Ortega..." Well that's just an embarrassing mistake
This game is the Bees Knees. Jester to Sage, Mini Medals and casinos. Better than the 2nd, 1st, and 4th in my humble opinion. The story Ortega explained.
Rate
10. DQ1
9. DQ7
8. DQ2
7. DQ4
6. DQ3
5. DQ6
4. DQ5
3. DQ9
2. DQ8
1. DQ11
DQ 10 I have as an import what a big mistake I do not understand Japanese and it is more of a spin off.
I've heard many DQ fans praise this one highly; some even rank it as their favorite Dragon Quest game. I'm definitely looking forward to trying this one out in the future.
If they would fix the frame rate and make the game run at a normal locked 60 frames per second I would get this game! Patch it please!
Beat the fantranslated SNES version of this a five or so years ago. I really enjoyed it, definitely up there within the totempole for this series. Looking forward to revisiting this game at some point in the near future.
@PBandSmelly I don't think age should factor into a review being short or long. Think of what could be written about other NES games like Super Mario Bros 3, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Mega Man, or Castlevania. He touched upon things very lightly and then moved on. I think there is a large audience who haven't played these games (myself included) and would love something with a bit more substance to it.
Unfortunately this is a port of the old flip phone version of DQIII. One of the issues with that is that in the SNES version enemies were animated but I've heard from several other DQ fans that they're not in this port as it's the old Java phone version.
Plus, those hideous character sprites that look like something a 12-year-old made for his RPG Maker project thanks to them being redrawn and/or filtered. Really, just stick to emulating the SNES one.
@60frames-please The SNES original does.
The graphics are still a mess but better than I and II. I realize they did not want to recode from the mobile versions but this is a funky steam pile. It is unfortunate because these are good games.
@riki_sidekicks Because the goal was never to grind in a DQ game. It was to push as far as you can, die (lose half your gold), resurrect and push again. Once you get used to this progression, there is less of a grind and the game becomes more enjoyable.
The only "grinding" I have done in DQII so far is mostly due to getting lost in the giant level I am in. I have had to cut losses and bail back to an inn because I wasted too much MP without any progression.
> When it comes to legendary JPRGs in the West, you can rattle off the usual suspects pretty easily. Final Fantasy VII, Persona 4, Chrono Trigger...
One of those is on Switch so far. I'm surprised that Chrono Trigger hasn't made it yet.
P4G is basically a reason to get a PSVita/PSTV (also FF1-10 and Chrono Trigger. And P3P.)
The original P4 is also available as a PS2 classic for PS3 but not PS4 for some reason...
Playing this on mobile right now, and it really is an awesome game.
DQ1 is a great history lesson but not a lot of fun.
DQ2 is tons of fun until you get a ways into it and the gamer becomes a mess.
DQ3 is a blast.
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