Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D: Sneak Peek

Earlier this month, I finally dove into Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on my Switch. So, I never touched the original, right? And wow, two things hit me. First off, the sprite work is just… stunning. Ever see art that makes you pause your game just to stare? Yeah, that. Second, it’s from the grind-era of games. You either power through or cheat and switch to the can’t-die “Dracky Mode” (guilty as charged).

This all happened after I spent, oh, about 25 minutes playing a demo of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake on a PS5 at PAX East 2025. Needed that baseline before penning this preview, y’know? And honestly, I’m not here for the mechanics deep-dive. What they’re aiming for conceptually? Way more interesting. Hang tight.

So, in the first Dragon Quest I demo, you start in a town, wander into fields, then hit a cave. Fought a bit, explored some, but didn’t see a ton of new stuff. But man, it looks incredible. They’ve added fighting multiple monsters at once—nice touch to spice things up a bit.

And II? Yeah, it’s equally gorgeous. Plays more like the DQ III remake—low camera angles, voiced cutscenes, the whole shebang. If you’ve tackled II before, you know it’s kind of a love-it-or-hate-it deal. It’s not exactly the naughty child of the series, but it feels like this awkward bridge between the grind-heavy DQ and the broader DQ III.

Judging from a short demo is tough, but if Square Enix gave II the love they gave III—speeding up battles, offering difficulty levels, a smoother ride—it could be the perfect way to experience a game that’s a bit of a hot potato among fans.

Anyway, conceptually, the cool bit was seeing how the remake folks tried to make I & II feel like they’re continuing from the III remake from last year. III’s like the prologue with Erdrick; I & II follow Erdrick’s descendants. Pretty slick, right? Visuals and story bits are lining up to make the playthrough of III followed by I and II feel seamless.

A Square Enix rep I chatted with mentioned that playing these upcoming remakes together is like the length of Dragon Quest III’s remake (30-40 hours more or less if you stick to default difficulty). When I hinted that this remake might soften up Dragon Quest II, their face lit up like, “Yes, that was a big focus!” Nice to feel heard, even when you’re just guessing.

And today being Dragon Quest Day and all, Square Enix dropped the news that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is launching October 30 (Switch 2 included!). My initial vibe? “Wow, looks like they’ve nailed it again like with III!” But there’s this undercurrent—Square Enix is dreaming big with these remakes. Definitely something to keep on your radar.