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Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D isn't just an Octopath Traveler-style glow-up - the remake reportedly expands the iconic 1988 JRPG's story with famed creator Yuji Horii's oversight

The Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake, scheduled for release on November 14th, not only enhances the 1988 classic with modern graphics, but also expands its story with additional scenarios.

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The Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake is not only beautifying the 1988 classic with an Octopath Traveler-style makeup brush, but it's also apparently expanding the original game's story.

RPG Site reports that an early preview session for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D began with a pre-recorded message courtesy of famed series creator Yuji Horii and the remake's producer Masaaki Hayasaka. The latter reportedly revealed that the upcoming remake would feature "additional story scenarios written under Horii's supervision," which makes sense considering how the Erdrick trilogy ties into almost every other Dragon Quest game somehow. 

Exactly what those new scenarios look like is unclear, but if publisher Square Enix's remade Final Fantasy 7 games are any indication, expanded cutscenes, beefed-up side plots, and all-new characters are all on the table. It's definitely welcome news since, up until now, Square Enix has only really boasted about the game's jazzed-up visual style that slaps 2D sprites onto some gorgeous, dioramic, 3D spaces a la Octopath Traveler - just, seemingly, without all the fog this time around. No matter what those scenarios look like, there's something new to look forward to if you've already played the iconic JRPG over the last 40-ish years.

Whether you started the game decades before I was born or are completely new to the series, the wait for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D has been a long one. The remake was first announced three years ago - a timeframe that the studio admits was "too early" - before reappearing in this week's Nintendo Direct, while also dragging its older (chronologically younger) siblings, Dragon Quest 1 + 2, onto the HD-2D train. 

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D comes out on November 14 for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC courtesy of Triangle Strategy developer Artdink and Octopath Traveler stewards Team Asano. Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D are then being bundled together sometime next year, also on all platforms, thanks to Squeenix's new multiplatform push. 

Gamesradar+’s Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D preview* said the remake “holds tight to the roots of what makes Dragon Quest 3 such a classic.”*