New information on Dragon Quest III has been revealed.
It's been completely overhauled into an HD-2D version, the same as Octopath Traveler, and just watching the promotional video gives you the feeling of playing an entirely new game.
What's more, the following year an HD-2D remake of I & II was also announced, and I imagine plenty of people can't wait for that one either.
But for the Dragon Quest III remake, Koichi Sugiyama is no longer with us.
And the artwork of Akira Toriyama, who handled the character and monster design, has vanished from the package as well.
Dragon Quest is famously a work created by the union of three charismatic figures: Koichi Sugiyama on music, Akira Toriyama on character design, and Yuji Horii on game design, but two of those three have now passed away.
Thankfully, both of them seem to have left behind many disciples who've carried on their legacies, so I don't think what these two created will disappear entirely.
Dragon Quest III was released on the Famicom, then received its first remake on the Super Famicom, which added new elements like "Personality" and the "Pachisi" board game, along with a hidden dungeon.
It was also released on the Game Boy and others, and on the Wii it was ported alongside Dragon Quest I and II, not as a remake but as ports of the Famicom and Super Famicom versions.
After that, a smartphone version was released, and it's been ported to platforms like the PS4 using the smartphone version as a base.
Still, a remake on the scale of this HD-2D version is the first since the Super Famicom.
I can't wait to see how many new elements get added.
Now, the score I'm introducing today, being the music of Dragon Quest III, is the Symphonic Suite "Dragon Quest III: And Into the Legend...".
I wanted to focus as much as possible on Dragon Quest III for this, but there are several CDs released for Dragon Quest III on its own, and this one is the version performing the suite from the Famicom version of Dragon Quest III.
Incidentally, other ensembles have released versions by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
They all share the same track order, opening with the familiar "Roto's Theme," followed by
"Rondo in the Royal Palace"
"Around the World (Town ~ Jipang ~ Pyramid ~ Village)"
"Adventure"
"Requiem ~ Shrine"
"Beyond the Sea"
"Flying"
"Battle Theme ~ In Alefgard ~ The Hero's Challenge"
"And Into the Legend..."
I can't introduce them all, of course, but let me cover a few.
First, "Roto's Theme." It's the main title used in I & II and XI, and from IV onward it's been used as the overture in altered arrangements.
There's surely no one alive who hasn't heard it.
Next, the "Battle Theme." You recruit companions at Luisa's Tavern, form your first party, leave Aliahan, and this is the song that plays in your very first battle.
And then, after defeating your archenemy Baramos, you arrive at a sight that anyone who's played I will recognize, with the field theme "In Alefgard" playing... and there you head into the final showdown, "The Hero's Challenge."
The music of Dragon Quest III is already perfect as it is, so part of me wants them to use it as-is without touching a thing, but since it's getting a fresh new look, part of me would also love to hear some new music. Carrying that hope, let's part ways by watching the promotional video for the HD-2D version of Dragon Quest III.
The time has come...
