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It’s been three years to the day since we learned that Square Enix planned to remake Dragon Quest 3, unveiling a revamping of the seminal 1988 JRPG in Octopath Traveler’s HD-2D engine. Three years have passed since then, but we’ve finally had an update on the remake – and it’s raised a few questions, to say the least.
May 27th, as I’m sure you’ll all know, is Dragon Quest Day, marking the anniversary of the first game in the series’ release in 1986. As such, it’s typical for Square Enix to drop some kind of Dragon Quest news – Dragon Quest 12 was revealed in 2021 alongside the HD-2D remake of DQ3, for instance – and this year is no exception.
What’s notable about this year’s tease – a brief video showing the outline of the Dragon Quest logo underneath the “The legend of Erdrick draws near” – is not only that it’s the first proper glimpse of Dragon Quest 3’s remake since its reveal three years ago (aside from some occasional comments from devs), but that a generous reading might suggest we’re in for more than we expected.
Drawing on the JRPG expertise and eagle eyes of Alex Donaldson from both VG247 and RPG Site, the logo shown isn’t that for Dragon Quest 3 specifically, but the Dragon Quest series as a whole. More intriguing is that “the legend of Erdrick” might imply that the remake will expand Dragon Quest 3 – which is the third game to feature the titular legendary hero, but takes place before Dragon Quest 1 and 2 – to include the entire trilogy that makes up Erdrick’s “legend”. (Alex notes that the three games together are often called the “Erdrick trilogy”.)
In fact, the teaser doesn’t mention Dragon Quest 3 specifically, simply featuring the series name and logo, the badge for the HD-2D engine and “The legacy begins” – which certainly nods at Dragon Quest 3’s chronological place as the start of the story, but doesn’t limit it to being just Dragon Quest 3.
Now, all this should obviously be taken with a generous pinch of salt – we know a Dragon Quest 3 remake is coming, but there’s no official word that the other two games in the trilogy will be given the same treatment. Still, why not live in optimism? As the summer schedule of reveals and announcements prepares to arrive, it could be we’re in for a pleasant surprise.