Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Review: A Fittingly Brilliant Tribute to Two Iconic JRPGs

It’s a very exciting time to be a Dragon Quest fan, regardless of how many years you might have under your belt. If you grew up playing the OG DQ games, then the period of remasters and remakes the franchise is currently going through is likely to evoke some very fond memories. If you’re a younger fan, it gives you a chance to play through some absolute classics with an entirely new level of polish and additional features that bring the games into 2025.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake released at the end of last year and that served as arguably one of the greatest remakes ever, regardless of franchise, living up to the already lofty original and even improving on it in some areas. Meanwhile development on Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is drawing to a close, with that set to hit PC and consoles on 5 February 2026.

Sandwiched in between those two is the HD-2D Remake of the first two parts of the Erdrick Trilogy, our reason for gathering here today. If you haven’t played the other one, the concept of an HD-2D Remake of Dragon Quest I & II sees the games retain their signature pixel art style (with some notable high-resolution upgrades to the textures), while at the same time adding additional modern 3D effects and landscapes, as well as improved lighting.

It’s difficult not to be impressed with what the developer has accomplished here stylistically. The game absolutely holds on to the style that made the early games iconic, before removing the threat of potentially jarring low-resolution textures and effects. What it amounts to is a game that’s comfortable in its own skin and which offers clarity to the player in those moments where a lot’s going on.

That overhaul extends further to the dialogue in the game, which is now fully and impressively voiced by a stellar cast, a marked improvement over the originals.

Square Enix

To give you a (spoiler free) overview of the two games included here, the first follows the descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick as they attempt to banish the Lord of the Underworld, Dragonlord, by defeating him in the land of Alefgard. The second follows a band of Princes and Princesses as they attempt to achieve pretty similar aims after the world is once again threatened with shadow and ruin.

There are some changes to be aware of in the Dragon Quest II portion of the overall package. The original version of the game was the first to give the player a party to contend with, three royals descended from the protagonist of the first game, who themselves were descended from the player’s Hero character in Dragon Quest III. The Prince of Midenhall, Princess of Moonbrooke, and Prince of Cannock all make a return here, only this time accompanied by the Princess of Cannock, the Prince’s sister. It feels like a logical addition, and if you hadn’t played the original then you’d likely have no idea she wasn’t there all along.

Both games feature an expanded narrative that’s considerably more fleshed out and complete. There are new scenarios and story threads that are interesting to play through in their own right, but which really come into their own when you work through the games in order, linking them much more cohesively. There are also new regions and bosses, as well as content more generally, all of which make the games feel like much more of a compelling tapestry now that they come as a pair.

The core stories remain largely the same, and that’s a very good thing because they really set the foundations well for DQIII as it was. It’s here that the voice acting really comes into its own, making the story a lot easier to get involved in and care about, over the relatively silent conversations of the base games.

The combat is probably the area where you’ll see the most differences, particularly in the execution of Dragon Quest I, over the 1986 version. In the latter, battles would always take place as simple 1vs1’s, your hero against an individual foe. Though you will still have to contend with being the only one on your side, you will now be facing multiple enemies with regularity. This was a great decision from the developer for several reasons.

First, it’s absolutely a gameplay feature that fans of the genre have come to expect in 2025, so meeting that expectation and improving the variety of the playing experience is to be commended. Next, it forces the player to think more tactically in battle, as identifying which foe poses the most danger can be the difference between life and death, in what is an oddly tricky game. Finally, it has the knock-on effect of making the game feel less like a grind, thanks to the additional experience you get from killing more enemies.

Square Enix

You won’t find anything here that you haven’t seen before, but it’s a sensible evolution that catapults the game into the modern day. The battle systems we see here feature in a lot of other genre entries (including modern Dragon Quest games), and they are generally well liked, so if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

The tangible changes like additional experience have also made the game much more approachable and palatable for potential new fans. Veteran players won’t need too much persuading to play through Dragon Quest’s formative years, but for the younger players out there, it’s a legitimately harder sell. That’s why getting them in quickly with more pace in both the narrative and game mechanics was always going to be the best play, and it has been done extremely well here.

There are some points where fights start to feel a little repetitive, but you’ll usually be jogged out of that pretty quickly by a major story beat, new enemy type or boss fight. The systems and skills are fun to learn, without being overwhelming, and experimenting with combinations is a rewarding challenge when you get it right.

Happily, the good times for Dragon Quest fans are very much continuing with the release of the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. It looks great, it plays well and it’s solid value for money with the amount of playtime you get across both games. Almost every system has been carefully crafted and improved, and it’s tough to point out areas where major flaws really let the game down. Though it perhaps doesn’t quite reach the near-perfect levels of III, it might actually just come down to a matter of taste, over which aesthetic you like more, or which story you’re most into.

In reality, all three are so intrinsically linked that the release of this latest effort feels like the closing of a reopened chapter, and one that hasn’t been hugely positive for the franchise overall. If I had my way, I’d ask you to play all three in order, but if you don’t think you have time for all that, you could do much worse than making a start here.

Pros: Gorgeous, clear visuals, streamlined story, impressive combat

Cons: Very occasionally repetitive

For fans of: Turn-based combat, other Dragon Quest games, Octopath Traveler

9/10: Exceptional

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is out on 30 October, 2025, releasing for the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A review code was provided by the publisher and the game was tested on PlayStation 5. Read a guide to our review scores here.