Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D First Look – Preview

Man, let me tell you about this wild ride with the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on my Switch. Never touched the original, so I’m coming in fresh. And wow! Those sprites? Just eye candy. But then, yeah, it goes full grind mode like those old-school games do. Honestly? I switched to “Dracky Mode.” Can’t even deal with that grind sometimes.

So here’s the thing, I got my hands on a 25-minute preview of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake on PS5 at PAX East 2025. Needed some context before diving into this writeup, you know? This review is gonna be all over the place—barely a cohesive thought it seems.

You’re probably thinking, what even happened in the demo? Well, in the first game, I wandered out of town, roamed into fields, a cave—did some battling. Not much new on display, but geez, does it look sharp. And those tweaks, like fighting a bunch of monsters all at once? Nice touch for some added complexity!

Then there’s II. Gorgeous again—and kind of like the Dragon Quest III remake. Got that low camera overworld and cutscenes with voices, which is nice ’cause II is…well, let’s just say not everyone’s cup of tea. That game is tough. It’s a weird bridge between the grind of the first and the expansive feel of III.

Quick note: you can’t see everything in a few minutes, right? But if they’re giving II the same upgrade love like they did with III—speeding up battles, offering difficulty levels, yeah, it looks like this remake could redefine how we embrace that game. Fans have mixed feelings about it, really.

Here’s where it gets intriguing. Conceptually, they’re tying I & II back to III, as sequels of sorts. You’ve got Erdrick in III, and his descendants in I & II. Visually, they’re synced up, sure, but they’re also throwing in new bits to make the trilogy flow. Makes the III ➔ I ➔ II journey smoother. Good move!

A Square Enix rep chatted with me, claiming playing the two remakes together is about as long as III was last year—if you stick with standard difficulty, that is. And they got excited when I mentioned giving II a softer edge. That’s their aim, it seems.

Oh, and today being Dragon Quest Day and all, they just dropped the release date for I & II. They’re hitting on October 30, including the Switch 2 version! Initial thoughts? Like, hey, they crushed it with III, and this seems no different. But dig a little and, woah, Square Enix is shooting for something bigger here. Worth keeping an eye on, I’d say.