Dragon Quest I & II HD 2D Remake Preview

During PAX East earlier this month, we had the opportunity to get hands-on with a couple of games from Square Enix. First, we played Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster on the Switch 2, and the bulk of the time I had was with the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake on PlayStation 5.

It has been almost 40 years since the release of Dragon Quest I, and Square Enix is bringing it back with improved graphics, features, gameplay, and more. 

Release Date Confirmed

Dragon Quest I-II HD-2D Remake will officially launch on October 30, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2, and PC. The other piece of news we were provided was that the newest Dragon Quest Remake will be coming to Switch 2, which was not previously known. 

One Word: CLEAN

The best way I can describe the new Dragon Quest HD-2D Remakes is that it was just extremely clean. What I mean by that is walking around the world of the games was fun to look at and see the improvements, and the gameplay was fun, not intimidating, and a lot faster.

Something to note with the Dragon Quest I-II Remakes, you can now speed up the battle, whereas previously in the originals, it would take forever for everyone’s turn to come around. You also only control one player and don’t have control of a party in Dragon Quest 1. I find that to be better in some cases, making it easier for players to focus on less.

In Dragon Quest II, it becomes similar to a game like Chrono Trigger, where you can control the Hero and other party members in battle. Combat is not an issue with either of these Dragon Quest Remakes. 

Our time playing each game was about 10-15 minutes each, depending on how fast you finished the demo. They gave you plenty to look at and explore as a good teaser.

I’ve never been known to play Dragon Quest games, but these HD-2D Remakes of Dragon Quest III, Dragon Quest I, and Dragon Quest II have me sold on the series. What I love about this move from Square Enix is that even more people around the world will be introduced to the series.

The Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake visually looks fantastic, and the gameplay looks to be only better than what I’ve seen with the originals.

The Dragon Quest HD-2D Remakes are a perfect example of what a Chrono Trigger remake should look like.