Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D Remake Hands-On Preview – Retro Made New Again
PAX West came and went last week in cloudy Seattle, Washington. MP1st was on-site to get our hands on as many upcoming games as we could. We were also one of the select outlets given special access to several games, outside of PAX West proper. We played about an hour of the upcoming Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D Remake, and have our impressions ready now.
Given how awesome the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake turned out when it was released last year, we have high hopes for this one, and so far, it doens’t disappoint.
Taking Things Way Back
The original Dragon Quest launched nearly 40 years ago, on May 27, 1986, when many of you reading this were not yet born (heck, neither was I!). The graphics and features may seem quaint now, but back in the NES/MSX days, this was the stuff of legends. The entire game has been reimagined in Square Enix’s HD-2D format, where the Unreal Engine renders 3D worlds that simultaneously look as if they were plucked from the SNES, yet also look completely modern. Meanwhile, character sprites are blocky, again looking like they were taken from the NES/SNES platforms, shined up, and rendered for modern sensibilities. It culminates in this weird feeling of nostalgia for something that is obviously brand spanking new.
During our Dragon Quest I hands-on session, we were originally on the PS5, in a hotel room which had at least six PS5s, accompanying TVs, and other hardware. It ended up pulling so much power that the electricity went out. Thankfully, this remake is headed to many platforms, chief among them being the Nintendo Switch 2. So, when it was clear the consoles wouldn’t be coming back online anytime soon, we switched right over to the portable console. Honestly? I hardly noticed a difference in graphics or performance. Naturally, a small 1080p screen is going to look similar to a much larger 4K set, simply because of the pixel density being high enough that individual pixels become much harder to see.
Solid Voice Acting
One of the most obvious new inclusions in this remake is the voice work. Most lines in the game are voiced, and voiced very well. We had the English audio track, and those lines sounded crisp, with the pseudo-Elizabethan dialogue throwing the occasional “thy…thee…thus” and other such terms to add some whimsy to an already high fantasy setting. It’s something that could never have been done with the original release, and should help to make the story more enjoyable, especially for those who don’t want to read a novel while they play their games.
A big difference between the two games is that, while in Dragon Quest I you play as a solo adventurer, Dragon Quest II lets you use a party of adventurers. The first game’s lack of a party makes some fights much more difficult, but each battle can serve as a learning opportunity as you try out new strategies to defeat bosses. Dragon Quest II allows for automatic execution of a play strategy by your CPU-controlled teammates, which greatly helps to speed up battles.
Should Run on Your System
Dragon Quest II’s HD-2D remake was played on a PS5, which provided much of the same experience as what we saw with the first game. The HD-2D graphics looked great, and the action ran smoothly the entire time, with the Unreal Engine again running the show without so much as a hiccup. In fact, this remake should run on almost any computer you might reasonably use these days: minimum specs call for an 8th-gen Intel i3, or an AMD Ryzen 3 2300X or better, and a GPU as old as the GTX 750 Ti or newer should be able to handle the game at a comfortable 60 fps.
Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D Remake should provide plenty of value for fans of this classic franchise, with two full RPGs averaging about 30 hours total, depending on playstyle. The wonderfully detailed environments mixed with the old-school sprites of the characters, plus fully-voiced dialogue all add up to a reassuring nostalgic package. While you don’t have to be a fan to enjoy these games, it also doesn’t hurt because some of these games’ older mechanics will surprise younger fans. Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D Remake launches on October 30, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and the Switch (1 & 2).
Stay connected to MP1st and the latest news by following us on Bluesky, X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Google News.
