Handheld gaming is more than a compromise of power and portability. Whether it’s the ability to play anywhere, multitask or hold an entire console in your hands, it’s a special experience consoles have never replicated. In a world where high resolutions and teraflops reign supreme, we take a look at a portable relic every month and reflect on what makes it memorable. Be warned, spoilers may occasionally populate these articles.
With all the fanfare surrounding the upcoming release ofDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, it’s easy to forget just how old Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation actually is. American fans who have been gaming for a while may have played it on the NES as far back as 1992, but by that point the Japanese version was already four years old. Dragon Quest III has been remade a few times since then, and while the upcoming remake modernizes the classic, we’re going to take a look at a remake that’s more similar to the original release. Dragon Warrior III was ported to Game Boy Color in 2001, which was long enough ago when the American releases were still using the Dragon Warrior name.
It is advisable that anyone waiting to play Dragon Quest III for the first time with the upcoming remake to stop reading and return to this article later, as there will be many spoilers is discussed.
Review: Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation (Switch)
Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation shows its age even with the modernization but it also holds up very well.
Dragon Warrior III begins on the 16th birthday of the offspring of the legendary hero, Ortega, who presumably died many years ago during his epic journey. The teen, who shall henceforth be referred to as the hero, is instructed by their mother to seek an audience with the king of Aliahan. The king wastes no time in declaring the hero is meant to follow in their father’s footsteps to defeat the archfiend Baramos, gives a parting gift and instructions to go recruit companions to aid in the journey. Compared to Dragon Quest I, which was a solo journey, and Dragon Quest II, which had a predetermined party of three, this is the first time in Dragon Quest in which the player has control over creating their party.
Party Time
Ruida’s Tavern is the first place the hero should go to recruit some party members, which can include three additional party members. Those who are returning to Dragon Warrior III after playing the NES version will notice some classes have slightly different names but serve the same functions. The options are Warrior, a battle class that can use all the most powerful weapons and armor, the Fighter, a nimble martial artist who has a high agility that favors claws, the Mage, a physically weak individual who specializes in powerful offensive magic, the Cleric, a decent fighter specializing in healing magic, the Thief, an agile rogue that specializes in finding treasure, the Dealer, a money-hungry merchant that can appraise items, and the Jester, the most useless human being available in Dragon Warrior III who can actually become very useful at a certain point in the game.
A well-balanced party is recommended, which is often depicted as Warrior, Cleric and Mage, though there are other acceptable configurations. Dharma Temple lets the player change classes after the characters reach level 20. Changing the class resets the character to level 1, but they keep all learned abilities and cuts their attribute scores in half, making them powerful level 1 characters. The Jester can become a Sage at level 20 without the required special item, which means if the player can suffer through playing through the first part of the game with the Jester, it can be a useful class to take on. Exploiting the class change feature can be used to build powerful characters.
The quest of Dragon Warrior III is much greater in scale than its predecessors. The world is somewhat open to explore, though geography, required items and monster strength funnel the player through a linear pathway until they get the ship. After the ship is acquired, the player is granted more freedom in how they which to pursue Baramos. to reach Baramos’s lair, they need to collect six orbs, and while many guides will have a recommended order in doing so, the player is free to pursue these objectives in whatever order they choose. Some optional quests open up as well, such as finding the man on the coast who wishes to build a town, and with the donation of a Dealer character, his dream may come true.
Turn Back Now
This is the last warning about the spoilers we mentioned earlier, so anyone who is waiting for Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake to be their first time with Dragon Quest III, please stop reading. After defeating the archfiend Baramos, the player learns that Baramos is not the ultimate threat and a greater evil lurks in the Dark World. It’s time to travel to the newly opened Giani Pit and enter this so-called Dark World. There’s something familiar about this place. Even though this world is out of reach of the sun’s rays, it’s recognizable as Alefgard, the setting of the original Dragon Warrior. If the geography didn’t give it away, the music does. Although Alefgard looks familiar to those who played the previous games, it’s not exactly the same as it was in the first game. Certain young characters hint at what they wish to accomplish, suggesting they are younger versions of NPCs in Dragon Quest.
Spending time in Alefgard will have the player revisiting familiar towns and locations as they did in the original Dragon Warrior. It does rely on many callbacks to the original game, which is a nice touch. There are a few new locations, such as Rubiss Tower, that provide additional quests that are on par with the journey in the world where the sun does shine. Traveling through the re-imagined locations in Alefgard is pleasing to fans who played the original, and after defeating the newly-revealed big bad, the game ends by tying together the legend of Loto in the original Dragon Warrior trilogy.
What’s New In Pocket Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior III on Game Boy Color adds a few additions that weren’t found in the original NES release. Monster Medals are gained after winning battles. Getting these medals is random, and the player first needs to get a bronze medal for a monster. After that they can get a silver medal, and a gold medal following that. Getting all the medals is a huge grind fest, and it was encouraged to use the link cable to trade Monster Medals with friends to complete the set. TinyMedals, which is a Dragon Quest tradition that was introduced in Dragon Quest IV, have been added to this version of Dragon Warrior III. As the player collects these TinyMedals, they can take them to the man at the bottom of the well in Aliahand to exchange them for unique items.
After restoring light to Alefgard by vanquishing Zoma, a new challenge opens up for the player. Zenith Castle is the new post-game dungeon. This area features familiar maps or earlier parts of Dragon Warrior III, but is crawling with the most-powerful monsters the game has to offer. The best equipment and high level classes are recommended for any chance of survival. This is where using the class change exploit at Dharma Temple to make super characters can come in handy.
Whether you call it Dragon Quest III or Dragon Warrior III, the third entry in the Erdrick/Loto/Roto trilogy is an RPG that stands the test of time.
Pachisi is one of the more fondly-remembered new features of Dragon Warrior III, and unfortunately, the Game Boy Color version is the only version to include it, at least out of the ones that were officially given an American release. Pachisi is a board game and the player needs to get to the goal before they run out of dice rolls and survive all the hazards on the board. It’s fun and there are good rewards for successfully completing the game. A token is required to play, and there are five Pachisi Tracks available, though to unlock the fifth one the player needs to defeat the Divinegon at the top of Zenith Castle.
TGS 2024: Hands-On with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was at TGS 2024, and it played just as well as one could hope!
One of the Great Dragon Quests
Whether you call it Dragon Quest III or Dragon Warrior III, the third entry in the Erdrick/Loto/Roto trilogy is an RPG that stands the test of time. Creating one’s own party and freely exploring the world captures the adventurous spirit of tabletop role-playing games. The scale of the quest was impressive for the time of its original release, and while the time to complete Dragon Warrior III would be relatively short compared to many modern RPGs, it was lengthy at the time of its release and feels satisfying upon completion. Having party members with developed personalities and backstories didn’t happen in mainline Dragon Quest games untilDragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, but Dragon Warrior III did push the series forward in having NPC driven storylines even if the whole party was composed of silent protagonists.
Dragon Warrior III exists in a few different incarnations, and it’s highly recommended that any RPG fan play at least one version. The original NES version of Dragon Warrior III is hard to find for a cheap price on the second-hand market, and the later versions are more fun to play. Dragon Warrior III for Game Boy Color is the version that many will consider the best out of the current incarnations due to the added features, particularly the Pachisi game. Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation on Switch is the most accessible version and a pretty good version, but many criticize it due to essentially just being a port of the mobile version, and it is also missing Pachisi. Despite this article focusing on the Game Boy Color version of Dragon Warrior III, it’s a great game regardless of which of remakes you happen to play.
