A professor once told me that one of the defining moments of becoming your own person is when you find music that isn’t what your parents listened to and make it your own. I’ve always felt the same applies to video games, once you find the one that defines your favorite genre. For me, that was the roleplaying game Dragon Warrior on the NES, now known as Dragon Quest I, and I’ve found myself back in that world with the new Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake.
This time around, there’s still plenty of reading, but the remake updates the experience in countless ways. Both games have the same HD-2D visual style seen in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. The characters and enemies retain designs by legendary artist Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z), but now include richer detail in their 2D sprites, set against lushly animated 3D environments.
Square Enix didn’t add full cinematics but instead uses character sprites to create dynamic scenes. In Dragon Quest I, the descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick (whom I remembered calling “Edrick”) is tasked by King Lorik to rescue his daughter and defeat the villainous Dragonlord, who has stolen the Ball of Light that had kept the forces of evil at bay. These story beats were told through text on the NES, but the remake visualizes them in a way that was once only imaginable.
Dragon Quest II does the same, showing the attack on the tranquil castle of Moonbrooke with far more action and drama than the short action sequence of the original.
One thing I appreciate about this remake is the added story context. In Dragon Quest II, the descendants of the hero from the first game must unite to face a new evil. The player begins as the Prince of Midenhall, setting off to find his cousins, starting with the Prince of Cannock. In the original, players simply learned that the prince had left for Wellspring and found him resting in a town along the way. The remake includes a short sequence where his sister joins you on the journey — a small but meaningful touch that gives a bit more depth to the simple story.
Another pleasant surprise is the addition of abilities. In the original games, characters could only use regular attacks or magic. The new abilities add offensive options, such as striking all enemies at once or reflecting damage at the cost of magic points — skills familiar to players of the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. These abilities really shine in Dragon Quest II, where the Prince of Midenhall can’t use magic but can rely on these techniques, adding strategic variety to battles.
Of all the improvements, the visuals struck me most, especially the world design. The Dragon Quest world remains in 2D, but terrain like forests and mountains now feels layered and immersive. On the NES, these were blocky squares; in the remake, your character weaves through trees and climbs hills. It feels like seeing what my 11-year-old imagination once filled in. I still remember every inch of that map, burned into memory after endless hours of play.
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