Dragon Quest III Review

Nintendo Switch

IOS

Andriod

Reviewed On: Nintendo Switch

A year ago, I started what Dragon Quest fans refer to as the “Erdrick Trilogy”. Beginning with Dragon Quest, it transitions into Dragon Quest II, finally concluding with Dragon Quest III; arguably the most beloved entry in the franchise. While I enjoyed my playthroughs of the first two games, they definitely show their age.

Tedium often caused me to look towards the next installment, hoping the future iteration fixed issues I had with the last. Fortunately, Dragon Quest III completely outclasses its predecessors in all aspects. Though I’d say certain elements of its design are outdated, once this game hit its stride I was locked in, and upon completion, left with an experience I’ll always remember.

Dragon Quest III promptly tasks players with injecting a part of themselves into the protagonist. Beginning with a dream sequence, you are confronted by an unknown deity who requests that you answer a series of questions, such as your name, gender, birthday, and how you’d respond in certain scenarios. Depending on how you reply, the entity will assign you a unique personality type, which dictates your character’s stat growth throughout the journey.

Transferring a portion of my persona into the hero forged a deeper and more personal connection than I felt with the last two games. This bond went a long way in keeping me invested in the story of Dragon Quest III, which is stronger than its predecessors, but still pretty straightforward. You are the child of the legendary warrior, Ortega, tasked with taking up his quest of defeating the evil archfiend, Baramos.

While I can appreciate the plot’s simplicity, I do have a problem with its flow. It lacks a sense of urgency and while it’s mentioned in the beginning, it doesn’t rear its head until late in the game. The majority of the towns you’ll journey to barely even mention Baramos and the problems they face have very little to do with him. This made a lot of the quests feel more like side missions, but I will say that when the main objective does come into focus, players will be treated to an emotional and unexpected plot twist.

Dragon Quest III is also very vague in nature. A sign of its time, this JRPG doesn’t hold your hand and you’ll need to talk with NPC’s for clues on how to progress. Veterans of the genre will have no problems with the lack of direction, but it can prove daunting for newcomers when combined with one of the game’s strengths.

The overworld is huge, and despite this game being released before I was born, its size easily contends with the RPGs I grew up with. It’s impressive, housing many secret items and hidden dungeons, but it’s also easy to get lost. This sometimes resulted in my awe evolving into frustration, especially with enemy encounters being so frequent.

I battled a lot in Dragon Quest III, and though I wouldn’t say difficulty spikes happen often, the game wasn’t shy about letting me know when was under-leveled. I hovered outside towns grinding monsters on numerous occasions, which turned out beneficial given how often I needed stronger gear. This was a timely process though, since the amount of money earned from battles was disproportionate to item prices.

There is the option to earn cash via gambling in monster arenas, but this method is inconsistent and even detrimental in the grand scheme. Monotonous as it may be, grinding does provide experience points necessary for leveling your party. The reward is well worth the payoff and when compared to its predecessors, Dragon Quest III’s party system is vastly superior and much more fleshed out.

From the start, you’re given access to a tavern where you’re able to recruit additional party members. There’s no limit on how many allies you can employ, but you’re only allowed to adventure with four party members at a time, upping Dragon Quest II’s party count by one. Swapping out members can be done anytime at the tavern and those looking to dive deep into the intricacies of the game will be doing this often.

This entry also introduces vocations to the series, boasting a total of nine different classes; each granting varied stats, exclusive spells, as well as abilities. Leveling up will increase your stats and also grant access to more powerful magic. For those seeking more, you can change jobs later in the adventure. Your allies will drop back to level one with their stats reduced by half, but they’ll retain all the spells they’ve learned. This allows for precise character builds, and further adds to the already strong replayability of the game.

Despite its flaws, Dragon Quest III still remains an engaging JRPG. It isn’t as story-focused as modern titles, but it keeps players more than occupied with its massive world. Navigating it can be rough due to the lack of direction, and high enemy encounter rate, however, these are small bumps in a well-paved road. This is an adventure that rewards those imaginative and patient. It’s easy to see why this game is so adored by fans, and after playing through it myself, I can officially say I’m now amongst their ranks.