Square Enix is genuinely expanding the options in its Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake, and the introduction of the new Monster Wrangler role is the biggest improvement announced so far.
I got to play the game during its early presentation and described it as the perfect excuse to dive headfirst into a truly iconic franchise. Alongside visually and audibly refreshed content, it also brings modern quality-of-life features such as autosave, battle speed controls, and — as revealed recently (see the video below) — the ability to tailor how each character looks and sounds based on their class.
In Dragon Quest, classes function much like Final Fantasy’s jobs or a more traditional class system. The Monster Wrangler is new to Dragon Quest 3, though it isn’t brand-new to the broader series. It has shown up in entries like Dragon Quest 10 and draws inspiration from the spin-off Dragon Quest Monsters.
There are a number of motives behind adding this vocation to the remake, producer Masaaki Hayasaka explained to me at Gamescom.
“In this version, the world map for all the outdoor areas is considerably more expansive than in the original,” he said. “With that added space, we wanted to introduce a fresh gameplay layer that lets players make full use of it.
“The other reason is that the original included a monster arena, but it only let players wager on battle results. Because of rating constraints, we couldn’t bring that exact feature over to this release. Still, we set out to build something comparable that preserves the spirit of the original, so this remake won’t cut any content.”
He went on: “After considering these two additions, we asked ourselves how great it would be to connect the world map gameplay with the monster arena. That’s when we remembered that the Dragon Quest series offers the Monster Wrangler vocation, which has appeared in other games.”
In practice, while this vocation can be used in combat like any other, it also serves as a key link to the revamped monster arena. Rather than betting on outcomes, players will capture monsters they encounter and take them into tournaments for fights. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the idea of catching and battling monsters echoes Pokémon—though the overall approach is mainly drawn from Dragon Quest Monsters spin-offs, which themselves were inspired by Dragon Quest 5.
Inside the arena, players aren’t directly commanding each monster. Instead, they set strategies ahead of time and then watch as auto-battles play out. Those tactics can be modified between each attack phase, and since the rounds follow one after another, keeping an eye on MP and other resources will be important. The monster arena also offers another chance to appreciate the well-known character of Dragon Quest monsters. For example, I brought a slime called Splatrick with me, and I had to protect it no matter what.
Auto-battling can even be used for regular skirmishes with party members. For this demo, I tried the system myself and switched battles to Ultra Fast. With only light input, encounters lasted around five seconds—probably not the best choice for everyone, but it’s great for grinding or for players who want to move through the story quickly. At the very least, a faster battle pace helps the retro-style text descriptions roll by more quickly.
Along with my time with the demo, I also had the chance to ask series creator Yuji Horii what he thinks about remakes—and why it’s important for his games to stay playable in today’s landscape.
“Games are completely dependent on the hardware,” he said. “When that hardware changes, those games are no longer playable. I find that pretty discouraging. It makes me feel a sense of loss. With a movie, no matter how much time passes, you can still watch it. But games don’t work the same way.
“That’s why, with this remake, I’m really happy we can offer this game to new audiences, even 36 years after the original first released. I believe remakes are essential if we want to protect games and keep them available for people across different generations.”
He added: “I’m sure there are people who say, ‘I want to go back and play that game again. I enjoyed it back then, but I’d love to experience it once more.’ Yet they can’t, because of hardware limitations or because the game just isn’t available. I’m confident there will be plenty of fans eager to get their hands on remakes and to have that chance again.”
It’s clear that with this HD-2D remake, Square Enix is putting major effort into one of its longest-running series—bringing in quality-of-life improvements found in later releases while still protecting the core of the original experience. The goal, without question, is to spark fresh enthusiasm for Dragon Quest.