Technologies
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Brought Me Back to When RPGs First Felt Magical
Take a trip back to the ’90s to learn where JRPGs started.
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 marks the second remake of the older Dragon Quest games from Square Enix, following last year’s Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Like the previous game, players experience a modern retelling of the first two titles in the iconic Dragon Quest franchise that helped create the Japanese RPG subgenre. While I didn’t play enough of both games to give a full review, diving back in brought back a flood of memories of my first time experiencing an RPG, and falling in love with the genre.
Like many kids back in the NES era, I played Dragon Warrior thanks to a free copy sent to Nintendo Power subscribers, though I didn’t have a subscription. A friend of mine, one of the few kids I knew with an NES, got it and showed it to me one Saturday. It blew our minds because it wasn’t simple action gameplay like Super Mario Bros., where you run and jump, or The Legend of Zelda, where Link slashes enemies. Instead, we read what was happening as the game’s story unfolded. I was hooked.
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.
There’s also voice acting for many of the characters and enemies, and as you’d expect from an RPG set in a medieval world, everyone speaks with a British accent. Seeing the updated visuals and hearing the voices brought me back to how amazed I was as a kid, when enemy sprites on the NES looked incredibly detailed, and reading the dialogue aloud practically required talking like the king in Disney’s Robin Hood.
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.
As expected from an HD remake, there are numerous “quality of life” improvements. Players can speed up battles, warp between cities and dungeons, and benefit from autosaves. The ability to run, though simple, is a huge improvement. Today’s gamers have no idea how tedious it was to move one step at a time on the NES.
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.Â
One brilliant design choice from the original remains: The final boss’s castle sits just a short distance from where you start, though you don’t realize its significance until much later. In the remake, the Dragonlord’s lair now looms behind walls, giving it an even more ominous presence. I wanted to explore every corner again, but the rising enemy difficulty quickly stopped that plan.
There’s no question that this is the best way to play the original Dragon Quest 1 & 2 games, but even with their beautifully reimagined graphics, they’re still older games. This is still a turn-based RPG that has no flashy actions or award-winning story. It’s clear that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is for players like me who grew up with these adventures. Those curious about the roots of the JRPG genre can also find enjoyment here, much like cinephiles who buy Blu-rays of silent films. For everyone else, there’s little reason to jump in immediately, but this faithful remake might be worth a look when it inevitably goes on sale.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake will be released on Oct. 30 for $60 on PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X and S consoles.Â
Technologies
Anthropic warns investors of AI’s ‘existential risk to humanity’ in IPO prospectus, reports say
Anthropic’s IPO filing dedicates 80 pages to the risks of AI, nearly double the 48 pages it spends discussing its business plans, according to Reuters.
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Technologies
U.S., Iran hold separate mediator talks as Mideast oil exports hit war-time high
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire, as Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded to war-time high.
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire.
Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February.
An outright export ban by Washington on diesel would keep roughly 1.2 million barrels a day at home, and risks overwhelming Gulf Coast storage, according to Kpler.
The building of the destroyed Shajareh Tayebeh primary school is pictured surrounded by rubble in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province on August 10, 2026. Six months on, a team of AFP journalists obtained rare access to the school which has remained largely in ruins, its collapsed walls and twisted steel now surrounded by portraits of the children killed as Iranian flags flutter above the rubble. Iran says the attack on the school involved two separate US Tomahawk missiles but neither the United States nor Israel has officially claimed responsibility for the strike. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. and Iranian officials have reportedly held separate indirect talks with mediators on Monday, reviving efforts to end seven months of war as Tehran presses for a response to a revised ceasefire framework and Middle East crude exports climb to their highest level since the conflict began.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York, where he remained after the United Nations General Assembly, and reportedly said he expects Washington’s reply by Tuesday. “We talked about ideas and how to find solutions to fulfil Iran’s conditions,” Araghchi said, adding that he planned to return to Tehran once a response arrives. “Whenever the Qataris have a response, they know how to get it to us.”
Iran’s proposal, first presented on the sidelines of last week’s General Assembly, calls for a four- to five-day U.S. timeline to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions on Iranian oil and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports, with nuclear talks beginning within seven days. Tehran has tied any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to those steps.
President Donald Trump had on Sunday called the plan “unacceptable” and rejected it, telling reporters Iran wants a swift deal because of the economic pressure it is under. Speaking at the White House Monday, Trump said U.S. officials had spoken separately with mediators but gave no further details, adding: “We’re going to win. It’s going to go pretty quickly.”
The diplomatic push comes as physical supply data shows the war’s toll on the oil market easing. Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February, Kpler data showed. “Middle East crude exports at just under 80% of pre-conflict levels,” the tracking firm said in a note on Monday.
The Strait of Hormuz itself remains far from normal. Kpler’s real-time tracking showed total clearance through the strait at 10,591 kilobarrels a day on Saturday, against a pre-war baseline of 17,133.
Technologies
Oil prices fall as crude exports recover at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports
Saudi Arabia has restored flows through the pipeline to around 3.5 million barrels per day, according to media reports.
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