Two distinct chapters from one clean menu
When you boot the package up on Steam, the start screen lets you pick either Dragon Quest I or Dragon Quest II right away. You do not have to finish the first to start the second. That makes sense because they are completely different animals in terms of party structure. The original is a lone knight tracking down the Dragonlord across Alefgard, while the sequel puts you in charge of a full three-person royal squad crossing a much bigger map.
Having both under a single sixty-dollar purchase avoids the piecemeal release habit that usually annoys me. The full English audio and interface support are present right from the opening menus. Characters actually speak during key story beats now, and the delivery fits the classic, formal tone of the series without sounding stiff or silly. For someone sitting down after a long workday, being able to jump straight into whichever adventure you want without clearing arbitrary roadblocks is a welcome touch.
Alefgard stripped of antique headaches
The first Dragon Quest has always been an odd beast compared to modern role-playing games. It is just you, your sword, and one monster at a time. In the ancient releases, that meant walking back and forth outside town for hours to afford a copper sword so a bat would not kill you in two hits. The remake tunes those rough edges down without gutting the danger. Combat is fast, turns resolve quickly, and your forward movement across Alefgard feels steady.
You still have to pay attention to where you step. Crossing a bridge into high-tier territory before buying decent armor will get you wiped out fast. But because the pace of movement and battle transitions are so snappy, dying and running back from the king does not feel like an insult to your free evening. You can see the goddess Rubiss's land laid out with clean depth of field and sharp sprite work, yet it never gets bogged down in long-winded cutscenes.
The sequel expands the scope and tests your patience
Dragon Quest II immediately raises the stakes by giving you multiple characters and throwing packs of enemies at you. The descendants of Erdrick have to coordinate magic, healing, and melee swings to stay upright. The world map is larger, towns are further apart, and the dungeons require actual routing so you do not run out of MP before finding the exit.
Here is where the game starts repeating itself, particularly during the mid-game search for crests and key items. You wander between castles and islands, occasionally fighting through five identical encounter packs in a single hallway just to check an empty treasure chest. It is faithful to how the original sequel worked, and the combat remains punchy enough to carry you through, but the repetition does poke through when you are trying to make solid progress in a two-hour play session.
A respectful treatment of foundational RPG design
What I appreciate most about this release is that Square Enix and ARTDINK did not bloat these games with unnecessary modern filler. There are no crafting minigames cluttering up your inventory, no forced online tie-ins, and no endless side busywork designed to pad out an achievement list. You get the original foundational adventures rebuilt with readable visual depth and quick responsive menus that feel great on a mouse and keyboard or a gamepad.
Both campaigns together provide plenty of meat without overstaying their welcome. Dragon Quest I is a focused ten-hour trek that you can wrap up over a weekend, while the second game gives you a meatier party-based challenge to sink your teeth into afterward. It treats your time with respect, looks sharp on a high-resolution monitor, and preserves two important pieces of gaming history without trapping you in the brutal, slow-motion grind of the late eighties.
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20 min in hooked too man its simple but it just works. no bloat just stab slimes.
The visual overhaul from ARTDINK looks really clean though. Seeing the updated towns and sprites kept me going even through the slower, repetitive parts of II.
That Erdrick theme hit me proper, too. I wasn't ready for it. Choked me up something awful.
tbh $60 for two old games is a lot, even with shiny graphics. i'll wait for a sale lol.
The English voice work is a proper touch, mate. Makes the old story bits land better than I expected.
y'all saying it's lean, but i got stuck backtracking in II for like an hour. hallway after hallway. that's not trim, that's a diet that forgot the veggies.
@mr beans carproper agree that II drags a bit, but the first game's solo combat is dead simple and i love it. twenty minutes in and i was hooked, mate.
@bucket20 min in hooked too man its simple but it just works. no bloat just stab slimes.
@mr beans carThe backtracking in II really is rough. Pacing drags bad in those hallways no matter what you do.
@mr beans carThe hallways in II definitely drag on, but honestly the snappier combat pacing helps take the sting out of those random battles.
@mr beans carWhat level were your party members when you hit the backtracking? A bump in grinding might smooth out some of those hallway fights.
@mr beans carI hear you on the backtracking in II. It's still there, no question. But the faster combat pacing meant I spent way less total time stuck in those repetitive hallway battles than I did back in the original releases. For me that was enough, but I get why it won't be for everyone.
anyone else feel a bit choked up when the Erdrick theme kicked in during the credits? no spoilers but that melody hit different.
@ola_ollieRefunded before the credits rolled. Too many feelings.
@ola_ollieThat Erdrick theme hit me proper, too. I wasn't ready for it. Choked me up something awful.
so the pros say you can start either game from the title screen, but can i start both at the same time and confuse myself? asking for a friend.
@Rory PYup, you can just start either game right from the title screen. Jumped over to the first one halfway through II when the cave crawling got old, works fine.
Twenty minutes in and I am already hooked proper. The voice acting in the first game gives the king some real personality, mate.
Was honestly surprised by how well the old Erdrick story holds up with the new visuals and voices. Being able to pick either game from the main menu right away is neat, especially contrasting the solo knight run in I with building a full party in II. Really puts the loneliness of the first adventure into perspective. Wish they tweaked II's repetitive dungeon layout a bit more, but it still looks great on PC.
$60 for two old games that still have backtracking issues? Heaps too steep for me. I'll grab it when it's under $30, maybe. That feels way more reasonable for what you actually get.
yo chat was watching me play this and they were split down the MIDDLE some fans of the old school pacing other people wanted to refund INSTANTLY. I get the appeal though that solo knight run in DQ1 is raw as hell. Still ain't worth sixty bucks chat said 40 is the sweet spot.
The visual overhaul from ARTDINK looks really clean though. Seeing the updated towns and sprites kept me going even through the slower, repetitive parts of II.
dunno man I keep getting lost in the caves (the spritework is lovely though dont get me wrong) and tbh I just boot up Tower of Fantasy when I want a chill rpg these days. different vibe entirely.
Y'all can keep the pretty graphics but sixty bucks for two short JRPGs with known backtracking? That's like five diner breakfast platters. Gotta wait for half off.
i kind of get why people are upset about the price (it's a lot for old games even if they look nice) but honestly i played DQ1 on my lunch break for three days and had a great time (no stress either way)
Dont worry about getting lost in those caves son. I got turned aroudn in the first one for a good hour myself. Just take it slow and enjoy the sprites, theyre lovely. - Bob