Review for Dragon Quest. Game for Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo (NES), the video game was released on 27/05/1986 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 10/08/2017 The version for 3DS came out on 10/08/2017
In a very busy industry like modern gaming, it is difficult to stop and contemplate the past. Among the dozens of releases, for all tastes, planned every month, however, small remasters or remakes of pearls of the past often appear, which give the opportunity to savor something different, the son of a now forgotten world. One of these titles is Dragon Quest, remaster of the first title of the historic Square Enix saga, released on Nintendo Switch in conjunction with the eleventh chapter.
A title that, 30 years later, still manages to inebriate with a raw magic, but of a rare purity.
Before we can tell how precious it is as an experience, playing Dragon Quest, let's immediately highlight the painful notes, exclusive to the remaster. This remaster, like many others signed by Square Enix, suffers from a fairly serious problem in the aesthetic sector. While the settings remain faithful to the original pixel art, the character models have been replaced by new artifacts ... which unfortunately not only clash with the setting, but are even inferior to the original assets.
In a similar way, high resolution drawings of the enemies were integrated into the combat window. This addition is instead very nice and spot on, which highlights even more how awful the character models are.
Outside of this annoyance, Dragon Quest is a unique experience that finds an unexpected new life thanks to the portability of the Switch. For those unfamiliar with the title, Dragon Quest is a turn-based combat JRPG that doesn't give the player any real directions. After a brief and sudden dialogue with the king, the hero is free to go wherever he wants, armed only with a cypress branch and 100 G. Approaching a similar title in 2019 is unsettling, especially now that the JRPG is a known genus. for long exposures and myriads of tutorials. Yet we do not find this to be a flaw, on the contrary, it creates greater satisfaction when you manage to continue in this title. In fact, Dragon Quest is an old game, not an old game. Yes, it feels the weight of the years on some choices, and on the balance of leveling, but it does not have particular imbalances or anti-player mechanisms typical of the games of the time.
The lack of directions and constraints makes it all a discovery, which goes well with the sense of adventure that carries the game forward. The combat system is extremely simple, but it has a charisma all its own, and its immediacy also makes farming light. Not everything is pink and flowers, after all, although we have enhanced the value of this adventure, we do not think it is for everyone. The game requires farming and patience, things that are easily facilitated by diving, but which can be a wall for more modern JRPG players.the. To underline also the soundtrack, which has not withstood the years, has exploited them to its advantage, so much so as to be more pleasant even than the tracks of the PS4 version of Dragon Quest XI. We do not hide how it is always a wonderful emotion to light up a title of the saga to be greeted by the magnificent overture.
Generally, the longevity of the stock is excellent. This is not a 40-50 hour JRPG like the more modern Dragon These XI, but a title that, faced in complete freedom, will be able to take you fifteen hours quietly. The content in general is not much, but thanks to this the title never seems to be unnecessarily prolonged, and each action acquires its own meaning. To adapt the title to the modern era, some small improvements have been introduced, in particular the text is faster and more readable during the battles and a “quick save” function has been introduced that goes to fill a big defect in the title.
In fact, originally in Dragon Quest it is possible to save only through the king or the churches, fortunately the quick save lightens this mechanic. However, the auto-save function remains absent, and in general the feeling is that Square could have put more effort into this remaster
Ultimately, Dragon Quest on Nintendo Switch is a valuable experience. Recommended for anyone who loves the sense of adventure, of overcoming obstacles in complete autonomy or even just anyone who is curious to find out how this legend was born. Approaching such a title may not be easy, but once you have overcome the initial hurdle, you will find a game that you will not forget.
► Dragon Quest is an RPG-Adventure game developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Nintendo Square Enix for Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo (NES), the video game was released on 27/05/1986 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 10/08/2017 The version for 3DS came out on 10/08/2017
