Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake reminded me why I love turn-based battles, but after 40 minutes with the game, I'm desperate to know what "really big surprise" the devs are hiding

There's been a real resurgence of love for turn-based RPGs this year, largely thanks to the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – something that I've been incredibly happy to see as a certified lover of the genre. I'm even happier that it's a trend that seems set to continue for the rest of 2025, with Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake maintaining that classic JRPG feeling perfectly while still blending in modern improvements.

During a preview session at Gamescom 2025, I was able to spend around 40 minutes in the new remake double pack – hunting down the recurring foe Robbin' 'Ood in the original Dragon Quest (who makes his return from Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake – which, chronologically, comes first), and exploring the world and the start of a dungeon in Dragon Quest 2.

The good ol' days

Coming from Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, Dragon Quest 1 immediately feels rather different, despite its identical pixel art style. That's because, replicating the original 1986 JRPG, you only control a single hero rather than a party of allies. It doesn't take long during my boss fight with Robbin' 'Ood to start feeling overwhelmed – as well as hitting like a truck himself, he's also supported by some smaller enemies, leaving my poor solo protagonist outnumbered.

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A massive part of getting through this is knowing when to heal. I end up using all of my magic points (MP) by the end of the fight casting healing spells, not to mention chomping all my medicinal herbs, and even then, it gets dicey. It's certainly not unfair, though, and I love the challenge – even if, admittedly, I underestimated quite how much I was going to need to lock in when I embarked on the demo.

All of this highlights the pure satisfaction of successfully putting together a battle strategy, which you can only really get with turn-based RPGs like this. Speaking in a group interview following the demo, producer Masaaki Hayasaka tells me (via interpreter) that "there was never any thought" to move away from this classic format in favor of a real-time action rendition of the game.

"We really didn't think about doing any kind of action conversion of the game at all," he says. "From the start, we very much wanted people to experience the history of Dragon Quest, because Dragon Quest is the series that started JRPGs, it's where they all came from. So we really didn't want to change that at all. We had to keep it as that… the orthodox, the origins of command-based, menu-based games."

Even though the tension of almost losing the boss battle is thrilling, going into the second half of my hands-on session and switching over to Dragon Quest 2, I'm a little more on guard. As it happens, I don't have to be – this 20 minutes consists of more exploration, wandering around with my party (rather relieved to have allies by my side once more). Given that I'm running into a lot more random encounters doing this, I'm particularly pleased that the option to speed battles up – added into Dragon Quest 3's remake – returns here. When you're dealing with relatively unthreatening enemies, it's nice to just quickly zip past in order to continue the adventure.

Hayasaka is fully aware of the importance of the balancing act when it comes to maintaining what fans loved about the original JRPGs while still including modern changes, too. "You can look at it in different ways," he says, giving the example of players potentially responding to a remake with too many changes like "'that's not the same game anymore, we don't want that,'" while acknowledging that "if you're too protective about it, too conservative, you keep basically everything the same, people go, 'Well, we've got the original one, we don't need the new game.'"

He reiterates: "Getting that balance right is something you really have to think about very hard, work out exactly what to change and whatnot. Everyone's got a different answer."

Expanding on the past

In such a short preview session, one thing I wasn't able to get a massive flavor for was the stories of the two classic RPGs, which developers Artdink and Square Enix's Team Asano have made some additions to in the remake package. Hayasaka says that we "can be rest assured there's a lot more content around this time" in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake.

"We really added a lot more to the story. The scenario has been fleshed out," he continues. "I mean, if you look at it in terms of the word count, the amount of text in the game, the first two games – the original versions – were tens of thousands of words on their own. We're up into the millions now for the remake."

Expanding more on these new story elements, Hayasaka teases a "really big surprise" that's been created for the remakes, something which was previously mentioned by series creator Yuji Horii (thanks, Automaton). "We want to surprise and delight all Dragon Quest fans out there. Of course, together myself and original creator Mr. Horii really discussed this in depth, because we want to create that surprise, that new twist," Hayasaka continues. He's not giving any hints as to what this surprise is, other than the fact that fans will find it if they play through the remake trilogy in chronological order (that's DQ 3, then DQ 1, and finally DQ 2). Intriguing.

The release of Dragon Quest 1 and 2's remake duo pack will round out the series' classic Erdrick Trilogy, completing the modernized versions of the franchise's origins – something I'm grateful for as someone who never got around to the original versions. But what comes next? Asked if there are any plans to revisit any other Dragon Quest games going forward, Hayasaka explains that "the ultimate decision whether to do that or not isn't with me, it rests with all the upper management of the company, so that's their call to make." He's not ruling it out, though.

"I think definitely, if the three remakes that we've done this time sell well, if they're really well regarded and do well, then that would definitely create a movement within the company to want to do more remakes," he continues. "So I definitely think it is possible."

If you want to see more of GamesRadar+'s Autumn Preview, be sure to take a look at our dedicated Gamescom 2025 coverage hub.