The creators of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake faced incredible pressure in reimagining a classic JRPG. Producer Masaaki Hayasaka admitted that failure could have tarnished his entire career.

Right now, many gamers are revisiting one of the most iconic JRPGs in gaming history. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is now available, and Square Enix is closely monitoring its reception in both sales and critical reviews. After all, the project’s leaders had the daunting task of reviving one of the most acclaimed adventures of all time, which placed significant pressure on the developers.

Team Asano producer Masaaki Hayasaka addressed this challenge in a recent interview with Famitsu (via Automaton). Following the release of Octopath Traveler 2, Square Enix quickly adopted the HD-2D style for classic works, and Dragon Quest 3 was one of the adventures they were most eager to bring back. This decision put Team Asano in a delicate position. “Obviously, I was aware that this was a legendary title, so the biggest pressure I felt was thinking, ‘If this fails, I won’t be able to stay in the industry. I’ll have to live my life as the man who failed to remake a legendary game,’” Hayasaka admitted.

The developers, therefore, took meticulous care in recreating the Dragon Quest 3 experience. In fact, they even considered a fully 3D remake, but quickly dismissed the idea. “3D would have significantly changed the experience from the original. HD-2D was a better option, allowing us to balance nostalgia with something new,” Hayasaka explained. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake isn’t a 100% carbon copy of the 1988 classic; Team Asano introduced new features such as accessibility improvements. “The hint feature was our idea. While our core concept was to preserve the original gameplay experience as much as possible, we thoroughly reworked the parts of the original that were difficult to interact with or play,” he added.

Source: 3djuegos