Dragon Quest III Review

Fairly tricky to track down in North America, Dragon Quest III's $9.99 asking price doesn't seem so bad when placed into the context of eBay prices for a NES or Gameboy Color cartridge. That doesn't stop Dragon Quest III from seeming rather dated by modern standards, but JRPG fans will enjoy this slice of history.

You play the child of a hero, sent to see the King on their 16th birthday before being thrust into an adventure to save the world. Dragon Quest III doesn't bother with too much originality on this front but it's forgivable. It adds some more originality and flexibility through its party system.

While there's no chance of being overly attached to your fellow party members, given they're essentially soulless husks of statistics, they do offer plenty of potential. You simply head to the local tavern to recruit your party and then head out, forming them into exactly what you want of an ally.

Dragon Quest III offers a very slow start in which you'll mostly be grumbling at the stubbornness of the virtual joystick, but it does improve. As you progress, you learn such wonders as the ability to reset your character's class, before re-assigning them to a new one and still keeping their old skills. This is where Dragon Quest III grabs you most.

Admittedly, combat outside of such customization is pretty basic given that your companions do all the interesting stuff and you're quite limited, but it does work. Dragon Quest III offers up a bonus dungeon and extra class too, much like the SNES version of years gone by, ensuring there's plenty to do throughout the 25-30 hours it'll last you.

Dragon Quest III is one for old hands at JRPGs, lacking the verve of more recent instalments to the genre, but it does have a certain charm. As a historical piece, it's all the more welcome and demonstrates how far the genre has come.