Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake taking inspiration from Zelda: Breath of the Wild

It may not have been something that fans would immediately assume, but it turns out that Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is taking some inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

That news comes from producer Masaaki Hayasaka. In a recent interview, he said that Square Enix wanted to capture that same sense of adventure that Zelda provides – seeing something off in the distance that catches your eye and wanting to head in that direction.

Here’s what Hayasaka had to say about the Zelda: Breath of the Wild inspiration for Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake:

“We really took inspiration from a lot of games, particularly modern games. An example that I’m sure you’ll all understand is Breath of the Wild, one of the Zelda games. You see a building in the wider open world, and it makes you want to go there and travel in that direction. We wanted to capture that same feeling so if you see something sparkling in the distance, I hope players will want to go there.”

“This vast world, it’s really beautiful, so we wanted to make sure players could explore it and be rewarded with finding lots of different, and new, things.”

As the game’s title implies, the return of Dragon Quest III isn’t brand new – it’s a remake. Still, Square Enix is giving out of its way to increase the scope and offer some new content. 

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake launches for Switch on November 14, 2024 and we have more coverage here. Thanks to Gaming Bible for the news above.