Hearkening back to the olden days when pixels were all developers had to
work with instead of a particular styling, Dragon Quest 3 has finally
came to iOS. Confusingly enough, this version of the game is a remake of
a 2009 Japan-only cellphone release, which was in turn a remake of the
2995 Super Nintendo remake of the 1988 JRPG classic. It's represented
here in all its glory, featuring the venerable turn-based battle system,
beautiful 2D sprites, and is a wonderful example from the era when the
RPG reigned supreme.
The Good
For
fans of the series this is one entry closer to having the entire Dragon
Quest series available via phone. The gameplay is some of the most
solid that the early JRPG era had to offer and is the game that made
Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior in the US) a household name. Although the
game is over 20 years old, it is from the era when JRPGs matured into
the form that would remain common until the early 2000's, so even new
players won't have to depend on nostalgia to enjoy the title.
The Bad
This
is not a game to be played lightly. Unfortunately, traditional JRPG
gameplay doesn't fit the mobile market well as these games are meant to
be played an hour or more at a time. It's very easy to play a segment
and come back a few days later and forget what you were doing. Also,
there is no new content for the iOS version, the game is pretty much a
straight copy of the 2009 Japanese cellphone version. This means several
things are missing that were in the 1995 SNES remake, which
unfortunately never saw Western shores, including monster animations,
and a dice game.
The Verdict
If you're a huge JRPG fan or
just enjoy playing on mobile for long bouts of time this game may
scratch your itch. However, with the high price and time investment,
this game isn't particularly conductive to mobile gaming. Those who are
used to playing Threes, or endless runners in their spare moments aren't
going to find much here. Comparatively the gameplay is slow and very
seldom gives the quick reward that mobile gamers are so used to.
