Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Discusses Design Changes in Upcoming Remake

During a recent livestream, Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii shed light on some of the changes made to the upcoming Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. The discussion, which took place on a stream hosted by Japanese gaming news outlet DenFamiNicoGamer, revealed that Square Enix has had to make adjustments to character designs and descriptions to accommodate global rating requirements.

Horii explained that certain costume designs, particularly for the female warrior, needed modification to prevent the game from receiving a higher age rating. “If we have too much exposure, the age [rating] would end up be raised, it could no longer have an all-ages rating,” Horii stated. The new version of the game features additional fabric underneath the armor to reduce skin exposure.

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The Dragon Quest creator also mentioned changes in how the game refers to character gender options. “You can also choose a male or female [version] of the protagonist, but we cannot write it as ‘choose from Male or Female’; it became ‘Type 1 & Type 2’,” Horii noted, expressing some bewilderment at the necessity of this change.

International considerations, rather than domestic Japanese ratings, appear to drive these alterations. Kazuhiko Torishima, former editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump, who was also present during the discussion, suggested that Western, particularly American, standards influenced these changes.

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The design and localization changes will be consistent across all versions of the game, including the Japanese release. Square Enix has scheduled Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake for a worldwide simultaneous release on November 14, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.