A fan made a simply excellent remake of Dragon Quest, releasing it for free so everyone can play it.
Enix’s first Dragon Quest is a very important title for the history of Japanese role-playing games , equal to or perhaps more than the first Final Fantasy . Let’s say that it is the game that canonized the genre, making it a commercial success in Japan. Published in the USA with the title Dragon Warrior , it was not a great success in the West, so much so that only a few people bought it, increasing the reluctance of Japanese publishers to bring other titles of the genre to our country.
There is an official remastered edition of Dragon Quest for Nintendo Switch, but if you don’t own the Nintendo console you must necessarily turn to the world of fans to play it, either through emulation or through the excellent Dragon Quest+ , an amateur remake created by NightFly Studio for PC.
A great remake
According to what is reported on the official page , from which you can download it for free, Dragon Quest+ is a complete remake, with approximately 6-8 hours of additional content. It has been developed over the course of ten years and, last year, was launched to the delight of all enthusiasts. After launch it has been updated several times and has now reached version 1.07.
Given the nature of the project, it has not received much publicity, but slowly many are becoming aware of its existence, including us, and, above all, of its quality. Let’s hope Square Enix has nothing to say about this.
Dragon Quest+ offers the complete overhaul of some monsters, new weapons, new armor, an orchestrated soundtrack, new visitable locations inspired by Dragon Quest Monsters and Dragon Quest Monsters 2, new mini dungeons in Alefgard and three new mini games. Furthermore, the graphics have been improved in every possible aspect, appearing much more modern than the original, despite remaining pixel art.
Dragon Quest+ is currently compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows 7 Pro, Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is also playable on Steam Deck , despite some small problems, which are fortunately being resolved. If you don’t want to risk it, wait for future updates.