Square Enix has made a new announcement twisting the knife about Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake.
We had previously reported that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is releasing on the Switch 2 as a Game-Key Card. While this version could hypothetically have better performance than the Switch version, this does make gamers think twice about getting the supposed upgraded version.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Switch version of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake has all the games in the Game Card. And, there is only a collector’s version of the game on the Switch, not on the Switch 2.
And now, for the final twist. As reported by Nintendo Life, Square Enix has revealed that there is no upgrade path for Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake from the Switch to the Switch 2. To quote Square Enix’s language:
No, there is no upgrade path currently available or planned. Please buy your copy for whichever system you would like to play it on.
Square also confirms that the Switch 2 version should have better performance, using this language:
Each version has different graphical specifications based on the hardware’s processing capabilities. However, there are no differences in the story, game content, or in which items can be obtained.
As you may already expect, only the Switch version runs on both consoles, and the Switch version won’t run any better on the Switch 2. But it gets even messier when we bring Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake into the equation.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was released only on the Nintendo Switch, and it does not have an upgrade version or upgrade path for the Switch 2. If you played this game first, you can redeem bonus items on Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake if your save data is in the console.
The Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake bonus items can be redeemed on both the Switch and Switch 2 versions of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake. In fact, if you have both Switch and Switch 2 versions of the game, you can redeem the bonuses on both versions.
So this opens up a scenario where a hardcore fan could buy Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake twice just to get the most that they would want out of all three games. As Square Enix says, their customers should make the choice themselves, but that also makes things more complicated than they have to.
This all makes it seem like Square Enix was determined to get any game released for the Switch 2’s launch. With all that said, discriminating consumers will want to wait for reviews to find out if the Switch 2 version is worth all this hassle. At the very least, we would point out they could get a collector’s edition on the Switch and a digital version on the Switch 2.
