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After the party acquires the ship, the world opens up a bit more. Places that were inaccessible can now be reached, and this means it’s time to explore. to actually reach Baramos, the hero will need to find six orbs scattered throughout the realm.
Having theEcho Flutemakes the search easier, as will the Ultimate Key. Once these items are acquired, the player doesn’t need to search for the orbs in any specific order. The order below is the progression we did during our time playingDragon Quest III HD-2D Remakefor the review.
Review: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Is HD-2D the key to revitalize Dragon Quest III or should it have stayed in the past?
The green orb is located in Theddon. Theddon is a town that has an active nightlife but is pretty dead during the day. During the daytime, the party can sneak around town and get a sense there might be something worth checking out in the jail cell at night. The problem is, at night, the prisoner is too far away to talk to and a guard is blocking the opening in the wall. This is an easy problem to solve with the Ultimate Key. Just walk through the door at night and talk to the prisoner.
At least this was easy in the previous versions of Dragon Quest III. When the hero talks to the prisoner, they are attacked by three Dying Fires and Three Phantasms. This can be a lengthy battle because the Dying Fires love summoning additional monsters. The fight can be challenging due to the endless influx of Dying Fires, but prioritizing healing and keeping up Magic Barrier helps a lot. After the fight is over, the hero is given the green orb from the prisoner.
Now that the hero has the Ultimate Key, it’s time to return to Lanson. There is a big official-looking building in the northern part of town. Enter through the center door and speak to the priest, who will advise the party that a great trial to test their mettle lies ahead, but this is a challenge that can only be done solo.
It is advisable to equip the hero with a good supply of healing items, though at this point in the game they probably have some decent healing magic. Accessories that prevent status effects are advisable, and having a powerful boomerang for random encounters is helpful. Just verify to also have a good single attack weapon for the boss. The hero will need to cross the desert to reach Gaia’s Naval.
Gaia’s Naval is inhabited by monsters that are well below the party’s strength but can be a little more challenging on a solo trip. Having a powerful boomerang helps a lot with the random encounters, and because this particular version of Dragon Quest III replenishes HP and MP when the character gains a level, it is advisable before entering the chamber that contains the orb to grind until the next level just before entering. The path to the orb is rather straight forward. On the bottom floor there are two paths. The correct path to the orb is the top one. Like a few other cases when an important item is about to be acquired, a brand-new boss fight rears its ugly head.
This boss is theChiromancer. The Chiromancer usually has a Mad Vlad assisting him, and it’s advisable to take out the Mad Vlad as this will often make the Chiromancer waste an action by casting Zing, which usually doesn’t work. This fight can be challenging unless the player approaches it this way, which is using Zapple on offensive turns and Meditation when hp gets low.
The Chiromancer regenerates and Zap-based attacks hit hard enough so that his healing doesn’t offset the player’s efforts. After the Chiromancer’s back is broken, the hero is free to take the blue orb and whatever goodies are in the treasure boxes.
Purple Orb
Jipang has a terrible tradition of sacrificing women to the demonOrochi. When the party arrives in Jipang they learn about this event, but the sacrifice is delayed because Yayoi, the maiden who has a future as dragon food, has gone missing. As the hero tends to get involved with such matters, it is best to explore Jipang to see where she went. There is a cellar in the northwest part of Jipang, and if the hero is complusively checking every barrel, pot and basket, Yayou will be found hiding in a basket in that cellar. She advises the hero that the beast lives in a cave to the east, so it’s time to go east and slay some Orochi.
Getting to Orochi is pretty straight forward. Travel along the first floor and when the party descends to the second level, take the east path to the boss fight, though there are other things of note in the other directions. The Orochi fight can be challenging, but like most fights in this game a combination of Kasap, Insulate, Kabuff and Oomph can make things easier. Once the fight is won, the battered demon retreats through a portal, which if the party follows, they are in the main building of Jipang. It is advisable the party heals before continuing, which can include making a detour to the nearby Wayfarer’s Inn via Zoom. After the party is healed it’s time to see what is going on.
Upon returning to Jipang, Himiko speaks to the hero telepathically, stating that the hero is the only one who has seen her true form, and she will spare the party’s life in exchange for silence. This sounds like a good deal, but to progress through the story it’s time for Orochi fight round 2. After Orochi is taken down for good, the hero now has the purple orb.
This is the most involved orb quest so far. Just kidding. Go to the Pirate’s Den and look for a pirate statue with a red light emitting from the base. Interact with the statue to move it, go down the stairs and help yourself to the treasure boxes and red orb.
Yellow Orb
The yellow orb is another easy orb to get, as it requires some action from the player but mostly just waiting around. Sailing north of Romaria, a small town icon will be seen on the left-hand coastline. Upon entering this small location initially known as ???, the party will meet a man who wants to build a town but states he needs the help of a merchant to do so. If the player has a merchant in the party, they could just hand them over, but that is highly inadvisable as this merchant will remain part of the town forever. The better approach is to Zoom to Aliahan, go to Patty’s Party Planning Place, create a new merchant character and swap out a party member for the merchant, Zoom back to ??? to drop off the level 1 merchant, and return to Aliahan to pick up the dropped off party member.
We named our merchant Nettie, so ??? was renamed Nettieburg. The player will need to check back on Nettieburg periodically, but the game will send reminders that now might be a good time to check in on Nettieburg and see what is happening. Just go there whenever it does and eventually things will take a turn.
It turns out having a money-hungry merchant in charge of town development wasn’t the best idea as the townspeople had enough of Nettie’s price gouging and locked her up. During a visit to Nettie in her cell, she speaks about a treasure hidden behind the large chair in her mansion. Go there and check out what is behind the chair and the yellow orb is now yours.
Silver Orb
The silver orb is the most grueling orb to get, and unlike the red orb, we mean it this time. After the hero has acquired the Mountain Cleaver, it’s time to sail south from Ashem to the volcano, which is also east of Ibis. The hero needs to walk up to the volcano and toss the Mountain Cleaver into it, but now is time for another one of those new boss fights. The Garboyle is a formidable opponent.
He can take up to three actions in his turns, which include Frizzle, Boom and Burning Gas, which can paralyze multiple party members. Keeping magic defense high through Magic Barrier is important, as well as healing often. Swoosh seems to work pretty well against him. After the fight is over, the Mountain Cleaver is thrown into the volcano, which triggers an eruption. Because throwing swords in volcanoes makes them erupt.
Now that the lava has hardened, the party can now walk across the newly formed path over the water into the Maw of the Necrogrond. This is a large dungeon, and it is filled with monsters that can attack twice per round, cast Thwack, breathe burning gas and cast over spells that can damage the entire party. Bounce is another fun spell some monsters have at their disposal.
If the player was having an easy time up until this point, this is the biggest difficulty spike so far. Thankfully, liquid Metal Slimes are fairly common, and while they have a propensity to run away, having the hero use Flacon Slash helps and if there is a monster wrangler in the party, use Monster Pile-On to improve the chances of getting that 12k experience point payout. Martial Artists can use Critical Claim or Multifists against the metal experience banks, and Warriors can use Multislice or Metal Slash.
After getting through Maw of the Necrogrond there is the Necrogrond Shrine to the east. Go there and get the Silver Orb.
The Payoff
Now that the hero has all six orbs, the question is what to do with them. There is a snow-covered island in the south. Go there and visit the Shrine of the Everbird. Place the orbs on the pedestal to awaken Ramia, and now the player has the means to reach Baramos.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Modernizes the Classic Without Sacrificing Charm
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is coming out soon and these are early impressions of what we might expect to see.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy.Story:Years ago, the great hero Ortega bid farewell to his wife and child as he set off on a quest to defeat the villainous Archfiend, Baramos. Ortega failed his quest, and Baramos still threatens the world. Now, on their sixteenth birthday, Ortega’s only child is summoned by the king of Aliahan and entrusted with a mission of the highest import: to take on Ortega’s quest, vanquish Baramos, and save the world.A fully modernized remake of the original:Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, bringing players into the world of DRAGON QUEST III like never before, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements.Traditional DRAGON QUEST style battles:A refined take on the classic turn-based battle system, featuring new animations, additional improvements such as an adjustable battle speed, an auto-battle setting, and more.Immersive world:Deep exploration of a vast world map with an abundance of rich and captivating locations to discover, challenging players to overcome many unexpected encounters during the journey.
