June's Nintendo Direct brought not just the first new footage of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake since its initial announcement, but also the surprise that Square Enix would be remaking the first two Dragon Quest games and releasing them in 2025. Dragon Quest 3 is the most successful game in the original trilogy of titles, especially in its native Japan, where the game would sell a staggering 3.8 million copies (incidentally, the most in the series until the release of Dragon Quest 7). Choosing to remake Dragon Quest 3 makes sense from the perspective of the series' history, but adding Dragon Quest 1 and 2 into the mix will see players able to experience a reimagining of the full Erdrick Trilogy.

Similar to the Zenithia Trilogy of Dragon Quest games between the fourth, fifth, and sixth entries, the first three games in the Dragon Quest series represent a connected narrative. Each of the first three Dragon Quest games takes place within the fictional kingdom of Alefgard, and each game's protagonist is a descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick. Even Dragon Quest 11 shares a loose connection to the lore of the first three games in the series, with the world tree Yggdrasil referring to the Luminary (the player character) as Erdrick.

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Erdrick and His Descendants Are the Heroes of the Original Dragon Quest Trilogy

Otherwise known as the "Roto" or "Loto" trilogy due to some interesting discrepancies in localization, Square Enix has taken to officially referring to the initial trilogy of Dragon Quest games as the Erdrick Trilogy. The first three Dragon Quest games (in both their original Famicom/NES versions and the later Game Boy Color re-releases) take place in the same general kingdom of Alefgard. Still, they each have different maps to showcase how the landscape of the kingdom has changed over time. And, in a move reminiscent of the Zelda series, the third game in the franchise, Dragon Quest 3, is actually the earliest in terms of where its story takes place chronologically.

The one constant throughout the first three entries in the Dragon Quest series is the lineage of each game's protagonist. Players begin the original Dragon Quest as somewhat of a blank-slate hero on a quest to stop the Dragonlord but eventually learn that they are the prophesied descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick (who previously saved Alefgard). In Dragon Quest 2, players take on the role of three of the descendants of the hero from the first Dragon Quest, and Dragon Quest 3 brings things full circle by allowing players to control none other than Erdrick himself.

Dragon Quest 3 Sets the Stage for the Epic Erdrick Trilogy

Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D Modes

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Quest 3The story of Dragon Quest 3 takes place several centuries before the original game in the series and puts players in the shoes of the nameless Hero, himself a descendant of a legendary warrior from the kingdom of Aliahan. After leaving home on a quest to destroy the evil archfiend Baramos, the Hero discovers that his world is only one of many connected by the mystical world tree Yggdrasil. He similarly uncovers that Baramos is simply one of many archfiends in service of a greater, more powerful evil named Zoma. To stop Zoma, the hero must cross dimensions to the kingdom of Alefgard and free its people from his tyrannical rule.

This chain of events ultimately leads to the Hero traveling to Alefgard and being victorious over Zoma, who in defeat seals the path that the Hero took, preventing his return to his homeland. Now trapped in Alefgard, the people there bestow the honorary title of Erdrick upon the Hero, and he starts a family to carry his legacy. This lineage will eventually produce the hero of Dragon Quest, as well as the three heroes from Dragon Quest 2 (who are each descendants of the children of Dragon Quest 1's protagonist).