playtime?

[heime2003]

original DQ 3 was like a 32 hour game. so i assume this remake has similar length (unless square enix seriously adds new story and gameplay elements) well.. $60 for a 35 hour game? a bit overpriced

[Casual Hero]

Price should never be dependent on play time. We've been conditioned by huge companies to expect 100+ hour sandbox games with Ubisoft collectibles and fetch-quests around every corner.

When the NES original came out, it was even more than $60 in today's money.

Quality doesn't mean 100 hours of bloated gameplay.

[Andrew R]

And people play games differently.

What you may be able to breeze through in 35 hours may take me 45.

[Tim Allahn SnAckbarr]

I think HD-2D will be considerably longer in terms of added playtime. From the footage I've seen, they are doing a lot to flesh things out.

Cutscenes w/ voice acting, additional Ortega backstory, sidequests (Monster Arena), etc

Also when you compare footage of the remake to an equivalent area in prior ports[x.com]... it's very clear the scope has been vastly expanded. Rooms that used to be basically just a small hallway are now a massive cavern.

All that said, I still think a lot of the playtime will be buried in the postgame and/or side content. If you look at playtime for the prior ports[howlongtobeat.com], they all hover right about 30 hours for the main story, while postgame et al tends to extend the game around 5 hours (SNES) to 10 hours (GBC, which had the longest postgame to date- including the Ice Cave and minimedals)

I think we might be looking at 40-45 for the main quest, plus another 15-20 for the complete postgame -- aaand that's probably still being optimistic.

However, I think it's important to recognize that DQ3 tends to stand out among the DQ series because of its replay value more than anything.

Due to the vocational mechanics and allowing you to build your party however you like, DQ3 gives you a great deal of options in terms of how you want to play through the game. That's really where the value proposition lies imo.

I'll be curious to see if HD-2D manages to leverage this in any meaningful way (New Game +, perhaps?)

[Melodia]

Originally posted by Tim Allahn SnAckbarr:

Also when you compare footage of the remake to an equivalent area in prior ports[x.com]... it's very clear the scope has been vastly expanded. Rooms that used to be basically just a small hallway are now a massive cavern.

There's been some videos showing the original vs the new one side by side and they increased the walking speed enough that you actually get through rooms at about the same speed.
Of course that's if you go in a straight line, there's probably a lot more room to move around and to explore in HD-2D but it's not as big a difference as you'd think just from looking at static shots.

[Call Sign: Raven]

The real answer? Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else. Sad truth of the current age.

[Tim Allahn SnAckbarr]

Originally posted by Call Sign: Raven:

The real answer? Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else. Sad truth of the current age.

This is definitely true for a lot of the modern gaming audience. It's a big reason why games like "cookie clicker" and "Banana" are so wildly popular.

DQ (and RPGs like it) aren't really well positioned for broad appeal due to the time commitment they require.

I think the measure of "success" for games like DQ seems to be whether it can do well within the niche of hardcore gamers that play RPGs. That's a really low ceiling. (And the production costs are non-insignificant)

It's no wonder really why so much of the growth in the gaming market is in gacha and mobile games. They have the lowest risk and highest reward of any category.

[Call Sign: Raven]

Originally posted by Tim Allahn SnAckbarr:

Originally posted by Call Sign: Raven:

The real answer? Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else. Sad truth of the current age.

This is definitely true for a lot of the modern gaming audience. It's a big reason why games like "cookie clicker" and "Banana" are so wildly popular.

DQ (and RPGs like it) aren't really well positioned for broad appeal due to the time commitment they require.

I think the measure of "success" for games like DQ seems to be whether it can do well within the niche of hardcore gamers that play RPGs. That's a really low ceiling. (And the production costs are non-insignificant)

It's no wonder really why so much of the growth in the gaming market is in gacha and mobile games. They have the lowest risk and highest reward of any category.

Actually very true. And it makes me wonder if they are gauging the audience correctly with the high price. Definitely a case where quality is not reflected in the pricing.

[Melodia]

Originally posted by Call Sign: Raven:

The real answer? Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else. Sad truth of the current age.

Honestly i don't think that's as much of a modern age problem as you think. I think it's more a reality that people don't bother with games they aren't engaged in and they've always done this. Even 20 years ago I would sometimes buy a game and play it once or twice intending to get back to it but never doing so. With so many games in people's library these days it's a lot easier to do this plus the general 'the average age of a gamer is older' factor which means people have less free time, as a whole.

[Andrew R]

"Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else."

That was my case with Metaphor.

I do hope this game is NOT the case.

[Casual Hero]

Originally posted by Andrew R:

"Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else."

That was my case with Metaphor.

I do hope this game is NOT the case.

Oof.

Yeah, I haven't played Metaphor, but I can't really stand those Atlus RPGs with 100 hours of cutscenes.

[Lucas the Thief]

Originally posted by Melodia:

Originally posted by Call Sign: Raven:

The real answer? Most people will hit 2-6 hours then play something else. Sad truth of the current age.

Honestly i don't think that's as much of a modern age problem as you think. I think it's more a reality that people don't bother with games they aren't engaged in and they've always done this. Even 20 years ago I would sometimes buy a game and play it once or twice intending to get back to it but never doing so. With so many games in people's library these days it's a lot easier to do this plus the general 'the average age of a gamer is older' factor which means people have less free time, as a whole.

My ADHD just kicks in and then I play one of the other dozens of games I got on the backburner. The fact that I'm working more now and that RPGs are a major time investment also doesn't help.

[FizzyBunn]

so for some reason this was not included in the english version of the playstation blog. in the japanese one, they said it took the devs around 35 hours to reach the ending,5-10 hours more than the og due to map size, new story elements and monster arena etc.

japanese : https://blog.ja.playstation.com/2024/11/08/20241108-dq3/

english : https://blog.playstation.com/2024/11/08/dragon-quest-iii-hd-2d-remake-interview-how-the-classic-rpg-was-revamped-for-its-ps5-debut/

[Call Sign: Raven]

Originally posted by FizzyBunn:

so for some reason this was not included in the english version of the playstation blog. in the japanese one, they said it took the devs around 35 hours to reach the ending,5-10 hours more than the og due to map size, new story elements and monster arena etc.

japanese : https://blog.ja.playstation.com/2024/11/08/20241108-dq3/

english : https://blog.playstation.com/2024/11/08/dragon-quest-iii-hd-2d-remake-interview-how-the-classic-rpg-was-revamped-for-its-ps5-debut/

That's useful info, then.

Since the original is still available on some platforms, like the Switch version sitting at a comfy $12, I don't see the justification in the inflated price. This is a $30-$35 game parading as a $60 AAA priced title.

[ShockedHearts]

little nightmares was a 60$ game and its like... a 5 hour game.
and noone complained.

there is such thing as replayability, as well as just taking your time and enjoying it.

[Call Sign: Raven]

Originally posted by ShockedHearts:

little nightmares was a 60$ game and its like... a 5 hour game.
and noone complained.

there is such thing as replayability, as well as just taking your time and enjoying it.

People did complain, stop trying to sweep discussion under the rug, thanks.