HD-2D is the natural mop up of look back to the NES and SNES eras of gaming for brainchild .
In the 1980s and early nineties , games rollick pixelated art styles out of necessity . In 2024 , that look is now a stylistic choice for developer who want to associate with that retro play era . FromUFO 50toVolgarr the Viking 2 , we ’ve get wind some impressive pixel art in 2024 games alone . But what if you combined pixel art with more modern lighting and aesthetic design sensibilities that are only potential on modern gaming hardware ?
The reply to that motion is HD-2D , a clear-cut video game look that Square Enix debuted withOctopath Travelerin 2018 , trademarked , and has used as the aesthetic for retro atavism RPGs and remake of classics . Next week , a remaking ofDragon Quest III : The Seeds of Salvationwill bring HD-2D to a whole new level and cement it as an artistry way decisive to Square Enix ’s time to come with older - shoal RPGs .
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remakelaunches on November 14 and is a full - on remaking of the NES classic known asDragon Warrior 3 in North America in the HD-2D style . It ’s a gorgeous remake I could n’t envisage without the HD-2D stylus . With HD-2D in the statute title , it ’s about to make that term mainstream in the play zeitgeist . As such , it made sensory faculty for me to talk about Square Enix ’s journey with the HD-2D style with producer Masaaki Hayasaka .
How HD-2D came about
The seed for HD-2D came in the mid-2010s when pixel art game were at the peak of popularity with titles likeShovel KnightandAxiom Verge . Around the same fourth dimension , developers at Square Enix were pine to create RPGs in the mode of the pixel - based RPGs they develop up with . Those were also the plot that made Square and Enix household name calling prior to their fusion . Hayasaka credits Masashi Takahashi , another Square Enix producer who ’d worked on games likeBravely Default , with launching the project that would becomeOctopath Travelerand invent the HD-2D art style .
“ I participated in the project as one of its founding members , and we first start up by exploring graphic styles , ” Hayasaka tell Digital Trends . “ However , rather than deciding that this was the proper selection forOctopath Traveler , I recall the mental process was the opposite , where we come up with various idea and feature film for the biz that could fit these computer graphic . ”
That developing unconscious process imply thatOctopath Travelerfelt like a game tailor - made for HD-2D , imposingly showcasing how Square Enix could create telling pixel artistic creation and juxtapose it with more dynamic lighting and 3D background to produce something that looks retro and chic at the same clip . Rave reviews forOctopath Travelerat the time all compliment its art manner .
Even ina Digital Trends piecethat is more decisive of the biz , writer Steven Petite described the HD-2D fashion as a “ wizardly antic . ”Octopath Travelerkicked off an unofficial HD-2D series of games at Square Enix . wandering gameOctopath Traveler : adept of the Continentand strategy gameTriangle Strategywere HD-2D rubric , as wasOctopath Traveler 2 . Then , a remaking revelation befall .
Perfect for remakes
In the wake ofOctopath Traveler’ssuccess , Square Enix realized that the HD-2D nontextual matter style could be employ to remakes of its classic 8 - bit and 16 - bit title . HD-2D was created to re - create the look of those classic , so why not use it to remake them ? An HD-2D remake ofDragon Quest IIIwasfirst teased in 2021 . Square Enix relinquish a remake ofLive A Live , an RPG that had previously only do out on the Super Famicom in Japan , in 2022 .
With these projects , Square Enix has cracked a code for retro remakes . If it did n’t require to do full 3D remakes like it has forFinal Fantasy VIIandRomancing SaGa 2 , then HD-2D is a perfect fit . The HD-2D allows the remake to retain the 8 - minute or 16 - bit esthetics of the games they are re - creating but look more gorgeous than it ever could on an NES or SNES . Hayasaka did n’t seem very surprised that this combination work so well .
“ The HD-2D style was created and inspired by the gilded age of the 16 - bit epoch , when the quality of pixel nontextual matter was at its prime , ” Hayasaka explain . “ Even when we simply say “ remakes , ” there are various methods of doing so that may equip the unparalleled characteristics of a title , but because the HD-2D style was bear the way it was , it was a perfect tantrum for remaking games that in the beginning used pixel art . It ’s almost hard to consider they would n’t operate well together . ”
I could n’t agree more after playingLive A LiveandDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake . HD-2D is a innate scene for remakes , especially one that are n’t trying to radically reinvent the original ’s convention . It ’s a safe means for Square Enix to recapture the aesthetics of its most iconic titles without sacrifice the artistic intent of the original or run out to invoke to modernistic consultation . It ’s already committed toDragon Quest IandIIremakes in this style , so it ’s a scheme Square Enix seemingly plans to stick with as well .
Enter, Dragon Quest III
Dragon Quest is one of Square Enix ’s prime RPG franchise , and within that enfranchisement , DragonQuest IIIis consider one of the series ’ best . As such , it ’s unsurprising that Square Enix would wait to redo it as it recommit itself to piss old - school RPGs . What better way to find out than from the classics ? According to Hayasaka , Square Enix settled on apply the HD-2D panache for this remaking because of how well it works with remaking and how appealing it has been to Western gamers .
Even though the HD-2D fashion works in particular well for remaking , Hayasaka still highlighted some of the challenges that come when re - creating a preexisting secret plan in HD-2D rather than create something fresh from scratch .
“ With an original game , you could build out and optimise the storyline , result , maps , etc . from the onset with the HD-2D graphical style in judgement . However , the original secret plan must come first with a remake like ours , so even if you come up with an idea that may search great in HD-2D , you would n’t be able to integrate it if it ’s an constituent that undermines features from the original game . In other word , the scope of confinement inevitably becomes larger as you develop the biz . ”
Hayasaka ultimately trust that have a keen “ artistic aesthesia ” is key to creating a not bad HD-2D game , commending the great piece of work of the artistic creation teams on biz likeOctopath TravelerandDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake . The development team ofDragon Quest III HD-2D Remakehad a clear imaginativeness of what they want to do and how they want to evolve this artistic production trend .
Continuing to expand
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remakeis the most authoritative release for this art style sinceOcotpath Traveler . It puts HD-2D right in the title and differentiates itself in clear ways . Specifically , the game employ a more vivacious colouration palette than any other HD-2D game and utilizes pixels mainly for persona and monsters rather than scope . It give this remaking a clear-cut way , even within the broader spectrum of HD-2D title . I necessitate how HD-2D had acquire , but Hayasaka describe what is happen as more of an expansion of what the artistry vogue could do .
“ Rather than evolving , it may be more accurate to say that it ’s lucubrate further and further , ” Hayasaka said . “ For example , inTriangle Strategy — which followedOctopath Traveler — the television camera could be rotated , and inDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake , we try out by utilizing color palettes that felt authentic to Dragon Quest alongside a formula to forego pixels in the background . I ’m sure succeeding HD-2D titles will also add their own unique young spin to the construct , and these origination will go on to push the boundary of HD-2D expression in the hereafter . ”
The HD-2D stylus came along at the proper time for Square Enix . Over the past times decade , we have run into the ship’s company truly recommit to Nipponese - developed RPGs and a desire to recapture the illusion of Square and Enix ’s golden age in the 1980s and 1990s . HD-2D provide Square Enix with a mode to do just that . It gives their retro - styled RPGs a clear-cut aspect , works on new games and remakes , and offers plenty of elbow room for artistic growth and expression .
Retro games resonate with hoi polloi , and their beautiful pixel artwork and esthetic are a intellect for that . For now game , HD-2D is a means to show the game is in conversation with RPG classic . For remake , HD-2D adds deepness to what was originally a monotonic screen of pixels and combines honest-to-goodness and new in an aesthetically pleasing agency . With moreDragon Quest HD-2D remakeson the way , Square Enix is embrace HD-2D wholeheartedly . That ’s a right thing for its retro - inspired RPG efforts .
