Square Enix surprise-releases a remaster of a Dragon Quest spin-off that had never before been released in the West

Square Enix made a surprising appearance at last Wednesday, September 9’s Nintendo Direct by presenting a game nobody expected to see: Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD-. A remastered version of the first Mystery Dungeon starring Torneko, one of the supporting characters from Dragon Quest IV and, on top of that, one of the franchise’s first spinoffs.

A franchise with a long history

This is a big announcement for two reasons. In Japan this is a very well-known and beloved title, with a big impact on fans. The second is that this is the first time it’s being released outside Japan. While later titles in the franchise did make it to the West, Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon has never been officially translated into any language other than Japanese, making this its debut in the West.

As for the game, its premise is simple: Torneko is a weapons merchant who must venture into mysterious dungeons to get all kinds of weapons and armor and then sell them to battle-hardened adventurers. It all plays out through a turn-based system that would help create a deep roguelike style, long before it caught on in the West, and that would eventually become its own franchise: the Mystery Dungeon series. The series would also get its own spinoffs, with the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series being especially well known.

With a graphical facelift and some quality-of-life additions, Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- is a classic game that still holds up today. And you can enjoy it on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.