Donkey Kong Country in Universal Studios Japan with Daan Koopman, Dragon Quest III HD2D Final Thoughts

[00:00:08] Welcome to Tokyo Game Life, a Tokyo-based video game podcast focusing on Nintendo and gaming culture in Japan's capital. Your host Mono here to bring you a slice of gaming life from Tokyo. Nintendo superfan Don Koopman, aka Nintendon, joins the podcast as he takes us on a journey into Donkey Kong Country in Universal Studios Japan. We cover every inch of the park from the amazing minecart ride to the even more amazing hot dogs.

[00:00:34] In the game section, I share some final thoughts on Dragon Quest III HD2D. Let's jump into the feature on Donkey Kong Country in Universal Studios with Don Koopman. One of Nintendo's biggest releases of 2024 wasn't a game, but a park. Yes, the Donkey Kong Country expansion to Universal Studios Japan, which opened up in December.

[00:01:00] I haven't made my way over there just yet, but thankfully today's special guest has and is here to tell us all about it. So guest, please introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Don Koopman. I did stuff for GameXpan and sometimes still do. In my day life, I am a senior QA tester at Behavior Interactive. And yeah, I do some YouTube once in a while, but I might go full-time back to it again at some point next year. Thanks for joining me. You've ventured into the jungles of Donkey Kong Country in USJ.

[00:01:30] I should be there next month, so I'm very excited to hear about your journey and get some hot tips about how to get the most out of the land. But before we step foot into the domain of Donkey Kong, let's go all the way back to the year 2021. Super Nintendo World opens up in Japan after a pandemic-related delay, and later that year, they announced a DK expansion is coming to the park. So what were your initial thoughts upon hearing that the second quote-unquote Nintendo Land at Universal would be Donkey Kong themed?

[00:01:57] So I was there in 2022. So I saw the gates and I was immediately excited because DK and Dan Koopman, we have both the same initials. Oh yes. But also, DK has been one of my favorite Nintendo characters. I'm not that much of a Mario game. I like more Luigi than Mario, actually.

[00:02:17] So I'm that person. But also, at the same time, Donkey Kong Country, those early games, later the games on Wii and Wii U, really shaped me in how much I appreciate that style of platformer. Hmm. So having Donkey Kong coming to Super Nintendo World made me more excited than actually Super Nintendo World that was there when I was there, just after it opened up for tourists.

[00:02:42] Yeah, to me, the second land being a Donkey Kong land, it's a decision that's both surprising but also makes perfect sense. Surprising in that DK has been kind of on the back burner for a long time now, and there's been no brand new game in a decade. But as an extension to Mario, he is the closest IP outside of maybe Yoshi, which is already in the park. And also the strongest link between the two for a lot of modern gamers is Mario Kart, and this version of DKC is well represented in that series of games.

[00:03:10] Now, would I prefer a Pikmin land? Yes. But it seems that the DKC expansion has a lot to love. So walk me through your trip. Did you see the Donkey Kong Direct and think, I got to go to Japan right now, or was it just lucky timing? It was lucky timing. So I book my trips usually in June. The only one that was the exception was obviously the one just after it opened back up for tourists. That was all done within a month and a half. The plan usually starts for a trip in June.

[00:03:37] The people I travel with had a long discussion of if we're going to Super Nintendo World this year. Because we knew that it was delayed until autumn, but we didn't know when it would release. Right. Nintendo Financials came and went, and they still said 2024. I said, we keep this in the back burner. If for some reason it doesn't happen, we'll just go to Disney this year, and we'll leave Super Nintendo World for another time.

[00:04:04] So it took my surprise when the Direct came, and then it releases in the dying moments of my trip. You have to realize I'm flying back on the 13th. It was on the 11th. So we booked tickets directly after the Direct with the Express tickets because we had no guarantee of getting into Super Nintendo World otherwise that day. So we immediately booked that and let the rest of the trip happen. And literally at the end, we went to Super Nintendo World and USGA.

[00:04:34] Wow. So that was really lucky timing. You must have been ecstatic when you see the date at the very end of the Direct. December 11th. It was perfect. I was part of static. My travel companions not so much because they would fly the day after. Okay. So they were horrified because their flight wasn't until 6pm. But it was still like, you have to go back. They were still in Kyoto. I was already moved to Osaka at that point.

[00:05:00] So they had to come all the way from Kyoto to Osaka to be there on time to go to Super Nintendo World. I was really ecstatic about it because I had time to really soak this in. And you know what? I'm so glad that it just came at the end of my trip because it was such a packed trip already. There were so many things going on in Japan and stuff that's opening. So having that at the very tail end of the trip was sort of perfect because it was sort of a nice wrapper. Let's actually step into the park.

[00:05:28] You go through a big door out of a tunnel and then you see Donkey Kong Country. What was your reaction to seeing DKC right in front of you? Does it have the same magic as coming out of Peach's Castle in Super Nintendo World? So it does feel a bit less impactful because obviously you have the gigantic green pipe. You go through that Peach's Castle in regular Super Nintendo World. I think what strikes me the most is that you go from the Mario bricks and you have this big gate with Pikmin on the side standing on one of the bricks of the gate.

[00:05:58] And then you walk through and from slowly it turns into the Mario bricks into just hard stone. And then it opens up in this gigantic field where you see right of you, you see Funky's flying by. In the middle you see DKC's hut. And then the left you see Minecart Madness, which is the attraction. The park is heavily themed specifically after Donkey Kong Country returns on the Wii and soon to be Switch, meaning the Tikis are the bad guys. How do you feel about this theming? Would you have preferred more inspiration from the SNES games?

[00:06:27] I didn't expect them to take any indication from the SNES games. For them, it's games that they didn't make. So I didn't expect that. I was even surprised back then when King Keguru came to Smash and that's a whole other set of discussions. But for me, I was more hoping they would do it around Tropical Freeze, which I consider one of the finest platformers of the last 15 years. I love that game to death.

[00:06:53] But them doing it based on returns makes sense in the scope of, hey, it's coming soon to Switch. And I think they sort of timed that around that. Right. Because when it came to the 3DS and even Wii, it was more, that's the timing it comes out in. That's it. And this feels a lot more timed and based around the fact that it opens in USJ. The Tikis, I'm not that big of a fan. I think they're sort of an okay enemy.

[00:07:21] And that's why I think Tropical Freeze improved on that a lot. But I do think their role in Donkey Kong Country and USJ is a bit more underplayed and not necessarily the main reason you're there. Are there any Kremlin references at all in the park? No. Hmm. Okay. No. Yeah, I agree with you that a Tropical Freeze theme would be really unique because you've got the contrast of the ice on the jungle.

[00:07:47] But then again, I think more people have played the Golden Temple track in Mario Kart than have played Tropical Freeze. So I do understand. And so you're in the park. What's the first thing you head towards? My Kart Madness. I knew the line would be long. It was actually longer towards the end of the day. So when I came in, the regular line, and we were for group, so we went into the regular line because single rider doesn't allow you to be in the same kart, obviously. Right. It was about an hour and a half before we were in front.

[00:08:17] Later in the day, they turned about to two hours and a bit. So we were like, we need to rush to this right now. We need to go and stand in line because we also wanted to see the theming in the line, obviously. Yeah. So it does have a single rider option, like the Mario Kart ride. Yes. Okay. Yes, it does. Yeah. And that's the big ticket item. It is Mine Kart Madness, a ride themed around the iconic Mine Kart stages from the DKC series.

[00:08:42] And this ride is quite innovative as it features never before seen, quote, hidden track technology. But before we get into the Mine Kart, what was the queue like? We saw in the direct there were some murals and also Cranky Kong is there. Were there any other points of interest inside the Golden Temple? There is a point where there are two golden ape statues, which two people have to scan the power band at two different points in the line. And then a projection of the golden banana appears with a lot of music and fireworks. Wow.

[00:09:13] So if you do that, you'll get a small golden banana in your USJ app. Oh, okay. Which is one of the main stamps that you get. So I did that. And outside of that, it was like the mural stuff, like you mentioned, but also a big mural that dictates the arcade version of Donkey Kong. And a little thing with a barrel where a couple of Pikmin are running for their dear life. Then you walk past Squawks and Cranky Kong, which are very well animated.

[00:09:41] The last thing before you enter the ride is Dumbrella Rack, which has shop items from the DKC games imprinted on them. So after waiting, you're finally on the ride. How was it? Did you feel like you were really jumping over the tracks? The track system is the first of its kind, where it's not necessarily fully committed to one piece of track. There's a really interesting contrast.

[00:10:09] If you see it from afar and how the card moves, there's a big long black curve under it, which guides you along the track. The actual track sometimes dissipates, breaks up, or gets swung in a different direction. You're basically being hopped to the actual piece of track that it moves on without feeling like it. It feels more like you are on a minecart. It's really interesting. Would you say it's more intense than you expected, or less intense?

[00:10:39] Would you have preferred they make it faster or slower? It's right down the middle. I didn't think they would go full on family and not have any frills in it. But I also expected them to do some drops, do some slides, do some more sight-worse movement of the minecart. And they did that. It was about a minute long, and I think they did enough to really make it, in my opinion, currently the best ride available in Super Nintendo World. Was there a moment where you really thought, oh wait, it looks like I'm actually going to fall.

[00:11:09] I think something has gone horribly wrong. Yes, there is. So you go across one of the lines, and then DK comes from the left side towards you, and then you quickly switch to a different track. That was really an oh my god moment. And it was like halfway through the track. Yeah, because the way it works is that it is connected to the side via, I guess, a huge arm. Is it easy to ignore that arm when you're riding the cart? You don't see it while you're riding. Okay.

[00:11:37] Because before you actually start on the ride, it actually just goes on a slip bend towards the beginning of the track. You don't see anything on it, just a step on, and you're like, how is this connecting? How is this working? And then for some reason, while you're starting on the track, they likely connect the big black arm onto it. Then you slowly start to make your ascent above. I think it's a really ingenious system.

[00:12:03] I don't think I've experienced a trackless beginning, and then being attached to a track. I don't think I have experienced it ever before. Oh, wow. It seems like the technology really lives up to the hype, because that was rumored why it was delayed for so long. Because it was originally supposed to open in April or spring.

[00:12:23] I remember reading a story on the Japanese Universal Studios blog where they had to throw away some of the souvenirs because the expiration date for the Donkey Kong food was past the time because it wasn't opening in April. They had to sell it by then. And then I was wondering, it might be delayed until 2025, but they did keep their word, and it is 2024. So it does seem like the main issue, the cart, really seems like it lives up to expectations. Would you agree? Yeah, 100%.

[00:12:52] I think the cart part about it is the most impressive part. And this is much more of a gamer talking. This is much more of a theme park infusion talking right now. It's impressive. I don't think I've experienced something like this before where the actual track and the carts are somewhat disconnected at some point throughout the process. And then when you're getting on it, you just don't feel it's there. And it just feels like a smooth ride.

[00:13:18] I think they needed extra time to really get the kinks out. What about coming out of the barrel? Is it really fast when you shoot out of it, or is it just kind of a more gentle descent? I don't think it's necessarily that hard going. It's more the sound of it that feels hard. I don't think the speed of it is actually that impressive. I think it actually just speeds up more after you start making your fall down.

[00:13:45] Or when you get later in the track and go around the corner and then you go through the water and back into the tempo again. Those moments go a lot faster than that specific moment. What would you say is the standout moment of the ride? My standout moment is being outdoor and seeing it move around you at such a fast pace. Especially after you go out of the barrel, it goes a lot faster. And then there's moments you go back into the cave.

[00:14:08] But like I said, making that corner around, going through the water and seeing everybody walking around in that little Donkey Kong area. That feels special. But also the end where you accomplish a goal and see everybody celebrating. Those are the moments that really feels like a proper Donkey Kong ride. Yeah, it really seems like they nailed it. And the park doesn't just have that, but there's quite a lot of other activities and things to do there. Did you do the Rambi Bongo minigame? How was that? I did.

[00:14:38] There was a really long line for that first day, which is not that surprising. Everybody just wants to buy the new power bands and try the new things that are there, obviously. What I was surprised about is that you usually are with two people and you have three sets of bongos. Yes. And then you have to put them all in the right rhythm. And once they're locked in, you have to go to the next ones. Sort of similar to like the timed minigames where you stop the piranha plants in regular Super Nintendo World. Okay.

[00:15:07] What I found interesting is that I've seen people fail it. It's the first attraction where I've seen a lot of people fail on. And you see sometimes occasionally a fail on, say, like the timing ones in regular Super Nintendo World. I feel that I've never seen this many like children or young teens completely screw it up or not get Rambi out of the door. Because they, for some reason, were not able to do it. Like their partner, for example, was able to do four bongos, but they were still struggling.

[00:15:37] And then Natanee comes by in this wonderful jungle jacket and hat to help. Sometimes it's just not happening. But seeing Rambi come out, that's the big moment. I love that very much. I was very impressed by the animatronics in the Super Nintendo World. Like the piranha plants and the goombas. Rambi looks like really spectacular. And yeah, the idea that you can quote unquote fail a game. That's something a lot of really hardcore theme park enthusiasts have criticized Super Nintendo World about. Because that's kind of unheard of.

[00:16:07] You don't really go to like the, I don't know, the Harry Potter land. And then you can mess up. But that's such a very Nintendo thing where we've got to gamify it no matter what. Yeah. Like a game you can fail. They literally have the power of bands and they're making you play games. That's what it really comes down to. And I don't think per se that you can fail the Bowser Jr. right at the end. If you get all the key coins. Right. But up to that point, there is plenty of opportunity where you can just not get it.

[00:16:36] And attendees do just a good job to help you get there. Because they know it's hard to just lose and go back in that long line again. There's also something nice about not being handed something to you at every step of the turn in a theme park. What about the Kong letters? Did you manage to find them all? Yeah, they're not hard to find. I think they actually... So it's not that big of a part of Super Nintendo World.

[00:17:04] It's actually decently sized, but not that big. So it wasn't hard to find the letters. The first letter is literally... Once you go through the door, it's literally right from you. Like if you're running for the sign of flying by. It's not hard to find. They didn't hide anything particularly well. They didn't put anything into a corner. I just think that the Kong letters are the thing that they are giving to you and not really can gamify in that particular way.

[00:17:31] Yeah, I do get a kick out of seeing something from a game in real life. So you said it's easy to find them, but is it easy to go in order? Like from K-O-N-G? Or did you find like N before O? You can definitely do them in order. Doesn't that sadly mean you have to? But yes, I did do them in order just for my own 76. Of course. And there are also some food stands with perhaps most famously a Donkey Kong hot dog. Did you nab the hot dog? And what other food did you eat? So there are two food stands.

[00:18:00] One of the hot dog and one of the sundae. I actually went to the sundae first because that had a really long line. It took about 50 minutes to get in the front of that line. Okay. And it's mostly because if you pay 1,000 yen more, you get a souvenir barrel. Like a mug. Yeah. Which is the thing I was really going for, to be honest. There's also a metal mug in the actual store. But this is the proper barrel one.

[00:18:27] Even if it's from plastic, it's like a nice thing to have. Yeah. So I stood in line for the sundae. There was a hot sundae and a cold sundae. My friend went for the hot sundae. I went for the cold one. There's ice cream on top in the cone. And under there's a banana milkshake. Which is pretty nice. The way that they keep the mug clean inside is that they actually put a cup inside of the mug. Okay. And with a proper spoon and everything.

[00:18:54] But I kept those both as well because they're just nice things to have with all the dog comb lettering on it. Oh, nice. So I cleaned it in the bathroom and then put it in my bag. The ice cream was very fruity. It was not bad. I've had worse fruit-based ice cream before. That was pretty good. And then on the other hand, we had the hot avocado hot dog, the DK wild dog. Yeah. Which comes in a very delightful bun with the Aztec lettering engraved into the bun, which is pretty cool.

[00:19:23] Pretty light sausage for Japanese standards. With avocado sauce. With little cone on it where DK and Diddy Kong seems to be sliding on it almost like they're in a cart. And then there's some nachos and a little bit of cheese on there, which was pretty delightful, honestly. It was pretty good. Yeah. When I go, I guess I got to try the hot dog. And I do want that big barrel mug, which I think is maybe my most wanted souvenir. So I'll have to nab that. Do you wish they just sold bananas? Like a raw banana? Fruit is really expensive there, now is it? Yes. Yes.

[00:19:52] Because I've been in Airbnbs and then wanted to cook a bit for myself and I realized that food is just too expensive there. I think you need to have proper theme park food in the theme park. There's nothing wrong with a hot dog. There's nothing per se wrong with a sundae. I mean, it's also pretty telling that that day Canopio's Cafe was using time slots, so I was able to get in there anyway. So that was sort of my food dip for that day.

[00:20:21] One of the hot buns from the Yoshi stand. Yeah, it would be pretty unique to have just a banana. I don't think I've ever seen somebody go to town on just a banana in a theme park before. But maybe they could always introduce that one day. They run out of ideas. Yes. And were you able to meet or at least see the Donkey Kong costume character? Yes, yes. So I did see him multiple times. He comes out very often. The only time he's not on stage is when they're switching actors. Okay.

[00:20:48] He was on stage almost for the entirety of the day. There were like 10 minute dips where the line was basically stopping and they were like, am I mine? They were just switching the actor who was playing him. But no, he was almost constantly all day on stage. You couldn't use your own camera though, which I found weird. You could only buy a photo. How big was he? The videos make him look like he's 10 feet tall. He's pretty big. Yeah. You can see how big the costume actually is. The size you see in the direct, that's pretty accurate.

[00:21:16] I'm not really into costume characters at parks, but I think I got to see this because it probably holds the record for the biggest character in a theme park. I can't imagine who could possibly be bigger. I guess the last thing we haven't really touched on, the souvenir shop, which is themed after Funky Kong's plane. Were there any interesting items in there? I got spoiled on most of the items because I went into the general store on Main Street. They had more Donkey Kong stuff there that they had in Fly By. Fly By was a very small space. Okay.

[00:21:46] The only thing they had that was original was a Remby keychain, which sort of comes out of the barrel and it's squishy. Most of the stuff was also in the general store. There was like a tissue holder because it's Japan, of course, there's a tissue holder where Diddy Kong was running on the bananas on the side of it and the middle was just literally a tissue holder. Pen buckets for Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong with the barrel next to it. A keychain set, like towels. The t-shirts were honestly not great.

[00:22:16] They were full print with just the artwork of Mario and Donkey Kong standing next to one another. Okay. I love the mugs of USJ of Super Nintendo World with Toad and Goomba and Mario and Luigi. This new mug was also not really all that good. It was just the full print of the artwork of Mario and Donkey Kong and then the little sign there inside of the mug. It was just a regular size. Is there any merch themed after the Donkey Kong arcade game at all? No.

[00:22:44] Yeah, I'm more of like an arcade Donkey Kong kind of guy. So I'm a little disappointed that they didn't. I like that they do have a mural there. I would like to see some red on black in terms of the merch stand. Oh yeah, for sure. I don't think they can acknowledge that arcade game nearly enough these days. It's also sort of funny when you think about that now Donkey Kong, which was originally super universal through King Kong, is now in a universal theme park. Nintendo really won that court case.

[00:23:13] It still echoes years later. It sure does. What were your overall impressions on the park? Do you think they completely nailed it or is there something you wish they focused more on? I think the only thing that gives me pause is that because of how fun that ride is, I just want it to be a little longer. It's like a minute. And you were just standing there for about two hours. And I think in other circumstances, maybe I would have been more fine with it. But that two hour wait for a one minute ride sometimes just stings a little bit.

[00:23:42] But outside of that, I do think they did a lot right here. The food is really well themed. I think that the shop could have been a bit better, but there's also other places where you can get that stuff. Like there's one of factory in regular Super Nintendo World and the general store. I think overall they really use the space well. Because you have a long line where people can stand in line for Rambi. You have the little square where you see the DK's hut. The place where you can get the hot dogs flying by.

[00:24:10] And if you walk past, you see beach shakes and minecart madness. So there's a lot of density there. And I think that's what they did really well. Especially considering it's not that big of a space. So in general, they did a really well job putting this all together. That's just a smirk of concern that back in my mind that this ride should have been a bit longer. But I also don't feel what some people feel online.

[00:24:36] People who saw the leaked footage and stuff were really negative on the ride. And I am not that. I think once you ride it, you understand. I think once you actually sit on the ride, you realize how good that ride actually is. And leaked footage really doesn't do it justice. You don't get the feel of how the ride feels. You don't get the feeling of what you see in front of you. It's not the same. Yeah, that definitely seems like the most interesting element of the theme park.

[00:25:03] And if they nailed that, I think the DKC land is definitely worth the investment. And now there are a lot of rumors for upcoming Nintendo attractions at Universal Studios in Japan. Including a Luigi's Mansion ride, a Zelda ride, and a Pokemon area. If you could make any DKC sized expansion to USJ, what Nintendo property do you want? I think Pokemon is an eventuality. It's not a if it's more of a when.

[00:25:28] Especially considering the relationship the Pokemon company and USJ have had over the years. Especially if you look, for example, at the parades they've done over the last year. And the Halloween theme with Gengar. I think it's an eventuality that the Pokemon company and USJ will get together and do something. To me, it just makes a whole lot of sense. Even though it feels like miles away. And Pokemon is not per se a Kanzai made property like proper Nintendo actually is.

[00:25:58] It feels no longer an if. It feels like a when. They've done way too many collaborations over the last two years for not to make sense. I have the Pikachus from last year's parade. It just makes sense. When it comes to Luigi, Luigi's Mansion is a series with so much personality. Right. You could make such a strong dark ride for that. Hmm. That I feel like that's something they should do.

[00:26:27] Zelda is the only thing of the three you mentioned where I'm like, okay, but what would they do? The rumor for Zelda is that it's supposed to be like a Temple of Time themed water ride. So you're on a boat around the Temple of Time or something. That's not really what the Temple of Time is. To me, Zelda is the strongest when you have the theming and an attraction that makes place. Not just having a water ride, but actually something that makes you feel like you're in a Zelda place.

[00:26:56] Like the name of Donkey Kong or Mario Kart. I feel Pokemon. I definitely feel Luigi's Mansion. I'm not so sure about the Legend of Zelda. If it was up to me, I would love a Pikmin park. Like you're the size of a Pikmin. And then there's a giant GBASP in the middle of the park. There's just so much you can do with it. So Miyamoto or whoever, please get on this because I definitely want to go. But in the meantime, I think we can wrap up. Donkey Kong Country at Universal Studios Japan. It sounds amazing. And I really loved hearing your experiences.

[00:27:27] So Don, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. And where can people find you? People can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky on Instagram at Nintendon. That is N-A-N-T-E-N-D-O-A-N. They might be returned to the YouTube channel next year. I'm also working on some podcast stuff, but I will announce that on those places when I'm ready. I also stream on Twitch. A few days a week on Twitch at Nintendon just for funsies. Mostly play multiplayer games like 51 World War Games, like Mario Party, that sort of stuff. Great.

[00:27:56] And the links to everything will be in the podcast description. So listeners, check it out. Don, once again, thanks for joining me. No worries. New Year, old games. Or at least a new version of an old game. A few episodes ago, I chatted about Dragon Quest III HD 2D. But now that I've cleared it, time to share some final thoughts. My main takeaway after rolling the credits is, man, they don't make them like they used to.

[00:28:24] Even though this game came out in 1988, it feels so fresh compared to the other titles in the JRPG landscape. What it chooses to focus on is different from what a lot of other modern JRPGs focus on. And the game's pacing and design is just so strong that even after 35 years later, you can't help but marvel about how they nailed it the first go around. Or at least the third go around. I chatted with Dragon Quest III superfan Kristoff RPG on a previous episode where we talked about the game.

[00:28:50] And one thing that he said that really stuck with me is the emphasis on that this is your adventure. The story isn't a passive one that you just watch or a branching narrative where you pick some option and then watch what happens. It really feels like this is your story since there aren't long cutscenes about supporting characters or the villains or what have you. Everything is from your perspective. And the fact that your party members rarely talk also allows you to kind of imprint whatever personality you want onto them. The game wants you to carve your own adventure.

[00:29:19] So many of the elements that move the game forward are just MacGuffins or a direction. Go get this key. Go to the west. Get this orb. You're given a task. Then it's up to you to figure out how to do it or where to go. No long cutscenes. No complicated subplots. Just go. Go explore. Go adventuring. The pacing of the game is also pretty much perfect. Right when things might start to plateau, there's some new curveball. Okay, you're 10 hours into the game. You think you've seen everything it has to offer.

[00:29:48] But nope, now you can change classes. Now your party can be completely different. Okay, a few hours pass by. Now you have a boat. And oh, it's an open world game. You can go literally anywhere in the world and collect the magic MacGuffins in any order you want. 25 hours in. Okay, time to beat the final boss. No, there's actually a whole other map and the real final boss is waiting for you there. It knows when to mix things up at the exact moment to keep players engaged.

[00:30:16] Again, going back to the story, it's very minimalistic in its plotting. But there are so many memorable characters you meet and amazing set pieces. The sleeping village. Tower of the Everbird. The castle of the Dragon Queen. The town that's populated by ghosts but only at night. There's just so many interesting things you do and see in the game. You board a ghost ship. There's a solo dungeon that only the main character can tackle. You become the king and then have to go find the old king so you can continue to save the world.

[00:30:43] You also get an item that lets you change your party members into monsters. And everyone in the world reacts to you with unique dialogue. You can turn invisible. And you need to do that to sneak into this game's version of London. There's a Yamato no Orochi subplot. Every hour you're experiencing something fun and amazing. I beat the game at around 35 hours. And can we just make JRPGs 35 hours max? If you go higher than that, it better be the best game ever.

[00:31:09] The battle system and party mechanics, while they might seem simple, honestly, again, they really nailed it in 1988. Letting you have all your skills you've learned from a previous class is really amazing and lets you have some wild battle options. I never thought that I would swap classes of my monster wrangler, but I switched her to a martial artist and I didn't regret it at all. It is pretty wild how quickly you can get them back up to their original stats. I'm talking maybe 20 minutes of grinding.

[00:31:37] I switched all my party members' classes at least once, and by the end of the game, I had an incredibly diverse set of skills and synergies. The combat system is completely no frills. It's just a turn-based ARPG combat system you've seen a million times. But like Pokemon, like chess, there is depth to it. I think splitting up enemies into groups really forces you to think about which ones you want to focus on, since you often can't hit all of them with one attack.

[00:32:01] Yes, there is a boomerang that lets you hit all enemies, but even that, you need to think about the sacrifice you're making when it comes to DPS per enemy and also what spells that party member has. Dragon Quest is also very buff and debuff focused, so yes, you can actually put the boss to sleep or paralyze them. You will want to increase agility or buff your magic defense. It's simple combat design, but it's not brain dead. You need to make some tough decisions in battles and make sure that you're getting the most out of every turn.

[00:32:29] You really need to think about maybe two or three turns ahead. Other great things, the game has dungeons. Dungeons in a JRPG. Are you listening, Pokemon? They're all pretty distinct in some way, either in the enemies you face or unique traps or interesting ways you navigate through them. Many of them are quite large, and again, this is based on a 1988 video game, yet the size and depth of these dungeons puts a lot of newer RPGs to shame.

[00:32:54] It's so simple, but when you enter a new floor and it's just a bunch of interconnecting passages with dead ends that obviously have items, that's all I need. I want to sweep through each floor and nab all the goodies. The game's maps are also very good about showing you where you are, and there are abilities to help you navigate and find items too. More good things, the music does only like five tracks, but the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra brings them to life in a brand new way. This has to be the best rendition of these songs. I dare you to find better versions.

[00:33:23] The graphics? Is this the best-looking HD2D game? Maybe not. I still think Octopass Traveler 2 still holds that crown. Also, we are getting very flexible with what HD2D means. Because a lot of the elements here, well, they're 3D. The buildings are 3D models. The overworld has a lot of 3D elements. So it does feel like an HD version of a PS2 game at times. I did like in this game the contrast between the cartoony characters and the more realistic setting. I feel like it shouldn't work, but it does.

[00:33:53] It kind of helps the game balance between being completely silly while also being a challenging and epic JRPG. The backdrops during battles are especially amazing, particularly the ones inside the pyramid and in Baramos's castle. Now, there have been criticisms from hardcore Dragon Quest fans, and specifically hardcore DQ3 fans here in Japan. Dragon Quest 3 is just one of those titles where if they change anything, well, they ruined it. This is technically the fourth remake after the SNES, Game Boy, and mobile versions.

[00:34:21] And while many would likely say that the HD2D version is the definitive version, all of them are actually unique in very specific ways. So I could understand somebody preferring the original or the SNES remake over the HD2D version. One major criticism about the game is that it's now too easy since you auto-heal when you level up. Which is fair. I mean, when I was in the pyramid, I did grind out a level right before the boss so I could have max HP and MP going into the battle.

[00:34:48] The fact that you don't really need to manually heal as much does reduce inventory management and makes some items that are essentially in the original game. They're hardly used here. Like, you barely ever need MP refilling items unless you are really deep into a dungeon or you've just been spamming Kaboom every battle. I think most people don't care and actually do like that you get a little bonus when leveling up.

[00:35:09] But Dragon Quest Origins comes from Wizardry, a dungeon-crawling game where you need to carefully think about what you're bringing into each dungeon and when to use spells and items. Dragon Quest is much less intense, but the DNA of being prepared is still a core element of the game. And having that auto-heal, while it can be strategic, it does feel like a get-out-of-free-jail card. And again, I seriously don't care and like that you get a full heal on a level up.

[00:35:36] And there is a hard mode, so if you do want a really hard challenge, you can just play that. There's also been criticisms that the boat and bird are slow. Which is fair, especially since the bird is much faster than the other versions. And that the Monster Wrangler is too essential to get the most out of the game, since the Monster Arena gives you such great rewards, despite it being fairly hands-off when you're doing it. I love the Monster Wrangler and the monster hunting mechanics, but I do agree that the arena is kind of whatever. And you really just do it so you can get the items. But as a new class, the Monster Wrangler is a very fun one to use.

[00:36:06] And I'm very impressed with how integrated it feels into the game world with the catching mechanics. Now, my ultimate point is that it's interesting to see how quality of life additions can really negatively affect hardcore fans of the original game. I think for many Western gamers who have touched the other DQ3 versions, this will easily be the definitive version. But in Japan, that's still a bit more controversial. But Dragon Quest III is in the blood of a lot of Japanese gamers. It's a top 10, top 5 canonical game in the Japanese gaming pantheon.

[00:36:35] By making it accessible, you maybe grab a new generation of fans. But for some, the original is the Urtext, and anything else is just missing the point. But for me, I can't imagine a better version. It takes what's so great about classic JRPGs, gives it a nice art style and some helpful slash easier quality of life changes that makes this game feel like a modern release in 2024, or I guess now 2025. Maybe some people will be turned off because it does require a lot of player agency,

[00:37:03] and it's very light on story and gameplay gimmicks. But if you want a solid adventure with a lot of excellent fundamentals and genuinely great gameplay ideas that are well implemented, well, this is it. I really loved this game. It just hooked me, and I was kind of afraid that I would bounce off of it because it was so bare bones or so simple. But when playing, I realized that the stripped-down nature of it is a major strength while still being deeper than I expected. When they announced Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD, I had zero interest because, well, 3 is the best one, right?

[00:37:33] But now I am very interested in picking up that game because I loved all the additions to 3, and I am very curious how they bring those older titles to the 21st century. But if I had to pick one, let's just do Dragon Quest 5 HD 2D. We might be 10 years away from that, but I'll wait. That's it for games. Now for some news. What could possibly be going on right now in the world of gaming?

[00:38:03] Obviously, the biggest news is the Switch 2 leaks. If you haven't been following, piece-by-piece pictures are coming out of, I guess, a factory from China. First, there was the screen, then the motherboard, then the Joy-Con, then the back of the dock. It's really crazy how every few hours is a new leak of a completely random thing. But peripheral maker Genki has gone a step beyond, and has 3D printed a Switch 2 based on the leaked CAD specification. And they're showing it off at CES happening right now in Europe.

[00:38:31] Honestly, I don't want to spend time going over every little piece of info, because whatever is out there now is not what Nintendo has confirmed, and we don't know any of the software. So stuff like the Joy-Con may be also working as a mouse. Okay, I want to see how Nintendo frames this before I share my opinion. But a Switch 2 announcement? I mean, it's before March 31st, so you've got a 1-in-3 shot at guessing the month. January seems likely, but February? Also likely. March?

[00:38:59] I mean, if we get to March 1st, and Switch 2 hasn't been revealed, then you've got a great chance at guessing March. But if you do want new hardware, LEGO has confirmed that there is a Game Boy set in the works. I'm not really a big LEGO guy, but a LEGO Game Boy is interesting, especially if it's the size of a real Game Boy. I don't need like a 3-foot LEGO Game Boy or anything like that. And for other stuff we actually know about, Gacha Machines across Japan are getting Mother 2 figures starting in February. I'm not sure if this is a reprint,

[00:39:28] because I want to say they are, because they do look exactly like the past Gacha figures. Honestly, Gacha Machines have been on fire these past few months. There was a great Wonderswan one, an Ape Escape one, a PlayStation hardware Gacha machine. Now we're getting an EarthBound one. They've really tapped into the You Are Over 30 market recently. Oh, and the Mother No Bazaar pop-up shop is happening right now in Tokyo. So if you're in Tokyo and need EarthBound merch, check it out this weekend in Shinjuku. By the time this episode is out, I will have went,

[00:39:57] and I'll definitely cover it on a future episode of the podcast. Okay, let's get out of here. Thanks as always for listening. Be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast on your favorite app. The podcast is also available on YouTube, so like and subscribe there as well. I'm on Twitter, Threads, Blue Sky, Instagram. Just search for Tokyo Game Life, or find the links in the podcast description. If you like the podcast, be sure to share it with your friends, and on social media. If there's anything you want to talk about or cover, don't be shy. Just message me on Twitter.

[00:40:25] The next episode will be on January 26th. Before or after the Switch 2 announcement? Who knows? See you next time. Matane!