Hell has frozen over!
On Monday, we reported that a PlayStation 4 trophy list for a free version of the original Dragon Quest had appeared. However, reports are now coming out of Japan that not only is the free version also available on the Nintendo 3DS, but it only takes one little thing to obtain it.
You have to beat Dragon Quest XI.
It’s overall a straightforward process. Beating the game grants the player a special password, which they will then enter in the game’s password menu. Once entered, it will direct the player to an otherwise inaccessible page on the Nintendo eShop or PlayStation Store. From there, they can download their free copy of Dragon Quest. It’s not clear at this time if the password is unique per copy, or if the game will allow you to use it before it is beaten.
While there are no photos of the PlayStation 4 version floating around at the time of writing, the folks at Nintendo Everything were able to get a screenshot of the 3DS version. Shockingly, the free version doesn’t appear to be any of the Famicom, Game Boy, or Super Famicom versions, but an entirely new one. Personally, I’m blown away by this, as not only is this basically free, but that means Square Enix updated the game for two different types of hardware.
At this time, there’s no word on whether Square Enix will make this available separately down the road, or if it will also be available for the Switch version. It’s also unknown if it will be a reward for international fans when Dragon Quest XI releases outside of Japan next year. I do think this should be made available at some point though, as it would be a great way to bring the original game into the modern era.
Dragon Quest XI has a special reward for beating the game [Nintendo Everything]