In a rather odd turn of events, it has come to light that the soon to be released Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake will not feature an upgrade path from Switch 1 to Switch 2. Square Enix revealed the news on the game’s official website, which features an FAQ section with information about the remake. In a tab detailing the differences between the Switch 1 and 2 versions, it is stated plain as day under the question of whether or not an upgrade path exists:
“No, there is no upgrade path currently available or planned. Please buy your copy for whichever system you would like to play it on.”
That certainly comes as a surprise, especially since most publishers have either offered a free upgrade or a paid one. Nintendo has also done a number of free updates for its games that enhance the experience for next-gen owners, as well. While it’s maybe presumptuous to expect free upgrades for every game, the fact that you have to re-buy Dragon Quest for Switch 2 if you want higher resolution playback is silly. What is worse is the lack of save data transfer between the two versions.
For some reason, Square Enix considers the Switch 1 and 2 versions of DQ1&2HD-2DR as separate games, so there will be no save data transfer between them. This means you can’t even start your journey on Switch 1 and buy the Switch 2 version later to continue playing. You’re stuck with whichever version you first bought, unless you really just want to play both included games twice through. While it’s somewhat understandable why a free upgrade isn’t available, locking out save transfers feels kind of mean. This also carries over to DLC bonus codes, which are platform dependent, though not the bonus items offered to players with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake save data.
It’s unlikely Square Enix will change its mind about this, so if you intend to play through the remakes on Switch 2, make sure that is the version you buy. Sadly, its physical version is a game-key card, which is just another bit of disappointment for this port.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
