Now that the game is finally out, I thought it would be helpful to list and explain some of the post game secrets tucked away in Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake.
Obviously, from here on in, there will be very major spoilers, so you have been warned.
If you want to find out more about the game, then definitely check out my review first.
HEAVY SPOILERS FOLLOW
Dragon Quest I
Farming Liquid Metal Slimes
This is more about giving you a heads-up on how to farm liquid metal slimes. Just like in the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, liquid metal slimes reside in the Dragonlord’s castle. However, you don’t have spells like Puff or thieves with Assassin’s Stab to help you out. What you need is a Metal Wing Boomerang (from farming Mini Medals), made specifically for damaging metal-based targets, and an ability called Wild Side.
The latter allows you to take two attacks per turn for a short while. So once some liquid metal slimes appear, hit that ability and just use a regular attack with the boomerang. In quite a few instances, I’ve killed four liquid metal slimes in a row, no doubt down to the sigils that increase your critical hit rate (which you will have unlocked by then anyway).
Erdrick’s Full Armor Set
Like in the original game, you get Erdrick’s mark, sword, and armor in this game. However, you can now also get Erdrick’s helm and shield. The former is by following Zalen around until he unlocks a discussion with the faeries. You will then be taken to the Western Isle, where the prior Erdrick landed in Alefgard, to find Ortega’s grave with the Auroral Helm on top.
The shield is more straightforward, but you will need the Ultimate Key to get it. Go to the Weeping Isle, and there is a dead-end alcove outside with a bunch of treasure chests (it’s on the left-hand side of the map). The shield is in the chest that needs the Ultimate Key to unlock.
Once you equip all of the items in the set, your in-game character art will change to reflect that, which is pretty neat (it even updates the loading screen animation, too).
Dragon Quest II
Repairing The Sword Of Erdrick
After getting the worn-out Sword of Erdrick from the Dragonlord’s Great Grandson, you can repair it by finding some Orichalcum and taking it to the blacksmith in Kol (he’s in the weapon shop on the top floor near the shopkeeper), who will repair it for you.
Finding the Orichalcum is a quest, but to save you some time, it’s in the Craggy Cave, hidden away. It’s still a good idea to Zoom about and follow the quest line to unlock its actual location, though.
Lost Memories And Farming Experience
Unlike in the first game, there is a quicker and easier way to max out your party to level 99, and this ties into finding all the Lost Memories hidden in the ocean.
There are seven in all, and while a few are already marked on your map, there are more hidden in the deep ocean, with some unlocked from tough boss fights.
Once you’ve done all this, you will have the faeries that the dwarves have returned and that they guard the entrance to the Cave of Confusion.
This is a really long dungeon made up of levels from the various Erdrick Trilogy games, with weird exits for each.
The good news is that the enemies here give a lot of experience and quite a bit of cash. If you have your HP and MP set to reload on levelling up, you can max out your characters here in no time at all.
At the end of the dungeon is the Sphere of Light.
The Sphere Of Light And The Dragonlord’s Great Grandson
Taking this back to the Dragonlord’s Great Grandson, who is still very friendly, he will absorb the Sphere of Light and become the Light Dragon his line was always intended to be.
He challenges you to a battle to test your might, and in defeating him, he will upgrade the Sword and Shield of Erdrick to the Supreme Sword and Shield of Erdrick.
You will have needed to repair all Sword of Erdrick and acquired the shield as well by this point. Again, all parts of the armor set are in this remake as they are in the original game.
Defeating the Dragonlord’s Great Grandson also unlocks the real enemy that corrupted Hargon all those centuries ago.
The Real Final Boss
This is the main bad guy after you defeated both Hargon and Malroth. The new end boss is called Malwrath and is somewhat similar to Calasmos at the end of Dragon Quest XI (he even has the same music).
In that, you need to use the Supreme Sword of Erdrick, imbued with the power from the Sphere of Light, to cast Malwrath’s evil shield away, and then it’s a tough boss fight to kill him off.
Like in Dragon Quest XI, you also have some help from a flying friend, but that and the events that happen after are for you to enjoy, and won’t be revealed here.
All that said and done, I would strongly recommend maxing out your entire party to level 99 before fighting this boss.
Overall, there’s a lot of great post game stuff here, especially in the second game. My only minor gripe is that I felt the final secret boss should have been Calasmos, as Dragon Quest XI was a prequel to the original Erdrick Trilogy. That aside, it’s all great, especially as all the new story beats now tie the whole trilogy together.
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