Oh, Dragon Quest. How I long for thee and wish to fall into your loving embrace again. Square Enix has teamed up with V-Jump to show off more gameplay footage from the Dragon Quest VIII 3D remake on Nintendo 3DS, and all I can think is “Gimmie!”

I was originally harsh on the graphics, thinking too much was lost in the process from sizing down to the Nintendo 3DS’ resolution, but the debut trailer made me reconsider my criticisms. Now, I am a convert. It doesn’t have quite the same grandiose atmosphere as the PlayStation 2 classic, but this new feeling it has going for it comes off as genuine as a port can get. Different, but in all the right ways.

Gameplay can be found at the following time codes.

  • 5:05 – 9:16
  • 9:45 – 11:57
  • 12:58 – 14:36
  • 15:00 – 15:35
  • 16:04 – 16:22
  • 18:12 – 18:32

Oh Square Enix. Why must you delight in your torment of me so much? What will it take? You want a toe? A foot? A whole leg or two perhaps? What’s it going to take to get these fabulous fabulous games into my welcoming arms?

In all seriousness, I have only one theory about the future of these Nintendo 3DS Dragon Quest games. Square Enix could possibly be holding onto them so it can blitz us with hype leading into Dragon Quest XI on the PlayStation 4 in North America. It worked for Dragon Quest IX on the Nintendo DS, which sold over a million copies thanks to Dragon Quest IV, V, and a few spin-offs building up into the franchise’s most successful Western launch in history.

Could Square Enix be trying to mirror that success again in the coming year or so?

Dragon Quest VIII launches for the Nintendo 3DS on Aug. 7. No localization has been confirmed yet, but you already knew that.