The Dragon Quest I & II Remake Tokyo Game Show 2025 Stage Event proved that even developers are not safe from the difficulty spikes of their own game. Read on to find out how Eiko Kano and producer Masaaki Hayasaka dealt with the enemies!
Dragon Quest I & II Remake Stage Event Gameplay Showcase
Even The Developers Find It Hard
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake seems to be difficult to play—not only for gamers, but even for the developers themselves. Both Dragon Quest I & II producer Masaaki Hayasaka and entertainer Eiko Kano of the variety show Critikano both failed their gameplay missions on stage at the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Tokyo Game Show 2025 Special Stage Event after being defeated not by bosses, but normal enemies on the world map.
At the stage event hosted by the Critikano Hit crew (Eiko Kano, Kenta Sakai, Masayuki Kibe), they invited the producer of the remake, Masaaki Hayasaka, and the esteemed creator of the Dragon Quest series, Yuji Horii, to talk about the upcoming game and showcase some hands-on gameplay, live on stream.
Eiko Kano’s Attempt: Failed
Eiko Kano was first to try out the all-new Ocean Floor area, exploring its expansive world through a ship that doubles as a submarine thanks to its barrier. True to the Critikano variety show, there was a mission he had to fulfill: defeat a powerful enemy under the sea with a special technique!
He was able to clear some lower-level enemies with no issue, until he came face to face with some formidable-looking enemies—the red Octophants. Notably, it was a particularly tough battle despite not being the area’s boss yet. Kano’s party quickly whittled down from a four-player party to a solo after a series of attacks from the hardy red octopi. Unfortunately, it proved to be too much of a challenge, and the last character standing eventually went down as well, with Kano failing the mission assigned to him.
Producer Hayasaka Takes The Helm—and Still Fails
As unfortunate as that was, the show must go on—and this time, it was producer Hayasaka who took the stage. His mission was to search for the wandering ghost ship, which he was able to spot some time into his run. However, when the ghost ship delved into the deeper area of the sea with more formidable enemies, it proved to be incredibly challenging.
It was a task easier said than done as Hayasaka found himself in the same predicament as Kano—the deep-sea area enemies were fierce and strong, and the back-to-back random encounters prevented him from catching up to the ghost ship, wiping out his party more than twice due to failed escape attempts and powerful abilities cast by the opponents.
Funnily enough, after around the third time of playing cat-and-mouse with the ghost ship, Hayasaka had had enough and revealed that he had already unlocked the ghost ship previously. He then opted to teleport directly onto the ship to face the boss, yet even that was a futile attempt. The party was quickly wiped out once again, and seeing as time was running out, Hayasaka delved into the magic of being a producer again—he jumped straight to the end of the boss fight on a separate save file, showing the guests and the audience the cutscene that followed thereafter.
Nevertheless, despite their failures at completing their missions, it proved to be an entertaining spectacle for all those involved and the audience.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is set to release on October 30, 2025, for Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and Switch 2. To stay up to date with the game, check out our article below!
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『ドラゴンクエストI＆II』TGS2025 スペシャルステージ feat. 狩野英孝のクリティカノヒット
