Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- Review – Simple, Strange, and Delightful

Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- Review

Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- is an HD-2D remaster of Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon. The original was released for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1993. It’s the first game in the Mystery Dungeon series that spawned many spin-offs, including the Shiren the Wanderer games, Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. The Mystery Dungeon games are Roguelite dungeon crawlers from before games inspired by Rogue had a genre of their own.

Even though Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon wasn’t high on many players’ lists of games that needed and HD-2D remaster, I’m so glad it did. I’m always ecstatic when North America gets a modern release of a retro classic that never left Japan. Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- was announced at the September 9 2026 Nintendo Direct, and shadow-dropped the same day! It’s a little strange that Square Enix decided to give this release the “Dragon Quest Heroes” moniker, as both Dragon Quest Heroes titles are Musou games, and Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon very much isn’t. With all that background taken care of, read on to find out if this OG Roguelite holds up today.

Formerly Known as Taloon

Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- stars Torneko (formerly known as Taloon in North America) from Dragon Quest IV. He’s the merchant character the player controls in Chapter 3. Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon takes place after the events of Dragon Quest IV, but it’s pretty light on story. Torneko is still trying to build the fame of his store, so he and his family move to a kingdom near a Mystery Dungeon that supposedly contains a legendary treasure. After getting permission from the local King, he wanders into the dungeon looking for rare items to sell. The story is just a basic set up for the gameplay. The Dragon Quest world’s charm and design make up for interestingness the narrative lacks.

Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon’s gameplay is very strange. It’s a Roguelike dungeon crawler with real time combat. Pressing X attacks. Every action the player takes causes all the enemies on screen to take one action as well, which makes the real time combat feel like turn-based combat. Even a step counts as an action. The player can hold square and press the d-pad to change directions without taking a step, and without creating enemy actions. Torneko’s HP recovers with every step he takes, and he can also use items for health boosts. He also has a hunger meter that decreases over time. Food has to be used as an item to restore hunger. If Torneko’s hunger completely depletes, his health will start to deplete instead.

Roguelite JRPG OG

The game has some RPG mechanics. Torneko gains experience points and levels up. Pressing triangle brings up a standard SNES-era JRPG menu where items can be used, and weapons and armor can be equipped. There are various spells that can be collected and used, but they have limited uses and function more like items. Some items have unknown properties, so the player can use an item called a peep scroll to reveal what they are, and what kind of use they might have. One of the most fun aspects of Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon is collecting and experimenting with all the items Torneko finds.

Because Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon is a Roguelite, when Torneko dies, he loses all experience and items. He also starts back at the beginning of the dungeon. After death, the entire dungeon’s layout is randomized and will change. The game’s RNG can make a run feel like a real roll of the dice. On one playthrough the player might get no items on a floor, and in the next playthough, they might get a weapon, shield, and several other items. The layout can be really unbalanced.

Simple by Modern Standards

The problem with Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon’s gameplay is that we’ve had decades of Roguelites to build on the genre’s formula. There isn’t any keeping of levels or items between runs. It doesn’t take very long to see most of what the game has to offer, so the player doesn’t really build up much new knowledge with repeat runs. The King will give Torneko tips, and the player will figure out how to handle certain encounters, and figure out how to avoid others. But the game can be a repetitive grind. The repetitive dungeon environments don’t help. I enjoyed playing it, but it’s definitely going to be too simple for many players.

Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- is a gorgeous game. The original is already a large, chunky 16-bit pixel delight. The HD-2D overhaul makes the game even more phenomenal to look at. All the characters and monsters are classic Dragon Quest, based on designs by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. The music has plenty of the traditional Dragon Quest fantasy whimsy JRPG fans know and love. This version also features a new opening video with a 2D pop-up aesthetic. It’s different than the rest of the game, and has childlike pencil crayon drawings on pieces of flat 2D paper. The video itself is 3D, though, and this contrast creates a beautiful presentational touch that complements Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon’s visual upgrade.

A Treat for SNES Fans

Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- really only exists as a must-play for retro enthusiasts. The game has been played for decades by people wanting to explore the Super Famicom library. It’s one of the emulated games that’s had an English translation for a very long time. And it’s a treat for preservationists and SNES-era JRPG fans that Square Enix is willing to release Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon in North America for the first time. Unfortunately, it’s an early Roguelite, and the game is likely only going to work for people wearing nostalgia goggles. If you love Dragon Quest, cozy grinding, and basic Roguelites, then Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD- is an absolute must-play.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***