Square Enix will change the name of a town that's become rather unfortunate thanks to current events in the upcoming Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, it has emerged.
Per a message on the Square Enix X (formerly Twitter) account, the town of Isis will have its name changed to Ibis in the remake. I'd imagine the reasons for this are fairly obvious, but just in case they're not, it's likely to avoid any accidental reference to the terrorist group of the same name.
As this Automaton Media report notes, the town of Isis is heavily inspired by Ancient Egypt in the original Dragon Quest 3, and Isis is a major Egyptian goddess; she's probably one of the better-known deities in the Egyptian pantheon, alongside the likes of Osiris and Anubis.
Automaton goes on to show its Ancient Egyptian mythology prowess by pointing out that the town's new name, Ibis, also links back not only to the mythology itself but also to the goddess Isis.
The ibis is an Egyptian bird that was "believed to be a manifestation" of the moon god Toth, and Toth helped none other than Isis when she was pregnant with Osiris' heir Horus in Egyptian mythology. Neat, huh?
Of course, the alteration is also a practical one, and the fact that just one single letter is different means that even if you did play the original Dragon Quest 3, the change shouldn't feel too jarring for you.
If you're not familiar with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, it is, believe it or not, a remake of the original 1988 JRPG, which is the third game in the long-running Dragon Quest series. Shocking, eh?
Not only will the game feature Square Enix's signature HD-2D art style, also seen in games like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy, but it'll also feature an improved UI, new animations, and quality-of-life improvements.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake launches across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on November 14th. You can check out our preview right here to find out exactly how Square Enix has modernized this classic RPG.
