You're staring at a barrel in a dusty corner of Aliahan. You break it. Nothing. You check a random well in a town you'll forget the name of in ten minutes. Bingo. A small, shiny coin with a crest on it. If you’ve played a Dragon Quest game before, you know the drill, but Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D mini medal locations are a bit of a different beast this time around. Square Enix didn't just port the old spots; they tucked these things into every nook, cranny, and suspiciously placed pot in this gorgeous remake.
Honestly? It's kind of a lot.
Collecting these isn't just for the sake of completionism or getting a shiny trophy on your profile. It’s about the gear. We’re talking about the Kindess Mask, the Gringham Whip, and items that basically turn your Hero into a walking god. If you're skipping these, you're playing the game on "Extra Hard" mode without even knowing it.
The Absolute Basics of the Hunt
Before you go sprinting across the world map, you need to know where to turn these things in. The Medal King isn't just hanging out in the first castle you see. You've got to find his manor, which is located on a small island southeast of Aliahan (near the area where you'd find the pirate's den).
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He’s a bit of a hoarder. He wants them all.
One thing that throws people off is the sheer volume. In the original NES version (Dragon Warrior III), mini medals didn't even exist. They were added in later remakes, and the HD-2D version has bumped the count up significantly. You aren't just looking for 50 or 60. You’re looking for over 100.
Don't panic. You don't need every single one to get the "good" stuff. But if you want the top-tier rewards, you're going to be hugging walls and checking behind every single house in the game. It’s a habit. You’ll start doing it in other games too. It's a curse.
Aliahan and the Early Game Scavenge
Most players miss at least three medals before they even leave the starting continent. That’s just the way it goes.
In Aliahan itself, check the well. Always check the wells. There’s one tucked away in the castle basement too. When you get to Reeve, don’t just buy your herbs and leave. There’s a medal hidden in a pot outside the house in the upper-right corner. It’s subtle.
The Promontory Passage and Najimi Tower are where things get real. People usually rush to get the Thief's Key and forget to look at the floor. In the tower, there’s a medal on the third floor, just sitting in a chest that’s easy to walk past if you're dodging encounters.
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Why Your Party Composition Matters
Here is a tip most "optimized" guides won't tell you right away: Have a Thief.
Seriously.
Thieves have a skill called Nose for Treasure. It tells you exactly how many treasures (including mini medals) are left in your current area. If you enter a town and the skill says "3 items remaining," and you've opened two chests, you know there’s a mini medal hiding in a bookshelf or a random patch of grass. It saves hours of mindless clicking. Later on, they get Padfoot, which lowers the encounter rate, letting you scavenge dungeons without fighting a Slime every three steps.
Romaria to Isis: The Mid-Game Grind
Once you cross the sea, the world opens up, and so do the Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D mini medal locations. Romaria is a goldmine. Check the flowerbeds. I’m not kidding. The developers love hiding medals in patches of flowers that look slightly different from the others.
- Romaria Castle: Check the bushes near the entrance.
- Khoryv: There’s one in a crate near the general store.
- The Northern Cave: This place is a nightmare to navigate, but there’s a medal on the B2 floor in a chest surrounded by pitfalls.
When you finally reach Isis (the desert kingdom), the medal density spikes. The castle is massive. Check the pots in the queen’s chambers. Look behind the pillars in the basement. There’s even one hidden in the graveyard outside the city walls. It feels morbid, digging around graves for pocket change, but the reward is a Meteorite Bracer, so your morals can take a backseat for a bit.
The Ones Everyone Misses
Some medals are just mean. They aren't in chests. They aren't in pots. They are just... on the ground.
In the Piramid, there’s a spot on the top floor where you have to jump off the side to reach a specific ledge. Most people just grab the Magic Key and bail because the mummy encounters are exhausting. Don't do that. There is a medal on the exterior balcony that you can only see if you rotate the camera (if your version allows) or walk right up to the edge.
Then there’s the Lanson town. Because of the "Invisibility Herb" questline, people get distracted. Check the path leading up to the temple. There’s a single tile that looks like a pebble. Interact with it.
The Rewards: Is It Worth It?
Let’s talk shop. Why are you doing this?
- 10 Medals: Spiny Whip (Great for early-game crowd control).
- 35 Medals: Prayer Ring (Crucial for keeping your Healer’s MP up).
- 60 Medals: Sacred Armor (Heals you every turn in combat).
- 90+ Medals: Metal King Sword or Gringham Whip.
The Sacred Armor is usually the "wall" for most players. Getting to 60 requires a decent amount of exploration, but it fundamentally changes how you handle boss fights like Orochi or Baramos. It’s the difference between a wipe and a narrow victory.
Late Game: Portoga to the World's End
By the time you get the ship, you’re going to feel overwhelmed. The world is huge. You’ll find yourself in Portoga, looking for pepper, but don't forget the medal in the horse stall. Yes, the horse stall.
In Jipang, check the basement of the large house where the priestess lives. There’s a pot there that houses a medal. It’s easy to miss because the story beat there is so intense you’re usually just trying to survive the next boss trigger.
When you finally descend into Alefgard (the lower world), the hunt resets in a way. Tantegel, Cantlin, Rimuldar—all these classic locations have been peppered with new medal spots. The Tantegel kitchen is a classic spot. Check the barrels near the cook.
Common Misconceptions About Medals
A lot of people think medals are missable. In some older RPGs, if a town gets destroyed or a scripted event happens, you lose the items forever.
In Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D, the developers were generally pretty kind. Most "destroyed" areas have their items moved to a nearby patch of ground or a "salvage" spot. However, it’s much easier to just grab them when you first arrive.
Another myth: You need all 110 (or whatever the final count is) to get the best ending. You don't. The mini medal rewards are purely mechanical. They help you beat the boss, but they don't change the cutscenes. You can ignore them entirely if you’re a masochist who likes struggling against Zoma.
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Your Scavenger Strategy
If you want to find all Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D mini medal locations without a second-by-second video guide, follow these rules:
First, rotate your party to include a Thief as soon as you hit the Recruitment office in Patty’s Pub. Even if they stay in the backline, they are invaluable. Second, make it a habit to check the "blind spots" of buildings. If a house has a back door or a small alleyway behind it, there is almost certainly a pot or a hidden sparkle there.
Third, use the "search" command on anything that looks out of place. A single tuft of grass in a desert? Search it. A lone rock in a cave? Search it. A chair in a king's throne room? You guessed it.
The HD-2D engine makes things look beautiful, but it also uses lighting to hide things. Sometimes a medal is sitting in a shadow that you’d normally ignore. Turn your screen brightness up if you have to.
Final Gear Check
Before you head into the endgame, go back to the Medal King. You might find you have 5 or 10 sitting in your inventory that you forgot to hand over. Those 10 could be the difference between getting the Falcon Blade or going into the final dungeon with a generic broadsword.
Start your hunt in Aliahan, use your Thief’s Nose for Treasure in every new map, and don't forget to check the wells. Especially the wells. They are the most consistent hiding spots in the history of the franchise.
Head to the nearest town you haven't fully explored yet. Open your menu, check your bag for any medals you've already found, and visit the Medal King’s island to see how close you are to that next big equipment upgrade. It's time to start checking those barrels.