Long, long ago, in the kingdom of Dotnia, an evil king plunged the world into an age of darkness. But, from the shadows emerged a hero, who with the help of six sages, trapped him in the powerful Dark Orb. Dotnia celebrated, and many people came to visit, ensuring a prosperous time. But, over the years, the visitors waned. "People are no longer interested in 2D," exclaimed the king. "It's time to make the move to 3D!" And so the kingdom of Dotnia became 3D... but now, the princess has disappeared, and monsters have begun to overrun the kingdom. Could the evil king be returning?

3D Dot Game Heroes is an action game with light role-playing elements, heavily inspired by the original Legend of Zelda. As with the Zelda series, the player character doesn't actually 'level up' through gaining experience, but instead discovers items which make them more powerful or allow them to access new areas, such as a boomerang which lets you hit faraway switches and bombs which can destroy rocks that block your path. There are six temples which must be found, as these contain the sages who can help seal away the evil king and rescue the kingdom