The last mainline Dragon Quest title I played to completion was Dragon Quest VIII; it came with a demo for the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XII at the time, and I’ll be honest, a friend gave me a hot copy for next to nothing. How could I pass this up? This game also sparked me to return to previous entries and consume their content, and over the years I’ve been able to play each game and many of the spin-offs.
It’s been a bit over three decades since the first game launched in Japan, and it’s been a hot commodity at home ever since. The series is traditional to a fault, with tropes that have survived years of evolution in gaming – you have your silent protagonist, a world-ending threat only you can stop, a band of fighters and tons of dungeons to explore. That isn’t to say this is a knock against the game, it isn’t, in fact, it’s a reminder of how far we’ve come in a few decades and how relevant the past is today.
You are Chosen
You play as the Luminary, a legendary hero who rises when true evil is about to be reincarnated, who was abandoned as a baby. Things ramp up from the start, and you set off to learn more about your past while recruiting people to your cause, all the while avoiding evil-doers who would see you dead. The Dragon Quest series has always had some of the best-written characters; this is still true in Echoes of an Elusive Age, even though it takes some time warming up to them, more so when you explore their backstories and why they are where they are when you meet them.
The characterization in Dragon Quest XI is outstanding because of the brilliant localization and because the characters are genuinely good people who truly want to help. Everyone serves a purpose and has a defined role. Sylvando is easily my favourite character because of his flamboyant but charming personality; all He wants to do is make people happy, and he does just that in spades. His combat ability is surprisingly adaptable to many scenarios I’ve come across; he’s adept, and I’m here for it.
Square Enix included several new scenarios for your party members, letting us see the story from their perspective. There’s also the new Fun-Size Forge, which is a blast, and now you can craft items from anywhere.
Pep, Pep! Hooray!
This ties into combat and even the menus, as you unlock something called Pep near the beginning and build upon it throughout the game. Essentially, Pep beefs up your party by doubling stats and upping defence; from there, Unison attacks can be unleashed, and more depending on the character. These are hidden stats I’m not exactly sure how they work, but after a certain amount of damage, you enter the Pep state; you’ll know when you see it, as you are covered in a blue aura similar to another Toriyama property.
This mode adds depth to the combat, which is highly traditional turn-based even though it looks real-time; it isn’t. Bosses occasionally caused me some grief, and I would have to grind out a level or two before jumping back into the fray, but when your system is this much fun to engage with, you won’t notice the time sink.
Notably, it includes a third battle speed option called Ultra-Fast, which is a godsend if you’re replaying Dragon Quest XI on the Nintendo Switch. Battles can drag, and the option to speed through them is a welcome addition.
This entry doesn’t include classes; instead, levelling up grants skill points to use in the Character Builder menu. At first glance, it reminded me of Final Fantasy XII’s License Board, but it’s less generous with skill points. Your choices will reflect the path your heroes go down in their build menu and will help decide who is useful in battle at any given time. Luckily, if you want to reset your progress, head to the nearest church and pray to reset the points you’ve already used.
Definitive Switch
A Nintendo Switch exclusive feature is 2D mode, and while it feels unnecessary, being able to switch from 3D to 2D is neat. Seeing classic 16-bit graphics throughout the adventure in retro-inspired style reminds me of classic Dragon Quest.
Everything is beautifully transported into sprite form: the world map, characters, towns, enemies, and of course, the battle system. For the most part, the transition works, but there is a small caveat: you have to return to the last story beat and repeat it in your chosen graphical style. Battles, for example, eschew the on-screen enemies which you run into and change into random encounters; you don’t see many animations in battle either – it’s much more traditional and old school in that sense.
One huge improvement over the vanilla version is the option to switch between the orchestrated score and the synthesized MIDI score within the options. To be harsh, the MIDI music sucks, and it’s shameful for the series to keep with tradition on for something as important as the score. I eventually had to turn the music off on PlayStation 4 because it became so grating over time. Now, the orchestrated score is a huge reason to consider playing Dragon Quest XI, it really is that good.
Photo Mode is available, too. It also includes a series of quests that let you visit your ancestors and help them to gain beneficial in-game items. If you need items for crafting, you can now buy them instead of searching for them. New costumes are available, and costumes are no longer tied to stats. In previous Dragon Quest games, costumes required equipping and came with stats. Now, a tab called Outfit lets you change only your cosmetic appearance while keeping the stats of the better gear.
What a World We Live In
As far as world-building goes, Erdrea is full of colour and life. This is easily one of the best worlds I’ve visited in a JRPG, with towns and cities that have distinct looks, exude personality, and beg to be explored. You’ll find dozens of NPCs ready to talk to as you make your way to the next weapon shop or take on sidequests offered by the people you meet.
A lot of these quests are fetched quests and gauging whether the reward is worth the effort s best practice, it feels like filler and I’m not one for fluff in my games these days. Circling back to the localization for this game, I’m really impressed by how marvellous everything ended up being. There are a ton of characters to talk to, and many of them have something interesting to say when you engage them; one town even has the population speaking entirely in haiku, which blew me away after realizing the effort put in to get it done and right.
Progress is linear in Dragon Quest XI, even though the world is massive, often you set out for one location and can’t leave until you finish the questline associated with that place. From there, you can backtrack but only move on to the next story location to continue with the task at hand, and on and on. For such a large place to explore, I didn’t enjoy being gated into an area until the game felt I was ready to move on.
Every area you explore offers new enemies to defeat, and one thing I’ve really enjoyed over the years is Akira Toriyama’s monster designs. Slimes, Sabrecub, or the Bongo Drongo, for example, have never looked better thanks in part to Unreal Engine 4; the textures and models might look cartoonish, but each enemy has an impressive number of animations.
Verdict
Dragon Quest XI will please newcomers and longtime fans with its colourful cast, detailed world, and engaging NPCs. My grievances with the game have nothing to do with its quality, but with being kept from truly exploring everything around me at my own pace.
This series has made such an impression on gamers worldwide because it hasn’t forgotten the roots that started a generation-spanning genre, yet it consistently puts a creative spin on existing systems until it feels new. If you’re in the mood for a game that respects traditions more than conventions, this is a good place to start, and if anything, you’re playing a new Dragon Quest title on PlayStation 4. That is a celebration in itself, and a familiar experience I haven’t had in some time.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
