I have had over 5 playthroughs of this game between my first playthrough on 3DS and all the other versions, I never actually got around to playing the Definitive Edition till recently and man, They weren't lying when they said this was a "Definitive Edition" except for ONE thing I'll get to later.

Battle Speed selector is great, Fun-Size forge being used anywhere(Also being able to get buyable items even if you don't have them on hand), I played with JP voices and thought they were great, I actually used a mod for more variety in the music which if you're on PC I highly recommend that but if not the music is fine.

As for that one thing I have an issue with is The World of Tickington and really it's just a small nitpick, in the DS version of the game when you went there if you for example enter Dragon Quest IV world, the cast would look like DQ IV sprites and so on, was such a cool little feature that I'm sad is gone from the definitive edition, also I'm sad the monsters in Tickington weren't animated like the DS remake Dragon Quest games but outside of that it's really cool to see this brought back for console!

Onto the meat, I feel like this cast truly is an all-star cast, No one is really wasted and everyone contributes something. It's REALLY REALLY hard for me to choose a favorite character in this game it's just such a well balanced cast. Probably my favorite in any video game. I also like the small things they do with the Hero in cutscenes to kinda give him some flavor.

There is so much I want to say about this game but it really is a near perfect game and it's flaws don't really bug me that much, I have an even bigger appreciation for this entry after playing through every single mainline DQ(Including DQ X) It really does reward those who have played every entry.

Here is to hoping that in the future we get older DQ games preserved and on modern hardware so more people can experience this legendary series.

First DQ game - so far about 40 hours in. Very charming and cozy, but I dunno how I feel about three dozen hours of what amounts to agonizingly slow narrative setup. Also Japan's politicians need to band together and make a law that requires JRPG music loops to be longer than one minute.

Update: I don't typically get around to JRPGs, so I had a good cackle when 53 hours in (during a moment meant to inspire awe an wonder) a character says, "Many trials await."

On the whole, I enjoyed the game's warm, tender tone, its charming characters, its poignant mini-stories that cultivate themes of perseverance and understanding, and, of course, Toriyama's ever-iconic artstyle. Even if the "subversive" elements of the story felt a bit too light for me, it's unpretentious, cozy-blanket medieval fantasy storytelling - takes me back to when I was a kid and would excitedly get up early on Saturdays to catch the morning cartoon programs. While I do enjoy it, I admit for the length of the tale I'd hope for something more enriching (and for certain elements to not fade into the background for large chunks of game). I do wish there were more scenes of the party members interacting with one another - even just bits of dialogue in the overworld would have been nice.

Gameplay-wise, the battle mechanics are delightfully old-school-yet-refined, and I was pleased at how little grinding I had to do (up until the end, that is). Also, running overworld enemies over with the horse never got old.

The game has very good story, good characters, very good soundtracks and there are so many features that makes insteresting to play, BUT you'll have to grind well if you want to be strong enough to not suffer from hard parts of the game.
its early game is a bit hard until Jade becames your party member and after that it becames literally "Jade game", thats because she deals so massive damage and there's no reason to not use her as primary party member. Hopefully at late game other characters deals same damage as her if builded correctly and you wont be able to be braindead that point.
So, about the new things it added to the base game is
Voice Actors, orchestra version of soundtracks, some "filler stories" at mid game, possibility to change between 3D game and 2D game, new mounts, new outfits, some QoL like calling horses and forging anywhere (and now you can buy some material during forge) and new dg that you can challenge secret boss.

I'm really really really mixed in many ways with this one, even though I like a majority of it. The cast is awesome, you feel connected to all the characters and their conflicts. The cutscenes are great, the presentation overall is spot on. Great enemy variety. The game feels large scaled with a grand adventure: lots of towns and areas. The story sometimes went in unexpected directions. The gameplay overall is really fun.

But, here come the negatives. I cannot stand the music. I hate it. I hate how often it is looped or copy pasted. One town theme, one boss theme, for like, 95% of the experience. It makes every area feel more hollow, less special, and it grates on your ears. You'll find yourself switching between the OST's so you don't drive yourself crazy. This is a big one for me and it turned me off to many moments that could have been more impactful.

Also, this game did not need to be so long. The last third is just so unecessary. You feel like it's such a big investment to get to the 2nd part of the game. Then when you see there's like 40 more hours to go you just wanna shelf the damn thing.

They seem like minor gripes but they really hamper the overall experience. Which is a shame because the game is pretty damn good. But parts of it really needed to be retooled.

Dragon Quest XI is a game I have a little bit of a funny connection with. For years now, I’ve been wanting to get it, but fate just chose otherwise. It went on sale a month or two ago at this point, and right as I was about to buy it, I found out that I got robbed, and couldn’t buy it. Only thanks to a friend buying it for me was I able to get, and finally play Dragon Quest XI. I don’t have much experience with Dragon Quest, I’ve only beaten 8, and I’ve played a small bit of 9, so I don’t have much familiarity with the series. But I had a great time with Dragon Quest XI, though I know I haven’t seen all of it.

I have to say, first and foremost, having a game with simple turn-based combat like this is really nice. And I like how you’re able to walk around the little arena as well, it just adds a nice amount of juice into something that’s rather stagnant in other games. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if the position of your characters matter or impact things in some way, but even if they don’t its fun just to move them around. And I was able to try out each of the playable characters in this game, and honestly they’re all really good. I think the general structure of the game allows you to try out each character enough to get used to them. Especially for me, the characters you get first in Act 2 were the ones I passed on using in Act 1. It may have just been coincidence for me, but it was a really smart choice all things considered.

And I adore exploring the game’s world. The main overworld of Edrea is certainly massive, but it creates this wonderful sense of scale that makes me enjoy just walking through it. The dungeons are also really fun to explore. Since (outside of the sea) enemies aren’t random encounters, it makes exploration feel so good. Especially since you’re not interrupted by random encounters all the time. That was one of my biggest pet peeves with Dragon Quest 8, so I’m glad to see that not being an issue here.

As well, the level grind didn’t seem too bad. In fact I don’t think I level grinded at all during the game, though I don’t know if that’s for better or for worse. By the end of Act 2, I was level 53, with the other characters being between 49-51. I had some challenge with the end boss of Act 2, so it’s hard to say if I was underleveled or not. This is more a feel thing than anything, but it really feels like it takes a long time for a character to level up, oftentimes taking so many battles before even one character levels up. Yet again this isn’t a negative, as I said I never needed to grind in the first place. It’s just odd in a feel sort of sense.

One of my favorite little options in Dragon Quest XI is Tickington. Being able to explore locations from previous Dragon Quests is really cool, even though I’ve only played 2 of them. And since it incorporates the 2D Mode that you can switch to, it’s nice to see all of the spritework made for the game as well. It’ll be funny when I finally get to the other Dragon Quest titles, and recognize the locations I saw from this game.

I also really love the story of the game. I wont go into too much detail here, especially with what occurs during Act 2, but there’s a lot that I really love. I think the main playable cast of Dragon Quest XI is absolutely perfect. There’s genuinely nothing I would change about them. Their growth, their personalities, everything. I just think particularly, I adore everything about Act 2, from the story, characters, and just general events.

When it comes to Dragon Quest XI, I know technically I’m not “done” with the game. But I’m satisfied with the ending I got, and I don’t really have much of an interest in playing Act 3. Honestly, with what I’ve heard about the general premise of Act 3, it would probably leave me unsatisfied, and I feel like I’d prefer ending the game at Act 2. Is that sacrilegious? Probably. But I’ve been playing this game for 60 hours now, I think I’m Dragon Quest’d out, and I did get an ending, even if it isn’t the final ending. Maybe after a decent break I’ll return to play Act 3, but I do feel like I have beaten the game regardless of playing Act 3 or not.

But I will say though, I really enjoyed my time with Dragon Quest XI. It’s probably been 2 years since I’ve been trying to get it, so to finally get around to playing it feels like a dream come true. I really would like to play the other Dragon Quest titles at some point, though I definitely need a bit of a break from them, this one took me quite a while to beat. Yet again, I may return to DQXI to play Act 3 at some point, but not today.

The first act of the game is amazing, an absolutely wonderful experience and I tought it could even become one of my favorite RPGs ever; gameplay, music, characters, story (a simple story, but it's episodic nature really made me like it a lot), it was all there. Then comes Act 2 and overall all the last parts of the game. I won't say I hated it, but I had to "force" myself to finish the game. It's still enjoyable, mind you, but it's just a fall from grace compared to the first half of the game. I won't go into more details because I want to avoid spoilers, but exploring the same map AGAIN isn't really my idea of "fun". Overall still a very good game, but it's a shame because it could have very well dethroned Dragon Quest VIII as my favorite DQ, and it failed because of poor design choices at the end.

Dragon Quest XI S (PS4) has finally wrapped up after 120 hours, although there's plenty of side content left unfinished. To me, DQ XI feels like a comforting retreat for those seeking a straightforward adventure to save the world after a long day at the office, without the need for complex storylines or frustrating gameplay mechanics. It's pure escapism into high fantasy that feels refreshingly charming and heartwarming, with a well-paced gameplay and story progression that you can feel even if you only have 2-3 hours to spare each day.

I highly recommend playing the Definitive Edition for the enhanced quality of life features. The improvements are substantial, from the orchestrated soundtrack to the ability to fast forward through battles and craft anywhere, significantly enhancing the game's pacing. The story and character arcs also feel more fleshed out and complete, with elements that would feel sorely lacking if absent. Unlike some other re-releases like Ni No Kuni, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal where additional content can feel shoehorned in, DQ XI's additions seem more like cut content that should have been there from the start, making it truly deserving of its "definitive" title.

However, I do have several criticisms, particularly regarding Act 3. While it offers insights and interesting moments, it often undermines the dramatic writing and character arcs established in Act 2 for the sake of a premature and overly tidy closure. There's also a noticeable amount of reused areas with minimal cosmetic changes for post-content, and the spread of recipes right before the endgame forces players into a last-minute scavenger hunt for ingredients. Additionally, the forced grinding towards the end feels rather unnatural and disrupts the flow of the narrative.
One other disappointment is the lack of vocal OSTs during scenes where characters are shown singing. It's a missed opportunity considering how memorable such moments can be in games like Grandia 2 and Ar Tonelico.

Overall, DQ XI is a JRPG that "overstays its welcome" in some aspects, but it's also undeniably complete and packed with content that justifies its full price. My score: 4/5.

It's really tough coming off of a marathon of RPGs right into this, having just played Persona 5 and Final Fantasy X. Both have incredibly intricate stories and characters, plus a couple neat quirks to keep the turn-based combat fresh. Dragon Quest has very little of this. The Pep Powers learned by each character feel like slightly upgraded Limit Breaks that somehow feel more random and less powerful. There's just not enough consequence for choosing to fight one way or the other. I love the different weapon classes you can choose from, but I don't love that all of them kind of feel the same to use and upgrade. I acknowledge that some of this was due to the game being incredibly easy. Easy games don’t usually demand much variety in approaching combat situations if one or two spells or techniques do the trick for every fight, and the same can be said here. I think replaying the game on “Draconian Quest” mode next time would greatly enhance this aspect.

The story evokes a Saturday morning cartoon with its villain-or-new-town-of-the-week structure that eventually builds up to reveal an overarching evil force at play. It's definitely charming, and I love that this colorful world is juxtaposed with splashes of really, really dark and sad moments to create a pretty compelling contrast. At the same time, when Rab or Erik show an inkling of growth or an opportunity for us to get to know them better, I always felt like the game shied away from it before we got in too deep.

Every ounce of me wants to adore this game. I love the art style, I love the traditional RPG tropes that it capitalizes on and doesn't apologize for, I love the voice acting, and I even love some of the characters too. But for me, the aesthetics do so much heavy lifting for an overall experience that's otherwise just "OK".

2024 EDIT: All things considered, in 2022 I was stranded with my partner in Kingman, AZ for 3 days with not much else to do aside from staying in at the Motel 6 and playing this game on my Switch. For all its flaws, Dragon Quest XI will always hold a special place in my heart for this.

I used to be in the Dragon Quest community. Actually met some close friends there. And for some reason, this game was really contentious there. Like people were debating about if this game was good or not all the time. And, fuck it, I'm just going to say it. This is one of the best RPGs I've ever played. It's just paced so well, the difficulty curve is perfect, the characters are a lot of fun, the world is a blast to explore. Sure, Act III is a bit of a drag, but at that point, you'd had 80 hours of some of the most fun RPGs ever. This is the RPG I'd recommend to someone who doesn't play RPGs. It's just comfortable.