Even though I am not the youngest of gamers I have recently started expanding my gaming horizon by getting into turn-based JRPGs, a genre I neglected in my youth. I have finished a small handful of these games in the past (the Mario & Luigi games, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IX, Persona 4 Golden, Dragon Quest VIII), but I still consider myself a total newbie to the genre. I used to be bad for starting one of these games and never finishing it, usually because the difficulty got too high (Final Fantasy IV DS), I encountered a game breaking bug (Final Fantasy X), I became discouraged by the game's length (Final Fantasy XIII), life got busy (Bravely Default), or most commonly I got distracted by a game in a different genre. As such I have mostly avoided these types of games as I rarely expect myself to finish them.
However, after seeing footage of Dragon Quest XI (DQXI) I knew I had to play it, despite the fact that people said it could take over 100 hours to finish it. The turn-based combat looked fun, the art design looked beautiful, the story sounded interesting enough, and the cast of characters looked incredibly charming and fun. I put off playing it for years because of that long estimated completion time, but earlier this year I found the game for a great price and decided to give it a shot.
To start things out, I really enjoyed DQXI's story. The general premise was a bit cliche (the main character finds out he is the only one who can put an end to the darkness that has descended upon the world, and he must build up a party to defeat the baddie and return peace to the world), but I found it to be well-paced and entertaining throughout, and there were enough twists and surprises to keep me engaged throughout my 89-hour play time. The companions that joined me on my journey had very unique personalities and back stories and I really liked each and every one of them. I genuinely cared about each one of them throughout my long journey.
The game's story is broken into 3 acts. Act 1 has the main character exploring the game's world, building up his team of companions, and making his way towards the game's main villain. Act 2 takes place after the events that conclude Act 1 (I won't spoil that here) and has you exploring the game's world again in preparation for a large battle. Finishing Act 2 provides you with the game's ending credits, and at this point you can start the game's "optional" Act 3. Act 3 is DQXI's end game, giving players access to a lot of additional content and the game's true ending. I say Act 3 is "optional" as some people online say it is okay to stop playing after seeing the Act 2 end credits, but I feel that if you stop playing at that point you are doing yourself a disservice. The content in Act 3 is some of the very best in the game and I do not recommend missing out on it (unless you didn't really enjoy the main game - then it is probably okay the call it quits at the end of Act 2).
Unsurprisingly for a Dragon Quest game, the combat in DQXI is what you'd expect from a traditional turn-based RPG, so I won't go in depth on that here. The combat here was fun and engaging though, and each character had enough unique spells and abilities to keep them feeling quite different than the other members in the party. Griding for XP was generally enjoyable too and it felt fantastic every time I leveled up. HP and MP were refreshed at each new level and new attribute points were earned and points that were used for unlocking new abilities from the skill trees. Honestly, each new level made such a difference in battles. I didn't find it necessary to grind too much to reach the Act 2 end credits, but it felt pretty darn necessary when playing through Act 3 (thankfully there is a handy little exploit which lessens the grind significantly - search Google for Hallelujah & Electro Light levelling). Some of those later bosses hit darn hard, but they were all a really fun challenge.
One element of DQXI that seems pretty minor, but I feel needs to be highlighted, is the game's forging system. I typically avoid crafting in games (I generally can't be bothered to grind enemy kills or perform repetitive tasks to get the materials I require), but the one used in DQXI is the best I have seen to date. Early in the game you are given a 'Fun-Sized Forge', a crafting table that goes with your party wherever you go and can be used at any time you are outside of combat. At this forge you can craft weapons, armor, and accessories from recipes which you find throughout the world. After selecting the item you want to craft you are presented with a list of required materials. This is all standard stuff, but where this system sets itself apart is that if you are missing any of the required materials you can simply choose to buy the items for gold right from that menu, eliminating the need to leave the forge and hunt down those missing materials (though it should be noted that some late game high-level gear does require specific ingredients that you can't buy this way). This feature really takes away the tedious grind found in other crafting systems and makes it so much more enjoyable. The gear you can craft is generally more powerful than what you can buy from shops too, making the forge a pretty essential tool throughout the entire game.
One of DQXI's greatest strengths is its visuals. The game has some of the best graphics I have seen on the Switch, and throughout my playthrough I was consistently surprised that this portable console from 2017 could handle something like this. The world was beautifully designed and filled with a good variety of interesting and varied locations to visit, weird monsters to battle, and NPCs to speak to. The character design was top notch and the art style used made everyone so expressive and full of life. The game had some truly stunning pre-rendered cinematic cutscenes too. There weren't enough of these, but damn did they ever look good!
I guess the one place I could fault DQXI is its soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, the orchestral soundtrack was a real joy to listen to, with songs that were catchy and memorable, there just wasn't enough of them to support a game of this length. I never found the repeated tracks annoying enough to turn them off, but I imagine the lack of variety could be bothersome to some gamers. That nitpick aside, the game's remaining sound design elements really shine - especially its excellent voice acting. The main characters were done extremely well, and the voice actors did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life. There were some NPCs that were not very well acted, but they didn't detract from the experience at all.
Dragon Quest XI was an incredible experience and is likely my favorite game on the Switch. The portability of the system made such a difference as I likely never would've finished this game without that ability. I loved the game's traditional turn-based combat (with some nice quality of life updates to make it feel modern), its expansive world, and its charming cast of characters. I highly recommend this game to those new to turn-based JRPGs or veterans of the genre. This is one heck of a great game, and it shouldn't be missed by anyone.
However, after seeing footage of Dragon Quest XI (DQXI) I knew I had to play it, despite the fact that people said it could take over 100 hours to finish it. The turn-based combat looked fun, the art design looked beautiful, the story sounded interesting enough, and the cast of characters looked incredibly charming and fun. I put off playing it for years because of that long estimated completion time, but earlier this year I found the game for a great price and decided to give it a shot.
To start things out, I really enjoyed DQXI's story. The general premise was a bit cliche (the main character finds out he is the only one who can put an end to the darkness that has descended upon the world, and he must build up a party to defeat the baddie and return peace to the world), but I found it to be well-paced and entertaining throughout, and there were enough twists and surprises to keep me engaged throughout my 89-hour play time. The companions that joined me on my journey had very unique personalities and back stories and I really liked each and every one of them. I genuinely cared about each one of them throughout my long journey.
The game's story is broken into 3 acts. Act 1 has the main character exploring the game's world, building up his team of companions, and making his way towards the game's main villain. Act 2 takes place after the events that conclude Act 1 (I won't spoil that here) and has you exploring the game's world again in preparation for a large battle. Finishing Act 2 provides you with the game's ending credits, and at this point you can start the game's "optional" Act 3. Act 3 is DQXI's end game, giving players access to a lot of additional content and the game's true ending. I say Act 3 is "optional" as some people online say it is okay to stop playing after seeing the Act 2 end credits, but I feel that if you stop playing at that point you are doing yourself a disservice. The content in Act 3 is some of the very best in the game and I do not recommend missing out on it (unless you didn't really enjoy the main game - then it is probably okay the call it quits at the end of Act 2).
Unsurprisingly for a Dragon Quest game, the combat in DQXI is what you'd expect from a traditional turn-based RPG, so I won't go in depth on that here. The combat here was fun and engaging though, and each character had enough unique spells and abilities to keep them feeling quite different than the other members in the party. Griding for XP was generally enjoyable too and it felt fantastic every time I leveled up. HP and MP were refreshed at each new level and new attribute points were earned and points that were used for unlocking new abilities from the skill trees. Honestly, each new level made such a difference in battles. I didn't find it necessary to grind too much to reach the Act 2 end credits, but it felt pretty darn necessary when playing through Act 3 (thankfully there is a handy little exploit which lessens the grind significantly - search Google for Hallelujah & Electro Light levelling). Some of those later bosses hit darn hard, but they were all a really fun challenge.
One element of DQXI that seems pretty minor, but I feel needs to be highlighted, is the game's forging system. I typically avoid crafting in games (I generally can't be bothered to grind enemy kills or perform repetitive tasks to get the materials I require), but the one used in DQXI is the best I have seen to date. Early in the game you are given a 'Fun-Sized Forge', a crafting table that goes with your party wherever you go and can be used at any time you are outside of combat. At this forge you can craft weapons, armor, and accessories from recipes which you find throughout the world. After selecting the item you want to craft you are presented with a list of required materials. This is all standard stuff, but where this system sets itself apart is that if you are missing any of the required materials you can simply choose to buy the items for gold right from that menu, eliminating the need to leave the forge and hunt down those missing materials (though it should be noted that some late game high-level gear does require specific ingredients that you can't buy this way). This feature really takes away the tedious grind found in other crafting systems and makes it so much more enjoyable. The gear you can craft is generally more powerful than what you can buy from shops too, making the forge a pretty essential tool throughout the entire game.
One of DQXI's greatest strengths is its visuals. The game has some of the best graphics I have seen on the Switch, and throughout my playthrough I was consistently surprised that this portable console from 2017 could handle something like this. The world was beautifully designed and filled with a good variety of interesting and varied locations to visit, weird monsters to battle, and NPCs to speak to. The character design was top notch and the art style used made everyone so expressive and full of life. The game had some truly stunning pre-rendered cinematic cutscenes too. There weren't enough of these, but damn did they ever look good!
I guess the one place I could fault DQXI is its soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, the orchestral soundtrack was a real joy to listen to, with songs that were catchy and memorable, there just wasn't enough of them to support a game of this length. I never found the repeated tracks annoying enough to turn them off, but I imagine the lack of variety could be bothersome to some gamers. That nitpick aside, the game's remaining sound design elements really shine - especially its excellent voice acting. The main characters were done extremely well, and the voice actors did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life. There were some NPCs that were not very well acted, but they didn't detract from the experience at all.
Dragon Quest XI was an incredible experience and is likely my favorite game on the Switch. The portability of the system made such a difference as I likely never would've finished this game without that ability. I loved the game's traditional turn-based combat (with some nice quality of life updates to make it feel modern), its expansive world, and its charming cast of characters. I highly recommend this game to those new to turn-based JRPGs or veterans of the genre. This is one heck of a great game, and it shouldn't be missed by anyone.
2 Comments
@Penumbra I'm so glad you enjoyed it too! It would make for a great introduction to the genre, that's for sure! It has got me so hyped to play games I missed out on due to my aversion to the genre.
Penumbra
1 year ago