Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - 26th Sept

[Dcubed]

This game is black magic on Switch, wow! Can't believe how close it looks to the PS4 version!

 

 

My first time playing it here, I've just started the demo and it's off to a great start! After playing DQ7 on 3DS, I really appreciate how quickly they get you into some actual combat and (light) exploration here! Sets a very strong first impression  

 

The orchestral music is also absolutely beautiful! Lovely, lovely stuff!

 

I couldn't get through DQ7 3DS, due to its absolutely glacial pacing, but if this start is anything to go by, DQ11 seems to be a lot more engaging and much more interesting so far.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Dcubed

[Jonnas]

Tried the demo. I stopped just after the first dungeon, as I just know I won't have time to play this when it comes out.

What I did play was amazing. Lovely colourful cutscenes, lighthearted setting, proper orchestrated soundtrack, voice acting with accents (bold choice to give a Scottish accent to the childhood-friend-who-is-certainly-the-love-interest. No idea on how genuine it is, but it certainly is charming), and a surprising multitude of options with which to customise your game! I played the beginning of DQVIII way back then, and the two games just feel super similar.

21 hours ago, Dcubed said:

I couldn't get through DQ7 3DS, due to its absolutely glacial pacing

To be fair, I hear that one is stupidly long. As in, infamous for being "the long one" in the series. I have the feeling every other Dragon Quest game is fast compared to it.

[Hero-of-Time]

53 minutes ago, Jonnas said:

(bold choice to give a Scottish accent to the childhood-friend-who-is-certainly-the-love-interest. No idea on how genuine it is, but it certainly is charming)

Gemma isn't Scottish.  That's just one of many English accents. 

@Grazza have you tried the demo yet?

Edited August 22, 2019 by Hero-of-Time

[Jonnas]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Gemma isn't Scottish.  That's just one of many English accents.

Is that so? It sounded like a slightly exaggerated version of the accent I heard from the real-life Scots I met. Then again, said Scots would also occasionally pronounce vowels in an unusual manner, and Gemma didn't do that.

So, where is her accent from, anyway?

Edited August 22, 2019 by Jonnas

[Hero-of-Time]

6 hours ago, Jonnas said:

So, where is her accent from, anyway?

I could be wrong but I think it's a West Midlands accent. Up here in the North East we call it the farmers accent.  

[Grazza]

12 hours ago, Jonnas said:

Is that so? It sounded like a slightly exaggerated version of the accent I heard from the real-life Scots I met. Then again, said Scots would also occasionally pronounce vowels in an unusual manner, and Gemma didn't do that.

So, where is her accent from, anyway?

 

I didn't want to be an ass, but it's South-West - Devon, Somerset, Bristol etc, like Alice in The Vicar of Dibley.

 

15 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Gemma isn't Scottish.  That's just one of many English accents. 

@Grazza have you tried the demo yet?

 

Oh yes!  It is outstanding! 

 

Without exaggeration, this is the game many of us have been waiting 15 years for - an HD Dragon Quest in the same style as VIII.  From the moment I heard the opening music and saw the classic DQ font, I felt reconnected with something.  It's very much like what I was imaging all those years ago - large 3D towns where you can go up on the roofs and look out of windows at the "real" environment, but also reassuringly old-fashioned in many regards, such as the save system.

 

In terms of story, it still has what so many other tales lack - charm.  Dragon Quest is not so sanitised that nothing bad can ever happen, but it's mostly done with humour and likeable characters.  In fact, if anything they've made a lot of progress in terms of plot.  So much happened, I actually felt swept along, as though I wasn't setting the pace.  Although this could induce a fear of missing something, I decided to just go with the flow.

 

From the battle system to the skill trees and the way you also gain abilities as you level up, this is my idea of how RPGs should be.

 

If I have any slight doubts, it's that it's clearly a huge game, and I prefer designers to keep a tight rein on overworlds.  That said, it does at least feel designed.  From what I can tell there are clear barriers and item gates, so you do at least know which areas you're meant to get used to first.  With such big fields and towns, I do have a concern I'll miss a lot of hidden items, but 2D mode may possibly help with making this a bit clearer.  Undoubtedly, the graphics are also a bit soft, but that's what you get when a game is designed for a more powerful system.  If I had a PS4 and a TV I liked playing on, I'd have played it already, but we're fortunate to get it on Switch.

 

The demo is very generous and does an amazing job of making me want to buy the game (as if I wasn't going to... ), but yes, I'm impressed.  To know there is a new Dragon Quest adventure ahead is a very special feeling.

[Hero-of-Time]

I knew you'd love it. I've been dying for you to play the game ever since it was released on the PS4 and I look forward to reading your adventures once the full game arrives.

[Glen-i]

I like this game.

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Glen-i

[S.C.G]

Is there a clear, defined point at which the demo ends? Or is there a time/level limit?

I'm considering giving the demo a go  but just wanted to know how much I can level up or what I'll be able to do in the demo.

[Dcubed]

46 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

Is there a clear, defined point at which the demo ends? Or is there a time/level limit?

I'm considering giving the demo a go  but just wanted to know how much I can level up or what I'll be able to do in the demo.

There is a defined end point.  I haven’t seen it yet, but apparently it’s about 10 hours or so into the story!

[Sméagol]

The guys from Gamexplain didn't reach the end after 2.5 hours of streaming the demo, and they were basically speeding through it.

[S.C.G]

2 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

There is a defined end point.  I haven’t seen it yet, but apparently it’s about 10 hours or so into the story!

That is... generous for a demo! By that point though I suppose, they figure you're hooked on the game and will have to buy it to see how it all ends, so it's a clever move.

[Ike]

1 hour ago, S.C.G said:

That is... generous for a demo! By that point though I suppose, they figure you're hooked on the game and will have to buy it to see how it all ends, so it's a clever move.

Gotta wait a month for it come out though. 

[Tim B]

 

10 minutes ago, Ike said:

Gotta wait a month for it come out though. 

That’s the thing with this demo. I’m dying to play it, but if I do so now, I know I’ll get to ten hours fairly quickly and then have to wait a whole month to dive back in. 

There might be some free gaming time in between Astral Chain and Link’s Awakening, or in between Link’s Awakening and the actual release of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition *shrug*.

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, S.C.G said:

That is... generous for a demo! By that point though I suppose, they figure you're hooked on the game and will have to buy it to see how it all ends, so it's a clever move.

Should also point out that you get a special spirit in Smash Ultimate for playing this demo.

[Sméagol]

Full game works as well.

[Sheikah]

You guys on Switch are in for treat, especially now the Switch version will have an orchestral soundtrack. The original NES-like soundtrack sounded like absolute ass.

[Ike]

I think it's funny when NPC's react/call you out for going through their stuff.

[Grazza]

2 minutes ago, Ike said:

I think it's funny when NPC's react/call you out for going through their stuff.

 

They were fishnet stockings too. 

 

18 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Is there a clear, defined point at which the demo ends? Or is there a time/level limit?

I'm considering giving the demo a go  but just wanted to know how much I can level up or what I'll be able to do in the demo.

 

I finished the demo last night so can explain it exactly.  You get to a point where there's a door/checkpoint you can't go through.  It did indeed take me 10 hours, although you can still grind or craft afterwards.  One thing you can't do is go back to the earlier towns, so completionists might want to play it at a slower pace.

 

But yes, what a demo!  You can only do a demo like this when you're hugely confident in the product.  I'm pretty sure anyone who likes RPGs and is prepared to play a long game will want to buy it - in fact, it feels so much like you've really started the game.  I guess Dragon Quest was the one truly top-class series that needed more recognition in the West, so a long demo was a good move.

 

[Ike]

Just seen an advert for this on TV. Nice to see Nintendo actually prompting the game unlike SE.

[Ike]

Interesting to see NoA promoting this.

[Glen-i]

Oh snap! They're totally adding one of the Dragon Quest main characters to Smash!

Wait...

[Sméagol]

25 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Oh snap! They're totally adding one of the Dragon Quest main characters to Smash!

Wait...

They're adding all the Smash characters to Dragon Quest.

[Ike]

3 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Oh snap! They're totally adding one of the Dragon Quest main characters to Smash!

Wait...

They're adding Fire Emblem characters to Dragon Quest!

[Ike]

The very first "NX" game to be announced is finally here!