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

[Glen-i]

29 minutes ago, Ike said:

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

I was looking at the box art for like a minute thinking, "Why is Hero holding a stick?" before realising it's actually a flag.
That logo placement is not helping. (Gorgeous box art still)

EDIT: Oh right, @Ike I forgot to ask, 2D or 3D?

Edited September 26, 2019 by Glen-i

[Ganepark32]

One of the first things I did when I set up my Switch Lite was download the demo for this and even with having a bunch of other things to play, I've managed to play that for 2 and a half hours and I think I'm sold on the game. The game looks great in handheld and though I'm still getting used to the buttons (playing various different games with different button configs in such close proximity has been a bit of a nightmare as I keep pressing the wrong things in this and Link's Awakening and Astral Chain) I'm enjoying it a lot.

I'd held off of picking it up on the ps4 as I wasn't sure how it would be for me but it's got it's hooks into me and I'm intrigued enough in wanting to see where it goes to pick up the full thing tomorrow. Happy as well that my save will carry over so that also helps in persuading me. Not that I need more to play but I want to play it so...

[Ike]

2 hours ago, Glen-i said:

I was looking at the box art for like a minute thinking, "Why is Hero holding a stick?" before realising it's actually a flag.
That logo placement is not helping. (Gorgeous box art still)

EDIT: Oh right, @Ike I forgot to ask, 2D or 3D?

I wanted to go 2D but a lot of the enhancements are for the 3D mode, so I'm not sure now. I think I'll go 2D, but I kinda want to play the new content in 3D, so I might switch for that.

The way switching between modes is a little weird, it sends you back to certain checkpoints rather than keep you at where you are and you can choose any point you want, including the start of the game. But you keep your equipment and levels.

[Glen-i]

Well, this is interesting...

Apparently, Satoru Iwata asked the developers at Square to bring Dragon Quest XI to the Switch way back.

Quote

Before the game was officially announced in July 2015, Iwata requested them to also bring Dragon Quest XI to Nintendo Switch. That was how Square Enix announced the game was being considered for NX, the Switch’s code name at that time.

After a few years, the developers said they have finally fulfilled their promise to Iwata with the launch of Dragon Quest XI S, though sadly he’s no longer with us today.

Still making stuff happen, even today.

[Dcubed]

13 hours ago, Ike said:

I wanted to go 2D but a lot of the enhancements are for the 3D mode, so I'm not sure now. I think I'll go 2D, but I kinda want to play the new content in 3D, so I might switch for that.

The way switching between modes is a little weird, it sends you back to certain checkpoints rather than keep you at where you are and you can choose any point you want, including the start of the game. But you keep your equipment and levels.

I think that, unlike the 3DS version, the 2D mode in this Switch release is actually treated as its own different game entierly; so parts of the game don't actually match up with its 3D counterpart.

 

So that's probably how they got around the issue and stopped players from getting stuck.

Edited September 27, 2019 by Dcubed

[Ike]

7 hours ago, Dcubed said:

I think that, unlike the 3DS version, the 2D mode in this Switch release is actually treated as its own different game entierly; so parts of the game don't actually match up with its 3D counterpart.

 

So that's probably how they got around the issue and stopped players from getting stuck.

Yeah I get that, it was that it allows you go back to any checkpoint in the game that surprised me. I don't remember seeing it in the Treehouse demo at E3, or I wasn't paying attention. It's nice though if you played the demo you can go back to the start in 2D mode and not lose EXP or anything.

If the 2D mode in this follows the 3DS game then certain points are different to the 3D mode. Town layouts are slightly different between the 2 versions.

[Grazza]

Having not been much into games recently, I didn't know if I'd be able to get back into this... but I was wrong!  It is absolutely brilliant and I'm re-hooked already.  The level grinding, exploration and skill tree development... it is just a sheer joy to play.  I keep wanting to play this and VIII through an 8K VR headset, for some reason.

 

The Puff-Puff shenanigans have become a bit dodgy!  I knew it was going to be, but had to give it a try!

 

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by Grazza

[Julius]

Tim Rogers from Kotaku - who made what was, in my opinion, easily the best DQXI review of last year - has released a review for DQXIS! 

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Julius

[S.C.G]

I got this yesterday, I've owned the original on PS4 since it came out, didn't play it... now that I have the definitive edition on the Switch I think I really should play this over everything else.

[Tim B]

First impressions are, it's bloody brilliant. I wish I wasn't so hungover today so I could actually play it. I'm a couple of hours in and it just plays so well. It seems more accessible than a lot of RPGs, so I hope its does well. Did someone say they saw a TV advert for this in the UK? Regardless, I can see a lower Top 10 debut for it in the chart.

I have a drug testing trial coming up this week so will have a lot of time to play it when I'm there.

But why is there no IGN review?

[Tim B]

Super Mario Maker 2 was my GOTY, then Fire Emblem was, then Astral Chain possibly overtook that, now there's a fair chance I'll be liking this the best out of everything I've played this year thus far.

[martinist]

11 hours ago, Julius said:

Tim Rogers from Kotaku - who made what was, in my opinion, easily the best DQXI review of last year - has released a review for DQXIS!

I hate Kotaku, but I love Tim Rogers.

[Tim B]

No.11 in the UK. Sadly missing out on a Top 10 due to some FIFA-related Xbox bundles.

Sold around half of what the PS4 version did at launch last year.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-09-29-fifa-20-and-xbox-one-dominate-uk-charts

[Ike]

10 hours ago, Tim B said:

No.11 in the UK. Sadly missing out on a Top 10 due to some FIFA-related Xbox bundles.

Sold around half of what the PS4 version did at launch last year.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-09-29-fifa-20-and-xbox-one-dominate-uk-charts

11 is probably pretty good for DQ in the west.

The PS4 version came out on a Tuesday as well.

[Tim B]

Looking back at some of the posts from 2017, it seems quite funny now that it didn't debut on Switch for another two years!

For those who didn't know, DQXI scored 40/40 from Famitsu magazine and was voted their game of the year in 2018.

I completed the demo at just under nine hours and moved onto the full version of the game finally. I've had to stop myself from playing it too much, it's *that* good!

 

 

[Dcubed]

Bit disappointed that The Switch Effect didn’t rub off on DQ11s a bit more; but I suppose our expectations were just too high.

 

At the end of the day, despite the nice additions, it is still ultimately a port of a 1 year old (2 years old in Japan) PS4 game.

Edited October 1, 2019 by Dcubed

[Sméagol]

I don't get it. I was susptecting this to be the biggest game of the ridiculously packed September. Or at least the most deserving. It is for me anyway.

I actually wanted to go back to some other games after finishing Astral Chain, and I had a film festival on top of that last few days, but I couldn't help myself and played for a few hours. Good stuff so far.. I'm going to enjoy this.

[Sheikah]

I don't get it. I was susptecting this to be the biggest game of the ridiculously packed September. Or at least the most deserving. It is for me anyway.
I actually wanted to go back to some other games after finishing Astral Chain, and I had a film festival on top of that last few days, but I couldn't help myself and played for a few hours. Good stuff so far.. I'm going to enjoy this.

I reckon it's that a lot of people really into their RPGs already have a PS4, and those seriously into DQ already picked it up. It's such a long game and not one of those "got to have it on every platform" unlike something like Minecraft. I couldn't consider playing it again after getting the plat on the PS4 version.

[Tim B]

2 hours ago, Sméagol said:

I don't get it. I was susptecting this to be the biggest game of the ridiculously packed September. Or at least the most deserving. It is for me anyway.

If this game had been released in February or April when there was almost nothing, it would've gotten the attention and sales it deserves. Plenty of people won't have had much money left after Astral Chain, Link's Awakening, Fire Emblem, Switch Lite etc. and it has fallen somewhat under the radar.

Releasing only one week after the biggest Switch game of the year thus far was not the best idea, to say the least.

[Grazza]

Figured it was time to post a bit of an update on this.

 

Spoiler

Have got Jade and Rab now.  Jade is awesome, and I have put her straight in my team with Hero and Serena:

 

• Hero - Greatswords
• Jade - Spears
• Serena - Spears

 

I'm not sure who to use as the 4th member, but am thinking of putting Veronica back in.  I'd like to see her full size again though!  I've just sailed to the coastal town and don't know whether to press on with the story or try to get the best equipment for my team.

 

Dragon Quest XI is without doubt the best game I have played for 15 years.  As much as I enjoyed VIII, I have felt out of sync with the way the games industry has gone since then.  I didn't dare believe anyone would again make a game with as much charm and humour, or as big and long but still well designed.  Other games are good at telling you a story, but Dragon Quest has a unique way of making you feel you are going through an adventure.  Even though it's all scripted, it feels like you are making it happen.  There are just enough sidequests that I don't feel overwhelmed, but do have a real choice of what I do each time I load it up.  The overworld is large, but divided into manageable sections so you always keep a sense of where you are.

 

There's one way it's probably even better than VIII, and that is the plotting.  There are so many twists and turns, it's insane.  But whereas I would play other games cautiously, Dragon Quest has a way of making you trust the storytellers.  I happily go wherever the game takes me, knowing that it's not going to drop me in too much trouble.

[Hero-of-Time]

I knew you'd love it and yeah, Jade is awesome. 

[Sméagol]

Yeah I'm loving it too. Did not intend to start this without finishing some other games first, but couldn't help myself, and started this when I got this, in the middle of a film festival.

I love the light-hearted vibe of the game. I love the characters, and their banter. And the (sometimes questionable ) humour. Cutscenes are well animated and the voiceacting is good. It's also the little things.. The game just puts a big smile on my face when you're fighting some stupid devil enemy, then he starts dancing, and now my characters starts dancing or laughing haha. I'm also getting puff-puff wherever I can.  The scene in Gallopolis would be an example of the questionable humour.

Yesterday I did the stuff in ehh what's it called, Gondolia, the Venice place. Now I've got the ship, and can actually explore a bit. I decided to check out Port Valour first, since I had a quest there. Checked out the little island as well for another quest, team got almost wiped but then the 5th character, which in this case was Sylvando, managed to finish the fight.. But didn't save because I can't have dead teammates not getting exp. Didn't expext non-party members to jump in, though I guess it  actually makes sense. Then went on to the next story destination, Holland Zwaardrust, rushed a bit while exploring, but there didn't seem to be much I could do there at that point, so continued to the next destination, Octogonia. I already saw Dundrasil on the map, so I can't wait to check that place out.

[Tim B]

I’m about 13 hours in now and everything is still a bit simple and straightforward. Just reached the city that looks like Venice. Does the difficulty ramp up at some point, can someone tell me? Regardless, it’s still an incredibly enjoyable experience.

 

[Ike]

1 hour ago, Tim B said:

I’m about 13 hours in now and everything is still a bit simple and straightforward. Just reached the city that looks like Venice. Does the difficulty ramp up at some point, can someone tell me? Regardless, it’s still an incredibly enjoyable experience.

 

Only really if you have the tougher monster and less EXP Draconian Quests enabled.

[Hero-of-Time]

Some of the bosses can be ball busters, especially post game ones, even on normally difficulty. However, as Ike said, unless you increase the difficulty on your own, most normal battles won't cause you much bother.